A Funny thing happened in the grocery store parking lot

Yesterday, I went to the grocery store to get a few things before we went to church.  I came out, put the groceries in the van and started to drive away when I noticed an albertsons receipt under one of my wipers.  I pulled over and got out and read it and immediately started to laugh.  This is what is said:  4 the hottie in the tight jeans, think ur beautiful would like to take you out 4 a drink, dinner or whatever sounds good.  from the guy parked next 2 u (shaved head, shades, been told im not ugly, sense of humor) Then he left his phone number and first name. 

Now, just to give a little perspective.  We have a van that usually stays pretty messy due to toys and what not.  There is a car seat and a booster seat in it.  I will also post a picture of what I was wearing yesterday.

Needless to say, I had a pretty good laugh all the way home.  When I got home, I showed it to Sam and he thought it was funny.  I said, "I'm thinking he got the wrong car."  Anyway, just thought I'd share this with my  blog buddies.  Hope it makes you at least smile.

Protect Marriage and Vote like your life depends on it because it very well may come to that. ***Updated!

Many states have marriage amendment propositions on the table now or will very soon.  Several states have already voted on them.  Since we are residents of Texas, I'm very glad that prop 2 has already been passed.  I know that prop 8 in California and prop 102 in Arizona are on the ballots next month.  If you are a Christian and are a resident in either of these states, I would encourage you to do your research and really pray about your vote on November 4th.  Not protecting marriage would have enormous consequences for EVERYONE.  Click here for a clip about what happened to a Massachusetts family when they weren't okay with their kindergartner being taught about homosexual marriage in public school.  Also, my friend Vanessa has a really good post about this and several examples on her blog, click here for that.

As for voting...  Sam and I were able to vote by mail this year, since we aren't able to be there in person, thank you God!  We've already sent our completed ballots back in, so we're really glad we were able to get that all done and on time.  Now I know the usualy urge for people to get out there and vote usually goes along the lines of look at all the countries in the world that don't have that right or some who do, but it could be life or death to even show up at the polls.  This is all true and hopefully, it still stirs something deep inside you and makes you realize what a truly amazing country we live in.  I'm going to go even farther than that, though.  I'm going to speak to my fellow believers in Christ here for a minute.  The fact of the matter is that we are to be stewards of whatever God gives us.  He gave us this planet to care for, the plants, animals and people on it.  It also includes our communities and our nation.  If we are able to have a say, we should speak out.  We have an opportunity to be very involved in how our government operates and it is part of that stewardship to be responsible for our part in that opportunity.  There are many "minority" groups that get their way in our government processes because they yell/lobby loud enough and throw enough money at key people who are open to that.  You know, the old saying the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  That's been happening for too long without our intervention.  We have the numbers, the money and the opportunity to say, "Enough!"  So much has already been lost because of complacency and compliance.  It doesn't have to be that way!  We can make a humongous difference, but we all have to actually put forth some effort and do it.  So, I'm encouraging you to get up off of your tuckuses on November 4th and prayerfully vote.  There is a website where you can see who is on the ballot from the national level down to the county level for Texas.  I don't know about other states, but if you are a Texas resident and would like a free voters guide, click here.  If anyone knows about other free voters guides for other states, please comment and I will update this post with that info and a link.  We can turn things back around.  There will be opposition, but if we come together in full force and in agreement, the possibilities are endless!

***Added since first posted - So, I went and took a look at my friend Michawn's blog and she pointed me in the direction of this blog here and let me tell you it is WORTH reading!!!  Its lengthy and there are videos to watch, but watch the videos and read the whole thing.  These are two videos in particular that are on this blog that are just amazing, so I'm going to go ahead and add them to this post.  The second one made me cry so hard I nearly threw up.  Just warning you.  Please, go ahead and go read the entire post, though!

Mom's coming for a visit!

Yay! The boys and I will be going to the airport today to go pick up my mom. (Sam will be getting the stitches taken out of the tooth socket.) She's gonna be here for four days and we are taking her to Sedona for 3 of them.  I'm so excited!!!  My dad has a timeshare program and he got us 3 nights at the one in Sedona, so we don't have to pay to stay there.  Thanks, Daddy!!!  We haven't visited yet, so we are really looking forward to going.  I've found some activities that she'll be interested in and I really think we are going to have lots of fun.  Sam is going to meet us up there on his motorcycle and he's looking forward to a longer ride on it.  He really hasn't gotten a chance to go for a long ride since its been so hot.

I'm going to be so busy today because I've got to go grocery shopping before we pick her up and get all of our supplies.  I'm also going to attempt to make a few things to take with us in that short amount of time.  Since it will be cooler, I want to take chicken and dumplings and possibly taco stew (although, we can just take the crock pot and make it there.)  Also, I wanted to make a fruit tart and some pumpkin spice bread, as well.  We might even take the apple cider and definitely the hot cocoa.  I'm still trying to think out the rest of it all.  Fun stuff.  I know the boys are gonna have a blast.

The other nice thing is that Mom offered to keep the boys one of the nights, so that Sam and I can go out on a date.  A  DATE!!!!  I don't think we've been without the kids since they went to Vacation Bible School in June and we got a night to ourselves.  So, yeah, its been a while.  We are REALLY excited about that.  Now all we have to do is figure out what to do on our date.  Woo-hoo!!!!

I'll have to post pics when we get back and settled back down.

Crocheting

Well, I learned how to do the single chain first row a long time ago when I was little.  I think my Granny showed me how.  Since then, however, I never did learn how to make the second row and go beyond to actually making something.  Sam and I have gotten interested again in how to do this, so last night we were trying to figure it out by using some pictures on the web that we found.  Yeah, it still didn't make sense.  I told him, that for me, it is always better to have someone show me in person and to watch what I'm doing to make sure I'm doing it right.  I tried to find a class that I could go to.  I thought maybe Michael's would have a class, but they don't at this time.  I did a search for other classes in this area and found several, but they were so stinkin expensive!  So, I got back on the internet and looked up free how-to videos.  Lo and behold, I found some!  I really appreciate it when someone will pass on how to do something that someone showed them and not charge anything for it.  So nice.  Anyway, if anyone is interested, here are the websites I found.  

hassdesign

nextstitch

graspr

I'll have to let you know how this goes.  I'm sure it will be very interesting.

Dental Visit

Last Thursday, both Sam and Braden went to the dentist.  Sam had to get two more of his wisdom teeth out.  Normally, we would have had to go for a first visit and then had to schedule a second visit to get the teeth taken out, but this dentist was very neat.  He just asked Sam what he wanted and then went ahead and did it.  He did have to put a couple of stitches in on the bottom socket and so Sam has to go in this Thursday to get them taken out.  He's contemplating asking the dentist if he'll just go ahead and take the last wisdom tooth out so he can be done  with it.  We'll see what he decides.

Braden went to get his teeth cleaned and checked out for the first time.  He did such a good job!  I had to sit out away from him and make sure Zekey wasn't getting into EVERYTHING, so Braden went and got in the chair and followed all the dentist's and his assistants' instructions.  The dentist did ask me about his front two teeth and he said so far they are loose, but they are okay where they are and they will probably just come out earlier than normal.  Also, by the x-rays, Braden's front two permanent teeth are quite large. (I'm pretty sure that he got that from me.  I had some big, honkin' front teeth until my body grew to accommodate them!:) I can't believe he's only about a year away from losing his first teeth!  Where does the time go?  Anyway, both he and Zekey came out of there with a balloon and a toothbrush each.  It cracked me up that they were giving Zekey the same stuff and the dentist didn't even look at his teeth.  So funny.

So apparently, our teethbrushing routine with the kids is working out well and I'm glad.  Teeth are so important and I want them to take very good care of their teeth!  I'm aiming for them to have no cavities ever!!! ;)  Wouldn't that be great?

Halloween, Harry Potter and other ponderings

Warning: Mondo-huge, incredibly long monologue follows.

Since Halloween is fast approaching, I've been thinking a lot about it.  I see all the decorations in the store and the candy for sale and the ads for haunted houses and places to go to celebrate being scared.  I see all of this and I just begin wondering about it all.  What you are about to read probably won't be popular and may be met with irritation, aggression...I don't know.  Even if you disagree with me, I still welcome your comments.  If the information I received helps someone else, then great, but please know that I am not writing any of this to start a big disagreeable mess.  I'm also not aiming this at anyone in particular, just so you know.  I've just been pondering lately.   This is what I've learned and what I believe and how I've applied that knowledge and belief.

First of all, let me say that I used to really get into halloween.  I really like dressing up and it was so much fun to go knock on people's doors and get candy and treats.  We used to go to the mall and make the rounds there.  The last time I dressed up for Halloween was when I was 16.  My partner in crime, Reina and I both dressed up as genies and went trick or treating.  I remember having fun, but mostly I remember how stinkin' cold I was in that costume!!!  I also wore it to work at the movie theater that weekend cuz we were allowed to dress in costumes.  I look back now and even remember feeling back then that I was a little underdressed....yeah.:)  I remember going to the Courthouse when they would have their haunted house.  In fact, I think that was my first experience with a haunted house.  I also went into different haunted houses over the years of my childhood and teenage years.  I remember I went to Six Flags a few times during their Halloween festivities.  Out of all that, I just remember not liking being scared.  Same thing with horror movies.  Oh, yeah, I also participated in tp rolling on one occasion, but I can't honestly remember if it was for Halloween or not.  I'm inclined to think not as it was with a youth group at a church I once attended. (Even back then I didn't like the idea of doing that because all that kept running through my mind was, "What a humongous mess to have to clean up!" and "If I was the one living here, I'd be hopping mad about all this mess!"  Cuz you can never get it all up, especially if there is dew on the ground)  I never did throw rotten eggs that I can remember.  Too stinky. :)  All of that info was just to qualify myself with having experience with and participating in most all parts of the Halloween tradition.

There was a point in time that I was made aware of the origins of Halloween and also the meanings behind all the rituals.  My mom gave me a printout that a friend has emailed her and I was really blown away.  I, of course, immediately started to research that info.  I just couldn't believe what I had read, but it was mostly true.  Once I was made aware and armed with this information, I knew I couldn't celebrate Halloween anymore.  This was yet another instance of my eyes being opened to the truth and once you get a revelation, you have to choose what you are going to do with it.  You can ignore it and pretend you never received it or you can turn away from what you know to be a lie and head in the other direction.

While researching the origins, customs, traditions, etc. of Halloween, I noticed that really a lot of the same information is given, but there are different attitudes and perspectives on it.  Since I am a Christian and God has given me His Word to go by, then that is the guideline and perspective I will use.  Many of the sources sited differences between pagan practices and satan worship and fortune telling and all that, but the thing is, if you use God as the ruler then they all get lumped into the same category.  Here's the deal.  Satan has had many years, trials and errors, people to use as guinea pigs to perfect his lies, deception and destruction.  His goal is to always attempt to thwart God.  Think spoiled rotten, jealous brat who didn't get his way and still thinks that he can become as He who created him.  (Yeah, totally not gonna happen, but still he perseveres in futility.) He's going to try and twist the truth and add his own lie slyly in with it to make it seem true.  He's going to try and get his agenda accepted and spread around.  He wants to rule this world and everyone in it.  He wants to glorify himself.  His mastercraft is counterfeiting what God has created.  The devil can't create anything glorious himself, so he tries to counterfeit what God has made and in so doing comes up with a demented shadow of the original.  The more he is in it, the uglier, nastier, more evil, dangerous and deadly it becomes.   I believe that through the millenia, Satan has done everything he could to turn people away from knowing the Truth and God who is the source of that Truth.  Looking back in history it is easy to see that all the religions that have a multitude of deities or even just one or two that seem God-like, but aren't are the handiwork of the deceiver himself.  Again, he does anything and everything he can to get the attention off of God the Father.  

Enter Halloween, same story.  There is no good thing involved.  There is lots of superstition, witchcraft, fear, appeasement of assorted deities and rebellious behavior, i.e. egging, toilet paper rolling, playing mean tricks on people, vandalism, destruction.  Sure the dressing up part is fun, but the thing is it is the act of following a tradition that began to trick the dead spirits believed to be walking around at this time of the year and anything else that might have gotten loose into believing you are one of them, so they don't do mean/dangerous things to you.  Trick or treating is just that, give me a treat or I will play a trick on you.  I believe that is another phrase for manipulation.  I know, I know,  being nit picky, but hello, its the truth!  It also started by people putting the best of the food they had to offer on their doorsteps so the spirits wouldn't destroy their livestock or property.  The Jack o lanterns are another example.  First there is the reason for them that goes like this:  they were originally turnips or beets carved into hideous and ferocious figures to scare away menacing spirits.  Pumpkins came into the picture in the 1800s when a large immigration of Irish people occurred in the U.S. and there were a decided lack of turnips and beets available. There's another story about a guy named Jack for whom Jack o lanterns are named.  Apparently he was a murderous, very bad guy who tricked the devil out of getting his soul and then could neither enter heaven nor hell and so the lanterns were a light of guidance for him.  You can read more about where all this comes from on the websites posted below.

The conclusion for me is this.  Because there is not any reason, I, as a follower of Christ, can find to participate in this "holiday", then I just won't.  Instead I will seek to do what I should be doing every day, being Christ-like in my thoughts, actions and relationships.  I'm going to strive to do as His Word says.  

But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thesalonians 5:21-22, 

Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; Ephesians 5:11, 

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2, 

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 2 Corinthians 6:14, 15, 

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so. Deuteronomy 18:10-14

This year we are helping out with our churches Harvest Fesitval on the 31st.  I know there are some people who are opposed to doing anything on Halloween and instead just treat it like any other day.  If that is the way you are saying no to satan's ways, then wonderful!  Fight the battle with what God has given you.  For me personally, I like to take the day away from him and give it back to God.  We'll have a fair and have fun and do totally un-Halloween related things.  We will make a safe place for all of our kids to have fun and we will all be in fellowship with one another, practicing kindness, love and generosity.  I'm excited.  Its really more like a family reunion than anything. :)

The other thing that I was thinking about is the Harry Potter books/movies.  I really feel that they go right along with all of the Halloween type stuff.  I haven't read any of the books, but I did see the first three movies, up through the Prisoner of Azkaban.  The movies are really well made.  The graphics are amazing and boy do they take you on an adventure!  I watched the first one and I thought, "Wow! That was an amazing movie!"  I was really excited to see the next one.  I still thought the same thing after the second movie came out.  Something seemed to happen after I watched the third one, however.  I noticed an interesting and scary trend.  The first two introduced us to Harry Potter and witchcraft in a way that seemed innocent and good.  Like there was a good versus evil in the realm of witchcraft.  It was very subtle and just right for pulling kids and adults right in.   The third one was more intense and it seems that as the kids in the movies get older, so does the intensity of darkness in the movies.  Again, using God's Word as the ruler, there is no good side to witchcraft.  It all has the same source, satan and the evil desires of man.  Again, I was seeing a twist.  An attempt at making evil seem good.  As much as I like the quality of the production of the movies, the contents are super harmful.  Regardless of whether you are a kid or an adult, the more you put that kind of stuff in your mind, the more apathetic you get to satan's cause.  The less likely you are to recognize evil, lies and destruction for what they are.  I'm thankful that despite my willingness and desire to see those movies, that God once again opened my eyes to the truth of what they really are and again, I had a choice to make.  I don't watch them and I'm grateful that I only got three in instead of more, though, I regret that even that got in.:(  

After all that, I will be diligently protecting my kids from that if and when I am able.  The other times, I'll just be praying protection over them.  I know this can all sound extreme, but letting satan get even a little foothold in your life will be destructive.  He only needs a little wiggle room to make a huge mess.  Also, there's a reason that God instructed the Israelites to destroy everything and everyone in the land he was giving them.  He didn't want even one opportunity for His children to be compromised.  When they disobeyed His command to do so, it always ended up with Israel conceding with and accepting the beliefs of those who were not followers of God and in doing so destroyed themselves and deprived the whole nation of the blessings and provision God had already promised them.  Amazing isn't it?

Really and truly, I've come to believe this about several things that when I was little didn't seem like that big of a deal.  Lots of the Disney movies that I watched when younger, are not okay for my kids to watch.  For instance, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Fantasia and more.  These all have some sort of magic element.  Others that were made as I was older had more sexual elements in it by the dancing and clothing that the female characters had on.  Three immediately come to mind:  The Little Mermaid (also contains magic), Aladdin (again, more magic) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  Anyway, someone may be reading this thinking, "What is the big deal?"  Here's my question.  Why put any of that into a children's movie?  Why do they need to see magic being practiced?  If ever in doubt of this, the Bible is very clear what magic is and what the source is.  Why do they need to see women dancing or dressing in a sensual way?  Being the mom of boys, man this is such a huge thing for me.  I don't want my boys seeing women as objects.  I don't want them getting a jump start on being interested in sex before its time.  I want them to keep the innocence that God placed in them.  They will learn of things as their ages become appropriate to do so, but I believe that can also be in God's timing.  I also think if we do end up having girls, I don't want these movies and characters being what they gauge themselves by.  I don't want them desiring to look like something that usually isn't obtained without a good plastic surgeon and lots of dieting or eating disorders.  I don't want them thinking they have to act seductively and give away the precious gifts God has given them (virginity, purity, which all actually belong to God until they are married) to impress or accommodate a boy/man they are interested in.  Again, I know this might seem extreme, but think about it.  It all starts somewhere.  They will see things in the grocery store on the magazine racks.  They will see things on the bill boards and other types of advertisements.  We'll do our best not to let that exposure ever be much, but unless we never take them anywhere, they will see certain things.  (That's where prayer comes in.) We can keep commercials out of our home as well as not be the ones to introduce them to this type of stuff in supposed "kids" movies.

*****Added note:  I am all for dressing up for costume parties or enjoying a masquerade ball.  Just not for Halloween's sake.  I also believe kids should make believe.  I just don't want to encourage mine to include magic in that make believe.  I want them to know that God is the source of any power or ability they have and to use it for his purposes.

Websites for the origins, customs and traditions of Halloween:

History.com

wikipedia

jeremiahproject

new-life.net

ghostwatchers.org

http://www.featherlessbiped.com/halloween/hallows.htm

Happenings in the household

1.  First of all, I forgot to tell about my appointment last week and sonogram.  The sonogram was just fine, although, it ran a little long for me and the receptionists ended up watching the boys for me.  They were very good for those ladies and got to color, so that went well.  The sonogram technician was very careful not to give me a peek of a certain area and I do have pictures and a dvd.  I'll see what I can do about scanning the pics in and posting them, but I make no promises. ;)  The "doctor's" visit was a little different.  I was expecting to see my doctor, but for the third time in a row, I saw someone different.  This time I saw Tiffany and she is a nurse-midwife.  I really, really like her.  We talked and she asked if I wanted to have a midwife at the birth and I said that I had been thinking of switching to a midwife because first, I hadn't even seen my doctor in the last three visits and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted a different perspective at this birth.  Don't get me wrong, the doctor is a great guy and I would not have had a problem with him delivering if I had steadily seen him, but I just felt like I needed to do something different.  So anyway, she asked me if I wanted to meet the rest of the midwives and I said, "Nope, I really like you and want you to be my midwife."  That was that.  I changed it up at the front desk and she changed it in my file and away we go.  Apparently, even though the doctors there are much more open to alternative ways of birthing, they still have the tendency to think as a doctor and want to be interventive.  They want you to have an iv and at the slightest sign that things aren't going textbook, they start wanting to try and "fix" things.  That's not what I want.  I don't want an iv unless absolutely necessary and I want to be able to take my time getting this child out...hehehe.

2.  Along the same topic, I received a box FULL of maternity clothes from a friend that I haven't even seen in over 8 yrs!  What an awesome blessing.  Now I won't have to go an buy any more maternity clothes for the winter!  Thank you, Melissa!!!

3.  So, I said that we put Zekey in the bottom bunk bed and he was doing well with that.  Well, really he was, but then he started getting out of bed and laying on the floor so that he could look under the door and we constantly had to put him back in the bed.  Then he started waking up at between 5 and 6 am and I kept having to get up and put him in bed with me.  Usually, I can't sleep if kids are in the bed with me, so that wasn't working out so well.  We ended up putting him back in his play pen because though we enjoyed having the living/kitchen area open and Sam being able to have that space to himself to get ready for work and eat breakfast in the morning, we (especially I) felt that he just really wasn't ready to be in that situation yet.  He's not too far away, but just not completely ready yet.  Plus, when we got out his play pen and set it up, he's was really excited and kept trying to get in it.:D   We've done that for the last two nights and it has been much better.  We'll definitely have to try again once it gets closer to the baby coming unless we have moved into a stationary dwelling before then.  We'll see how all that is going to go.

4.  I have sent the swap items for my Tea Towel swap, but I'm not going to post pictures until I know she's gotten them.  They are going to Australia, so it will be a while.  I'm very interested in seeing how this turns out.

5.  We have gone and looked at a couple of places for rent and so far the one we saw yesterday is in the top spot, but again we are waiting on God.  So many things have to come together for this to work out.  We've got the what-do-we-do-with-the-motor-home situation to get worked out before we can move on to the where-do-we-live-in-the-meantime issue.  There has been an interesting development to come of all this moving around and dealing with different living situations.  I've really done my homework on what we need and would like to have in the place we might rent and when I get call backs from rental agents I don't even mess with the spiels or let them try and give me second best options.  Its so much nicer when you can politely cut to the chase and save both of you time and frustration.  We've also been really honest with the people who are owners of the property we are looking at.  We're still looking, if someone else is also looking at what we are viewing then all the better for the owner and if they are wanting it, then as far as we are concerned, let them have it.  We haven't been released to move ahead with a contract/rental agreement at this time.  Until we have definite direction, we are only viewing possible options at this time, you know?  So there you have it.

6.  The last and most important thing is:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, REINA!!!!!  Third decade....oh, yeah, party time!!!  I hope you have a GREAT day!!!:):):):P

Anniversary....huh?

Okay, so yesterday was our 8th anniversary.  Yeah, let me tell you how that was celebrated.  I went through my day doing normal things, trying to maintain this domain of ours and take care of the kids.  I cut out some more of the felt pieces to the Bible felt set we got and did my routine of looking at whoever updated their blogs.  Sam came home and I was busy making the final piece that will go in the Tea Towel swap package I'm sending to Australia and he walked up to me and said, "So, yeah...Happy Anniversary!"  Hahahahah, we both totally forgot.:)  Seriously, that is so like us.  I just looked back at him and said, "Oh, yeah, it is our anniversary!"  So sad isn't it?  :p  Anyway, Happy Anniversary to us!

What to do, what to do.....

I have a prayer request.  Let me explain the situation, then I'll put what we are praying specifically for and would be grateful for any others who would join with us in agreement on this.  Okay, right now we are living in our motor home.  We never intended for this to be a permanent living situation.  As I have said previously, we can make do with whatever our circumstances are because God gives us contentment and the tools and guidance to handle said circumstances.  As also previously stated in other posts, I put for sale signs on the motor home and also listed it on a couple of websites.  So far, no serious interest, but that's not surprising and we are not discouraged.  My philosophy is it only takes one person to want it and have the money or financing ability to buy it and I believe that God already has that person in mind.  I do believe that there has to be effort on our part though in this particular case.  So, now we are in a discussion as to what to do.  We are currently thinking along the lines of renting a place, moving in there and getting our rv detailed and put on a consignment lot.  We were thinking of doing this for six months to see if our rv will sell.  So far here are the pros and cons for this situation as we have so far thought:

Pros

1. Our rv would be more visible and readily available for viewing.

2.  We would have sales associates doing the most time consuming of the work, i.e. getting it detailed, showing it to interested parties, etc.

3.  We would not be paying for a space to store it/park it while we try to sell it.

4.  We would not be living in an rv park, we would be in a house type place - more room for kids to run around, a yard area for them to play, a washer and dryer in our residence/we would not be paying for doing our laundry except the electricity to run the washer and dryer (no more washaterias!!!!), a dishwasher (oh, yeah!!), separate areas of the house for us and the kids for sleeping.

5. Our electricity bill would be cheaper and we wouldn't have to pay for maintenance upkeep because it would essentially be in storage in a manner of speaking.

6.  It would be nicer for bringing home a new baby and recovery after giving birth.

7.  I would be able to have people over, i.e. play groups, new friends for dinner, etc.

Con

1.  We would still be paying our monthly bill for the motor home loan as well as taking on a lease payment, though most of it would be exchanged for the rv lot rent we pay per month for parking in an rv park.  We would still be talking $100-$500 extra per month depending on what we could find to rent.  So that would cut into our debt payoff amount. (If our rv sells, then lease payments are no big deal and our budgeted debt payoff expenditure would actually increase dramatically.)

We've only come up with this one con for now, but if anyone else can see any, please comment about it.  We know that God uses other people to give words and we want to know if you feel that God is giving you something to tell us.  

Now specifically for prayer.  We are praying for wisdom and guidance from our Heavenly Father.  We are asking that it be a definite yes or no.  We don't want to do anything that would displease Him or go against the plans He has for us.  We want to be sensitive to His urging in every way.  We also are praying that if He is giving us this opportunity that He already has the place and landlord/lady picked out for us and we'll know it immediately.  (We've experienced this blessing several times already and know it is not only possible but absolutely probable with our God!!)  We are praying that it has the features/amenities we need and also it would be great if it has some that we want as well.  (Can't hurt to ask, you know!:)  Also, that it would be the right price and lease term.  We need to have a six month term with month to month after that for deciding about the rv if it hasn't sold and also as leeway for Sam's job and its unpredictability in timing.  We would also appreciate it if at least the water and trash bill is included in the rent and that we have a private landlord/lady instead of a complex manager type situation.  We desire to have a yard of some sort that is completely enclosed with walls that are high enough that kids can't crawl over them.  It would be great if there is a grassy area in the yard, but it isn't a must have.  We need at least a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, but again, it would be nice if there was a second bathroom.  We would also like a washer and dryer to be provided in the unit as well as a dishwasher.  If there is a microwave, too, then all the better.  We are looking specifically for a townhome/duplex type unit.  We've never had good experiences with neighbors above or below us and with rambunctious kids, well...... Pluses would be a pool and courtyard area in the complex and possibly some furniture to use as we don't have any and would have to buy at least the basics.  We do have a bed and a bar stool, though.:)

I know that sounds like a lot, but we believe in praying specifically and believing that God will absolutely provide for our needs and that if it falls in with His plans for us that some or all of our wants will be provided as well.  Thank you for your prayer and encouragement in advance!  I'll keep everyone updated as to what comes of all of this.

Links to the swapped socks

This is the post that all the links of pics of our sock swap will be posted, so keep checking back.  I'll make a link under the sock swap info area on the right of this blog.

*******Oct. 15th reminder note - Everyone should be sending or already have sent their socks today.....

MzzTerry has received her socks - click here to see the pic

Reinababes got her socks from MzzTerry - click here to see the pic

Vanillafrog got her socks from Reinababes - click here to see the pic

Pattylicious got her socks from Vanillafrog - click here to see the pic

I've decided on the swaps...

So, I decided to join only two swaps after all.:)  I joined the 12 days of Christmas one and the Tea Towel one.  I'm very excited!  I really want to do a good job on them.  I'm thinking I'm gonna go to Ikea to find the towel and kitchen accessory, since I need to go there for some other things anyway.  They have such cool stuff.  They are really into kid friendly furniture and have a wonderful organization section.  Yep, I do like that place.  Anywho, I'm still working on ideas for the 12 days swap and I'll know even more once I know who my partner is.  I'll have a profile to go off of and hopefully there will be some great clues there.  I'll have to keep you updated.

Excitement is in the air!

This was actually from Saturday, but I waited to post until I had the pics to go along with it.

We woke up this morning to lovely cool weather.  I'm talking high 70's here, folks!  Oh, yeah, lovin' it!  I also got a toy organizer for the kids toys.  Boy is that making me a bit giddy, but on top of that, I also went to Target last night and got a wire frame shelf thing.  The kind you can put together any way you want.  First of all, it was on sale, as was a rug and some other things, so you can imagine that I was close to bursting because of all the deals I got.  (Just so you know, I have had the items I bought on a list and Sam and I have discussed getting them, so I was actually looking for them. To find them even cheaper, well, that's just a blessing/provision from God!)  Anyway, the huge mess that had accumulated on the overhead cab bunk where we have our computer is now a lovely organized area.  YIPPEEEEEEEEEE!  Clutter really bums me out. So, two messes now organized!!!!!  Another thing that we did was clean off the bottom bunk bed to prepare Zekey to sleep in it rather than his play yard.   We did have all the toys on it before the lovely toy organizer shelf.  I was a little apprehensive about moving him to a big bed.  He's just now 16 mos. and with Braden, I waited until he was nearly 3.  I'm of the school of thought that you just need to wait until the child is at the stage of understanding and then things go much more smoothly.  I'm really not into putting extra needless work and energy into something when you don't have to.  He's actually taking his nap in there on the bed now.  Yay.  We'll see about at night.  

Also, Sam took Braden on his first motorcycle ride.  We bought him a helmet about a month or so ago and have just now had the opportunity to try it out.  Sam rode around the rv park to make sure he could hold on tight and not let go.  He did such a good job.  There will be pictures to follow.  I'll also take pics of the organization.

Sidenote:  Zekey has slept on the bottom bunk bed since Saturday for both naps and bedtime.  He's doing really well.  I did have to put him back in his bed a couple of times for his naptime yesterday, but he caught on after the third time and didn't emerge until after his nap. Yay!

Swap sites

I've been seeing several friends get involved in all of these craft swaps and by clicking on different links found my way to a couple of websites:  http://www.swap-bot.com and http://swapdex.blogspot.com/.  On swap bot, I found no less than 16 swaps I'm interested in, although Sam has clearly pointed out that I cannot possibly participate in them all.  There are several though that I'm interested in and are not at the same time.  I'll put the links to them below.  I'm also thinking about advertising next month's and December's ornament swap on there and maybe the other site to get some more participants.  The only thing that I don't like about swap bot is that to get into most swaps, you have to have a certain "heart" rating and most of the time you can't be a newbie.  I understand the need to guard against those who do not follow through with their part of the swaps, but it does make it a little difficult to get in on some very neat swaps.

Here's my list of swaps I'm interested in joining:

I love surprises by post!
12 days of Christmas
Random Goodies
Tea Towell and Kitchen Surprise
Envelope Advent Calendar
Unbirthday Swap
Christmas sock swap
One pair of socks swap

Since there are so many, I'm gonna have to whittle it down to two or three, I think.  These were more up my alley, since right now I can't sew. (Don't have my sewing machine, much less a place to set everything out.)  Most of them you can buy or they are things that are easy to make.  I'll have to do a post when and if I decide to join any.  I think my favorites are the 12 days of Christmas and the envelope advent calendar.  They are just such neat ideas.  Let me know what you all think.

Getting Involved

Today, I was on the schedule to work in the nursery.  I showed up too late to have prayer time with the other teachers, but hopefully, I will get the hang of it soon.  I was in there with another mom and two teenage girls.  It all went pretty smoothly and the other mom and I talked pretty much the whole time.  (I know, shocker.;)  Eventually, I'm supposed to be in the nursery one Sunday a month and in the 4 and 5's one Sunday a month.  I really wanted to be involved with both of my kiddos' classes, so I'm excited.  Sam and I also signed up for the Harvest Festival.  Its a halloween alternative and I'm so excited about it.  I also signed up to make a cake.  We'll see how fancy I feel like getting.  I'll probably make more than one anyway.  If they turn out the way I want them, I will take pictures.  Otherwise.......yeah.  

Thankful

Here's my thankful list:

1.  Always, always my husband!  Man, does he step up and take up the slack when I'm not able to.  He even does it when I am able to.  Love that guy!!!!

2.  My kids - they are so much fun and such a joy and God loaned them to us!  Of all the people that He could have chosen, He chose us!  What a blessing!

3.  Antibiotics - Especially the shot kind that you get at the office to get you jump started on your way to getting better.

4.  Pain meds - usually I don't take them, but when they are necessary, boy are they necessary and I appreciate that they are available when I need them.

5.  Church - I love that God has a place of rest and fellowship for His children.  Its wonderful to get involved and make new friends.

6.  Family - quirky or not, I love mine and am so grateful for them.  I miss them so much when we are not there to be with them.

7.  Water - dehydration is no good and I am grateful that God made water so plentiful!

8.  Generators - for when your electricity goes out and its over 100 degrees outside. :p

9.  Nurses and Doctors who are truly passionate about their patients and the job they have chosen to do.

10.  Rest days - sometimes you need to have a day off and do a whole lot of nothing.

Our Picture People Photos

I just really liked how these all turned out.  They did such a good job with the kids and poses and all.  These all have the copy right logo things since they are directly from the website.  I didn't feel the need to scan our pictures when these are so much easier to show. :D  Anyway, enjoy.

Fun picture, not fun staying in this position for either of us! :)
The puppy Zekey is holding is the one he sleeps with.  He loves that puppy!  It is so cute to see him look for it and when he finds it, he holds it really tight and goes, "OOooooooh!"


Our Braden Boy-yo is just getting so big.  He's such a handsome boy!
The photo session was going really well until Zekey spied this little car in the corner.  After that, he wouldn't sit still or stop crying until he was sitting in that car.  Such a little turkey!  We even tried letting him sit in the car for a while to take his pics and then take him out for a few minutes to get some pictures with Sam and I individually, but that did NOT work out.  We will know for next time to make a cursory inspection of the room and remove any objects of temptation BEFORE we start our session.

So I'm showing a bit now.  I just have to talk about this dress for a minute.  I've been raiding the resale maternity shops around here lately and boy have I found some great deals.  This dress is a brand from one of the online stores that I've been perusing lately.  It does double duty as a maternity dress and its also a nursing dress. Normally, it would have cost around $50.00.  I got it for $14.99!!!!!!!!  Oh, yeah.  I love me a good deal!