November 2, 2010

My Mom

Tonight I wanna write about my mom: Debra Jean Israel 
Man she was a one of a kind!
She was born in 1955 in Eastern Oregon to her parents, my grandma and grandpa. She has a sister and two brothers that were born over the next 15 years. As a teenager her parents separated and later divorced.  My mom meet my dad after she graduated high school and they got married. They lived on ranches in Idaho and Wyoming and my mom had a love of the ranch life. She never got to stay in one place long because my dad was always on the move. So when she got pregnant with me they settled down in the area where she grew up.  They had their fair share of problems. My dad was a drinker...
I remember my mom always fighting for us kids and sticking up for us when our dad was saying things that no child should hear. There was a lot of mental abuse at his hands. Eventually she realized things couldn't stay the same and she started seeking out God. She found a church in our town and refused to keep moving. We moved SO MANY times...I stopped making friends....but this was different. We stayed for a year or 2 and we started going to youth group and Sunday church and all the outings they offered. It was GREAT! I had never met nicer people and they were fun! Church camp outs were the best! Good times! Singing food and fires! So any way my mom was baptized at the first camp out we went to in the river that ran through the camp ground. It was so pretty! Clear water you could see to the bottoms and SO COLD! After that things changed...it was so neat to see her attitude change. She was more patient with us kids and really tried to get my dad involved in our church. He wanted no part of it. He pretended for a little bit but he really liked to party and drink. So one night he came home and scared us kids real bad. We were in our camper(where we slept) and we heard him pull up and walk to the door and he was talking to himself. He was so beyond drunk he was outta his mind and we knew something but didn't understand. So he goes inside and a few minutes later hear him yelling. We go in and being the oldest decide I will step between my mom and him so he'll stop yelling at her. He raises his hand as if he's going to hit me and my brother and sister start to scream and cry.  My mom steps in and we all hide behind her and he is still screaming at us about some none scene. My mom loads us into the car and we go to the pastor's house and they take us in for the night. As we are leaving he is yelling about burning the house down and killing all our animals before we get back. The next day my mom decides this is no life for her kids and we move closer to her family again. She protected us at any cost. 
During my life my mom never stopped praying for me. Even when I was addicted to meth for 10 years. She kept on and never gave up! I will forever be thankful for that. My mom dies in 2006 from complications of breast cancer and I will always have a piece of me missing. She was such a selfless person! Probably the  most UNselfish person I have ever known...She will forever be missed by my family as well my brother's family and my sister's family.
She loved Jesus, she was funny with a sarcastic scene of humor and was blunt, was NOT afraid to say it how it was but with love and humility, she was not perfect but was trying to be the best person that Christ wanted her to be. She loved her grandkids and was a good teacher to them, my son still remembers a LOT about her, and cries occasionally because he misses her. Those who knew her and loved her still miss her everyday. She was the best mom for me and I'm really happy she got to see my hubby and I clean and sober :)

October 26, 2010

Very Cool Site

This is the Vintage Pearl...Check out this neat HAND STAMPED wearable art

October 24, 2010

Pastor Appreciation Sunday

Today was the service for our Pastor Appreciation Week
 and it was OUT of this world heavenly! 
As the youth pastor began to speak about the legacy that was left by his wife's (my friend Beka's) great-grandmother it got me thinking...
What kind of person do I want to be and what kind of legacy do I want to leave?
He spoke of this amazing woman who didn't have a lot of money but was SO loving that she kept investing her time and prayers and love into people. All because of Jesus.
All because of His love.
People remember her in that way...
a giver of the Creators love...
It was so touching and made me think..
it challenges me to my very core...
to grow in His word...
to keep on loving people because you never know what God is doing in them...
to remember where I came from so I may help others to the cross...
and that brings me to the pastors of our church...
ALL of them
love and encourage 
they challenge us to know God more...
I am so grateful that the Lord brought us all together and that they are leaving that legacy of love behind them. 
I am certain that we are where we are for a reason 
not just a season. 
If you know a pastor this week take time to thank them.
Happy Pastor Appreciation Week!

October 8, 2010

Stay at Home Mom

Have I said how much I love being a stay at home mom? Maybe I have but here are my freshest reasons from this season in my life.

  1. Seeing my girl grow daily.
  2. Teaching her things and watching that 'Ah Ha!' moment in her eyes
  3. For the first time in our marriage (11 years) I am the one staying home! I LOVE IT!!!
  4. Never missing a new stage.
  5. The satisfaction of doing 'mommy' things for my family
  6. Being home when my older kids get home.
This is a good season of life and I do feel really blessed that I can stay home because it didn't always used to be this way.

October 7, 2010

Teething

This post is about my baby teething.

Alright so for the last week my 16 month old has been teething and it has been worse than any other time. I think because she is getting all 4 molars at one and also maybe her eye teeth. Oi!!!

Oh I try teething tablets and ibuprofen ...
they work for a minute...
Then the fussy, crying, tossing , turning baby returns...
She doesn't sleep well,
she gets upset with things...
like "YUCK!" bugs that come in the house and die...
Not too much makes her happy right now...

I CAN"T WAIT TILL MY HAPPY GIRL COMES BACK!!!!!

P.S. about the bugs: Our house is full of them! I sweep and vacuum 3 times a day or we are walking on them! Yup...walking on them...GROSS! 

I also can't wait for the first FREEZE to KILL them!





A quick snap shot of my sweetie enjoying an outing we had this week to the pumpkin patch with our friends. A really blessed day!
She was happy outside playing in the sand!

October 1, 2010

I am a follower of Christ. I will never say or think that He was not sent to save us from sin. Recently I have not been reading the Word enough or praying enough and I went to a worship service at my  church and the message REALLY spoke to my heart, like saying " You need to hear this..." That message was for me. It probably was for others there too, but my heart was being PULLED on. I haven't been reading my Bible faithfully or praying daily. My walk has grown stagnant. How did this happen? I never thought it would! HA! Let me tell you when life comes fast and hard if you don't choose to take the time to  focus on your walk it can slip away. You know it wasn't like I said "oh I am not a follower of Jesus anymore" or stopped believing in His power and love. If people said things like "Please pray for me or so-n-so..." I did. I said a little prayer for them and through out my day I would pray but I didn't set SPECIAL time aside for Him. Over time I could feel things change in me and it took a special message to call me back into His presence.I   feel like this is a new season in my life. I wanna be the light in my home so when my kids get older they can look back and say, "Ya my mom did read her Bible daily and she set aside special time to pray." I WANT to be that influence in their life. I still love the Lord  and am learning for Him to be the person He wants me to be.

September 23, 2010

Dreams

  • I have dreams of going to my kids' weddings and welcoming their spouse into our family
  • I dream of owning our home home someday
  • I dream of what Heaven will be like
  • I dream of seeing my mom again
  • I dream of riding horses again
  • I dream of being the person the Lord wants me to be
  • I dream of going on vacation to fun, exotic AND family friendly places
  • I dream of doing creative things to bring extra income into my family
  • I dream of French Country Chic design and big open kitchens for entertaining 
I dreamed of my kids attending a Christian school and  they do...
NEVER let go of your dreams!
What do you dream of?

September 18, 2010

Visitors!

So we have family coming to visit....When?
Tomorrow!

We got a call today saying "we will see ya in 24 hours"
Yipee!

So we will be visiting with some family from our home state and it is much 
appreciated!
Also a FAST clean of the 'ole house!!!

September 17, 2010

Friendships

Friendship is a funny thing. It can be the most wonderful thing on Earth, or it can be a devastating thing. That's a weird thing to say, I know, but if you knew about my childhood you might understand. When I was a kid I had a very bad childhood. Not like the kind where I didn't get what I wanted or could't go play with my friends if I didn't do my chores. The kind of childhood where my dad aimed a gun at my mom when she was pregnant with my twin brother and sister. He was drunk...it was Thanksgiving...he was gone and took all the money to go shopping to buy food...was gone or 5-6 hours...my mom was getting upset that he was gone 'shopping' and went to look for him...found him at the local bar as you might guess drunk...she asked WHY??? and he aimed a pistol at her and tried to kill her. By that time my grandma and uncle showed up and my uncle grabbed me up and ran, on foot, across town to hid me from the fighting...police are called...dad goes to jail. Stuff like this was happening all the time with dad around. People in the small towns we moved to and from got tired of him and his ant-ticks. So we moved ALOT! Plus he stole from his friends and when they caught on they threatened to call the cops on him then up and away we go! So I never had the chance to have friends for very long and as I got older when I was the 'new kid' it was even harder to make friends. Then when I thought someone was a friend they would start some rumor about me or my family and the merciless teasing would begin. So my friends were now my enemies.
I kinda got used to not having friends and not trusting ANYONE was my way of life. Fast forward to 2009...I am saved and in a church that I love. Meeting people and reaching out to make friendships. Learning to trust and knowing that all people will fail you at least once(Probably unknowingly) and leaning on Jesus and my Heavenly Father to learn how to be a friend. It can be hard sometimes when the enemy sneaks up and whispers doubts in to my ear. I refuse to believe them because I know that my God is a God of Promises and He is the Ultimate Healer of the heart.  I now have good friends that I can trust not to hurt me on purpose and that will love me for who Jesus created me to be. Lately I have been suffering with a tiny bit of insecurity and I know that this too will pass. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger and I LOVE my God for that! I am so very blessed with the friends He has put in my life! Thanks for hearing me out :)

September 15, 2010

Help!

I need some help from someone who knows about Blogger's new templates and all that stuff...Please help! My blog is plain as they come. I usually go to shabby blogs or one of those site for cute and trendy layouts. I did what I normally do and nothing!  So if anyone out there could lend me a hand that I would be forever grateful!!!

August 25, 2010

"unsettled"

In the last month we moved to a small town where our kids go to school. I believe it was for the best. Our church is here and like I said the kids' school and most their friends, too. So in my young life my parents moved us all over the place and I never was in a school longer than 2 years until I was in high school. So you can imagine it was a crazy life just based on that alone! In my adult life things were not much different, moving often, every  1-2 years. I guess looking back I was searching. For many things. Love and acceptance maybe or a nice place to live but I finally can say I feel like (for the first time EVER) I am where I'm supposed to be. Maybe I was a bit "unsettled" but maybe that's the way God intended it. I am so thankful that He thought of me when this little school was founded and that He had a plan for our family and that it is being unfolded before our very eyes! I am glad to say now 'We are HOME!'  So right now I am feeling very blessed and so very thankful :)

August 7, 2010

We moved! :)

Moving is not fun but nessesary sometimes. Moving gets me to go through things and clear out the clutter. I am having my first garage sale EVER! It's a good thing because i have sold someand it feels good to see it go :) just wishing more people would come! Haha! It's been a good experiance because i think i'm never gonna let it go this far! Kid and baby clothes are coming out of my ears! I too have been holding onto clothes that i didn't need too. So goodbye excess STUFF! And good ridance! :)

June 30, 2010

Our Vacation

We went to Vancouver Wa  for a couple weeks
and went to the mall and rode the carousel
went to the cheesiest place on earth(Chuck E. Cheese)

Played games and ate pizza
hung out with cousins and old freinds

made new friends
The view from my aunt's house
The university campus

Hung out with MORE family
Had a Beautiful time :)

June 15, 2010

Where I am

We are in the Pacific Northwest now and IT. IS. GORGEOUS! I LOVE this place so much but alas cannot live here. Half my heart is in the Midwest and half my heart is in the NW...what's a girl to do? VISIT!!! It is so Pretty here and yet life for us here is hard so we went to the Midwest and life is like slow molasses there. Easy as pie :) We have a great church family and wonderful friends. In the NW, our blood family. So I am torn but I do know where I'm supposed to be. :) We were called here by God. It is that simple.

I'm okay with that

We were NOT approved-SOOO We are not buying a house and I am okay with that. I know that everything happens in His perfect timing. We were denied by a worldly institution  but are approved by a Heavenly Father. :)

May 30, 2010

Ideas

New ideas are FLOODING my brain and am I excited!!!!

May 25, 2010

Our ADVENTURE awaits us!

OH HAPPY DAY! 12 days till I head out to the WONDROUS Pacific NORTHWEST! OH there are friends & family who we have NOT seen in 2 YEARS! Some of those who have not meet my youngest yet. Sad, I know, but OH HAPPY DAY! We will see them soon :) I am getting pretty excited :)
                                                                          

I leave you know with some photos of the area where I grew up :)
                                                 
                          The Coast Line :)



                         The Fort

       Chinese Cafe=YUMMY♥


                            
                         Hiking on Beacon Rock



The Trail to the top....




The Covington House...A Historic Log Home Famous to the area....Where we were married...you can read about it here---> www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMB23_Covington_H..   And that is the area where we came from before we moved here :) 

May 24, 2010

New Chapters

This weekend was PLUMB full of graduations and  open houses! I have never experienced this before. I LOVED it! A weekend full of new chapters beginning. Hopes and dreams, ideas and plans...who knew it would be so beautiful? It has got me thinking about my children's graduations and what my future prayers for them will & are gonna be :) ALSO I got to socialize with people I LOVE!!! What a crazy, fun, love filled weekend :

May 22, 2010

First House=Home for 5!!!

Oh WOW! We have been looking at houses. We found one in our budget and closer to where we worship and the kids go to school. We made a bid(Scary moment for us!) It was denied, we offered a counter bid, it was ACCEPTED!!! We prayed it was in HIS will for our lives and it is coming TRUE! ACK & PRAISE THE LORD all at the same time :) Have you ever felt that way??? I need to confess here...i'm a we bit fearful nervous, but I do know I HAVE to give that to Jesus because it is in His plan for us to have a home. So now on to another chapter of life(home ownership) and I am praying that it will be fun, adventurous, beautiful and most of all, BLESSED! 

May 17, 2010

Must Haves

Well I never thought looking for a house was this difficult! We have many ideas in mind as to what we are looking for. 

  • MUST have AC! Summers here can be brutally hot-n-humid. 
  • MUST have enough room for our brood growing brood, plus storage for kid stuff.
  • MUST have a garage for two cars
  • MUST have 2 bathrooms or at least 2 toilets*wink wink*
  • MUST have a big yard for kids & garden & entertaining
  • MUST have room for company & BBQs & guests
  • MUST have open floor plan
  • MUST have BIG kitchen and dining area
Ok so I am looking at this list and realizing that is a big list of MUST haves, BUUUT I do know my God is WAAY bigger than that and He has good things in store for this family :) Plus on top of that this list is VERY flexable! You know what they say 'the flexable shall not break!' 
What are your home MUST haves? What did you budge on or what did you stay firm on? Please help!  

April 18, 2010

ADVENTURE!

Hello! I know it's been a while since I posted but I've been VERY BUSY since the weather started to warm up. Kids all wanna be outside and that means majority rules, so out we go! Walking, playing in the yard and visiting with friends.
So yesterday my hubby had plans with a friend of his and out of the blue I decide the kids and I are going 45 minutes away from HOME to go shopping. I was feeling rather adventurous! And WE got lost. and WE
had a blast singing in the car to oldies. And we went out to lunch  (nothing fancy, Arby's) And we found good deals on baby and kid summer clothes. I know ALOT of moms would never try it with out someone to help but....I know when my kids hit a certain age they travel well and I knew in my heart we eould be fine. AND we were :) Making Memories is a GOOD thing even if those memories aren't perfect (getting lost) we still laughed about it. It was a great day :) NO MELT DOWNS!

March 12, 2010

To Train up a Child


Today I would like to share about my children. When I was a young mother I had the idea that I needed to work outside the home. I decided to put my 3 month old baby in daycare to start working again. I cried for a week or two. T-h-e saddest day of being a new mom. Right then and there I should have instictivly know that my heart belonged at home with him and my husband should be working. But because I said

" I can do this"

 my hubby took the 'backseat' to working and only worked here and there, off & on. So my son was in dyacare off and on, here and there.  Honestly I LOVED being with my son and hatedloathed working. The WORLD told me I needed to. I never should have listened*sigh*. When my son was 16 month old I found out I was preggers with my daughter and was relieved! I could stay home!!! BE WITH MY SON! As soon as my daughter was born the pressure was on again to 'get back at it'...

I found another daycare closer to home and the people where nice, but my heart wasn't in it. My daughter was 4 months old...

I cried then also because both my babies cried when I left them.
My heart ached when I was away from them and this time the hubby and I where on & off again...
I can NOW say that because of Devine Intervention, we are doing good and we know have a second daughter. I am BLESSED to be able to stay home with her every day. I feel as if I get a second chance to see the milestones and guide her. Other people won't be raising this baby! I L-O-V-E how she clings  to me, needs me, loves me.♥ My husband goes to work everyday and I stay home where a mom deserves to be, after all I was pregnant with her for 9 months...why should others share those precious moments with her and not I?
I leave you now with what the Bible says about children:
'Train up a child in the way they should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.' Proverbs 22:6
I truly belive I am making a good example to my daughters by staying home to be a loving mother.
'Behold children are a heritage from the Lord...'
Psalm 127:3
Our future is raising our children in the ways of the Lord-
and finally Jesus' words about children-
'Let the little children come to Me and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.'

February 22, 2010

Mommy-hood

Just a quick note to say that being a mommy is very hard work. In saying that, it is a streching exercise of your soul and your selflessness. I Love being A mommy even when it is not glamouros. So precious are the babies that are sent from Heaven to show us what uncondtional love is! It's like an example of Christ's love for us...
Thanks for reading :)

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February 15, 2010

Valentine's Day 2010




Well I must admit I LOVE Valentine's Day and I like getting gifts. I enjoy getting gifts that are practical though. The occasional surprise jewelry or something like that is nice, but when your husband is the only person who works outside the home...well you see where I'm going with this. I like things we can't normally go and splurge on. Things like a whole new set of glass measuring cups with handles, a pizza stone, an electric griddle for huge batches of pancakes to freeze for lazy mornings, a treadmill to walk on...I asked my beloved for a treadmill this year for Valentine's/Anniversary (married 2-25-99). Kinda spendy...so I waited til there was a reason and we got our tax return. Most women want pretty shiny things and trust me, I LOVE those things but would rather pick them out myself! My husband would also like me to pick out those things myself! He's always liked it when I pick out my own gifts. I used to get annoyed about it because I wanted him to pick out the "perfect" gift that I'd instantly fall in love with. Well, I soon realized that that doesn't always happen and it's (like that old saying goes) the thought that counts. On top of that, the way that God created him, is in a way that he is a pleaser and I now embrace and accept the way he was 'wired'. I love how God knows our hearts and matches us with our special someone. I feel really blessed that when I mentioned a treadmill my love did not say a rude comment or laugh...He said 'hmmm...if this what you'd like...' and 'it's a good thing to have around for all of us...' I knew then that he would always love me for me. Not for who I might be or who I should be...it reminds me of the love Jesus has for us. You see, my marriage has had some very low points that I never thought we'd survive and all along, in the shadows the Lord was there rooting us on. We have been together now over 11 years and I thank God everyday that He gave J***** to me. I am not saying our life is perfect, far from it, but we, together, us, as a couple and a family have a way of coping, and have good times thru it all. Sometimes, I do not feel as though I deserve such a kind, loving man. I love my hubby and I love how God choose him for me.
Thanks for reading and may God bless you!


February 9, 2010

Dream House

This is about my dream house. All things I have thought about, seen, and think would make owning my own home a blessing to my family and friends.
#1. A big open floor plan and beautiful floors wouldn't hurt!
#2. A BIG porch to sit on and just watch life.

#3.A BEAUTIFUL Garden to sit and read or play with the kids or...anything I like :)
#4. A Nicely, Newer built ranch house with about 2500 acres.
#5. I love horses and would absolutly ADORE a place to keep them and be able to ride in any weather conditions.




I will remaine hopeful and belive that someday my dreams come true! Thanks for reading!

February 8, 2010

Washington State





A Response To How I Use Facebook :)

Hello friends! This blog is an answer to a blog about Facebook. How are people using this site? I do know many who are on alot(just like me) and many who aren't on that much. And that's okay. Sometimes it's hard to gauge how people are using this social networking thing! Some status posts I see are quite shocking and I must confess I feel like falling off my chair and on the way down dropping a friend or two...but I am too nice to do that. Instead I say a quick little prayer for them in hopes it gets deep down into their heart.
Back to the reason for the blog though...Ways I Use Facebook-
#1.Keep in touch with my family in Washington State...as many of you know the ONLY biological family I have with me here, in Iowa is my immedite family(hubby & kids)
and my dad. We are not exactly speaking though and he is estranged from me...meaning he is strange and controlling and I stay away from him! So FB is one way to stay in contact with my long distance family members that live 1900 miles away. Sad sometimes, but OUR CHOICE. Reason being...
#2. Floyd Lighthouse Academy...To stay in constant contact with al the wonderful people of the school where my kids go and the church we, as a family, attend. We knew we wanted better schooling for our kids and knew there was no way we could afford any private school on the west coast.
#3. To Meet up with friends from middle school and high school...THAT HAS BEEN AWSOME!
#4. Meeting up with NEW family members(who I hope to meet someday...soon) and family I haven't seen since I was a kid. That has also been WONDERFUL!!!
#5. and Finally to share pics and stuff with my friends. I love my normal, boring life because it's mine and it didn't used to be that way!

January 3, 2010

Raising Goldy People




When do kids go from being innocent and making friends with everyone to picking and choosing who they will or won't play with? When do they learn it? Where do they learn it? Some people wanna blame parents, some wanna say their friends and some will say they don't know. The Bible says that children are born selfish and it's our job as parents to raise these small people to be what God has designed them to be. Some times that can be hard! Recently one of our kids have had a "teenager" attitude. There have been several incidents in the last few months. Some have shocked us, my husband and I, some have made us embarrassed, some have left us angry. I go to the Lord in prayer with my concerns. God has a great way of "showing" us things. Thru friends, reading and radio He has shown me how deal with and discipline an older child. THANKFULLY!!!
The most recent thing has left me embarrassed because we did not raise a kid to be mean to others and to leave friends out. We have always told our kids to play with everyone the same and treat them like best friends. We have NEVER let our kids exclude others intentionally! So...that is what happened...they excluded friends and hurt feelings and these friends live far away. We only see them 1-2 times a year. And now we must reconcile feeling and friendships. I am so sad on one hand and seeing the need for a different kind of parenting. On the other hand I am glad it was caught RIGHT AWAY so we could deal with it! A new season of child rearing if you will. Don't worry! We have disciplined this child accordingly and explained that Jesus does not want us to treat others this way. We know that the Lord wants us to love our neighbor! Change is comin' 'round!!!