I Blew It Today!

I tell you what, the devil, he is a thief! He is a liar! He came into our home this afternoon and has stolen my joy...my home is in an uproar. Christopher was hitting on the bus today and had to be moved. He still isn't taking naps at school and his teacher told me he is very disruptive to the other children at nap time and that we have to do something. As soon as he gets in the house he starts hitting the cat, yelling and screaming. I have had him in time out for 30 minutes. No lie. Every time I start the timer he gets up. He is screaming at me right now. I got so angry! I have yelled and screamed as loud as he has been.... gee which one is the adult?! He has spit all over the floor, in the chair..on me. I am at my witts end. The paddle hit the bum today......

I spoke with his doctor last night. She is contacting a pediatric neuro-psychologist just to make sure we aren't missing something. I have schedule an appointment with an allergist to make sure he isn't having food reactions or what meds he might be allergic too. The doctor also suggested we look into Aderall. If we want to try it, she is willing to put him on that. This will be the fourth medication change.

I guess I should have been prepared for this.... give praise to the Lord and it infuriates the devil.

This beats all... I'm making Christopher clean the chair and floor he spit all over...he's in heaven. He's gone from screaming to calm and nice in 30 seconds.

If any of you have kids with ADHD issues, and you have used Aderall, or have any medication information that would help us, I sure would like to hear from you. We are to a point of desperation.

Thanks.

"My Space"

I shared with ya'll a few weeks ago that I had started a new Bible Study. I am on day 30. I've only missed a few days, which is pretty good considering I held a headache for over 9 days! Now, I need to say this, while I have and am thoroughly enjoying and learning from this devotional; I need it to be said that I have come across something I have a problem with. The devotional states if I have enough faith.... I will be healed...or whatever the situation is. I believe in a God that can heal. I believe in a God that performs miracles daily; many I won't know about until I reach Glory. I also know that the Lord's perfect will is not always...many times my own. There have been times I have prayed for miracles and seen them happen; there have also been times I have prayed for miracles, and they didn't happen. I do not believe it is because my faith was not "strong" enough that those miracles did not happen!


Now, to get on to what I wanted to share with ya'll..... this devotional has really been effective in organizing me! I really have a loooong way to go; but it has been helping me with my quiet time with the Lord, with getting my menu for the home ready, using more coupons, money saving tips, to-do lists...everything is in one place.... that alone is HUGE for me! I also find that I am not as "idle" as I used to be! I have my task sheet/desires I'd like to accomplish, I know which ones are priority, which ones I can delegate and which ones are those, "I'll get to them when I can" type things. One area that is highly encouraged and reinforces what I already knew was a quiet time with the Lord.... IN THE MORNING! There is a reason why the Lord speaks of having quiet times with Him in the early hours of the day; He blesses your day, He uses that time with Him to encourage you, to love on you, to GO BEFORE you! I've known that and did that for years; until October when we had to leave our home because of black mold. I got side-tracked.


My prayer for the last 30 days each night has been that the Lord would wake me when He wants me up. If He doesn't wake me up by 5 a.m., then the alarm does. In the devotional, we are encouraged to have a "prayer room." It says to use a closet if you have to, as long as you have a place to go for prayer and meditation. Well, I didn't have one. I was using the living room, then would get interrupted with "life." Then, I decided to empty out a storage closet. Actually, when Chris' parents added on to their house over 20 years ago, it was supposed to be a bathroom! That never happened and it became a storage room for them, and then for us once we moved in. I've packed every closet, given stuff to goodwill, and still have some "stuff" to go through, but have succeeded in having a room of meditation and prayer! The walls need painting, need to one day, get some inspirational pictures on the walls, in fact, there's not even carpet...just carpet remnants, but I LOVE MY ROOM! Even the kids and pets like it. We started doing our nighttime reading in there before the kids go to bed. It's pretty cool. So, I hope this will encourage you to go find a closet, go through your stuff, and make a spot for YOU! It's pretty cool.

this is some of Kayla's art work from middle school:)

notice the red coffee can.... its been decorated by the kids. Kaitlyn put some "flowers" in it for me. :)

Memories

I don't have very many memories of my child hood; BUT, one that I do have is of my Mammow painting my fingernails and toenails. Every time we would go for a visit, she did them for me, and in bright red!

Kaitlyn loves her nails polished. Normally Kayla does them for her...but today I got to do them. The color she picked, bright red! If she had picked the purple or blue she normally does, I can't say I would have recalled those memories, but I'm thankful she did. I'm attaching pictures so my Mammow can see them. She is in Jackson, MS. I haven't seen her in over two years. I miss her terribly. I love you Mammow. Thanks for the memories!

Hope the pics of cute pudgy, red toes make you smile as they did me.

I got an email from my Mammow....she made me cry; felt led to share:

"Yes, I did smile but through teary eyes. I can still see you lying in bed after I finished polishing them, lying on your back, holding up your nails and looking down at your toenails. Thank you for thiose memories, too, along with many others.

I love you....MaMaw"

Thank you, God, for memories; for good memories and the love that comes with them.

West Florida High School Prom

These are pictures of Kayla getting her fingers and toenails done Friday. I embarrassed her by taking pictures, but this is her first prom! I have to have pictures; it's my right as her mom! Right?!

Kayla holding her cat Baghera

shoes!


Kayla with Chris

Kayla with Uncle Craig (Chris' brother) and Memaw (Chris' mom).

Kayla with Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn had just gotten out of the bath; her hair was wet and she put on her princes skirt. She then decided to stick her tongue out while I took the picture.


Christopher with Kayla

Kayla with Grammy (my mom).

Kayla and me.

In case you are wondering, I, the mom with no "up-do" hair experience AT ALL did her hair!! Can you believe it?! We went through pages and pages of pictures online; found a style we both agreed on (that's a miracle right there) and I followed the directions as best I could. Now the picture had pretty pearls in the hair, but for the most part, I think it turned out pretty good. She was pleased, and I guess that's all that really matters.

Isn't she beautiful!?!

We had taken pictures of just her before Justin got here so we wouldn't hold them up too long. This is Kayla peaking around the corner to see if he was here yet. She wanted to make a grand entrance....

"Is he here yet?!"

This is Justin!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!

I have a lot more, but it has taken over an hour just to get these on here. I have more on facebook. I will also add more tomorrow or Monday. Justin was surprising Kayla with dinner at Hemmingway's (on the beach)! I hope they get pictures there and if they do, I will post them also.

Abraham Lincoln

President Obama, throughout his campaign and the inauguration was compared to Abraham Lincoln. I wonder....just wonder....if President Obama had read this, if he would do things differently? Or maybe, if the media had read this, they would stop comparing him to Abraham Lincoln..... hhhmmmmm.

Weekly Check-In

OK; I lost 2lbs this week! I was hoping for more as I really worked hard; but that's OK. I've been over a week with no cokes; I've increased my water to 64 oz a day (minimum); I've added fruits and veggies to my snack time, and we aren't eating out like we were. Good changes have started.

I've had a horrible headache for over nine days now. I had my follow-up appointment for my EEG yesterday. I was on the skirts of a full blow migraine. He gave me some samples to try getting rid of it and gave me a different prescription to take as a preventative as we just couldn't afford the Topamax. He said my EEG shows signs of seizures, but since I am not having any there's no reason to do further testing unless they start. Anyway, my goal/hope for this week is to start walking; depending, of couse on the headaches.

The scripture I am reading and claiming daily is I Corinthians 9: 24 - 27

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict straining. They do it to get a crown that will not last; BUT we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. NO, I BEAT MY BODY AND MAKE IT MY SLAVE so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." woo-hoo!

Now, I have to get some ice on my neck and close my eyes. OH, one more thing though, Christopher is doing OK. Yesterday was two weeks with no medications. He's had some pretty bad days, and some good days. We have noticed on the days he gets less than 11 hours of sleep, or that we have to wake him at 6 a.m. to catch the 6:30 bus, that he has pretty miserable days. We have been putting him to bed at 7:00, which is early, but he isn't napping during the days anymore with out his medication. He doesn't fall asleep right away, but usually by 7:30 he is asleep. We've decided to try something...let him sleep in each morning and take him to school. This will not become a normal thing once he is back on meds, but we are trying to help him, his teacher and other students not have to deal with disruptions. We'll see what happens. I thank you for your prayers.

Me.

Check This Out

Jeff Fields was one of the Youth Pastor's at Olive Baptist years ago. I can't remember how long ago, but he was there too short of a time! He was real; you always knew where he was coming from; he loved the kids and didn't want to see them making the bad decisions/choices he did. Jeff and his wife, Sheri, sensed the Lord calling them to another area. I don't even know where they are, except that it's COLD! My husband pulled up Jeff's website. I'd like you to check it out. Jeff is very deep, and sometimes speaks a language I just don't get, but we come from similar backgrounds... and the message he shares is the message many of us share that have "been there and done that" and that is that Jesus Christ loves you. He died for you. Through Him you can experience life, freedom, and forgiveness of sins. Pretty cool.

Each of these links will take you back to the same place, I was just trying to make it easier for you to watch the video, read about Jeff and Sheri and the ministry.

http://www.primalfaith.net/pf-involved.htm

http://www.primalexperiment.blogspot.com/

http://www.primalfaith.net/index.html

Thanks for taking the time to meet my friend Jeff. He and his wife also have a facebook page; but I'm pretty illiterate and don't know how to connect you to that from here. If you have facebook, you can follow them to my friends and check them out there too.

She Speaks, Proverbs 31 Ministry Conference

I made a mistake, there are two "give-a-ways" from Lysa Terkeurst. This is the one for the She Speaks Conference. The one below is for an online conference.
Sorry. Good luck!

I forgot to do this earlier, but Lysa Terkeurst of Proverbs31 Ministry is having a give-a-way to a conference. If we had the funds for the travel expenses, I'd be entering in a heart beat! BUT, that is not a reason to not share the information with you guys!

Please click on the link below and enter. Good luck!

http://lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-draws-people-to-conference.html

Have a busy day with dentist appointments, delivering pies, making more pies and homeschooling schedule.... more later.

Coming Back To Life

Have you heard this song, Coming Back To Life, by Echoing Angels? I love this song. Powerful. I couldn't find it being sung by Echoing Angels on YouTube, but I did find this incredibly talented individuals that is playing the piano by ear! I've listened twice, once to relish the words of this song, and once to be amazed at the talent of this person. Please take the time, listen to the words, not only with your ears, but with your heart; then, watch in amazement at this talent!

More Baby Pics....

Michelle got on the road this morning before light. Here are a few more pics from the visits throughout the weekend. I miss her already.

This is our cousin, Tanya, holding Hudson.

Grammy with Hudson

This is my "little brother," Jon. Isn't he good looking! Sorry girls..he's happily married!

He's already praising the Lord...."Hallelujah!" :)




Bubba giving Hudson the heads up on all the basketball games:)

This is me with Trey, my cousin's baby. It's been almost a year since I saw him! He's gotten so big!

I guess that will be all the pics until I get the ones from Michelle's camera. Please be praying for Michelle and Hudson as they travel today; she has a good 12 hours ahead of her, not including stops with the baby.

Thanks.

Praying Hands

I came across this today "by accident." (I don't believe in accidents but divine appointments...nonetheless... have to share this.

Did you know this was there? Please check it out!

http://www.prayinghands.org/

Oh My Head!

Still fighting headaches...can't seem to shake them. Attempting Sunday School, but don't know if I can do S/S and service.

Michelle is coming by for one last visit today. I will miss her.

Will put pics up later.

Our First Day Of Spring

After finishing all the pie orders, and then some, the kids and I went to the beach. We only got to spend about 50 minutes out there, but we still had fun. I needed to get out of the house and the kids needed the fresh air!

My three dumplin's:)

The best picture of Kayla I think I've ever seen!

My little man:)

My prissy "little bit" :)

Caffeine Headache

OK, so I've made it almost 48 hours without a Coca Cola! Woohoo! That is huge for me. I also drank over 64oz of water yesterday... that's another good thing. Did good with my eating until hunger struck at 8:30 and I had a bowl of cereal...but, I'm OK with that because of all the other positives I had yesterday. I do have one correction to make, I need to lose 111 pounds. When I weighed in I had to realize I weigh more now than I have my entire life. BUT, I am not letting that get to me because of the changes I've started already.

My migraine medication isn't touching this headache and I have two more large pies and six small ones to finish up. I'm taking a break and Kaitlyn and I are going to the beach. Kayla had a rough night and wants to go back to bed, so little bit and I get to go off together...which never happens.

Have a great day!

Counting It So, Though It Is Not, So It Will Be!

The title of this post is a quote from my Pastor, Ted Traylor. I am posting it on index cards and placing it through out my house today.

Last year, on January 7th, I awoke knowing the Lord was going to change my life, but in order for Him to do that, I had to surrender an area of my life I had been holding on to...my eating. I started making a change that very day and on January 9th I signed up for Weight Watchers. In four short months I had lost 35 pounds! I was so proud. In May, I started to not deal with "life" very well. In June I was diagnosed with Depression. I began eating and gorging all over again. As of today, I have gained the 35 pounds I lost and an additional 5. I've had a headache for four days now and my feet have been swollen since Sunday. I imagine my blood pressure is high. Diabetes, Heart Disease, High Cholesterol and Obesity all run in my family. I don't want that. For me, food is just as much of an addiction as is the alcohol I used to consume. Gorging and making bad food choices is just as toxic as consuming alcohol. Now, just because I know the facts does not make this easy for me. While I don't want to die an early death because of me making bad choices in eating habits, I have no will power, self control, or desire to do this. Say what you want, but eating healthy cost more, takes more time to plan, and requires dedication. For this task, I just don't have it in me.... I know, I know, the Holy Spirit that resides in me can do it... I know all the scriptures, I know what He can do, because He has done it for me for nearly 11 years of sobriety... so, here is where I am this very moment. I already started drinking more water a few weeks back. I'm breaking out my 64 oz jug I got from Weight Watchers, I'm digging out my 12 or 14 weeks of pamphlets and my journal guide, and I am going to start making better choices. This is where the title of my post comes in... COUNTING IT SO, THOUGH IT IS NOT, SO IT WILL BE! I have to make a change, I don't want to hate my pictures being taken like at family gatherings this past weekend. I want to be able to go for walks with my kids and not feel like I'm gonna croke! I wanna be able to ride rides at the fair this year with my kids.

So, the big picture, I am ... (holding my breath)...100 pounds over weight. Yikes. My doctor's notes said I was "morbidly obese." (sigh...) I was in such a hurry last year and lost great amounts...3 - 6 pounds a week. I'm scared to lose that much now because I put it all back on so quickly. I know I'm being redundant, I just know I need to make a change... We cannot afford for me to attend the weekly meetings; so I am holding myself accountable first to the Lord, but also to you. Once I have lost my weight goal, I will share my weight with you. However, I will weigh in every Thursday. I will be real, I will be honest. My short term goal is 5 pounds a month. I know that sounds silly, but I am having to put my mind in gear here.

Now that I've not only been real with you, but with myself for the first time in months, I have something cool that Lord gave me this morning...just a few minutes ago actually. I was sitting here, when this bright light caught my attention. (I had opened the outside door in our room to let some fresh air in earlier this a.m.) The piercing light was a sun ray shining through that door, our room, kitchen and reflecting off the computer screen... blinding me. I got up and took a picture. It's not the greatest picture as the trees from my neighbors yard is filtering the light... but it's the same tree filters that allowed me the reflection this morning....

Lamentations 3:22 & 23 says, "Because of the Lord's faithful love, we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!" That's the verse He gave me this morning, that every day is a new day, therefore, every day gives me a new HOPE. For me, that's my Father in Heaven, ushering me into His presence, to show me that He is here, that this is the time for me to get well, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Kind of cool...huh?!

I am still enjoying my sister being home. She is such a great mommy. Hudson is absolutely beautiful.

One of Chris' new medications he takes for diabetes has had a weird affect on him, he is in bed. He never calls in sick to work, but it's making him loo-loo!

I have over 60 pies to make today...so I have to get started.

Cupcakes 101

We made cupcakes yesterday afternoon.... the kids love to help cook....and making cupcakes is no exception, especially when there is cake mix involved!

Kayla was scooping and Kaitlyn leaned forward to try getting a bite!

aaaaawwwwww

After dinner, once the cupcakes had cooled; I let the kids ice and decorate their own cupcakes.

Everything was going great; until... my 16 year old absolutely lost her mind......

and she nailed me!


BUT, I don't back down very easy! She should know this by now!




The reason I am laughing.... nope, I hadn't seen myself yet, Kayla fell out the screen door, onto the porch! I tried to help her up, but she was so slippery from icing, I just couldn't do it! She had fallen and literally couldn't get up!


SEE!!!!!



At this moment, we both got to see each other for the first time since the "battle of the wills" began. It was hilarious ya'll!

Whew.... what a night!

Christopher and Kaitlyn absolutely loved it....