Friday's Feast #4

I've been so caught up in trying to get my office/craft room painted that I almost forgot about...



Appetizer
Who is the easiest person for you to talk to?

Definitely my husband. I also have stimulating conversation with my sister, my mom and my BFF Jess...

Soup
If you could live in any ancient city during the height of the quality of its society and culture, which one would you choose?

Can I go back to bible times? THAT would be cool, though I would try to avoid being stoned to death.

Salad
What is the most exciting event you’ve ever witnessed?

Ummm... Probably the four births of my boys. I've never gotten to be there for anyone else's delivery.

Main Course
If you were a celebrity, what would you do for a publicity stunt?

Driving with a baby on your lap is so last year! I think I would parachute naked into a big pool of pudding (can you tell I'm tired?)

Dessert
What do you consider the ideal age to have a first child?

Well, I was pretty young - only 21 - with Josh, but it's nice now because we will still be young when our kids are grown and out of the house. I guess it worked for me. I'll tell you one thing, though. The first pregnancy at 21 was much less tiring than the last one at 29!

Join the fun at Friday's Feast.

Thursday Thirteen #5

Thirteen Places in which I've lived...

1. Section-Line Rd. - Caledonia, Ohio - This is the house I lived in until I was five. My grandpa had a stroke, my grandma moved into an apartment and we into her house.

2. An ambiguous trailer park - Colstrip, Montana - I like to throw this one in just to be obscure. I was very small and we only lived there for like two months. I vaguely remember the plane ride, but little else.

3. Barkswood Rd. - Marion, Ohio - This is the house of which I spoke in #1. Ah, good old Barkswood Rd. I lived in this house until I left for college at 18. Lots of good memories there. My parents sold it and moved about 10 years ago.

4. Fir Hill - Akron, Ohio - the apartment my sister and I shared in college. We lived there for two years. My favorite memory was the bible study my now-husband and some of our friends and I started. We crammed about 50 or so people into that little one-bedroom apartment!

5. Ellsworth Dr. - Stow, Ohio - Matt lived here and took care of his elderly grandmother before we got married. She passed a few months before our wedding. This was our first home and we lived her for about a year before moving to...

6. Wyandotte Dr. - Huntsville, Alabama - What a cute little house this was; a tiny three bedroom ranch that we rented from a couple in the church where Matt worked. This is the house we lived in when Joshua was born.

7. Wells Rd. - Meridianville, Alabama - again, a brief stint. We actually lived in our pastor's basement for a short period of time. It was actually a good experience because both families had enjoyed each other. Their son, Jonathan, was only five weeks younger than Josh.

8. Thurman Rd. - Huntsville, Alabama - our first apartment. We refer to this one fondly. It was 1100 square feet for only $340 a month! We brought Caleb home from the hospital to this home.

9. Valerie Ln. - Hudson, Ohio - another transition. We had moved back to Ohio and, in the process of looking for a place to live, stayed with Matt's parents for a few months.

10. Harper Rd. - Streetsboro, Ohio - we were actually just talking about his house this other day. It was so tiny and crappy! The yard was incredible but the house left a bit to be desired.

11. Mordred Ln. - Streetsboro, Ohio - we lived in our trailer for about 4 years. It was actually really nice and fit our little family well. I started my piano lesson business out of this home and Josh started school when we lived here. Micah was born, but only three months before we moved to...

12. Deanwood Rd. - Parkville, Maryland - this townhome was the first house we actually owned. We lived there for almost seven years. Thinking of this house is very bittersweet. I home-schooled there for three years, brought Jacob home from the hospital and added Tucker to our family, too. Sadly, it was also where I received the news that my Caleb was gone. Leaving it was hard, but healing at the same time.

13. Here - Parkville, MD - TA DA! Here we are. We moved into this house a little over a year ago. Though it hasn't been without its challenges, I love it here. We've been blessed with a huge yard and room for everything we need to do.


Isn't it cool that I've lived in exactly 13 houses?

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Friday's Feast #3

Appetizer
Say there’s a book written about your life. Who would you want to narrate the audio version?
Ooooo. I'll go with James Spader on this one. I love his voice!

Soup
Take the letters from your favorite kind of nut and write a sentence. (Example: Perhaps every avenue needs understanding today.) Can animals see him eating watermelon?

Salad
If you could go back in time and spend one week in another decade, which decade would you choose? The '80's baby! After all, girls just want to have fun.

Main Course
Name a song that brings back memories for you.
There are so many. I'll go with.... uh, I'll come back to this one.

Dessert
Do you prefer to wash your hands in cold water or warm water?
Warm, almost HOT water. My kids use cold and it makes me batty. I'm certain they're not killing any germs!

Join in the fun at Friday's Feast.

Thursday Thirteen #4

OK. Lots to blog about, stressful week, no time, yada yada yada... I decided to keep my T13 on the lighter side this week.

Thirteen Reality Shows I Enjoy

1. The Amazing Race - this one is hands down my favorite. I would love to be on it someday, though I won't bungee jump or sky dive which may prove to be a problem.

2. So You Think You Can Dance - my summer favorite! Sabra won this year and I'm so thrilled. How cute was she?

3. American Idol - Oh yeah. Talk about the stereotype of reality shows. I have a tendency to favor the third place contestant; Elliot, Melinda. I'd audition, but alas, I'm too old!

4. Project Runway - I admire these folks and their abilities with fabric, feathers, seashells, you name it. I am tempted to say "Bless you," every time Heidi says ""Auf Wiedersehen" to the eliminated contestant. Bravo has other great shows like...

5. Top Design - "See you later, Decorator". Oh, and one more...

6. Shear Genius

7. Fat March - a new one for me. It is interesting to see how well these folks are doing from just walking and eating right.

8. America's Top Model - OK. Tyra is annoying. I don't set the DVR for this one, but if it's on, I'll watch.

9. Celebrity Fit Club - mixing one mentally unstable former-star into every cast is a winning formula.

10. Supernanny - makes me feel a little better about my own kids?

11. Wife Swap - ah. A show based on extremes. Josh always asks me if i would want to be on Wife Swap. I just smile and shake my head.

12. The Pick-up Artist - thanks, Jess, for getting me addicted to this one. It's like a train wreck; I'd love to look away but I just can't.

13. Scott Baio is 45 and Single - I'm totally kidding! This show looks completely stupid. I just couldn't come up with a 13th show!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Friday's Feast #2

Appetizer
Describe your laundry routine. Do you have a certain day when you do it all, or do you just wash whatever you need for the next day?
Well, the way I lined the chores up for the boys is that they empty their hampers and the laundry chute on Saturdays and Wednesdays and I do laundry on Mondays and Thursdays. I ususally do about three loads each of those days. During football seaon, that increases a little!

Soup
In your opinion, what age will you be when you’ll consider yourself to truly be old?
Wow. I really hope to be like my Grandma and never consider myself truly old. She traveled, volunteered in nursing homes and took line dancing into her 80's!

Salad
What is one of your goals? Is it short-term, long-term, or both?
I'm pretty focused on goals with my business right now (private music lessons from my home). I am starting the season with about 26-27ish studetns and would love to have 35 or so by the holidays. It would really help us meet our family budget -- plus I get to work with more wonderful, fun people!

Main Course
Name something unbelievable you’ve seen or read lately.
I guess I'm always unpleasantly surprised by the violent acts I hear of on the news. Unfortuately, Baltimore has the second highest per capita murder rate in the US and we're praying God uses us to do something.

Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how happy are you today?
I'll give it a 8.5. I've got a lot of tasks on my mind and it's a little uncomfortably sticky, but overall, I'm a blessed girl!

Join the fun at Friday's Feast...

Thursday Thirteen #3

It's been a long day, but I can't retire until I share...

Thirteen things that make my kids really cool

I have four great kids -- three on earth and one in heaven. My angel will be ten always and my three down here are 13, eight and six. I love my little men with all my heart and the following are some things that make them extra cool.

1. They're funny. It's fun to watch their sense of humor develop. Joshua is getting rather witty in his old age and Micah comes up with the most random stuff. Jacob just knows everything.

2. They're cute. Matt and I constantly look at each other and shrug, wondering how we produced such adorable children.

3. They're smart. Josh managed an average of all A's and B's in his first year back in public school in four years. Micah's reading improved greatly this year and Jacob got smileys all the way across!

4. They're polite. Yes, we have to coax occasionally, but the manners are there!

5. They are troopers. We drag them all over the east coast doing ministry for five weeks every summer. They sleep on air mattresses and sit through services and eat all kinds of different food. Overall, they don't complain and keep a good attitude (better than me sometimes!)

6. They love music. Obviously, this is a family thing!

7. They're silly. Tickle fights, ear eating, pretending we're puppies... you name it, we can be a pretty silly bunch!

8. They're loving. I get three wonderful good night kisses, three hugs and three "I love you, Mommy"'s every single night. Aren't I a lucky girl?

9. They're creative. Joshua and Micah are really into drawing and they're both good at it. Jacob likes to make things out of other things i.e. cardboard, toilet paper tubes, pipe cleaners, etc.

10. They love Jesus. Joshua's relationship with the Lord has really grown over the last couple of years. They all ask so many great questions and we have some conversations that really make ME think!

11. They help out around the house. Josh is especially good at keeping up with his chores. They all help out though, from sweeping to laundry to taking care of the dog.

12. They like and appreciate the humor of the Muppets. It's important. The Muppets are an acquired taste and my kids get them. Yessssss. Micah walks around the house saying, "Good grief, the comedian's a bear!"

13. I love them. I just do. For every reason and no reason at all.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thrilling

Sarah Jessica Parker is my new hero.


It all started the other night when I was up later than I should have been (as usual) and Amanda Bynes was on Conan. I like Amanda. Joshua and Caleb were just the right age for the Amanda Show on Nickelodeon and the movie Big Fat Liar is a family favorite.

Anyway, Amanda was talking about her new clothing line called "Dear" that will be carried at a store called Steve and Barry's - never heard of it. She was saying that her line was geared at young women -- college student types -- and nothing in the line cost more than $19.95.... well, THAT caught my attention. She went on to say that she was inspired by Sarah Jessica Parker's line "Bitten" that was sold at the same store and aimed at the 30 and over crowd.

That would be me.

I went online and Googled it. Sure enough, SJP's line not only has adorable clothes, but they're ALL $19.95 OR LESS TOO! AHHHHH! I also found out that there is a Steve and Barry's very close to me at Eastpoint Mall -- not a mall I frequent, but close by.

So tonight, I picked up my BFF Jess, we dropped Josh off at football and drove to Eastpoint Mall. I knew ahead of time that I wasn't going to buy anything because money's a little... tight. It's OK, though. Jess needed some things for work and I was more than willing to help her find some stuff. And if I happen to try on a few things in the meantime, so be it.

Well, we were not disappointed in Miss Parker's (OK Mrs. Broderick) clothing. It was so cute, sporty and comfortable and, as promised, everything was extremely affordable. Jess was able to get what she needed for the cost of what she would have paid for one item somewhere else.

Now, because God likes me so much, He gave me a little bonus. As we were on our way back to the fitting rooms, we went by the shoes. Now get this - they have athletic shoes for $14.95!! I'm serious. They are a line by NBA star Stephon Marbury called "Starbury". My big-footed son needs shoes for school and get this -- they had up to size 15 (accomodating his size 14 foot nicely now and for a few minutes after that). Automatically, I thought that Josh probably wouldn't like them and that they wouldn't be acceptable socially in the world of Pine Grove Middle School. SURPRISE! When I mentioned them to him, he had already heard of them, seen them and (bonus) thought they were cool.

Ahhhhh. Life is good. I feel like it's a dream from which I don't want to wake up!

Nothing like saving money (or future money) to make a girl happy!

Friday's Feast #1

I was going to revert back to "Happiness is..." Fridays in August (I may move it to another day), but I just saw this meme on mama pajama's blog and I really liked it. So, for now, I give you my first installment of...



Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of pie?
Oooo. Peach. And I don't find it very often.

Soup
Name something that made you smile this week.
Seeing some of my piano and flute students again

Salad
What do you do to cool off when the weather is hot and humid?
We either visit a friend who has a pool, or visit the aforementioned $3 movie theater!

Main Course
You receive $1,000 in the mail with a letter that says you can only use the money to redecorate one room in your home. Which room do you pick, and what do you buy to spruce it up?
I would probably spend it on my craft room that is still under construction. I would get my big work counter, but lots of storage stuff and get a big TV/DVD player!

Dessert
Fill in the blank: My _________ says __________, but I __________.
My scale says keep going with your diet, but I ate the ice cream last night anyway!

To join in the fun, go to: Friday's Feast.

Thursday Thirteen #2

I know we're still fairly early into August, but my mind is already on school starting and all of the things in store for autumn. With the heat surge lately, it would be easy to be in a complaining mode so I thought I'd list...

Thirteen Things I Like about Summer

1. No socks. If I've never mentioned it before, sock are my nemesis. Seriously, if I were a super hero, Dr. Sock would be my sworn enemy. Especially with kids, socks are the worst. if you do take the time to pair them up from a load of laundry, inevitably there are always about three that don't have mates. They end up in the "sock basket" (I hope I'm not the only person who has one of those!) and stay there until someone becomes desperate. In the summer, it's sandals, baby, or better yet, no shoes at all!

2. Popsicles. You don't have to be six years old to know that popsicles totally rock. Especially the orange ones!

3. Sleeping in. Boy, this one is going to be hard to give up once school resumes. It's so nice to be able to just chill in bed, snuggle with the boys, or better yet, go back to sleep. This one segues nicely to...

4. Staying in your pajamas most or even all of the day. Now, before you decide we're just all a bunch of bums, just let me tell you that this one applies to the boys more than Matt and myself. But if you're not going anywhere that particular day, why the heck not! It's always comical when I tell the boys, "OK, time to get your pajamas... oh. Never mind."

5. Free movies at the $3 theater. We haven't been home enough to take advantage of this one as much as we have in years past, but we're hoping to catch a couple before the end of the month. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, they show a free kid-friendly movie. It's usually one we've already seen, but it's fun all the same and a nice relief from the heat to sit in an air conditioned theater for 90 minutes.

6. My clothesline. There's something about using the clothesline that I really love. As soon as the weather starts to get nice, anything that's not socks, jeans, panties, briefs or towels hangs out in our backyard to be dried by God. The stuff smells so good and I'm saving energy to boot.

7. Open windows. The one perk about not having central air is that we get plenty of fresh air from having the windows open. The birds chirping through in the morning is a nice thing to hear when you wake up. Late spring/early summer this year we were blessed with some really perfect, beautiful days.

8. So You Think You Can Dance. OK. Stop snickering. I really LOVE this show. Last year, I was a die-hard Benji fan. This year my money is on either his sister, Lacey, or Sabra. We'll find out next week...

9. Dinner outside. Our grill gets a workout most of the year, but especially during the summer. We have our patio all set up with tables, a canopy and our nifty mosquito candle torchy thingies. There's nothing like eating steak and potatoes out there, cooked masterfully by my husband.

10. Rita's. I'm not sure how far the Rita's empire spans, but you really need to get your self there. They have frozen custard, Italian ice and, when they are put together, wonderful things called gelatis. Fortunately, the closest Rita's is just down the street and we frequent it whenever possible.

11. Sweet corn on the cob. How did I move into a food theme here? But, seriously... corn on the cob... need I say more?

12. Long days. I can remember when I was a kid my sister and I used to throw the softball back and forth until we couldn't see it anymore. We'd head inside, always surprised to find how late it was. I haven't touched a softball in years, but I still enjoy waking up to sunlight and enjoying it well into the evening.

13. Flip flops. How do they engineer a piece of foam and some plastic to be so comfortable? I have a pair of pink ones that I bought at Wal-mart over two years ago and they are my comfort footwear of choice to walk around New York City (Matt is actually insisting that I retire said pair because they are getting, in his words "nasty." OK. They are a little bit. I bought a new bright green pair this year). Seriously, flip flops are a fantastic invention. My mom still calls them "thongs", which makes my sister and I laugh very hard, of course.

Hope your summer has been happy!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Start spreading the news...

I left our Chain Reaction adventure off somewhere in Massachusetts a few weeks ago. I figure I should add another installment and fill in the blanks.

We drove to NYC (under my superior navigational skills) from Mass on Saturday the 14th. We've been staying at Abounding Grace church on each trip to New York that we've made there for the last five or so years. Being there is honestly like being with family. We have a deep love and respect for Pastors Ricky and Arlene DelRio. Their son, Jeremy, is not only my husband's ministry partner, but one of his closest friends as well.

Abounding Grace has done an outreach called "Jesus Loves You New York" for many years. This year, instead of bringing a Chain Reaction to NYC, we decided to add the efforts of our team to the JLYNY outreaches. They consist of basically throwing a block party at a different park every day. It was a great deal of hard work, but we really enjoyed it. I was so proud of Matt and our interns and the way they put in many long hours and did a lot of challenging tasks.

Fortunately, doing outreach in NY every year always allows us a free day. In years past, we've done the Staten Island Ferry, Central Park, Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building. This particular free day was on what started out to be a very rainy Wednesday. Luckily, the rain went away and we hopped on the subway (which included our first experience with changing trains. We did well, though we almost accidentally ended up in Queens!) and went to the Museum of Natural History. Yes, this is the museum from the movie "Night at the Museum", though we found very few similarities in the appearance. We had a great time and saw about 2/3 of the huge museum before it closed.

We then met up with intern (and nephew!) Zak and his girlfriend, Whitney, who had flown in for a few days, and intern Jesse and his wife, Rachelle (also joining for a visit) for dinner in Times Square. We ate at a great Italian restaurant by the Ed Sullivan Theater where the Late Show with David Letterman is taped.

We jumped back in the next day with more outreach events. We continued through Saturday, which happened to be Micah's 8th birthday! I've always felt a little bad for Micah because his birthday always falls during Chain Reaction, but I realized to turn eight at a park in New York City with a moon bounce, cotton candy, a live band, etc. is not so bad!

A real highlight of Saturday's event was something that happened at the school by the park in which the party was held. Some of the young adults from the church teach at this elementary/middle school and have been able to build good relationships here. That coupled with the fact that Generation Xcel, the ministry's after school program, is located in the housing projects just across the street set the situation up for God to open some cool doors. There are several well-known artists and graffiti artists that are a part of Abounding Grace. They were able to paint some incredible murals on the columns in the school's playground. The messages weren't overtly Christian, but positive all the same.

We hung out for church Sunday and a few extra days to help with some of the post-outreach clean up that needed to be done. On Tuesday, Jeremy took us to the oldest pizza place in the country. It was a yummy way to end our New York adventure this year.

I am trying flickr.com to show you my New York pics. Jeremy uses it a lot on his blog and I thought I'd give it a shot. I like it because you can scroll through and look at individual pictures instead of having to wait through a slide show. Let me know if you like it.



Peace out -- for now anyway...

Shorts

I don't like to wear shorts. There's something about parading my 35-year-old alabaster legs around that is very unappealing to me. I would much prefer capris or even a skirt.

However, the last week or so has been so hot, that I feel I have had no recourse. I only have one pair of shorts that I really like -- a Old Navy jean pair that I got at Plato's Closet a few years ago. So I've been practically living in those for the last several days.

Truth be told, not having central air here at the house is not THAT bad. There are a few weeks out of the year that are pretty nasty, but I think we'll survive. Matt and I both grew up in houses that didn't have A/C and we made it. We have a window unit in the used-to-be-garage/ Matt's office/ our bedroom so we hole up there when we start to melt. As a matter of fact, I'm there right now :-)

So to everyone in Parkville, I apologize for that streak of glowing white you may see passing by. The weather will cool down soon and you life will return to normal.

Two years...

“You can shed tears because he is gone,

or you can smile because he has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that he'll come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all he's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see him,
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember him only that he is gone,
or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what he'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.”

My sweet, little friend, Emily Kopp, had that on her myspace with Cub's picture. I'm not sure where it came from; if it's a lyric to a song or a poem. I just know I liked it.

Yes, today marks two years since the car accident that ended our son, Caleb's, life at the age of ten. It's still a painful fuzz even after so much time and so many events. I have a lot on my heart today so, if you wish to ride along today, hang on.



Is Caleb still ten years old in heaven or has he celebrated the last two birthdays and turned twelve? Does he still like to skateboard, play soccer and draw pictures like he did here? Does he get to hang out with all of our relatives that have already passed on? Did God tell him how many freckles he has on his face? I tried to count them once. Did his teeth ever come in? Were they as crooked as they looked like they were going to be? I know. His earthly body is still here (we were explaining that again today to Jacob at the cemetery). It's just helps to speculate, I suppose.

To those of you that remembered that today was what it is, thank you. It blesses me so much when people remember. It keeps him "alive" in a weird sort of way? Sometimes, I worry that other people forget he was here altogether (though I know they don't) and when other people mention him, it makes me happy that he's still in their mind and heart.

Last night, I sat and listened to a song that I normally avoid. As I did, I pictured him in each stage of his life. It's SO hard to remember sometimes (with any of my children, really). My favorite part, which is the hardest to hear, is the end. I love the way it's worded.

"Weak and wounded sinner,
Lost and left to die,
O, raise your head for Love is passing by

Come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus and live

Now your burden's lifted,
And carried far away,
And precious blood has washed away the stain... so

Sing to Jesus ,
Sing to Jesus ,
Sing to Jesus and live

And like a newborn baby,
Don't be afraid to crawl,
And remember when you walk sometimes we fall... so

Fall on Jesus,
Fall on Jesus,
Fall on Jesus and live

Sometimes the way is lonely,
And steep and filled with pain,
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain... then

Cry to Jesus,
Cry to Jesus,
Cry to Jesus and live

O, and when the love splills over,
And music fills the night,
And when you can't contain you joy inside... then

Dance for Jesus,
Dance for Jesus,
Dance for Jesus and live

And with your final heartbeat,
Kiss the world goodbye,
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side... and

Fly to Jesus,
Fly to Jesus,
Fly to Jesus and live"

When Caleb passed away, someone gave us a copy of L.B. Cowman's daily devotional, "Streams in the Desert". Matt and I have read it together on several occasions. It's almost scary how this book coincides with our lives. Date for date, the words are always timely.

We keep it in the car which might seem strange, but for us it works. The boys and I were waiting in the car to leave for church this morning and I happened to pick it up, realizing that I had never looked at the August 5th reading. I turned to the page. The following is what I found there:

God was "pleased" (I Cor. 1:21) to take my youngest child from this world, under circumstances that caused me severe trials and pain (note - I don't remember reading before that she had lost a child). And as I returned home from the church cemetery, having just laid my little one's body in the grave, I felt a compulsion to preach to my people on the meaning of trials.

I found that the verse "My grace is sufficient for you" was the text of next week's Sunday School lesson, so I chose it as my Master's message to the congregation, as well as His message to me. Yet while trying to write the sermon, I found that in all honesty, I could not say that the words were true in my life. Therefore, I knelt down and asked the Lord to make His grace sufficient for me. While I was pleading in this way, I opened my eyes and saw this exact verse framed and hanging on the wall. My mother had given it to me a few days before, when I was still at the vacation resort where our little child had been taken from us. I had asked someone to hang it on the wall at home during my absence but had not yet noticed its words. Now as I looked up and wiped my eyes, the words met my gaze: "My grace is sufficient for you."

The word is was highlighted in bright green, while the words my and you were painted yet another color. In a moment, a message flashed straight to my soul, coming as a rebuke for having prayed such a prayer as, "Lord, make Your grace sufficient for me." His answer was almost an audible voice that said, "How dare you ask for something that is? I can not make my grace any more sufficient than I have already made it. Get up and believe it, and you will find it to be true in your life."

Life is hard. The bible says it will be. But we serve a God who has sufficient grace. Do I always feel so much at peace with this fact? No. I still have nights that I scream out in my head to God about my loss. Whether I chose to live in His grace or not, it's still there be offered.

I love and miss my son and can't wait until I get to hold him again. Until then, I want to seek God out for my purpose on this grain of sand and will really try to live in that state of offered grace.

Blessings and love.

My first Thursday Thirteen!

Well, as promised (it is August, you know), it's time for me to finally start doing the Thursday Thirteen as inspired by my friend, Ami.



Thirteen Things about Katy 1. I am not an animal lover in particular. I always felt like I SHOULD be because my sister is, but I tend to only love an animal if it's mine. 2. I am a "people person". Though I like time alone now and then, I really prefer to be around others and tend to function better that way. 3. I would really like to be on a game show before I die. 4. I am VERY good at French braiding hair, though I have no girls. Weird. I know. A friend's mom taught me at the campground we frequented when I was in middle school and it worked for me. I make them nice and tight and they stay in for awhile. 5. I stink at most sports. The only one I'm even remotely good at is foosball (table soccer) which may not even be a real sport. 6. I have no wisdom teeth. I was born without them, as was my sister. Jealous? 7. I am so freaked out by bats that I can't even walk by their display at the zoo. I've gotten a little better, but I'm still not a fan. 8. This may be over-sharing, but I have a tendency to pee my pants as a result of laughing too hard. It's happened on several occasions. I don't want to miss out on what's going on enough to go use the bathroom. That's just sad. 9. I am a board game freak! I've had to put myself on restriction from buying any more. I wish I had more time and people around more often who liked to play. Cranium anyone? 10. Creating things is very life-giving for me. I love a lot of crafts especially crochet, sewing and scrap booking. 11. I am not fond of my middle name (sorry Mom). It's Kay and kind of boring. Plus, it only sounds right if you use my full name, Kathryn, which no one does. I have kind of an obsession with names, especially long interesting ones. Truthfully, I've always wanted to change it to Elizabeth. 12. I've realized that I'm a bit of a picky eater, though I used to not consider myself that. There are a lot of foods that normal people eat that I simply don't care for. Some include iced tea, watermelon, pickles, mustard, green peppers and cottage cheese. 13. I like to sing and play the piano. You might have already known this! If you're a blogging friend, please join me with your own Thursday Thirteens!! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)


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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Yesterday...

Fifteen years ago yesterday, I married the man who continues to be my best friend. He's smart, funny, resilient, sweet, thoughtful and cute!

I never realized that day how much we would be required to go through together as a couple, but God is true to His word; He would never give us more than we could handle without His help. Together, Matt and I have driven seven different cars, moved about six times, been through four labors and deliveries, bought two houses, had three pets (not counting numerous carnival goldfish) and kissed probably a million times (yea!).

We've been though highs like getting something for which we've prayed, moving to an area we love, releasing a CD and celebrating birthdays and other special days. We've been through lows ranging from disappointments and financial distress to burying our son.

When we started dating, we decided to take life one day at a time and, though we (especially I) get tempted to rush ahead in our minds sometimes, this thought still seems to work.

We're excited and thankful about the first 15 years together and look forward to what's ahead...