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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!

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!

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!

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!!!