I am not as strong as I hoped I was; I sobbed like a baby! Great blessings to share however even in the mist!

My first share: Our 'Ms. Jewel' turned 6 yesterday and though it really ages me in my eyes, I am so very, very proud for her. We won't be celebrating her birthday until next Saturday, where she will be sharing it like she has the past 3 years with her younger brother, 'Mr. Happy'. Why? My husband and I chose to do it this way for two reasons 1) 'Jewel's' birthday is Aug. 28TH and 'Mr. Happy's' birthday is just two weeks behind her on Sept. 12Th. Since there is only a 2 week time gap it makes thing cheaper on our budget to throw one big party rather than 2 separate ones and 2) Family and friends, when asked, prefer to attend one party instead of 'Jewel's' one weekend and then 'Mr. Happy's' just two weekends later. So all around for everyone it's works out great. Now of course when our kids are older and decide they'd prefer to have their own separate party we will honor this, especially when it comes time for our daughter to have sleep over parties and whatnot. Another thing is when we do share their parties, like this coming Saturday on Sept. 5Th, we still allow them to pick their own birthday cakes, and we sing to them as a family/friend group individually to make it special just for them. Plus for 'Jewel's' birthday for her Kindergarten class on this last Friday I dropped off cupcakes for her entire classroom including her teacher, a birthday card, and a bright red rose, which she just loves flowers, so we was super thrilled about that. Now if only The Weather Channel will show that there aren't any Tropical Storms or Hurricanes headed our way for this next Saturday we'll be all set for their party as it's a swimming pool party. We hired 3 lifeguards to be present and even if it does rain on the 2 hours during the party we will have to pay the $150 regardless for the simple fact that the lifeguards were scheduled in for that time frame. So please pray for us a simple prayer that nothing 'rains on our parade' this next Saturday; we have over 40 guests attending and I don't know where we'd put everyone if we got rained out!! ;(

My second share: Today I got my DBA (Doing Business As) certificate from the Country Clerks Office showing I'm doing business as 'Christian Creations Photography'!! This certificate lasts for 10 years.

This means that this name was and has never been taken or used which is good because I didn't have another name picked out. It also secures my business name so that if another one tries to apply this name it will show in their database that it is taken so they won't be able to utilize it.


I kept it open with the name 'creations' in it because in time I hope to learn how to use image and photo's I take for key chains or mugs; the possibilities are endless. I am so ecstatic!! I still have to get my business license which shouldn't be too much longer either. I've learned so much in the past few weeks about photography and even that someone can't copy any images I take from Cd's or anything else unless I give them written permission as they are my sole copyright. I'm learning how to add a watermark to any Cd's I give out unless a person wants to buy them in which I can opt to remove the watermark. I also am currently working on building a website, which is still not complete, and considering paying a professional to build it for me depending on the costs. As anyone know who reads our blog that the previous blog post shows that our A/C went out and has cost us out of pocket the unexpected expense of $3,000 (originally it was only supposed to be $2,000). Can anyone say 'OUCH!'?? Still we are trying to keep our chins up and even though I'm hot natured as it is and my weight is right where it should be I'm still very irritable, though I am working on this. So it's not an overweight thing; it's just my nature of being very hot naturally; my daughter is the same way. So hopefully by having my own business to take photo's and learn more along the way, will help me earn some income for our little family. I'm required now to get release forms from anyone who I take photo's of though, which is a little tricky, but so far everyone has been very good about except just a few. But I have enough offers without the few to still put together a good portfolio. And everyone knows that with any new business you sometimes have to give in order to receive. So I offered some friend that if they allow me to use their photo's on my site portfolio than in return I would give them a free CD or printed photo's of the images I took of them in high resolution. They were all very grateful and though some haven't been it's just been a learning lesson and I will no longer waste my time taking free photo's and giving out free Cd's or Photo's for nothing when they aren't willing to return the favor.


Third News: Tonight is the first night we just got our A/C back up and running in full swing though it will take several hours for it to cool the house down since it's starting off brand new! We still might have a hot night but at least tomorrow the house will be cooled down for certain we are hoping. Praise God literally. Thank you Lord. The repair man, who also works with my husband stated that we also need to get our room air vents replaced which would run around $1500, this is so that all the rooms stay in the same temperature, because as of now my husband and my room and our daughters room gets the coldest whereas our sons room seems to stay on the hotter side. We told him we can't fix this now, but in time will work on saving for it. We are just so super happy to have our central A/C on. And a BIG thank you to Tabitha who loaned us her window A/c unit and Carline for allowing us to bum at her home for a few hours last week, and Mary for offering her home to us and Mr. and Mrs. Lopez as well for times of need. This has really meant a lot to us as it's been 2 whole weeks without A/C that we've gone.


Fourth News: August has been a horrible month to say the least. First our A/C goes out entirely. Then today of all days as I was walking the A/C repair man out to his truck when either my 3 or 5 6 year old kids turned the bath water on and closed the bathroom door. I didn't even notice until all of a sudden I glanced up from reading some info. on a business license and saw what looked like a flood of water coming through the hallway. As I looked closely that was exactly what it was! I flew as fast as I could slipping' and a falling' through the mess to the bathroom where the water was gushing out over the bathtub.



I quickly turned the water off, then pulled the drain, and as fast as I could grabbed as many towels that I could to 'catch' the water from going onto the carpet. Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough since the water was already about 2 inches high and heading into the living room onto the floor rug, but I was able, with the help of my kids, to do some damage control by rolling up the rug before it got more water logged. We spent about 2 good hours cleaning and slipping on the hard tile this huge water mess, but when it was all said and done I praised God that it wasn't worse, except for the fact that my 3 yr. old son thought it was funny to pee in the already puddled hallway! Boys will be boys! And later I did notice the furniture TV stand that holds our 52" HD LCD TV legs was a little warped. I prayed hard that my husband would not be terribly angry when I shared the news once he got home tonight, and he wasn't, so another praise to God!!!

Well so far I believe this is it that I have to share. Wish me luck as I continue to work out my business deals. Like I said I have a lot of offers and when I make my photo site public I will share in the exciting news. I have about 5 different families that are fine with me using them and their kids photo's to add to my website which I'm so thrilled about and in return I will be hoping to give them free of charge great photo's, which shows that when God closes one door He open others. God is good!

The only battle I'm beginning to deal with now is that after all the stress and headache over so many things I began to feel ill tonight. I don't know if it's due to the heat or the stress over so much more than I mentioned here, or what, but I'm praying it goes quickly. Right when things are beginning to get back to normal after a very long time, the last thing I need is to not be well enough to take care of the family. I still praise God in the mist of the storm!

How many hidden blessings do you see??

How many wonderful blessings can you count in the picture below?

When our A/C went out after it was struck by lightning last week by a fast moving, but strong thunderstorm we all felt the tension thickening throughout each and every loooong hour in our small family. Living in Houston, it's a well known must that you have an air conditioner as the temperatures often reach up over the 100's, and add that with the humidity and the heat index can sometimes score as high or maybe higher than 110 degrees. And as most Houstonians know the end of July and August are the hottest months for the entire year, so to say that our little munchkins (and us bigger munchkins too) were on the grumpy side would probably be an understatement! The kids fought, my husband and I tiptoed around one another so we wouldn't say the 'wrong things' to prevent defenses from going up. All forms of affection and comfort such as touching, cuddling, 60% of hugs, and small pecks for kisses were all put to a full halt because just the thought of someone's body coming in contact with another was unbearable! Even though we've suffered living without A/C a few summers back for awhile, we were quickly reminded again this past week about how blessed we truly are even when this precious commodity isn't functioning properly, if at all.

So to make 'light' of the mood I snapped a photograph of what our living room looks like during the bed time hours this past week and then the next day I showed it to the kids to help me point out all of the blessings from this picture. How many did you count from the image above? Well here below is what my 3 and 5 year old took notice of, which I was very proud of them for because they exceeding my expectations.

Now in case you aren't able to read the things I typed out that they pointed out I've listed them for you here:

• The little bubble over 'Ms. Jewels' head reads "Sweet Dreams" so they slept well enough.
• Circulating floor fan.
• Air Mattress for kids.
• Fresh Water.
• Ice pack (shown above little Jesse's head), which means fridge and freezer are still operating.
• Hanging Tarp, to keep the cold air in the living room and the hot air out from the kitchen.
• Couch for mommy to sleep on.
• Roof over every one's head.
• Portable A/C Unit to get some cool air in the house.
• Dinosaur toy that kids were playing with earlier.
• Purse which might mean there's some cash in it....maybe....

Now these are just the things my kids took notice to, but as an adult I know so many other blessings we should give thanks to God for even w/o looking at the photo.

1. We aren't living in the hottest parts of the world; nor the coldest, most freezing parts either.
2. We have our health, just look at 'Mr. Happy's' chunky thighs. :D
3. We have clothes on our backs.
4. We had the money in our savings to buy that portable A/C unit, which was a pretty penny actually.
5. The thunderstorm and lightning did not shut off everything in our home; we still have full use of the kitchen, bathrooms, lights, fans, and luxuries like the Internet, television, stereo, and water for the kids to play with in the backyard for a bit.
6. Wonderful family and friends who have generously allowed us to bum over at their houses for a few hours here and there just to get some much needed relief from the heat,
7. A dear friend, who we were just blessed about this today, offered to allow us to borrow her window A/C unit until we get our house central A/C fixed. This will help us out tremendously to have two temporary A/C units indoors!
8. This photo does not show how messy the house was a lot early in the day. Praise God!
9. And if all these wonderful blessings weren't enough I showed the kids another photo I took from the opposite side of the living room showing that we are most blessed to have each other; our family.

Tonight when we got the air mattress out again to sleep on and set up the living quarters to be our temporary cooled off bedroom we all prayed together thanking God for reminding us of our hidden blessings. In all honesty taking a photo like this has truly helped myself and my kids realize just by looking at it how very much we do have and are blessed with. Quite sincerely we aren't suffering at all; the fact of the matter is we are just a little uncomfortable, it's as simple as that. And we all know that a little uncomfortableness is good for the soul from time to time just to keep us all in 'check' of how much we've really got it 'made', so why worry? (a little poem I stumbled across online)

Worry never climbed a hill, Worry never paid a bill, Worry never dried a tear, Worry never calmed a fear. Worry never fixed a heel, Worry never cooked a meal, Worry never composed a song to sing, Actually, worry never did a worthwhile thing. To God be the glory, forever!

1 Thessalonians 5:18, Matthew 6:34

KIDS SAY THE FUNNIEST, DARNDEST THINGS YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE!!!!!

I just HAD to share this; it was soo, soo, funny and at the same time very intelligent on his part. Talk about the Lord giving me new laughter! Here's what happened: My 3, soon to be 4 year old son, just got out from taking his bedtime bath and I took him out with a towel around him and told him to stand on the bathroom rug while I grabbed some of his underwear from our laundry room. It took me a second because I had to go through the clothes in the dryer and when I finally found some I came back to the bathroom and he wasn't there. I checked his bedroom, my daughters bedroom, (all the while calling his name out loud for him). Then I asked Hannah 'Hannah, have you seen your brother?' She said he went that way and pointed towards the hallway where I just was. So then I decide to look in mine and my husbands bedroom, still yelling out his name. It was then that I noticed our bed blankets move a tad so I lifted them and there he was playing with his pee-pee's. I asked him 'Sweetie, what are you doing in here? Mommy told you to wait in the bathroom.' He looked very upset while 'holding himself' and said 'Mommy I'm trying to get the ball.' I was confused and said 'What ball? Where?' He held his 'nuts' in his hand and said 'See, there's a ball stuck in it and I'm trying to get it out. Will you help me get the ball out mommy???' with a very upset and pouty, troubled face. I chuckled lightly but not too much to make him feel bad and said 'Honey, that's not a ball in there, it's part of your penis, your pee pee. It's supposed to stay there because that's how that part of your body is made; that part of your privates is called your Testicles and they are very important to keep. (The whole time I was thinking 'I wish my husband were here to give this talk.') Jesse still stuck on 'But mommy there's a ball stuck in it! Are you going to help me get it OUT?!' I tried my best to explain to him what I could but than told him that if he wants to Daddy can talk with him about this later when he comes home, to which he quickly said 'Yes, I'll tell Dadddy to get the ball, he'll know how. You're a girl Mommy so you don't know!' Anyway, I just had to share this, it was so funny and unexpected at the time. Well really, when is there a time someone expects their son to help them get the ball out of their nuts??? Once when our Hannah was 2 years old and we just brought little Jesse home from the NICU she said her own funny thing too. I was changing his diaper and she looked at his privates and said shocked as could be 'Mommy, baby Jesse has a VERY BIG Gina (Vagina)!' Oh, the things kids say! So what's your funny story???? I'd love to hear!

Prepackaged school supplies VS paying separately????

I just wanted to share an experiment my two friends did on this subject. They both have kids in the same grade (Elementary 3rd grade), and they both attend the same school so they each had the exact same school supply list for what they needed. So what they did was one of them paid for all of the listed supplies individually at Walmart, and what they couldn't find from Walmart they bought from Target. The other friend simply purchased the prepackaged school supply list from the school their kids will be attending. The end result??? The friend who paid for all the items separately by going down the school supply list and spending over an hour searching and scanning up and down the isle and through the crowds of other moms trying to dig through all the mess only ended up saving a mere $3 when it was all said and done. But here's the thing this may not be the case for every grade level and school, but for the elementary age grades it was pretty much a very similar lists that the stores had out for the parents to shop off of. Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of stores like Walgreens and some Targets will sale the prepackaged school supplies but they were more expensive than going to the school and buying it there. I'm not sure about your Walmart but ours where we live said they aren't making prepackaged supplies any longer. When we went to Walgreens they had a lot but started at $39 all the way up to $54, but they were out of the Kindergarten pack which is what I needed. It turns out it's a good thing they were out because I called Hannah's elementary school and they said they sale them as well but were almost out. They only had about 4 more left yesterday when I went and they only carged $33, no tax, even though our tax free weekend didn't start until just today. I had no idea the schools even sold them....duh at me!! So anywho just though I'd give everyone a heads up in case you are panicing the way I was about everything (since Hannah's school starts on Tuesday). If you're pressed for time than just call your childs school to see if they still have some available to purchase and you might actually be saving a few bucks. I never would have even believed this if my two friends didn't test this out, but I wanted to share this with all you mom because if you're like me I felt for sure the prepackaged packs were going to be too expensive but if I'm only paying an average of $3 more and beating the mad crowds and messy isles it's worth it to me. And we bought ours yesterday and it is such a relief to know Hannah has everything she needs and at a cheaper price by going through the school than Walgreens, which is what I was about to do until I learned they ran out of her grade. Again, I'm not saying this will be the case for all States, schools, or grade levels, but for my friends who did this 'test' it proved to be worth it (for me at least) to just buy prepackaged from the schools if your school sales them. However, if you have left over supplies from last year than you may be able to reuse a lot of supplies and not need to buy the whole pacakage after all, which would save you money all the more. . Also, just thought I'd also let everyone know that if you can't find either the prepackaged anywhere but you want to go that route, here is a site called 'School Pack' . You email them your entire school supply list and they send you a free quote on what the cost would be. I've never tried them but I'm going to send my list (even though I already have our supplies) just to see how they compare. I don't have a 'good' feeling they'd be any cheaper, but actually more pricey but you never know....they state that their 'generic' supply kit for Kindergarten is $15.84, which is actually $7 cheaper than what I paid through the school. I'll let you know what they quote me when I hear back from them. :D ~Cecilia So what's your experience in this? Have you saved more going one way or the other and if so by how much and was it worth it for you?

Anxious!

I'm so excited. It's 2:00 AM and I'm going to try to go to bed now and STAY there no matter what without (at least I'm gonna try) taking any Tylenol PM. And then tomorrow I'm excited to share more pics I took of our newest member of the family, Gabriel David!!!

Confessions from a supposedly 'got it together' wife and mother.

Yes, I have a problem; one that is big that I can't seem to pull the reigns in on. Some may think it's not a problem in the least but in all seriousness it really is; for me at least anyhow.

My problem? I can never seem to sleep! Except when I finally do become over exhausted, usually around 3-4Am and then I can't seem to muster up the energy to wake up! Doesn't make much sense hearing it like that; I mean I can't seem to sleep but when I do I can't seem to wake up.

This has been going on for probably most of my life, eve as a pre-teen I would stay up for hours on the telephone with friends and during sleep overs I was always the last one to fall asleep, leaving me alone and afraid as a young girl.

As far back as I can recall I know my own mother used to give my sister and I some small amounts of Adult NyQuil (at least that's what we thought it was) and some other OTC med because she wanted us to fall asleep faster so she could have time to herself. I don't recall how long this went on but I know it was for a good while at least.

When I first began to live on my own I noticed I wasn't able to fall asleep naturally and would begin using OTC med like NyQuil, Unisome Sleep Gels, an occasionally drink of alcohol (which I don't like to drink but I've used it solely to get some sleep), prescribed Ambien, prescribed Soma-which is a common muscle relaxer but has a street name of 'coma Soma' because if taken too much of it this drug will seriously put you to sleep for 24 hours straight almost (some have even died from overdoses of this med.), prescribed Trazodone, and other medications which I can't seem to think of the names right now. My worse experience with any of these medications was the Soma. I did not know at the time that it had been known to be an addictive medication but for me that's what it became. It worked every time to get me into a nice, deep slumber especially on the nights when my husband wasn't home and I was afraid to sleep alone in the house. The problem was that it was sooo very strong that waking up in the morning are nearly impossible, the drug has to wear off you can't just 'shake' it off.

I've stopped taking the prescribed medications but I still tend to take about 4-5 Tylenol PM's every night just to get my body to rest and sleep and even then sometimes this doesn't work. My personal opinion is that my body has been on so many sleep aids every since my childhood, that it simply doesn't respond to them any longer for the most part. I'm not sure exactly, this is just a guess. I just know that not getting to sleep at a decent hour is NOT healthy or wise, especially when you're a mother and wife with a lot of responsibilities.

I have talked about this with my doctor who ran blood work and other kinds of tests, then put me on a depression medication which made me feel almost (but not quite) suicidal so I immediately flushed the entire bottle down the toilet. Since then I've been seeing a psychiatrist, which I've never in my life seen before (I've only seen counselors/therapists for the way I was raised by my parents; it's on my testimony tab.) Well this woman has me now on 5 different medications, 2 'uppers' for the day, and 2 'downers' for bedtime. One of the 'downers' is Trazodone, which literally knocks me off my feet because it's more of a sedative than just as sleep aid. I would even go so far to say it acts as a tranquilizer (though I've never had one, I've just seen them used on animals and people) because it nearly makes me want to literally fall to the ground after having taken it after just about 15 or 20 minutes and if I haven't hit the ground I wobble horribly, knocking and running into furniture and other things, and know I need to get to the bed fast or I'll be knocked out on my butt cold in the middle of the floor.

The thing is that when I've seen this psychiatrist woman I have suspicions that she is abusing some type of medications since she certainly has easy access to them. She has been late to appointments on two separate time by at least 45 minutes and comes in appearing sluggish and drunk like. I have another appointment to see my regular doctor next week to discuss everything with her but I'm horribly afraid she'll put me on something like last time when she gave the drug that made me feel suicidal, which was years ago. I'm also afraid because I don't like feeling like a experimental drug rat, taking this, that, and every other pill to see how I'll react to it. Yet I know this is part of the mystery with such things as depression, insomnia, loss of energy or lack of interest in things, etc. that what works for one patient won't always work for another, which is why the doctors and psychiatrists prescribe many various and multiple drugs hoping it will work, but for me thus far it has not.

My biggest issue now is that I feel upset with God. My God is a BIG GOD and I know He is the Ultimate Healer but I don't understand when I've called out to him numerous times why He does not give me the answers for what I need to cure my insomnia/other symptoms. Or maybe He is but I'm not clearly hearing Him.

And now here it is 3:36AM and I'm still typing away because I can't sleep. I've already taken 4 Tylenol PM's tonight and really don't want to take another because it's simply not good for my liver, which already has high levels of liver enzymes to begin with. I don't know what my problem is as to why I can never sleep even after taking so many medication, both prescribed and OTC. I used to believe it was because it was the quiet time of the day when the house was settled and the family was in bed so I can do whatever it is I needed or wanted to get done, but I know this must not be the case. Sometimes I wonder if it's my mind; that it simply will not shut off and just over thinks about everything to the point it won't allow me to rest!

What started me to confess this publicly? Two things. 1) I God-incidentally came across a website today titled 'Confessions of a sleeping-pill Junkie' and 2) I know that one of the biggest ways to begin helping one self is to come clean and admit your short comings, whether big or small. Just admitting and owning up to them holds me accountable to myself and many other friends, including and most importantly God, who I've already cried out to regarding all of this many of times. I know He hears me and I trust that He will help me as I still try to work through this. But who would ever have thought someone could have a problem with falling asleep and trying all different kinds of means just to get that? I certainly did not; that is until recently. And when I researched it online there are a ton more of other folks who share in this same unhealthy sleep (or lack of) pattern.

So, that is my confession; I can't sleep of all things, but it's not healthy and I know this first hand because even if I don't take anything to help me sleep, if I don't get any sleep than how am I going to take care of my kids the following day?

So I have a new confession page on my site now. Just click on the 'Confession' Image on the sidebar (It's the image of a coffee cup), and share whatever confession you've been holding onto but haven't known how to share yet. There will not be any judgement against you, just like I know my dear friend who read this will not hold judgement against me. We all have our shortcomings and what's great about them is that we can learn from these and change our ways to be a better person. I'm going to copy and paste this posting confession over to that page as well to help get the ball rolling and you can leave your comments there if you'd like...or not.

Thank you all for listening to me without criticism. It is now 5:47 AM and I am going to try to get at least 3 hours of sleep in hopes the kids won't wake until a little after 9AM this morning.

God Bless and good night!

I heart faces "Bubbles" photo challenge!

This weeks I ♥ Faces challenge theme is "Bubbles". It was a hard pick for me to choose as I had several photo's since my kids LOVE bubbles so much. But I went with this one of my 3 year old son playing with them in our backyard. This was how we spent our 4th of July this year; you can't tell but his shirt has an American flag that reads 'Celebrate'. Normally he has a hard time blowing bubbles but with this new bigger wand type of thing that we found it was fairly easy for him and I love how he caught this one on the tip of his wand! He had so much fun and laughter! If you haven't visited I ♥ Faces to join in on their weekly contest they are a lot of fun and you get to view many other's entries and make new friends. I hope you decide to visit and join in on some of this fun soon. Just click on either of the links above of the image button below to check out their site! And by all means, have FUN!!!

Honored with a blog award!

Vicki, blog author of Frugal Mom Knows Best, has honored me with the 'Uplifting Blog Award' today.

The Uplifting Blogger Award is given to person who uplift the being of the readers of thier blogs. There's no specific instructions for this award. You can give this to anyone you think is a real uplifting blogger.

There are so many sites to choose from but I decided on these liste below. So I am blessing the following bloggers with this award, who have been an encouragement and help when I've (and others) been in time of need.

Lauryn Abbot blog author of Seed Thoughts

Angela Parsley at Refresh My Soul Jennifer Lee at Getting Down With Jesus Jill at Forever 'n Ever 'n Always Alice author of From The Heart

Sarah Dawn at Splashin' Glory

Jill at Blog Tips by Sneaky Momma

Jennifer at More Than Just Adam's Rib

And a new blog I discovered today: Lauren blog author of Walking By Faith

Please ladies accept this award and use it to encourage other blogs or websites that inspire and life up your world!

It's been awhile but I've been 'tagged' again.

A new friend of mine, Vicki blog author of Frugal Mom Knows Best left me a comment on my blog today that she tagged with with a meme. Vicki is a nice woman from what I read about her she enjoy childrens writing, being a mom, and sharing money saving tips. Okay, so the rules are really very simple: copy the questions and write your answer. Then, send this Meme to four others, but don't forget to let them know by leaving them a comment or an email message so they can play along. (I actually love that the rules don't state to send this out to 10 or 15 bloggers because that is verrrry time consuming, so for it just being four friends, this makes it more enjoyable for me. Thank you Vicki for that and also thank you for choosing me for this tag/meme. I am honored to play along.) Here are my famous answers: 1. Who, to you, is the hottest Movie Star? Personally I've always had a bad crush on Brad Pitt. 2. Apart from your house and car, what is the most expensive item you have ever bought?: Well, I didn't actually buy the expensive item, but my husband did for me and it was my Nikon D90 with 2 lenses, a 16 GB SDHC Memory Card, Camera packpack to keep everything safe and in snug slots and a 3 (or was it 4) year extended warranty on the sucker. It cost him close to 2 grand for all of it, but not quite that amount. 3. What is your most treasured memory? Have my first child. I know that sounds like I should say having both my kids, but having the first was....'a first', so I treasure it so much, also because she was a preemie weighing at 1 lb. 9 oz. so this made it an even more wonderful treasured miracle of God which I thank Him for to this day. 4. What was the best gift you ever received as a child?: Hmmmm, have to think about this a bit...tick, tock....(I'll come back to this one.) Okay, now I know clearly....I was into dolls BIG TIME, so when I got Baby Alive I was so thrilled I could hardly contain myself! 5. What is the biggest mistake you have ever made? When I've allowed others who don't share my same faith (trying to be polite to them) try to convert me to their beliefs, even after I was firm, yet nice about how I wouldn't change my faith in God, Jesus, or The Holy Spirit for anything. 6. Give four words to describe yourself: Silly, spontaneous, polite, caring Christian (does that last one count as five words I wonder?). 7. What was your highlight or low light of 2008? Honestly for me I'd have to admit that for 2008 I had more of a low light; some death in the family, other bad news within the family, got hit with some depression, my mother rejecting me yet for the (lost count) time again. However, I have overcome a lot of these and always praise God for seeing me through the bad times, which have only made me a stronger person. 8. Favorite Film? Oh, there's so many to choose from, so for now I'm going to have to go with just what first popped in my brain: "Angels and Demons", the sequel to "The Da Vinci Code". 9. Tell me one thing I don’t know about you. There's a lot to this question, but in case you didn't read my last 'tag' I had lasik eye surgery several years back. Best thing I did at the time, but now I'm paying the price since I have severe chronic dry eye and those Restasis eye drops are very pricey even with insurance, especially since the optometrist said I'd need to take them either very long term or for life. UGH! But again, things can be worse, so I still feel I am very blessed. 10. If you were a comic book/strip or cartoon character, who would you be? The Classic version of Winnie the Pooh. I loved him as a child and still do as an adult for his sweet, often wise bear, yet also very silly in his ways who is stuffed with fluff. The four bloggers I tag this Meme to are those that I think (hope) will play along: My new friend Bridgette at A girl and her dog! McMamma at her awesome site McMama's Musings My dear friend Marci at Life Refrained And last but certaintly not least Edie, the wonderful woman who created my blog site which I get so many compliments on. She is at Rich Gifts Graphics and Blog Designs. (Again, sorry Edie about my 3 year old using my cell today and accidentally calling you! :D ) SO NOW WON'T YOU ALL COME ON DOWN BECAUSE YOU FOUR ARE THE NEXT CONTESTANTS ON "THE PRICE IS RIGHT!" this tag meme. Can't wait to read your answers!!!

Urgent Prayer Request

Our dear friend Dan called our family today sharing the sudden news that his brothers wife who is 5 months pregnant has very high blood pressure 150/110. From what we understand his brothers wife may be induced and it's just way too early for being 5 months along. Please pray and start a pray chain for their family concerns. The father's name is Charles and his pregnant wife is named Terra. Pray that the doctors keep a constant monitor on Terra and her little baby girl and that God's protection keeps her safe and in her womb longer so that she has a fighting chance. Of course it touches a special place in my heart since my first baby was 3 months early and I was on hospital bed rest for what seemed like forever! My heart goest out to Charles and Terra, Dan, and the entire family. When things like this happen it really makes you realize what is important in life and what's not so important. Please pray with me if you will: "Precious Lord, Please calm the fears and concerns from Charles, Dan, and Terra and do what only You can do more than any other doctor around; heal this baby girl by bringing Terra's blood pressure down quickly so that she is not delivered at such an early date; way to early. Jesus, I plead your blood over this little baby in Terra's womb, that your hands of protection are surrounding every being of her tiny body. I believe you are the Almighty and can do such a thing. Help Charles and Terra stay calm, even though I know it's not easy, so that her blood pressure and anxiety doesn't increase. I ask that you give Terra peace so that her stress level is low to reduce her blood pressure and that the Doctors provide the best medications to help bring it back down. I also pray for Charles, his close brother Dan, their parents, and entire family so that they are a strong support for the circumstances they are currently faced with. We trust you Lord and know you above all else can do what nobody else can! In Jesus Name I pray. Amen."

Any suggestions on helping my daughter overcome her shyness???

My almost 6 year old goes in-and-out of being shy and I'm sure she may get some of this from me as I am also timid at times and not very aggressive. So I've been forcing my own self not to be shy when she is around by striking up conversations with other moms at church or at cheer practice, but it doesn't seem to be helping. She started Upward Cheerleading three weeks ago and there are just 6, maybe 7, kindergarten cheerleaders in the squad. They are simple cheers from my stand point but from hers I can see they are a little difficult. Last week I actually video'd them in practice so when we were home all week she would be able to use the video as a guide to know the cheer better (The first week when I didn't video it none of us hardly remembered the cheer or moves that go with it.) I find that I am getting frustrated with her because even just with it being her and I in our living room she won't yell even when I tell her too. It's almost like she's embarrassed or something. I try to give her positive feedback but it's not working. The biggest thing the cheer coaches want is for the kids to be LOUD, and even though I know she can be (trust me) in cheer practice she freezes up. (It's hard to hear any of the kids in this video but believe it or not they were raising their voices. You can mainly hear the little hispanic girl in the front row with super long hair.) Here is Jewel in squad practice and she is the hispanic one in the back row wearing the purple cheer uniform next to the little girl wearing yellow. (You may have to pause the right sidebar playlist to hear this video clip.) She does some of the moves good but is basically just 'mouthing' the words to the cheer. Any suggesstions to encourage her to be loud or even just somewhat loudER? Any ideas would be so appreciated!

Sunday Mishaps!

I'll start this post off by announcing that it's my fault we missed Sunday School this morning at church! My fault, my fault, my fault! I should have known better even when I heard that quiet voice telling me to wait before getting in the shower, leaving my two kids alone to eat their morning waffles with maple syrup still on the table, but I didn't listen. I came out of the shower asking a quick holler to my children if they had finished eating their breakfast and all I heard were chuckles. Immediately that chuckle sprung me to my toes in the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about. I'll be honest; I lost my cool. I didn't spank them or call out negative names against them because after all like I said it was my own fault and I should have known better. However, this did not mean that they too are not old enough to know it was wrong to play with the syrup and rub it in their hair amongst other things. The biggest saving grace was that the bottle of syrup was at it's lowest anyway (practically gone) so the mess was somewhat minimal but still on their bodies, my sons skin and hair to be more exact. I did show my frustration with a few shouts and then took the remainder of their waffles and tossed them in the trash. This, to them, didn't seem to affect them terribly as they had both already eaten the majority of their food. I quickly wiped down my son and placed him in some nice dress shorts and shirt and got out my daughters clothing for her to dress herself. After wiping my son down and preparing to do his hair I realized that he didn't need too much gel in it as the maple syrup acted in it's place, almost better. I simply combed it back some so that he appeared the way he does in the photo on the left side bar here. The one where he is posed in his Christmas suit. We did miss Sunday school but were all right on time for Sunday morning service, which I was pleased about. Though my mind was still a little rattled over the morning chaos I tried my best to worship and glorify God for the many blessings He's given me. And after all, a 3 and 5 year old playing in some maple syrup wasn't really that bad; not when I can compare it to other things which could have occurred but didn't; things could have been ten times worse and I praised the Lord this morning when He revealed this to me. However the kids still did get punished by being told they would be both taking a nap after they eat their lunch when church was over. This seemed to serve them both well as neither of them can't stand taking nap alone in their bedrooms. This will also serve as time for me to regroup and spend some much needed quiet time with the Lord. God only knows between yesterdays post and this mornings post of my heartrate climbing, I desperately need to feel His peace! Blessings to you this Sunday!