Complaining

Anyone like to complain? I know I don't like to hear it but I often find myself doing it. My daughter Abby has been sick since Thursday night, as she got better today my son Will got sick last night. The past two nights I have gotten a total of 7 hours of sleep. So as I started to complain the other night and say" Lord I don't deserve this" I stopped myself. I thought don't deserve this, actually I deserve worse than this but by the grace of God I am safe in his forever forgiving arms. In BSF we are in Exodus and Numbers learning about the amazing journey of the Isrealites. It is so easy to judge them for their complaining but if I really think about it I complain just as much. In learning about their journey I have also realized that when I complain about something, anything I am actually complaining about God. How can I complain about the God who sent his only son to die for me. So while I know that it is impossible for me never to complain again, I can certainly do it less. I can also strive to complain less so I can model this to my children. So pity party is over, I am going to focas on that fact that my children are healthy other than a cold/fever, I know there are many moms out there who wish this was all they had to worry about for their kids. Thank you Lord for the blessings of my two children and may they learn to love you more and more each day as I do.

Heaven and Shamrock Shakes

This morning both my kids were into the topic of heaven. As we were leaving for school, Will asked me if they had power ranger movies in heaven. I told him that I thought there weren't but that heaven would be so much fun that it wouldn't matter if they had power ranger movies or not. Then later that morning Abby and I were in the car and passed a cemetary. She asked me about what cemetaries were again and I told her that it is where people are buried after they die. She then asked me if they were all in heaven now and I told her they were if they believed in Jesus. She then asked me if those who didn't believe in Jesus were in hell. Wow, talk about a deep thought morning. I am encouraged that my kids are curious about heaven and know that it is where they want to be. I am hoping to do some research on how to speak more clearly to my kids about heaven and what happens to your body and soul after you die. It is actually a little confusing to me the timing of when we ascend to heaven so it should be a great study for myself.

On a completely random note: I Love the Shamrock Shakes at McDonald's!!! We went and got our first ones of the St. Patricks day season and it was fantabulous. Looking to gain an extra 3 pounds over the next week in honor of st. pats day, I mean I do live in Dublin Ohio, it would be very unirish of me not to celebrate the occasion. I wonder if they have ice cream in heaven, how cool would that be, ice cream without the calories. Thank you Lord that you sent your only son to prepare a place for me and my family. Power rangers or not, ice cream or not we are looking forward to our new home with you.

Reality Bites!!

Well I got sucked into Bachelor mania. I do not follow the show regularly but I do check in more often towards the end of each season to see who might get picked, do they seem really in love, etc. I was interested in this particular bachelor because he was supposed to be this nice single dad who got rejected on the bachelorette. Hence you would think he would have some sensitivity towards these women he was dating. While I do not believe that this is the best way to find true love, I do believe in the hope of true love, that there are nice guys out there who fall in love with nice girls.

I was so bummed with last nights outcome. How a guy could change his mind so fast and then decide it is okay to publicly humiliate another human being is outrageous. However, why am I surprised? We are all sinful in our human nature, we make bad decisions, we leave God out of our decisions, we often make the wrong decision.
With this being the season of Lent and the time to be fasting from something that takes away our focas from God, I can't help but wonder if God is prompting me to take a fast from reality tv. Why do I waste my time watching a reality tv show when I am living reality. Thanks be to God that no matter what my reality is, he is part of it,guiding it and ultimately deciding it. I am not saying that TV is evil(although some shows seem to be) but it is time consuming. Some may struggle with turning off the computer, putting down a good book, we all have spent way too much time doing something that is not spiritually productive.

I love how random my thought process can seem sometimes, how in the world the dissapointing ending to the Bachelor can lead me to decide to filter and limit my TV more. Yet I know that these thoughts, gentle promptings are not so random but from God. I have been thinking about what I should fast from for lent but had not settled on anything. I know I am a few days late in completing the full 40 days but I know that God will take my efforts and bless the time I spend with him. So while the outcome for Melissa on the show last night seemed harsh, imagine the reality for those who find out that there really is a heaven and a hell and that the decisions they made here on earth have big consequences. Now there is something I should be spending my time on.

Housing Chart

I found this to be staggering. The video is a little long but worth watching. It is amazing that no one else talks about this stuff. I know it can be overwhelming to focas on the current economic situation but I also think we should be informed and prepared. Dear Lord please grant some common sense on Washington, please let there be some bright stars on capital hill who can wisely help us make the best decisions for my children's future. If things need to be tough for a while in order to get us back on solid footing, then so be it. I just want to trust someone in government again. I know that my hope and trust is first found in you but while we are down here on earth, please raise up some leaders who seek your guidance as well. Please be with those who have been hit the hardest, may their faith in you be strengthened and may we as Christians help our fellow brothers in need.

Dance Party!!!

***Remember to turn down the music on the bottom left of blog to listen to video****
Well this is not the typical music I have the kids listening to at my house but this song has a little history for our family. Over Christmas my younger brother showed me an SNL clip with Beyonce singing her "Single Ladies" song and Justin Timberlake as her back up dancer. It was extremely funny and I kept thinking about it so I downloaded the song from itunes and then burned onto a cd. My little brother also told me that when his son listened to the song he called it "Single lex". So about a month later I was flipping through tv channels and the video was on MTV and Will heard it. Later on in the week I was listening to it in the car and Will said play the "Single lex" song again. Now Will did not know that my nephew Colin called the song this, so I found it very funny that he chose to title the song the same way. Now the song is a daily request from him. I think he really likes the beat of it and so we just sing along to the chorus. Luckily both my kids don't really pay attention to the lyrics so they don't understand the real purpose of the song. If you know that song I am hoping he does eventually know that he will eventually need to "put a ring on it".
So today I decided to video tape them dancing to it, Mike is out of town and I thought he would get a real kick out of watching his kids break it down. They of course cracked me up, Abby just kept running in and out of the shot but Will was the dancing machine. Can't wait to pull this video out years from now when Will has a serious girlfriend. Enjoy the dancing, it is a little long but about 1 to 1 and 1/2 minutes in Will shows some hints of break dancing, he does the 80's proud. Not sure what kind of dancing exactly goes on in Heaven but this family will definitely be game for it.

Great Find

Mike and I have had a kid free weekend. Mike's parents graciously took the kids for a "Nona and Papa Adventure" weekend as we have come to call it. They went to the Newport Aquarium today and they had a blast. We are so grateful to have two sets of grandparents who love our kids so much and love to take them for the weekend. Well I got to go out and run some errands. I spent one hour in Hobby Lobby. Normally I do not venture to Hobby Lobby and if I do I have a very specific purpose. There are way too many breakables in this store and I usually have my kids in tow therefore it is clearly too risky. So I had so much fun looking around and then I found this scripture plaque. I have wanted to decorate my family room with something scriptural but wasn't sure what yet. I saw this wonderful plaque and put it front and center on my mantle, I enjoy looking at it as I sit here and type. Also this item was on sale, it cost me a whopping 7 dollars. Thankfully I know that the words written on the plaque are priceless because they are spoken by my heavenly father. What a great reminder for my family and I each day, especially when all the news has been so doom and gloom. Thanks Lord for your timeless words of scripture and that you share them with me freely.

The Mommy Card

I just recieved these in the mail today. They are technically calling/business cards but since I am in the business of being a mommy, I call them my Mommy cards. It has my Name and monogram on front with my official title of Abby and Will's mom. On the back I had printed my home and cell number as well as my email. They also came in a cute pink and white polka dot tin that matches. I can't wait to pass my first one out. I love all the cool things I have found on etsy.com. God did not supply me with the gift of craftiness but I am happy to support that gift in others. Hope you all check out the mommy card sight and spend time checking out some other great finds as well.