Friday, April 30, 2010

Sibling Differences...

or "Did they really come from the same parents?"




Welcome, pull up a chair with your favorite beverage.  I'm going to brag a little on my boys today if that is okay :)  Thanks for letting me share!

I look at my two boys and it amazes me how different they are.

Look at them!  They don't even look related!  (Or at least I don't think they are).  And their personalities are so very different.  The older one (on the left) is easy-going.  He's a people-pleaser.  He's the first child that when a parent gets one like him as their first they think they are parenting experts (I knew better...remember, I had 3 brothers LOL).  He is book-smart and interested in science and loves math.  He reads voraciously.  And he loves him some video games.


While he is more serious, he does love to have fun and goof off!
He also absolutely adores his daddy.  My husband is a farrier (horseshoer).  Both boys love to go with him when he works and we let them as much as we can.  Here is the older one on a miniature horse (of a client of my husband).  And with his own shoeing apron :)




 He has always had the best smile!  Along with it comes the best giggle in the world.  My mom wishes she could bottle his giggle...it's so fun and contagious and you can't help but smile when you hear it.


The younger one is my charmer.  He gets into all kinds of mischief (always has).  When he first started crawling, we called him Dozer because he'd bulldoze his way through any stack you put up as an obstacle.  He was not going to be stopped!


I think he just wanted to be where big brother was:


But how does this:
Turn into this:

He had decided to paint a closet wall.  He was big on painting himself as well.  


Look at that smile!  I told you he's a charmer!  And he's determined.  This is how I found him one morning.  


But look at this!  It melts my mother heart.  (He still sucks on his blankie to go to sleep).  And he is asleep in the picture with the frog - done by him, not staged by us.  The bandaid?  I don't know.  He insisted he had a boo boo.





 But the following are my favorite.  I am in love with their brotherly love.  Yes, they still fight like brothers, but oh how they love each other!  And I will do everything in my mommy power to encourage and nourish that bond.


yes both are in this bed...teehee




One of my favorites.  Look how happy he is to have a brother!




Yes, the differences in siblings amaze me, but I am ever so thankful for that!  I love the uniqueness of each of my boys.  I love that the older one protects the younger and the younger adores the older.  Oh Lord, may they forever be best of friends in this life.  May they forever help and cherish and value and love and protect each other.  Thank you for putting these special boys in my life.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Crazy Month (i.e. May)

May just seems like a crazy month.  The school year is winding down and summer is coming.  The kids get antsy with anticipation.  It's exciting (and exhausting).

The weather right now is gorgeous.  The boys have been playing outside after school until I make them come in. It's great!

The older one (I really need nicknames for them) is taking his first TAKS test today (state assessment test).  He'll do fine.  He's done wonderfully on the practice tests and he is one smart cookie.  I get to sub (as a volunteer) in a class on Thursday.  They use teachers to administer the test.  In the past, they've had subs take over the classrooms, but there is a budget shortfall.  Many districts are facing the shortfall right now due to a state law that froze the amount the districts receive from the state.  So, his school is asking parents to volunteer their time.  I think it's a great way to help out and contribute.  They run a background check and everything, so they do what is necessary to keep the kids safe.  And they ask the teachers which parents to call.  All that to say that I'm excited to do it.

The younger one has not wanted to go to Mother's Day Out because he says he doesn't want to take a nap.  That child still needs a nap and he sleeps at school but not at home.  One more month and then he'll be getting ready for kindergarten in the fall!  Right now he's excited about kindergarten because he won't have to take a nap LOL.

I am working every weekend between now and Memorial Day.  This coming weekend and the next, I'm working two overnight parties in a row (a Friday and a Saturday each weekend).  It will be tiring, but the money will be nice!  I really enjoy my job at the zoo.  I am learning so much about the animals and I love getting to share that with kids.  And I like the people I work with.  If you are ever in the DFW area, you really should go to the Fort Worth Zoo.  It's one of the top 5 in the country and has a great new exhibit - MOLA (Museum of Living Arts) which is a big, fancy herpetarium.

Okay, that's enough boring stuff for one day.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Trials

This is what I have posted on my facebook account:
There is no coincidence...only providence. God is sovereign and He loves me! What happens to me is for my good and for His glory!
And I do believe that.  I don't always feel that, but I believe it.

The ladies' retreat I attended this past weekend was on trials.  We all have them.  God says we'll have them....James 1:2 when you have trials.  This reminded me of what my mom has told me.  She became a Christian early in marriage (so did my dad).  She said that when she did, everything seemed to go wrong.  EVERYTHING.  Ever feel that way?  She was so discouraged that she wanted to quit Christianity.  Ever felt like that?  She didn't and she's a great witness to me now.  She looks back and she knows that the enemy was trying to discourage her.  She has a stronger faith as a result.  That's the purpose of trials - to test and strengthen our faith.  What we do with the trial is our choice.  Do we choose to ignore God's hand in our lives and wander in the wilderness or do we choose to meet the trial head-on?

Debbie Dittrich was our speaker and she was fantastic!  This woman has had some trials.  She was open and honest and kind and funny and she wasn't afraid to say the TRUTH!

One story she told is a familiar one to many of us about the silversmith and refining silver.  But she started a little further back.  When mining precious metals, first the metals are picked out of the earth.  Ever feel like you're being picked to death?  Then the metal is sent down the hill where it is pulverized.  Ever feel like you're being crushed?  Then it is washed to remove as much dirt and such as possible.  Once debris is removed, the silver is put into a pot and heated to a certain temperature.  The dross floats to the top.  The smith never leaves.  He keeps scooping off the impurities.  He knows the impurities are gone when he can see his reflection.  I think that's a great analogy for trials.

She also reminded us of Christ in the garden at Gethsemane.  He was under so much pressure that he was sweating blood.  Our God knows what pressure is.  He knows what it feels like.  My God can relate to me.   He was honest.  In Matthew 26:38, He knew the trial that was coming and told Peter "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death."  Be honest with God about how you feel.  Jesus also asked for the pain to be removed.  Matt 26:39 "...My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me..."  It's okay to ask for the pain to be removed.  But you can't stop there.  The rest of what Jesus said is this, "yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt."  He gave up His will for God.  He was willing to endure the pain if it were God's will because He knew that the pain would result in a magnificent glorification of God.

There was just so much more that touched me.  Trials make us mature.  Trials make us wise.  Faith will be rewarded! Romans 4:18-5:5; Galatians 6:9; 2nd Corinthians 4:16-17; 1st Corinthians 15:57-58; 2nd Chronicles 20: 12, 15, 17, 20.


  • Realize you will have trials - 1st Peter 4:12; 2nd Timothy 4:3-5; Acts 14:22
  • Recognize your enemy - Ephesians 6:12; 1st Peter 5:8; 2nd Corinthians 11:3; Revelations 12:10; John 8:44; John 10:10; Ephesians 6:11; Matthew 4:3
  • Resist your enemy by standing firm - 1st Peter 5:9   push back in word and deed
  • Resist your enemy by taking up the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit - Ephesians 6:13-17.  Jesus resisted temptations in the desert by speaking God's Word out loud.
  • Run the race!  Lay aside encumbrances.  Hebrews 12:1; 1st Peter 5:7.  Lay aside sin.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.  


A few other notes I took:

  • Be in the strength of God John 15:5
  • How does the enemy work in my life?  Recognize it and BE AWARE!
  • The enemy attacks with words designed to get me to doubt God.
  • You won't recognize the lies if you don't know the TRUTH.
God bless :)

Friday, April 16, 2010

Ready?



Welcome Company Girls!  Ready for another Friday Coffee?  I am!  I won't have much time today to read blogs, but I look forward to it in a couple of days!

Some things I am ready for; some not so much.

I am READY for my yard to be rid of weeds!  So, I applied an herbicide yesterday.  Hopefully that will save my hands a lot of pulling.  Then, in a few weeks, I'll put out new grass seed and see what happens.

I am READY for my youngest to go to kindergarten.  Well, in some ways I'm ready.  I'm excited for him.  His big brother (4 years older) told him that if he got scared, he could come find him.  I had to explain why that wouldn't work.  In some ways, I'm not ready.  Or I should say, I'm not sure if he is ready.  We'll work on some things this summer.  And we'll see.

I am READY for the Ladies' Retreat tonight!  Our women's ministry is doing an overnight retreat about an hour away and it was very inexpensive.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for all of us!

I am READY to bring in money by being a substitute teacher.

I am NOT READY for my sister-in-law's mom and nephew to visit.  My sister-in-law is from India, so they are travelling from India probably some time in June.  At least I have about 6 weeks to whip this house into shape.  It's a total disaster area and that is not an exaggeration.  Baby steps, right?  But I want to be rapture ready.  If you have a moment, click on the link and share your opinion.

Well, I need to go pack for the retreat.  I'll stop by the Company Girl blogs in a couple of days.  Adios!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Rapture Ready?

I am doing an Isaiah study on Wednesday mornings and a Revelation study on Wednesday nights.  Both are precepts (and I'm not keeping up with both, but I'm learning a LOT).  In the Isaiah study, we were talking about what is said about the last days ("in that day").  It was brought up that one of the ladies at church has her house "rapture ready."  She has a framed sign in her living room that says "If we aren't here," followed by instructions for becoming a believer.

I thought, "Wow!  That's a great concept!"  We don't know if we are in the very last days, but we can always be prepared.  Think about it.  Our homes could very well become refuges in that troublesome time.  Our homes could be a haven for some in a frightening world.  How great would it be if our homes could be a witness after we are gone?  I love it!

So, what do we do to make our homes "rapture ready?"  I think it starts with having Bibles available.  Maybe even a handwritten note in each Bible with key verses.  What else?

Friday, April 9, 2010

Pulling Weeds



Happy Friday!  Grab a cup of your favorite drink and let's visit!

I love spring.  Everything is waking up.  It feels like coming out of a fog.  I especially love the bluebonnets on the sides of the roads around here.

What I don't love are weeds.  My yard is FULL of weeds.  I mean there truly isn't any grass; it's all weeds.  The worst are the sandburs.  We call them stickers around here.  And they are everywhere in my yard!  My yard is about 3300 square feet of weeds.

I want my boys to be able to play outside.  Can't do that with a yard FULL of stickers.  It's too painful.  So, I started to mow last week and noticed that there were a bunch of purple flowered weeds (among the blue-flowered weeds and yellow-flowered weeds).  I figured out that they were the sandburs.  I got around the yard one time with the mower and decided that it would be better to pull the weeds.  So, I began.

Let's just say that there are several sermons in pulling weeds.  Here is how God has been speaking to me:


  • Weeds must be dug out by the root or they will come back.  Sounds like how we need to deal with sin in our lives.
  • It can feel overwhelming when finding a place to start.  Just start.
  • The more you conquer, the more you want to conquer.
  • Sometimes, we need rest.
  • Weeds that come back were never really pulled in the first place, now were they?!
  • Pulling weeds can leave raw land - that's just ripe for green grass!
  • The longer you stay out, the more bare ground you expose; but the exposure is worth it to have a healthy yard.
  • You also expose yourself to the elements (think birds flying overhead).  But even that's not a deterrent!
We have a wedding to attend out of town this weekend. I'm feeling very overwhelmed with what we need to accomplish in the next week.  It seems like everything is happening at once.  I have to guard against worry.  That's the demon I'm fighting right now.  It's in His hands.  When I give up the worry, it's amazing how He works : ).  I just need to get out of the way.

Kindergarten registration is Thursday.  My younger son is going to kindergarten!  I'm excited and a little anxious.  I hope he's ready.  He's an August baby and was a little behind on speech development.  Worst case, he's not ready and we move to a different plan.  I think it will be good for him, though.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  Check out this video...it will bless your heart.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Perfect Credit Score...

This article is making my head spin!  DH and I have been working to pay off our debt - completely.  We follow Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University.  Dave calls the FICO score an "I love debt" score because it measures debt.
Consequently, focusing on scores is only natural. "People are drawn to this subject because it allows them to measure something that they equate to financial health," says Jose Rivas, national education manager for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of San Francisco.
 I don't consider debt to be financially healthy.
Dan Nainan, a professional comedian who constantly travels between New York and Los Angeles, has carefully built an 830 FICO score. Doing so enabled him to negotiate preferential terms with his premium reward card. "I was able to drop the annual fee for my $450 per year American Express card to $150!" 
Wow!  I save $450 per year by not having the card!
Want the very best vehicle loan available? Let your numbers do the talking. When Brenda Avadian, founder ofTheCaregiversVoice.com, out of Pearblossom, Calif., was applying for a car loan, her 849 score helped her secure top financing. "Saving thousands on interest charges is a tremendous motivator," says Avadian, who locked in 0 percent interest for five years. A loan with a 4 percent rate would have cost her an extra $3,200 on the same vehicle.
Pay cash for the car.  Cars drop like a rock in value (all cars drop).  Think of all of that interest saved.  (Zero percent interest still has a finance charge built in).
At last check, marketing company president Paul Entin, from Bloomsbury N.J., holds a 990 VantageScore. For him, it's a matter of honor and integrity. "A high credit score indicates your name and your signature on a contract have meaning. It's an indicator of certainty ... of character. It would be difficult to trust someone with a poor credit rating to the same extent you can trust someone with a higher credit rating."
This statement makes me mad and sad at the same time.  He's essentially saying that your character is tied to your credit score.  Seriously?  Dave Ramsey has no credit score.  I guess that means he has no character according to this guy's world view.
"Every time someone runs my credit they say, 'Wow, I almost never see someone with credit that high,'" says Carrie Rocha, founder of pocketyourdollars.com in Minneapolis. She keeps it first-rate to preserve her autonomy. "As someone who got out of $50,000 in debt in less than three years, I take a lot of personal pride in my financial freedom." Though Rocha has no plans to borrow money again, "I have no barriers when it comes to employment, insurance or other areas of life where my credit score is used to assess the kind of risk I am."
To keep her score high, she must have some sort of debt - even if it is a card she pays off monthly.  Remember, a credit score measures debt.  If she no longer had debt, her score would eventually drop to zero.  As far as employment, a simple explanation about your score (and your plan to remain debt-free) should suffice.  And I get insurance without a great score.  We have health, auto, life and home insurance.

I'm going to stick to my plan - no more debt.  I don't want to worry about whether or not I missed a deadline.  I don't want to worry if something happens to our income and we get stuck with bills we can't pay.  The borrower is slave to the lender.  My personal experience bears this out.  I'm tired of being a slave.  I want my freedom!!!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Oh my, What a performance!

I love Revelation Song. Just love it. That song goes deep into my soul.

This performance moved me to tears. It's just incredible!

I LOVE Easter music!

This one gives me chills!



A favorite:



Another:



This song touches my heart in a wonderful way and I love this video to it:



And one more:

Coffee Friday April 2




It's Friday already? Wow, this week has flown! Pull up a chair and grab a mug! I have tea and, well, tea. I've given up Dr Pepper. Sweet tea has temporarily taken its place.

I love Easter weekend! I came to know Christ on Easter weekend when I was 6.

We are going to Good Friday services tonight. One thing our church does tonight is to have everyone hammer the nails into the cross. It's very sobering. Good Friday is a difficult day, but thank God for Sunday! Praise God that Good Friday wasn't the end! He is risen! And that makes my heart sing!

This was a timely post for me. So many times, I tell myself that I'm not good enough. That I've done too much wrong in an area to be able to help others in that same area. What a lie that is! Thank you Lord for putting that post in my path!

Well, today is a half-day at school. Originally, it was a vacation day, but we have to make up a snow day, so the oldest is at school.

My house is such a wreck! I have so many little things to do that I feel paralyzed by it all. The silly thing is, none of it probably takes very long...if I just move into action! So, my goal for today is to get a little done on my office. And to put together all the outfits for Sunday. And work on my Bible studies. I think I'll start with the studies.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Warning! Politics Ahead!

I am into politics. I have very strong opinions and care very deeply about this country. That will show up in posts on here.

Here is a video I found that is hilarious. Thanks HillBuzz for sharing.