bits 'n pieces

Worship

Some of you may check out as soon as I use the word worship in a title and that is OK, this post is mainly written to serve as a reminder to myself.  I just read an article that I had to read in order to prepare for my children's ministry meeting tomorrow night.  Several things in the article really hit home and I just wanted to jot it down while it was fresh in my mind.  You can read the entire article on your own if you so desire.  This article was written from a pastor's perspective to other pastors, so parts of it won't apply to most of us.  At least in terms of how pastor's are to lead their members towards true worship.  However, it really applies to my life in terms of how I live it and what I perceive worship to be.  I have always thought of worship as worship music and I just love worship music (for those of you who don't know me well, music has always been a big part of my life).  I love to get lost in singing to God.  But I must admit that I don't often think of every aspect of my life as being worship to God.  I have heard that definition many times before, but I guess I have never really taken it to heart.  I know that I am guilty of leaving God in the places where I want Him to be, places where it is convenient for me to have Him around, instead of in EVERY aspect of my life.  I don't think that I am a bad person at work or home or anywhere else, but I know that I do not do ALL things for God's glory.  In the article, Rick Warren uses Col 3:23 from The Message to describe what true worship is.  Here is a copy of the paragraph where I think he explains it best:  This is the secret to a lifestyle of worship – doing everything as if I was doing it for Jesus. The Message paraphrase says, “Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering.” Work becomes worship when you dedicate it to God and perform it with an awareness of his presence.
I guess my prayer today is that I be more aware of God's presence in every little thing I do and that I might do it to glorify Him.  When I am open and honest, I know that God will use me to carry out His perfect plan for my life. 

Dirty Face

I don't have much time for a long post today, but I told you I would post some pics of Kennedy's dirt filled face.  So, here they are...

I did find out that black dirt is not as bad as beach/play sand.  You might think that the play sand is cleaner, but it is much worse coming out in diapers.  Play sand is like sandpaper and I didn't even notice the black dirt at all.  Just an interesting tid bit.  :)

I did it! I did it!

Yep, I really did it.  I am certainly not taking credit for any creativity here, in fact, I am not 100% sure who I should give credit to, but  here is my very first layout.  It's not finished, I still have a few little things I want to play with, but I just wanted to show you that I actually finished my very first LO.  I had a ton of help from my big sis - she's the greatest! 

So, I feel really great about doing a scrapbook page.  This is my little pat on the back. :)

I was home this afternoon because Kennedy had a fever so she got sent home from daycare.  Anyway, no signs of serious illness so I am just figuring that she is getting her molars.  She is being really clingy and whiney so it seems to fit the teething theory.  But it was nap time for both girls when I got home so I could surf the web a little and play around with digi scrappin' stuff.  Fun, but a little overwhelming at times.  :)

Well, it's getting late and I am not a night owl so I better get to bed.  Tonight will make this two nights in a row that I have been up way later than normal (normal = 9:30 in bed).  I will have to catch up on my sleep this weekend out at the boat.  Have a great weekend!

Not sure what to call this one (hmmmm)

Not much to post about today, but I had some free time so I thought I would just starting typing away.  Last night I had to take a picture of the girls because they were just making a mess of themselves (haven't downloaded them yet so I can't post them).  I wasn't planning on it until I realized that Kennedy had found a spot in our yard with lots of really nice black dirt.  I probably wouldn't have run in to get my camera if she was just playing with it in her hands, but she decided that she was going to EAT the black dirt.  It was too cute - she had it all around her mouth and would even suck her fingers to get it all off her hands.  I am sure that most people find that completely disgusting, I on the other hand find it kinda funny and even cute.  I have the philosophy that a little dirt and germs never hurt anyone, in fact, it probably makes us stronger.  Another reason I find it kinda funny is that a couple years ago, when Kylie was about the same age, we had our boat out at a Marina which had it's own little beach and Kylie would just shovel the sand into her mouth and eat it.  It doesn't make for very nice diapers, but I don't think it really harmed her and it was not worth the fight trying to make her stop.  I have very strong-willed girls, so I need to choose my battles carefully.  Besides, it was only a phase.  Kylie had no interest in eating the dirt and hasn't eaten beach sand since 2 summers ago at the beach. 

I just remembered that I also wanted to post about the church I attended on Sunday.  I didn't go to our normal church on Sunday because my nephew was being dedicated.  I went to my sisters church with both girls and most of my extended family.  First, I want to remind you that Dan was sick and therefore I was by myself with 2 girls (makes for a lot of work).  Second, we never take our kids into church with us because we have a wonderful children's program at our church and I have found that my kids are no good at sitting still and being quiet.  Now, I realize that my kids may not be any good at that because they have never had to do so.   However, since my babies were teeny tiny, they have always been vocal.  And I figure that if I have to constantly tell my kids to be quiet, or sit still, or feed them snacks, or get them toys, or whatever is necessary to not disrupt the other people around me, by the time the service is over, I have not learned a single thing and those around me probably haven't either.  So, if I am not going to be able to hear God speaking to me then why even bother getting myself and 2 girls ready for church.  Now that you know where I am coming from, I can tell you that it was against my better judgment to take both girls in to the service.  But, we were late and there wasn't anyone at the registration booth anymore so I didn't know where to go or what to do with them.  So, I took them in to church and it didn't take but 2 minutes for me to realize it was a mistake.  My stress level started to soar.  And to make matters worse, there was a young guy with down syndrome sitting in front of me who kept turning around and giving me the "disgusted" look every time Kylie or Kennedy made a noise.  I realized that he was willing and able to do what everyone else around me were wishing they could do, but they just politely smiled as if they thought it was cute.  So, I finally decided enough was enough and I brought Kylie to her appropriate room and then shortly after that I took Kennedy to her appropriate room too.  Third and finally, the point I wanted to get to is this. . . When I finally made it back to the service, I missed a good portion of the sermon.  The part that I did catch didn't really hit home with me, so I didn't feel too bad about missing it.  But after the sermon, they had worship and communion.  I just LOVE worship.  The final song we sang was Great is Thy Faithfulness and for some reason it just hit me hard.  I started to cry (which isn't all that abnormal for me because I almost always meet God when I am worshiping).  I guess it was mostly because every time I hear that song I think of my maternal grandfather.  He had a great voice and I loved to listen to him sing the old hymns.  Sometimes when I sing the harmony I can just picture myself singing with Grandpa (I think that we would make a great duet).  I don't know that I ever sang with him before, but when I hear those songs I start to think about what it will be like to sing with Grandpa in Heaven.  So many things to look forward to - sometimes I find myself thinking that it would be so much easier for Jesus to come back right now.  I know where I am going and I am pretty confident that those I love are going there too, so there really isn't much to be afraid of. 

WOW.  For not having much to say before I started typing this post, I sure did end up rambling on.  I wanted to ask if any of you have ever had one of those moments when you just felt God's presence?  Have you or do you ever wish that Jesus would just come sooner because life can get to be soooo hard?  I am not implying that you would want to die (as in suicidal), but you know that when Jesus returns life will be glorious and perfect - no struggles.  Just some food for thought and a means to open up communication. 

I am going to hang out with Shawny & Jill tonight.  I think that Jill & I are going to get a FREE digital scrapbooking lesson from one of the greatest out there.  I know that this is a shameless plug for Auntie Pea (aka Shawny to me), but I figure it couldn't hurt to praise her a little every now and then.  You never know, I might just get another free lesson from her.  *wink*wink*

Happy Father's Day

This is probably such a "typical" post on a special day like today, but I guess I don't care.  I want to wish all those men who are fathers and those that are about to become fathers a very blessed day.  I hope you know that a family truly is not complete without a father - whether it be by blood or by adoption.  What an awesome burden you carry by being a father - you are the closest example that we have on earth to show us what our God is like (our heavenly Father).  That is my general wish to all fathers who read this. 

On a personal level, I want to highlight the special dads in my life:

First, my dad.  He is probably the gentlest and most patient man I know.  His love for his kids (all 5 of us) is amazing.  And he's gotta be one of the best Grampy's on the planet.  He will be the first to admit that he is not the perfect example of our heavenly father, but I think that his humility shows me just how great he is.  He has so many great qualities that the imperfections are barely even visible.  So, today I want to honor my dad by letting him know that I think he is awesome!

Second, my husband.  We have two beautiful little girls that adore their daddy so much.  I don't think that is true of all girls and their daddy's, so I think that is pretty cool.  He used to tease me that both of my girls when they were infants were momma's girls.  Now I get to tease him that Kylie is for sure a daddy's girl and Kennedy is becoming more of a daddy's girl too.  I hope he realizes that I only tease him because I think that it is so awesome that my girls are so enamored with their dad.  I am so happy to have a husband that loves his kids and would do anything for them (now and forever). 

As a special father's day gift I took Dan to Michigan International Speedway for the Craftsman Truck Race.  But before you all think that I am the greatest wife ever (*wink*wink), I want you to know that I had to pay absolutely NOTHING for the event and I like racing as much as he does.  Thru my work, I was invited by my salesperson at Con-Way freight to be one of the guests at their sponsored event.  Boy did we feel like major VIP'ers.  We took a bus down there, got a tour of the pits, were fed lunch, met the driver (Jack Sprague), watched the race, got back on the bus and were fed on the way back.  And of course, I completely forgot my camera.  And let me tell you how ticked I was about that - we were in the pits right next to the trucks and there were even drivers down there talking to people.  And then when we went to get souveneirs, we saw Kyle Petty just walking around.  I was so shocked that he was walking towards me to get on his little golf cart that I didn't even think to have him sign anything.  How crazy is that?!  I was within 2 feet of him and he even had a sharpie in his hand.  Not that I am a huge fan of his or anything, but he does have celebrity status.  We had a great day at MIS but it was long and very hot.  And now Dan has been sleeping all day because he is so sick.  What a horrible way to feel on Father's Day.  I did manage to take a picture today of all the stuff we were given for free from Con-Way to show that we were there and that we even looked like VIP's walking around (the lanyard, hats, bags, 1/64 scale truck, the whole enchilada). 

Finally, to my father-in-law and my step-father-in-law.  I hope both of you have a wonderful father's day.  You have both become a very special part of my life and have made me feel like one of your own. 

Now, I better get back to my work since the kiddos are taking naps and that is the only time I get anything done.  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Some Pics of the kiddos

The kids are fast asleep after a wonderful b-day party for Eva.  We had great food, a pinata, and strawberry shortcake.  I didn't take the camera because it was at home so that I could download pictures and post them tonight.  It's OK that it was at home because Kylie had very messy hair after a fun day at Shawnda's and Kennedy has a swollen eye (I think from a mosquito bite last night).  The kiddos didn't look their cutest, but I probably should have had my camera to show you a pic of Kennedy's swollen eye. She looks like she was punched in the eye, except it isn't black-n-blue.  The mosquito's are pretty bad in our neck of the woods - they seem to leave larger battle wounds on my kiddos.  I guess it's the price we pay for living in the woods. 

Anyway, I said I would post some pics and I probably won't have time to do so before Sunday evening, so here they are.  My photos are not the greatest quality (photography is not one of my talents) and I am not into digital scrapbooking (yet) so I had to improvise by doing the only thing I know how to do.  I am sure that my big sis will be embarassed by my cheesy file, but it may prompt her to work with me sooner rather than later.  :)    I know that she is busy so this isn't a hint or anything, I just want everyone to know that she has nothing to do with this next layout!  Here goes nothing. . .

It's time for me to go to bed now - have a wonderful weekend!

No Excuses

I know that I am new to the bloggin world, but I have found the following site to be very useful as I acquire more and more blogs that I like to read/follow.  If you haven't heard of this free service, I promise you are going to love it.  Check out Bloglines.  This site allows you to create a list of your favorite blogs and then it will let you know if one of them has posted something new.  This site will save you a ton of time, because you only have to check one site out in order to find out if anyone in your list has posted something new.   In fact, you don't even have to go to their blog to read the new post - it's right there for you!  I am absolutely loving this site. 

Now to the meat of my post.  One of my favorite shows on TV is Supernanny.  I think that Jo is just awesome - she is a to-the-point, no-nonsense woman.  I like watching this show because it usually makes me feel a little bit better about my parenting skills, but it also gives me some great ideas and helpful hints to raising my kids.  I feel pretty fortunate to have been raised in a loving home so I know that I have had great role models in parenting.  Anyway, this past Monday night the show was about the Bowersock family.  The mom on this episode was very angry and aggressive towards her children (not just once in a while, but all the time).  The dad, was a juvenile correction officer by day and by night he treated his kids the same as he did the kids at the correction facility.  The dad wasn't home very much so I could understand the mom's frustration level, but on the other hand, who could blame the dad for not wanting to be around the kids when they are always naughty and the mom is always yelling at or hitting them.  At some level I found myself relating with this family.  I don't think that I yell as much or spank/hit at much as this family did, but I can relate to the feeling of anger and frustration with my kids when they disobey or cop and attitude with me.  I am not anti-spanking (I find myself doing it every once in a while), but I know that there are better & more productive ways to handle most discipline issues.  One of the strongest statements made on that show came from a conversation between the parents & Jo at their initial sit-down meeting.  The mom was saying that she didn't know any better way to handle her children than to yell and hit (which apparently was how she was raised).  And then came the profound statement.  Jo said that the mom's excuse of not knowing any better ways to discipline was not a good enough excuse.  I started to think about how often we use that excuse in life.  Not just with parenting, but with almost every aspect of our life.  We use it with relationships, the law, morality, and our faith.  After watching that show and hearing those words from Jo, I realized that I need to start living life without excuses.  All too often I use the excuse that I am a product of my parents or my up-bringing or that's how God created me.  It is true that God has created us with very unique characteristics and sometimes they can be flaws, but he never intended for us to use any part of our "make-up" to hurt others, ourselves, or him.  Not knowing any better is never a good enough excuse to do harm to ourselves or others.  God has given us all the tools necessary to learn how to be better followers.  He even sent his own son to live as an example for us and then to die on the cross for us to give us eternal salvation. How awesome is that?!  When I reflect on that, I realize that there could never be a good enough excuse.  I want to live my life without excuses (in my home, my work, my play and every other area). 

This got a lot longer than I expected and I wasn't thinking that it would lead down the faith path, but I guess that is the way God works sometimes.  I also took some pics of the kiddos playing in the yard the other night, but I haven't had a chance to download them yet.  We are very busy the rest of the week and weekend so hopefully I will get a chance in the next few days to post some pics.  Not that you care what we got goin' on, but here is my list for the rest of the week:

**Tonight we have a b-day party for my niece Eva (she's turning 2)
**Friday night we are having friends out to the boat for a cookout
**Saturday we are going to the Craftsman Truck race at MIS (free)
**Sunday is my newest nephew's dedication and it's Father's Day

That is our crazy schedule for this weekend.  It is all fun stuff so I am really looking forward to the craziness.  And I am sure that I will have lots of great pics to post at the beginning of next week.  I hope you all have a great weekend and hopefully I will get to post something before next week.

{deep thought ahead}

Last night I was doing laundry and my mind started going off into totally random thoughts. . .

The first thought I had was about my self image.  Right now I feel pretty crummy about myself (my clothes don't fit right, I don't care for my wardrobe, etc).  I don't think that I am really ugly or anything, but I just wish that I could be something that I am not.  I am 5'3" on a really good day and after two kids my body is not what it used to be (not that it was all that before).  I know that it takes hard work and dedication to get that body back, but I am just overwhelmed with everything else on my to-do list.  In order to work out, I would need to sacrifice something else.  Whether that be sleep, husband, kids, work, or church - something's gotta give.   I guess my problem is that I would rather have an imperfect figure than give up the other loves of my life.  So, that leaves me with the greater issue of how to be content with the way I look.  I realize that it is a mind set and it is probably harder for me to change my mind than it is to change my body.  So, if you have any ideas about how to deal with poor self image, I would love to hear 'em.  However, I am not a fan of quick fixes because they tend to be short lived so don't bother telling me about any "miracle" cure you might have. 

The second thought was even deeper.  I started looking at my life and reviewing the events in my life.  I went back to high school and after because I don't remember much of my childhood.  (Of course as my mind wandered, I also started thinking about why I couldn't remember most of my childhood, but I think that will have to be for another post)  Anyway, until recently, my life has been pretty storybook.  No major issues, just small issues with family, boyfriends, friends, husband, & kiddos. Nothing that ever really shook my core (all the things I have come to believe about people & life).  I was thinking last night that I have lived a very sheltered life.  Things have just been easy for me (for the most part).  Until recently.  God decided that things needed to be spiced up a little in my life and he had to take some drastic measures to get me to realize that faith is more than a belief system - it's a life style.  I have been challenged spiritually more in the last 6-7 months than I have my entire life.  I have lived the last 29 years of life without major complications and struggles and my faith was evidence of that.  Sure, I had faith, but it was pretty much just a belief system not something I really lived out or experienced.  I think God knew that I needed a good push/challenge to really get me movin'.  And he sure did come up with a clever way to shake things up a little bit for me.  So many things have happened in the last 6 months for me that I want to remember them because God's plan is always so fascinating.  One key thing I want to remember is that God prepared the way for the challenges he had in store for me.  He planned a sermon series at church that would prepare me and provided incredible relationships that would walk with me thru the struggles.  No matter how difficult life can get, God's plan is always perfect and he is so good to prepare us for the things that will challenge us.  I am going to leave with that thought because this post is already too long, but I am sure that I will touch on some of the more specific things in the near future.  I am  writing these thoughts as a way to journal about my journey.  I hope to be able to look back on this period of my life and see why God had me walk thru this valley (he always has a purpose). 

If you are still here, thanks for listening to my ramblings.  Have a great day!

A beautiful weekend

What a great weekend!  The weather was perfect and I got to do what I love to do.  Because the weather was so nice, we went out to the boat and spent some time out there with the girls.  I didn't take very many pictures, but I did get one of me and the girls in the pool at the marina.  The girls just loved being in the pool even though it was a little chilly. 

They also took great naps on the boat.  Kylie got to sleep in the "big bed" so she thought she was pretty cool and fell asleep very quickly.  Kennedy got to sleep on the fold out bed which was a little bit trickier since she had only slept in a crib before.  Daddy finally got her to lay down and fall asleep and she too took a pretty long nap.  And of course, while the girls were sleeping, I was able to clean up the boat a little bit.  I don't have any pictures of the boat, but I will try to get them next time I am out there.  It's kinda tough to take pictures while trying to play goalie and keep the kiddos safe on the boat (they like to look over the edge which scares their mom & dad a lot). 

On Sunday we went to my sister-in-law's work to get our teeth cleaned.  Kylie is 3 now so she needed to get her teeth cleaned for the first time.  I figured she would do better for her aunt Patsy than she would for a stranger.  And she did awesome!  She got to wear some really cool sunglasses too.  Not that she needed them to calm her because she could hardly wait for her turn (mom went first).  Here is a picture of her getting ready to have her teeth cleaned.  She has her usual "cheesy" smile!

That was our weekend - full but fun.  Today I went back out to the boat with my mother-in-law so the girls could go swimming.  I need to figure out a way to get on and off the boat with both of them so that I don't always need someone's help.  Then maybe we can spend Sunday nights out on the boat and spend the whole day at the marina since Monday is my day off.  I figure we have to get our money's worth since it ain't cheap.  Hope you all had a great weekend and thanks for hanging in there with my lengthy post. 

Now Open

Welcome to my new blog!

I am quite surprised that I have finally decided to start a blog. It seems like everyone I know has a blog. Eventually I will have a cool list on the side that you can check out all the blogs that I visit (they are mostly family members). I guess I am giving into societal peer pressure, which is odd for me because I am not someone who really cares about being "trendy".

Now that you are here, I guess I will just tell you some of the reasons I have decided to start my own blog. I am not someone who likes to journal, but I feel that this could be a cool way to jot down the "bits 'n pieces" of my life. I think that the computer is the greatest thing since sliced bread so blogging just seems to be a great way to journal without having to use a pen and paper. I do my grocery lists by computer and on-line so why wouldn't I attempt journaling on-line. I am not a very out-going person but I do feel that I am a pretty open person so I am really not concerned about my personal thoughts being public.

Another reason I wanted to start a blog was so that I can post some pics of my family & kiddos. I think that it would be a nice way to keep some of our distant family members up to speed with the haps of our little family. I would also love to be able to do some digital scrappin' like my sisters do, but I am not sure I am ready for that yet. I am not at all artsy and I hardly even take pics of my kiddos so it will be a big step for me. My big sister said that it is so easy and she is ready to get me "hooked" so who knows, maybe the blogging world is just the beginning of great things to come.

The final reason I wanted to start a blog is to journal my spiritual walk. So many things have happened in my life recently that have caused me to really focus on where I am at spiritually and where I am going. God has grown me in so many ways and I just want to jot those things down so that I can look back at God's faithfulness in my life.

Thank you for reading my lengthy first post. I hope to be able to customize my little blog very soon. Maybe I can get my big sister to help me with a cute little banner for the top.