Thursday, September 27, 2007

Keep on praying


All your prayer are starting to work! I was so excited, yesterday Dominique asked me to get information on a couple colleges for him! YEAH!!! AND I am taking him to a college fair on Sunday afternoon downtown. There are supposed to be around 150 to 200 colleges set up. I knew God would work on his heart, the work is just beginning, so please keep praying and also pray that God would bring a special mentor into his life who he looks up to and can learn from. All teenagers need a mentor. I am praying for Dominique's to come soon!

New virtue today...

HUMILITY
I found this definition of Humility in a book I was reading...What do you think?
Humility is simply seeing ourselves as we actually are, not higher, not lower. It means being gut-level honest about ourselves--being up front. It means knowing who we are and owning that--and owning our emotions. It means living without hypocrisy.

Proverbs 22:4 True humilty and respect for the Lord lead a man to riches, honor and long life.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

love

Love is not a warm, fuzzy feeling. It is an attitude, a decision. One we make from the heart to place another person and their well being above our own. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13 it tells us all the things that Love is...
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (New International Version)

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails...

Charles Stanley said in his book (A Touch of His Love) and I love this...
"Love is not easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs. It is not irritated by the behavior of others. It refuses to judge, leaving that to God. It does not keep a mental record of offenses. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It meets each day with cheer and a smile. It thinks upon good things and is happy in simple obedience to God."
HMHMHM
Do I model this on a day to day basis? Do I teach this kind of love to my children and those around me?
Charles Stanley sort of answers my fears in one section where he says...
"Measure your love by these attributes. When provoked or tempted review these and think on their brilliance. Let its truth light your path. If you are overwhelmed by the enormity of love, choose one of its features and commit yourself to its obedience. Continually until it is woven into your spirit."
Wow! woven in my spirit....I love that! I don't need to burden myself with my short comings in how I love, show love, or recieve it. I can slowly weave each into my spirit. Then love and all its attributes will be such a part of me that I wont have to wonder if I am doing it right.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

LOVE

I decided to write a series about virtues. Today I chose LOVE.

God's greatest attribute is love. Love describes WHO He is and how He FEELS about us. One of His greatest commands of the new testament is that we Love one another as He loves us. It is through loving Him that we discover how much we are loved By him, and then we are able to pass that love on to others. Love is our soul's greatest need, it is funny how even our health improves when we know we are loved. Love brings peace and security to us. every other virtue has love as its foundation. Because of that I had to begin with love to build a strong foundation.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1John 4:7-12 NIV)

Gramma

I decided to honor my Grandmother today. She is the most amazing woman in the world. She is one of the best cooks I know, even though in the past few years she hasn't spent much time in the kitchen. I enjoy having her over for some kitchen bonding time. She makes a mean gravy and the best green beans you'll ever eat among many other things. I have many special memories of Sunday's at Gramma's house.
Gramma has taught me many things in my life. She lives what she believes. Loves others completely, and unconditionally. Her heart is huge and welcomes everyone openly.
Gramma is beautiful and graceful. She loves Jesus with her whole heart and is a shining example to all the generations that have followed her. Now that she is preparing for the next season of change in her life I wanted to take a moment to honor her for all she has given to me. Most of all she taught me to love in a way that reflects 1 Corinthians 13. I only hope as I travel the many seasons of my life I can be a fraction of the woman of God Gramma has been and continues to be. I love you Gramma!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

roller coaster of emotion lately

FRIDAY~
Had the garage sale open at 8 am had a slow morning. I had several friends stop and visit. But the best visit by far was both a privelege and an honor, even though he had no words to say....Noah Brown came with Mom and Grandma. He looks fantastic! For those of you who don't know...Noah is winning the battle over cancer, he had a brain tumor removed over the summer and has been through all kinds of treatments at Mayo. Thank you Noah for honoring me with a visit, I LOVED seeing you and chatting with your mom!
I recieved a phone call Friday morning...sadness does not even come close to describing the feeling in my heart. My little friend Gabe has been battling neuroblastoma for the past year. The doctors have said they have done all they can do and there are no more treatment options for him....Gabe is home now. His family is trying to live a lifetime of memories with Gabe in the next 4-6 weeks. How do you make that many memories in such a short time? How do you enjoy the time knowing it will soon end? How do you say goodbye to your 6 year old child? with God's grace...Please pray for Gabe and his family...he has a large loving family who are incredible, brave and sad all at the same time....
Scott and Isaiah went to the golf course Friday afternoon....they had a good time in the rain...
Pastor Greg came over with a pickup truck full of wood and brush from his yard for us to burn. How convenient that Scott would be gone so I had to help unload the truck in the rain! Yuck!
Sunburned and exhausted and sore...I fell into bed and found myself unable to sleep AGAIN! How can that be???
SATURDAY~ arrived WAY too early! I opened the sale at 8am and was very frustrated at the nerve of people. Lets just say it is a very good thing that I do not work in the sales industry!! I seriously think someone stole from my sale....I don't think I will even attempt to analyze that one!
Elijah had his buddy Christian over to play all day. Those boys were busy all day long!
Closed the sale around 2:30 and packed everything up. This sale was a smidge better than the one in July. But, clearly I have to find some other way to make money for Isaiah's hospital bills and expenses.
Scott went into town and picked up Papa Murphys Pizza for dinner, I found a new favorite there...cinnamon wheel....YUUMMMM!
Baths, ironed church clothes, studied for my part in childrens church, I was ready for a bath!
Once in the bubbles I realized a couple things: 1. I am way too big for a cozy bubble bath, I need a bigger tub! 2. bubble baths and sunburn are not friends!
I went to bed early!
SUNDAY~ Scott set the alarm for earlier than I wanted and that drives me crazy! Since I am the first to get up and shower for church, then I get all the kids up, dressed and going on breakfast before he is even out of the shower, I think I should get to decide When I get up. Ok that said...church went well this morning. We got home and I cooked a nice Sunday dinner of country fried steak, mashed taters gravy and green beans!
This afternoon I tried to sew my quilt top together...I got all the columns done nicely, then began on the rows....do you know what an "unsew"tool is? You use it to rip out all the seams you messed up. So, I spent a good deal of time unsewing rows, took a break to update here because honestly the thought of sewing all those rows again makes me want to cry!
Isaiah is doing math so he can not do math tomorrow...funny kid!
That is all for now...

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Garage Sale #2

Sometimes the sequel is better than the first edition....Lets all pray this is the case with garage sales too!
Last week I got a call from a lady who was organizing city wide garage sales for Runnells. She wanted to know if I would like to share in the advertising and have one. Since I never got rid of the left overs from the sale that flopped in July, I thought why not it can't hurt. Right? So we set up...Scott and Isaiah and Elijah...worked last night on it...and I this morning.
I was supposed to open at 8 but because of kids and buses and guidance and hearing screenings I didn't get opened until around 10.
I already have had more customers today than in the entire last sale. I have not made quite as much money however....I still have Friday and Saturday.....So Please pray God will give our sale favor.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Mexican food and a manicure

A friend of mine called and wanted (needed) a girls night. So, I decided to try and make it work since the last 3 or 4 times she asked I was unable to go. We met and went to El Azteca for dinner, then to Valley West Mall for a manicure (me) pedicure (her). She said it was all her treat! What a nice surprise, being that money is rather tight around here lately.
I must explain the pedicur thing....several years ago while visiting a very dear friend, she took me to get my first AND LAST pedicure. See, I have square feet...yes I said square...and I have virtually no nail on the baby toe...that said, the lady who did my 1st and last pedicure, laughed, made fun of, and called coworkers over to check out my feel. scott calls them Fred Flinstone feet...that should help with the visual...ever since then, I wont let anyone even see my feet. I wear shoes that completely cover them...:)
last night the lady tried and tried to convince me to sit next to my friend and get a pedicure instead. NO THANKYOU!! Then she tried to get us to get an eyebrow wax. ARE YOU CRAZY?! I was born with these manly eyebrows, so apparently God wanted me to look like this right??/I was not letting her put hot wax on my face! Yes, I am a sissy, and yes, all I had was a manicure!
Thank you friend, for a night out...

quilting

My new friend!!
My practice quilt.

I hung a blanket over the french doors in the dining room and pinned my squares on it so I could decide what design I wanted to do. This way the kids the hubby and the dog will ALL leave it alone. ;)
So.....
I am in the process of checking something off of my life list...
I have always wanted to learn Quilt Making. A few months ago the began to advertise in our church bullitin Stichin' Mission. Learn Quilt making and donate your first quilt to missions....after some fast talking and a little begging I convinced Scott that he could live without me on Monday nihgts for 5 weeks and then I convince Mom that this was also on her life list! This week marked our second class...though our home work for week one was to "make friends with our machines" I never thought that was going to happen! I am happy to report that finallyMonday afternoon just before class we bonded! Hopefully she wont rust from all the tears I shed on her...
Class two....nothing like cramming it all in! OUr home work (if possible) is to have our quilt top done! What??? Fear filled my heart. I almost threw in the thread! But, am happy to report that I have figured out how to cut my sqaures, lay them out, and even did a half way decent job sewing a practice section! Yeah Angela!

Frosting and batter and such.....

Before leaving for the church.
Almost done....

The finished product!

Lets go back in time....to a day far far away, or at least it seems...LOL
FRIDAY

I baked all day long trying to prepare the wedding cake...
SATURDAY
I rose at 6:15 in the morning and started on the cake by 6:30. I wanted to leave by 11:00 in case we had structure problems during transport. But we got a bit of a late start.
498 mints for wedding...check
cake topper...check
tools to fix boo boo's...check
sugar flowers...check
the photo example...check
Joy's mints :) ...check
camera...check
and last but not least...the cake...check!
11:30 we are off! Holy grahmcracker sandwiches! the ride was beyonde difficult. You never realize how bumpy bumps are until you are holding a 3 level wedding cake on your lap!
We got to the church with minimal damage...besides the side that Scott slipped his thumb through...we were in pretty good shape. The grandparents of the Bride were in the hall setting out chocolates YUM!!! They were very sweet and helped me strategically place the flowers. WHEW! done. Besides the fact that the colors on the wedding cake did NOT match the colors on the sheet cakes (ordered from elsewhere) all went well.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Another Birthday Blog

~Philip or Philippus is a personal name, derived from the Greek name "Philippos" (Φίλιππος),meaning "lover of horses", from philo "love" and hippos "horse".[1].Philippos is also an adjective in Greek;Philippotatos[2](Φιλιππότατος,superlative form) and philippeo(φιλιππέω,verb) I love the horses.[3] Philip (and alternative spellings Phillip, Philipp, Philippe, Felip, Felipe, Filip, Filipe, Phil, Phillipe)
Happy 41st birthday big brother!
Okay, so this definition does not really describe my brother so I have come up with something on my own...
P Protector: Growing up (after we got through the crazy fighting stage of life) he was my protector, everywhere I went he was right there for me, taking care of me, watching out for me.
H Hands: My brother can create amazing works of beauty with his hands. It is truly a gift God has given to few.
I Intense: He is intense in his beliefs, passions, life, and loves.
L Loyal: He has always been a loyal friend and brother. No matter what, no matter where, no matter when, you can count on him being there for you!
I Idiorythmic: I like this word...I found it on some obscure web site today and it works...It means self regulating. Which he is, even when we were teenagers, he never had to use an alarm. He decides what time to get up and boom he is up! That amazes me.
P Proud: he is not a prideful person...I am proud of him! He has overcome many obstacles in life. He has been many places and lived many different ways, life has come full circle and he has come home. I am so very proud to call him my brother and my friend!
Happy, Happy Birthday Flip! I love that you have come back home, share dinner with our family every night, and are here spending time watching my monsters grow up!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

misery of a cold

My poor boy, Isaiah has been trying to kick this crazy cold for over a week now. It seems we go in cylces where we think he about has it whipped then he wakes up and is feeling worse than the day before. The stinky thing is that it seems like ever since he had his first surgery he catches everything and then he can't seem to get rid of it. I can't imagine how it will be after this next surgery. He is a funny one though, when he doesn't feel well, he likes to be left completely alone, in bed with his duck blanket (shshshsh don't tell him I told you) and a bajilion pillows. that is easy enough. History channel, check! Duck blanket, check! Pillows, check! juice, check! So I wont hear from him for a couple hours......

Surprise Visitors

Today a good friend of mine called at ehem....6:20 am........no worries I was awake, just lazing around until I had to wake Madison for school.....any way, her baby sitter had called to tell her she would not be taking children today. ARGH! I hate it when that happens! So, yeah for me, I get to have two little visitors today. They are very sweet, and a ton of fun to have around. Tyler is playing army, isn't he cute?!


Tayler is just about sweeter than a bowl of sugar!
Look at her precious little face!
We have had cuddles, stories, tickles, singing and making music, playing farm, army, and Thomas the train. WHEW all that before LUNCH! Sam is in all his glory having playmates for the day! :D

Monday, September 10, 2007

Isaiah



HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAIAH!!!


September 10, 2007~ today is Isaiah's 11th birthday. I can hardly believe he is that old already! Just a little side note, if any one else feels the need to point out that we are 2 years away from teens with him, please save that comment for next years birthday. I am having a hard enough time dealing with the fact that my oldest is a senior!

We greeted Isaiah this morning with a rousing off key version of Happy Birthday (not the zoo version) then he sang to himself :)...I made him pancakes with special sprinkles for his breakfast. Then it was off to school for art where he shared treats with all of his friends.

One of the many perks of home school is that you get your birthday OFF! Yeah for him! He is in all his glory watching the history channel and building Legos, what else is there in life??? no cake for the birthday boy, he is having chocolate fountain and fixings instead. Yummy!

Some random things I love about Isaiah:

1. He still loves to cuddle or sit on my lap.
2. He is a very creative thinker and his mind goes to places I never dreamed of!
3. He is extremely good at strategy type games, he can figure just about any kind of puzzle you hand him. My mind doesn't work that way.
4. Isaiah is one of the most brave kids I have ever known.
5. Patience is something God put in him in great volume when He created him. He can sit and wait ALL DAY long and not get even a little irritable. That is why he is so good at golf.
6. He is a man of few words, what he chooses to say is certain to be important because a lot of thought goes into every word before it is spoken.
7. He loves to play practical jokes on people and has been known to set a trap or two for unsuspecting friends...
8. He loves to watch the history channel and true detective crime shows.
9. I love to see him when something cracks him up, he laughs from deep down in his belly and even slaps his knee...so cute!
10. He loves his siblings, but is especially close with Elijah.
11. He is the happiest person I have ever known, which to some may be a surprise, but you'd have to spend time with him to know what I mean. He enjoys life more completely than anyone.
12. His middle name is William after my Dad, but if he could choose his own name he would change it to Rex!
13. Isaiah loves chocolate more than any other dessert.

That is just a short list of my Isaiah's great qualities.

Happy Happy Birthday my second son! I love you tons!

Sunday, September 9, 2007

I'm Invisible


So, I have been struggling a lot lately with emotional junk. Last week I had some real good discussions with a couple of my TRUE friends. That helped a lot. Then my aunt sent an e-mail with this story in it. I can't tell you how much better I felt after reading this! I am not saying that it was a fix all, but it sure did help adjust my out look. So from this invisible mom to the rest of you, I hope this story hits the right target for you too!


I'm invisible...
It all began to make sense; the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?"
I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?"
I'm a car to order, "Pick me up right around 5:30, please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude -- but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.
She's going ... she's going ... she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there,looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair waspulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe.

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read -- no, devour -- the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals -- we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith thatthe eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand-bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to theworld by the sacrifices of us invisible women.

JOY

JOY~
–noun
1.
the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation: She felt the joy of seeing her son's success.
2.
a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated: Her prose style is a pure joy.
3.
the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.
4.
a state of happiness or felicity. –verb (used without object)
5.
to feel joy; be glad; rejoice
.
–verb (used with object)
6.
Obsolete. to gladden.


So this is for my Fav. cousin Joy! The best baby sitter in the history of the world! I was informed (casually) by Joy that when I posted Amaris's birthday blog, I neglected to mention the fact that Amaris's middle name is JOY after Joy! Other wise known as Joy Anna, Joyful, Joyful Belles, Belles. I think that may be all that I know of. Any way, really, we did call her and ask if she minded if we named Amaris after her in a midlle sort of way ;) Joy #1 is the type of young woman of God I hope my girls grow to be. She lives by her faith and seeks after God in every thing she does. She works hard to make it through school. God has blessed her with a gift for children...we always call her at least a month before she comes home for a visit just so we can schedule time away. Sometimes all we do is go grocery shopping. Joy loves children her heart beats for them and I love that about her. One day she will be the best mom in the world! She already has more funny kid stories than any one I know. Her poor children are never going to get away with anything because other people's children have already tried everything in the book. (mine included!)
Well Joy, I love you and this one is for you!!!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Week ends fly by......

this weekend is a blur!
Friday we celebrated the birthdays with my family....Saturday we celebrated with the Albers side. I am pleased to report that the kids loved the cakes, Amaris had a flower and Sam had a train. Now, Sam thinks he should be getting presents everyday :D
Sunday brought a fever for Elijah. So he and I stayed home from church...:(
Scott Isaiah and my brother all went golfing, apparently Isaiah is dangerous on the course...He hit Philip in the leg with a long drive, and then whizzed a ball past Scott's head narrowly missing him.
Monday Elijah felt better and now Isaiah is not well. I hope this ends with them and goes no further.
my hand is no better, I went back to the doctor Friday thinking it was broken for sure. New x-rays show no fractures, the think it is a nerve thing and would like for me to have a never study....for which I have not the time or money. So I will be sucking it up and dealing with it! Us moms are good at that, aren't we?
We Bar B qued for our dinner last night and pretty much laid low...
So now Tuesday feels like Monday and here we are in our Monday routine a day late....Long weekends can be nice but the after-math? not so nice!
For all my friends out there who start school TODAY....have a GREAT first day of school.