Food For Thought

Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name, Jesus
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name

Why is it that so many times we bless, bless, bless when everything is good, but when things go downhill, we start saying, "GOD!!! Where ARE You?!?! Have You forgotten me?!?!" Shame on us. Job had it right.... The very minute that he found that he had lost EVERYTHING he responded this way:


Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.21 And he said:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD."

In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
Job 1:20-22 NKJV

Perhaps we could learn a thing or two from Job and respond rightly when we are facing the desert place and walking through the wilderness....

It Was NOT a "Monday Funday"!!

We woke up late... Hey! It's our prerogative... We're on summer vacation! T had a doctor's appointment at 10 and it was 9:00... I had to shower, get her showered and ready and we had to stop at the bank on the way. At 9:02 I was in the shower, off to a good start. My phone went off. The screen said "The in-laws". "I can call them back when I am done. The shower really isn't good for my phone and probably it is not something super important," I thought. No more than thirty seconds later our fire/ambulance pager went off. The age old "when it rains it pours" went through my head. Not planning to answer the call (there are occasional times that I DO NOT respond... one of the perks of being a "volunteer") I still kept my ear tuned to what the 911 dispatcher was saying (ever the curious one, here). "...respond to a structure fire on Guthrie Rd..." Um... news flash.... that is MY road. We have seven structures on our road. Four are family's homes, one is our longtime, non-family neighbor, one is my father-in-law's business and on is a barn. So.... odds weren't the greatest. I FLEW out of the shower, soap and conditioner and all and threw clothes on. As I was grabbing my fire gear my phone rang again and I saw the screen said "dad-in-law." I flipped it open, barked out, "I'm on my way!" and slapped it shut, running to the truck. Let me tell you, I had that truck SAILING! Dad laughed about it later and said that if I had been going 5mph faster I would have stopped IN the garage. Hey, I got there! Turns out Uncle S was welding in dad's shop and a spark flew into a gas can and, well, that was that..... Dad and Uncle S were hauling stuff out when I got there and throwing buckets of water at the fire. Thankfully our crew got there when they did or we would not have a garage standing. Now, for the record, I was side by side with Dad and Uncle S until our assistant chief got there... I donned my gear when they arrived and went into professional mode rather than frantic daughter-in-law. Several of my.... "co-workers" (??) asked me if I was ok... my response was usually "I will be FINE as long as we get this totally out and taken care of!!" I took a minute when I was not needed and sent T with my observing sister-in-law and called the doctor's office to explain who was taking her down and why. Thankfully I did not have to reschedule a physical. Mom's brand new motorcycle was saved... It was the first thing Uncle S pulled out after calling 911. Unfortunately, my motorcycle is now in desperate need of a new motor. *sigh* Dad kidded that now his ceiling fan will not be very effective.... Perhaps the insurance company will replace that as well as the back wall and roof.... J is actually hoping that the insurance company will give them enough money to just put up a new pole barn across from this garage. They (J and his dad) have discussed building a bigger one and bringing some of J's work much closer to home.... I myself wonder if they will replace my bike's motor. THAT would be nice. :)

Needless to say, my Monday was not very "fun." BUT, we were able to share with a couple of the other fire-fighters how mom and dad were not even supposed to be home and mom for a couple days told their team (they were away ministering at another church) that they HAD to leave Sunday night. She NEEDED to be home Monday morning. If dad had not been there, the garage would have been totally engulfed by the time our fire company arrived.... Another reminder to listen to the still small voice and the inner urgings....

HEY! THEY'RE OVER HERE!!

Looking for these guys?? I found 'em... AT MY PLACE! :)











T and EP. Wow, that boy is cute!!!!















Uncle J making EP LAUGH and LAUGH!! I think that baby was exhausted!

Uncle D torturing T. Trust me, she was instigating!!

Happy Birthday, Bud

I can't believe you are nine years old today. I still clearly remember how I felt when the doctors told me you were breathing. I remember the first time I held you. You were so tiny. Three pounds, four ounces.








Now you are huge. I can wear your shoes. You come up to my shoulder. The time has gone by so fast.








I remember when your daddy took picture after picture of you in the NICU and eventually you brought you tiny hand up to your eyes, covered them, and cried. It was so cute.








When you were three months old you were finally the size of a "normal" newborn. You were five months old by the time you caught up to Daddy's birth weight - 9lbs 8oz.









On your first Christmas you made an adorable picture in your mini Santa suit.







You always had a smile on your face - even when we were taking embarrasing pictures to later use against you... I know someday this particular one will probably humiliate you... But, just so you know, I think it is adorable.









And that love for driving things around that you have now? You aquired that early in life, too. You were SO GOOD on that cross country trip to California.





See the way your are eyeing that bottle? Your affection for food hasn't changed, either. Boy,I can't KEEP food with you around!! I wonder if it will get worse when you hit your teens....






You always loved being with all of your family, and you still do! You'd probably be totally ok with spending a week at Grandma and Grandpa's house, a week at home, a week at Aunt S and Uncle D's house, a week at home, a week at Aunt B and Uncle K's house, a week at home... If I sent you to this Aunt and Uncle's house, it would probably be a little more cost efficient to leave you there a little longer than a week.





You are a very laid back boy. You are a joy and a blessing to have. I thank God for the miracle of you, for your kind and loving heart and for your heart after God. I love you, Bud. You are by far my favorite son.

I Found This For You

Dearest Brother,

I have been thinking of you lately, and getting quite excited that you will be returning home to the states for a little visit with your exceptionally beautiful wife and sweet *little* baby. I wanted to find something to give you when you got home - after all, it is almost your birthday AND your anniversary. I found something I think you will *love*. Unfortunately, I was unable to pick it up and bring it home. The best I can do is give you pictures. I really hope you like it. We were thinking of you.

All our love,
Your favorite sister, coolest brother-in-law and beloved niece and nephew
xoxo

A Day With Daddy

We had a meeting in the town next to the town that J works in, so rather than spending a TON on gas, we all just got up very very early and went in to work with him. The kids had a blast helping him with little odds and ends and then getting to ride on the equipment when he had to move it from one area to another. Don't they look like they are enjoying themselves?

More Cool Giveaways

Ya know, being a mommy pays off!! (Ok, it pays off whether or not there are giveaways..... but still, these are pretty cool!!)

This one is from Everyday Mommy and it is for a redesign for your page. *hallelujah chorus*

Tips of the Day

Here is what NOT to do:

1) Do not get loaded of your rocker and drive your four wheeler from Town A to Town B 18 miles away.

2) If you DID that, please, upon arriving in Town B, DO NOT steal a 1970 diesel flat bed dulie farm truck with a water tank on the back from the one of the town's largest farmers who also happens to be our neighbor and drive it from Town B to Town C five miles down the road. While you are still loaded of your rocker. It just isn't a good idea. Really, it isn't.

3) Upon arriving at Town C, it would NOT be in your best interest to turn left on to Main St. from Route 36 and cross two oncoming lanes and go around a car (oncoming) and then turn in to Friendly's parking lot. In. front. of. a. cop. It is a REALLY bad idea. Trust me on this one.

4) Assuming you still are not listening to my advice and you have done the above three things, the worst thing you can do at this point, when the cop drives around and shines his spotlight on you is to get BACK in the stolen truck and take off up Route 36. On 36, your maximum speed will ONLY be 60 mph because the truck you stole is, after all, a FARM TRUCK. Used for watering fields. Oh yeah, did I mention that it is not registered, not insured or anything of the sort? Yeah, right now, you are racking up some serious tickets. Remember, you are still LOADED.

5) Leaving Route 36 and going up Route 21 toward Town B is also not the greatest of ideas. That would turn your non-high speed police chase into a VERY SLOW one. You can only go up the hill at a shuddering 10 mph. Who knows, maybe you are trying to get back to your four wheeler.

6) Once you get back into Town B, turning onto Cream Hill Rd probably isn't very smart either. See, it is pavement, but then turns to dirt, and immediately on the change from blacktop to dirt, you will find yourself heading into a 70 degree corner. Chances are very high that you would wipe out 20 feet or more of guardrails and then go over an eight foot embankment into the stream and muck that feeds the reservoir.

7) After landing, please know that if you jump out of the truck and are now fueled by tons of adrenaline as well as alcohol and you start running, all of the police that have been chasing you in their cars would then tackle you and you would wind up face first in the reservoir. I just want you to know this so you can be prepared.....

If you didn't listen and you did all of those things, then, I have to get called out and get out of my warm cozy bed at 2:30 in the morning, and, well, that just doesn't sound like fun to me. When I get there, I'll have to help put a C collar on you and get you strapped to a backboard. I will have to listen to you tell all of us how stupid you were for doing this, mainly because you just got off probation for the very same thing. And because this is not your second offense, it is the third time that some of these very nice police officers are arresting you for this. And because you are supposed to go fishing tomorrow. Personally, I don't think you are going to make that fishing trip, but that is just my opinion. All the way down to the hospital my colleagues and I will have to ask you all sorts of questions, try to keep you awake, and listen while the very nice police officer reads you your rights. So, just keep in mind next time you think this might be a good idea, it isn't. You probably didn't really think this one through that well the first time... or the third... Hopefully I won't see you in a few years when they let you see the light of day....

More Awesome Stuff!

SIL, this may be something you'd like to jump into!! And, for those of us withOUT little babies, you can opt for the credit. YAY! I checked out the maker's site, and she has wonderful little soaps and shampoos and eye pillows and neck pillows and *sigh*... that credit would be so nice....

So - what exactly is a Mei Tai? It is actually is a baby carrier that originated in Asia and is sometimes referred to as an ABC - an Asian Baby Carrier.

I am really starting to like Five Minutes For Mom's Mother's Day Giveaways... wait a minute, what am I talking about?? I liked it the first time!! *crossing my fingers* Pick me! Pick me!! So, if you are a mom and haven't joined in the fun yet, click on this link and sign up!! Or, go to my sidebar and click on the Five Minutes For Mom Mother's Day Giveaway Button. :) Go on, you know you want to.

Fun Mother's Day Giveaways!

Best Buy is partnering with Five Minutes For Mom and giving away an Apple iPod Nano AND chocolate! How awesome is that? (Oh and of course they know we love all things cute, so they made sure to wrap it up just right!)

The facts:

The Apple iPod Nano and Chocolate Gift Set:

• Features a pink or silver 4GB Apple iPod nano, slim enough to fit in mom’s pocket, purse or palm
• Includes a variety of pink-foiled milk chocolate meltaways
• Packaged in a mod polka-dot-patterned box inspired by the prism of iPod nano colors and this spring’s hottest accessory: dots!
• Price: $214.99
• Available in Best Buy stores beginning May 6,2007