So Thankful It's Friday!

What a difference a week makes!  Last Friday, about 10 p.m. (when I started writing this post) I was just leaving my awesomely fun wrap party at my friend Cathy's house!  She was so wonderful to be willing to open her house for my It Works launch party!  I wrapped about 10 ladies and all of them saw results from 1 to 4 inches lost!  It was awesome!!  We had a great time, so much fun!  Leave a comment if you're curious, I'd love to tell you more! :)  Really!!  The next day was wonderful as well.  My "mom" friend and I went to go see Fiddler on the Roof!  We had great fellowship...enjoyed the play....and had an amazing dinner at Red Lobster!!  I had two kinds of shrimp and lobster tail....total yumness!!  On my way home after dropping Mama G at home, my allergies kicked up in a major way.  The sneezing, the itchy eyes, the runny nose...that made for a long night.  I made it through Sunday, but was feeling the tiredness.
So after a great, long weekend, I had a couple of things I wanted to get done Sunday night, but wanted to get rest for the busy week ahead.  That "rest" plan got changed about 2 a.m. Monday morning... that's when I heard Bella scratching on my door.  It was pretty warm that night and I think she just got too warm in mom's room, so she wanted to come to my bed.  Oh joy!  I was able to get back to sleep, but that interruption did make getting up just 3 1/2 hours later tough.  Unfortunately it didn't end there!  Early Tuesday morning it happened again, but it was about 4 that morning.  And it happened again early Wednesday morning, again about 4.  The difference this time is that mom was up with the TV on, I went to go check to see if everything was OK.  Sometimes she may not be feeling well.  When I checked in, she was up getting dressed.  I told her what time it was and she said she knew she just wanted to get dressed.  Well, I was going back to bed...for a little bit.  It was getting tougher and tougher to wake up each morning.  Last week, all week, mom refused to let the homemaker/companion in.  I got a phone call three times that week!  I left school early the first day I got the call, because when that happened a couple of weeks ago she wasn't OK, still sitting on the edge of the bed.  When I rushed home that first day last week, mom was just relaxing on the couch.  When I asked her about not letting the homemaker/companion in, she just said, "Oh I didn't feel like getting up."  Then later, "They don't like Bella."  Aaaahhhhhh!!!!  Well, I didn't rush home the next two times, but did try to get home as soon as possible to make sure everything was OK...which it was!  I finally told Keep Me Home that I thought we needed to look into a new companion.  This girl talked...LOTS!!  She would talk to me for two hours straight whenever I was home!  She didn't clean or spend time with mom, just talked to me about......nothing much really! Ugh!  Then lately she had taken to "reorganizing" more than she did cleaning.  Anyway, they were going to find someone new.  Yay!! Wednesday was the first day she was coming.  I called and told them that I had made arrangements for her to get in.  When I got home, though, it didn't seem as if anyone had been there.  I can't ask mom, well, I mean I did, but she doesn't remember.  Wednesday night when I got home mom had had an accident and hadn't cleaned up well.  That was tough to have to come home and deal with.  As I was helping her clean up better, I noticed some white things on the floor.  When I looked closer, and picked them up, I realized they were pieces of bone!  I forgot that I usually try not to give mom chicken with bones anymore because she will feed them to Bella.  So, while I was gone, that's what happened.  I had bought some chicken wings and given them to her for dinner...and she did give some to Bella.  She didn't remember though of course.  That scared me, because I know that's not good for her, but of course mom doesn't remember that. :-/  Thursday I was spared the early morning wake up, thankfully!!  It was still an odd day, as I had to sub for 3rd and 4th grade for most of the day.  I was able to go let off some stress by going to exercise with my friend Angie! That was great fun!! But don't get too excited for me, the early morning wake up happened again this morning.  This time it was about 15 minutes before I had to get up.  Bella came to the door, and mom headed to the bathroom.  Bella was running around a bit, and it seemed like she had to go to the bathroom, so I took her out for a second, but made her come right back in.  I was going to try to get a few more minutes of sleep in.  That didn't happen... before I knew it, my alarm was going off.  Needless to say, I wasn't in the best of moods getting up.  It was another weird day.  All week we have had SAT testing, that takes place in the morning, then have to try to get in the four subjects I teach the 3rd grade with whatever time we have left until 1 p.m.  Then they go back to their classroom and do the rest of the subjects with their teacher.  Today, not only did we have testing, but the kids had their Amerathon walk to do as well, plus the 1st through 4th grades were having a going away party for a brother and sister whose last day was today.  So, I had to try to get my subjects done early so the kids had time to do what they needed to in their 4th grade classroom before the Amerathon walk and the party.  I wasn't able to go check out either because of my other responsibilities.  I was definitely ready to get home to relax, had to do some shopping first, but now I am relaxing!  And after my exhausting week, missing the mom I used to know, feeling a bit down, feeling as if I need to just stop dreaming some dreams, my awesome friend Kasey randomly texts me to remind me not to give up, my time is coming!  The Lord just gave her that thought to share with me!  Wow!  It's pretty amazing how God does that!
Lord, this was a rough week.  If  I'm going to be honest and why not, You already know my heart....I had a tough time trusting what you are doing in my life this week.  I wondered why I would have some great moments only to come home and be discouraged by things with mom.  I still don't understand it all, but I'm just going to continue to try to trust you through it.  It's not easy, though, and I feel at times you haven't really made it easy for me, but I'm just a sinful, struggling human, and I know my thoughts and ways are not yours.  I know you have a plan for my hope and future!  So, I'll keep trying!  Thank you for friends who love me, encourage me, help me, and make me laugh, cry, and smile on a daily basis!  Thank You, for caring for mom, Bella, and me!

Spring Break Update

The unofficial start of my spring break, as you already heard, was mom not feeling well.  She did slowly start to feel better, though there were a couple of moments during the week that I did worry about her.  I still enjoyed a pretty sweet, and restful break!  I enjoyed sleeping in...so much!! :)  I also enjoyed staying up late!  I got in some good reading time, which I always enjoy!  I also got to have a wonderful lunch with my amazing blessing of a friend, Kasey!  We went to On the Border and had a blast, enjoying great food and fellowship!  It is always a blessing to get together with her!  I watched my Huskies get to the Final Four...although tonight, I just watched them lose to Notre Dame...ugh!!! :(  Now Notre Dame has to be on, well, they have been on, but are definitely now on my..."Ick, I can't/won't cheer for you to win" list!  Too bad for them, they won't have me cheering for them!  Ok, back to spring break, I also got to enjoy a fun craft project that I was so excited about.  Between Pinterest and other fun blogs, I got this great craft idea!!  Hold on....buckle up....because  I'm telling you this is so super cool and exciting!
Check these out!!

A cute blog Little Miss Glamour Goes to Kindergarten did a fun post about glitter shoes.  The idea for the flats came from We are Not Martha.  It was pretty easy to do!

Mod Podge with some black glitter.  I added a little bit of other colors, too, but wanted a darker color.

Mix the Mod Podge and glitter

This is what it looks like after the first layer of the mixture is placed on the shoes.

The top pictures are after four layers of the mixture have dried.  Then it suggests putting one more layer of the Mod Podge on at the end to keep the glitter from coming off.  We are Not Martha actually used a Clear    Glaze Spray after the final mixture layer.  Either way they turn out looking amazing, do they not???

But then......check these out!!

Little Miss Glamour also had glitter soles in her post, but I had already pinned that on Pinterest a while ago.  They use the same process!  The hardest part is just waiting for them to dry so you can see how they look, and now it's just the agonizing wait until I can wear them! :)  So spring break was the perfect time to try these out.  I'm so glad I did!!  Hope I didn't blow you away too badly! :)  I know, they are pretty great! 

The one, I guess you could say "glitch" came Thursday.  I planned on another quiet day, but mom had a Dr.'s appointment.  I made it because of those couple of times mom made me nervous during the week.  She seemed to start to feel pretty sick after eating breakfast and dinner a couple of days in a row.  So I needed to make one.  It wasn't until 3, so that was nice, but I just hoped that it wouldn't take too long.  Sometimes we end up waiting for a while.  I thought if we could get out of there at a somewhat decent time (before dinner) we would take a trip over to Middletown to a cupcake shop there.  My friend Keilani told me they have the best cupcakes...well, she had a bacon maple cupcake that she said was amazing!  I wanted to just go see what they had.  Well, the doctor wanted to make sure there wasn't anything serious going on and wanted mom to have tests right away.  So, although we got out of there by about 3:45, we just ended up going over to New Britain General Hospital's Emergency Room for those tests....and we didn't leave until after 10 that night.  Hmmm....I didn't think the NoRA Cupcake Company would still be open at that time, so...we just went home.  By the way, the tests all came back fine!  That was why I was able to take mom back home, thankfully!  She has been much better the past few days.  Oh well, at least I had Friday to enjoy more free time, and I did.  It's been a great break, and I must admit, I'm a bit hesitant to go back tomorrow...but it is a short week!  So.....I think I can handle it! :)

Lord, thank you for an enjoyable week!  Thank you for the time spent with mom and Bella!  Thank you for the time spent with my wonderful friend, Kasey!  Thanks for allowing me to try my fun craft!  Thank you that mom is OK, and there were no problems with the tests she had.  Thank you for some quiet time and rest...and help me, PLEASE help me to be ready for tomorrow! :)  Thanks!

Tag! I'm It!

My good friend, who also just so happens to be a wonderful blogging friend, Tricia, just tagged me!  It's a fun blogging game that's going around...a fun way to get to know each other!  I love fun and games, so I just had to play along!  Tricia has an amazing blog, Two Tiaras and a Sword, that I just love to read.  She has a great sense of humor, great insight, godly wisdom and wonderful encouragement in her posts.  You should check out her awesome blog, I tell you, you will be encouraged!  She has given me 10 questions to answer, so here goes...

1.  What is the farthest you have ever traveled away from your home, and what was your purpose in going there?  I had the privilege to go to Greece in 2004.  It was a Mission's Trip that my church went on.  It was such a great trip, we were one of several churches and groups that went from around the U.S.  There were over 100 of us there.  We had the wonderful opportunity to go during the Olympics in Athens!  So, not only were we able to reach the people of Greece with the gospel, we also had the amazing opportunity to reach people from around the world.  We handed out hundreds of John and Romans in several different languages!  It was so cool!  Truly an experience I will never forget!

2.  What is your favorite Bible verse?

My favorite verses are Isaiah 26:3-4  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.  Trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.  These have helped me so many times!

3.  If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

Well, I have to say when I was in Greece, one thing I thought was, "Hmm...I could possibly live here."  I'm picky with food and I loved the food!  They still have some of the same restaurants we have...and... they have Starbucks! Even though it gets super hot (and I hate heat!), it's a dry heat, and a slight breeze makes it feel ok.(I never say things like that, lol)  But then I think that I just would like to live somewhere where they get a good amount of snow, because I LOVE snow! :)  Weird, I know...totally opposite ideas, eh, that's me, lol. 

4.  What is one spiritual truth that you have learned (or are still learning) that you wish to share?

The one that the Lord seems to keep trying to teach me is to trust Him.  Now don't get me wrong, I do trust Him, but so often I find worrying such a quick easy response, until the Lord reminds me what I'm supposed to be working on.  I really started thinking of this fact when my dad got really sick.  I even remember talking to my kids at school about learning to trust, that was our unofficial theme that year.  He is still trying to teach me to trust Him as I try to take care of my mom.  He is helping me, but I'm often a slow learner.

5.  Do you prefer to vacation in the mountains, or at the beach?

So funny you ask that!  I have said for years, more years than I would like to admit, that if the Lord ever allowed me to get married, I would like to have my honeymoon both places.  I would want to spend some time in the mountains enjoying some snow activities, and staying in a super nice cabin. It would be lots of fun, I love snow (have I mentioned that already?? :)!  After some winter fun in the mountains I would love to go to Tahiti and stay in one of those overwater bungalows.  So, I would have to say both!  

6.  If you could have lunch with anyone...past or present...famous or not, who would it be?

I would have to say Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I'm pretty obsessed with all things Little House!  I would love to sit and have her tell me her amazing stories in person.  That would be awesome!

7.  What is your most prized possession?

There are lots of things that I love and am thankful for, that I consider super special, my Bible of course, my family, and of course my sweet pup!

8.  Do you prefer books or movies?

Oh, definitely books.  I have to read the books before I can even think about seeing the movies.  The books are always better anyway!

9.  What is your favorite smell?

Hmmm...that's a tough one, I guess good food like cookies or french fries.

10.  What is your favorite sound? 

Well, I'm definitely a music nerd, I LOVE music.  I even remember a Youth Trip where we were at a family's house and they were playing Beethoven or Mozart or something...some symphony.  I sat nearby "directing" the music.  I was so into it and enjoying it so much, I didn't realize one of the leaders was video taping me for quite a while.  I got to relive it again when they showed the video of our trip to the church when we got back.  Embarrassing!  I also have to say the sound of a baby's belly laugh is pretty great, too!

That was fun!  Thanks, Tricia for tagging me!
Here are my questions:
1.  What is your favorite past time?
2.  Do you have pets?  What kind? What are their names?
3.  What is your favorite quote or verse?
4.  Do you have children?  How many?
5.  What is your favorite food?
6.  What is a favorite book you have recently read?
7.  What is your favorite movie?
8.  What is a favorite or most desired vacation spot?
9.  Why do you love blogging?
10.  What is something important that you have learned?
I'm going to tag:
Linda at Back on the Farm
Latane at Living Life on Main Street
Casey at Miss Casey's Corner

Spring Break...Finally, A Little Early...Sadly

This day has been anticipated for quite a while!!  It has been a very long, busy couple of months.  With basketball games and sickness, and family visiting and sickness, and Spirit Week and sickness, subbing (lots!) and sickness, and crazy warm weather...and did I mention sickness?!  So to say that I have been looking forward to this is definitely an understatement!  After being out for a week while mom and I were sick, I came back to school to see that many students were still sick!  Our school has had everything from the flu, to strep, to fifth's disease, to pink eye, to terrible colds and allergy problems!  It has been ongoing, so this break was definitely needed.  I had to sub about four times in the past two weeks!  So, I missed my kids for a week while I was out sick, then missed them again for four days as I subbed, even though once was in their classroom (it's not the same as having just the three of us).  Then of the days I did have them to myself,  four of those were spent missing one or the other.  My little boy was sick one day, then my little girl was sick for 3 days.  So, yes, I'm ready for break.  It was only a half day today, but I was counting down the minutes, and I think the kids were, too.  We were all a bit unmotivated today.  We did get things done, though.  We were getting to our last subject before they went back to their classroom, when my phone rang.  It was Keep Me Home calling to tell me the homemaker/companion had been at the house for a half hour, but couldn't get in, my mom never came to open the door.  That quickly ended my day.  I had the kids go back to their classroom and wished them a great spring break.  I was disappointed to have to leave them because we were going to finish our reading book today and I love to finish the books with them.  But I needed to hurry home and see what was going on with mom.  I tried to call a few times and there was no answer.  To be honest I wasn't thinking very good thoughts, though I kept telling myself to just be calm and trust.  I really did try, but I have a very active imagination! (I'm the girl who would get out of the tub, call my mom to come upstairs so I could walk downstairs with her, because there was either a HUGE spider outside the door waiting to eat me, or there was someone in the living room waiting to hurt me, I could almost see them!  Yea, that's my imagination, pitiful!)  Then I hate to even mention this, but there were a couple of songs on the radio on my way home that talked about trusting the Solid Rock.  Hate to admit that made my mind a little crazier as I wondered why those songs were coming on...what did they mean??  I know, pretty pitiful, huh...sigh, lol.  I just prayed that maybe she would still be on the side of the bed where I left her in the morning as she was getting her clothes on.  I was concerned because she hadn't gotten up and walked around this morning, but I needed to get to school.  So that was where I left her.  When I finally got home (how come it feels like an hour drive, when you're trying to get home quickly???), there she was in the same exact spot.  I just thanked God that she was otherwise OK.  She complained that she was hurting all over and couldn't get up.  I helped her up and got her to the bathroom and changed her bed.  She is still in lots of pain, but getting around better tonight.  Looks like we will be making a trip or so to the doctor's during spring break.  So, my spring break started earlier than I expected, and not in the most pleasant way, but I'm thankful it's here!  Then tonight a friends from mom's church came over to check on some lights that were not coming on properly in the house.  It pretty much seemed like he just touched them in his magician electrician kind of way, and now they are working properly!  What a blessing!  And....it's that most wonderful time of the year for me...March Madness!!!  Ahh, hello spring break, glad you're here!
Thank you, Lord, for taking care of mom and keeping her safe.  Thank you for reminding me right away to trust...I know I had some weak moments, but I know you understand.  Thank you for Tony and his help around the house even though he is not well himself.  Please bless him and his wife Candy, and bless his health...bless them for their constant kindness and generosity and help to us.  They were always there for pappy, too.  Thank you for wonderful friends!  And thank you so very much for my much anticipated spring break finally being here!!  Help us to have a great week!  Thank you for who you are and for your constant care for us!

Spirit Week 2012

This is a little late, but...better late than never!  I love Spirit Week, and I love to take fun pictures.  I didn't get around to get as many good pictures as I would have liked, but I do like the ones I got.  Tuesday was Disney day, there were so many cute looks.  There were princesses and kings, and Minnie and Mickey, Peter Pan and Wendy, and even Andy from Toy Story.  I sadly only got a couple of pictures from that day, but you will get the idea.

King.....Jonny? Forgot to ask, lol

Tinker Bell

Wednesday was Spy day!

 Yes, that was definitely fun!  Thursday was crazy hair day, and boy oh boy was there some cuhhh-razzzyy hair!!

Don't you LOVE his hair??  Not saying where in the world he could have gotten that from...but...hee hee,  love this 'do!

....and now.... for the craziest hair of the day...and a couple of great pictures to capture it!

 ...and greatest picture of all time!!!

Friday was School Color day, but I didn't get pictures of that sadly.  Thursday and Friday nights were the tournament games.  Thankfully I was able to make it both nights.  It was great fun to wildly cheer our kids on and to watch our them win the championship games!!  Such fun!
Lord, thank you for these little breaks in the norm!  Things to bring some laughter and fun and enjoyment.  I'm sure you get as much joy out of it as we do!

So Many Things

There are so many things on my mind...so many things that I had been planning to write about for a while.  It has been pretty busy lately, though.  One weekend was the Ladies' Seminar and I planned...and still do plan to write some more gems from that...and to share some pictures.  Then it was my birthday, and that week was busy.  Those who have read my blog for any time now know that I am definitely a current events type of gal when there are sad or unusual stories in the news.  That's exactly what happened on my birthday, and I planned to write about it, but never got around to it.  I was so saddened on my birthday to hear the awful news of the Powell boys who already lost their mom.  She has never been found and her husband was a suspect.  These two sweet boys were brought over to their dad's house for a visit, when he attacked them, and set the house on fire with all of them in it.  Heartbreaking!!  Such an awful tragedy, that I will never forget!
That next weekend after my birthday, was also busy with a party, a UCONN game, and family time, which I planned to write about, but never got the chance to.  The next week was busy with things at school and games to go to.  Then last week was also incredibly busy.  It was Spirit Week!!  Love Spirit Week!  We had lots of fun, Tuesday was Disney day, Wednesday was Spy day, Thursday- Crazy Hair day, and Friday- School Color day.  I planned to write about it and to show some fun pictures, but I didn't get to that either yet.  Then of course, last Thursday and Friday nights were the basketball tournament games.  I had to do some fancy planning to make sure mom was taken care of, before I could head to the games.  We won the State Championship for both the boy's and girl's teams!  I planned to write about that, adding it into the Spirit Week post, but as I said, that didn't happen.  Then there was this week...this was....a....week!!  So since I'm here, I guess I'll write a little about it.  Monday, I got up and was getting ready for school.  As I was getting ready, I heard mom making some strange noises.  When I went to her room to check on her, I found she was heaving and I got the bucket and a bag to her just in time before she threw up.  I thought it might have just been a fluke thing.  I finished getting ready, but texted to tell that I might not be coming in if mom wasn't feeling better soon.  Many times I just wait for her to have breakfast and get back in bed and if she seems to be doing better, then I make the tough decision to probably go in.  Well, she had breakfast like normal, but then started throwing up again.  So...that brought me to the decision that I probably needed to stay home.  My good friend Cathy encouraged me to do that, because she said if she really was sick I could end up coming home to a mess.  She knows I hate to miss school, but she is also very wise!  Her advice was right on!  Mom struggled the rest of the day being in the bathroom and throwing up, and many times she would forget to use the bucket, so it was getting pretty messy.  I was doing laundry literally all day long!  I have never run up and down the stairs so much, and for once was thankful for the abundance of towels in the linen closet.  I almost ran out of towels to use.  I was also quite thankful that the washer and dryer did not choose to go on strike on me!  Thankfully I was able to keep the pj's rotating quickly enough, too!  It was a long day!  I wondered what I was going to do Tuesday, because she might be a little better, but maybe not all the way.  So should I go to work, or do a half day, or what?  It's so hard for me to make these different decisions, but the Lord helped me!  Next thing I knew on Tuesday, I was in the bathroom, and I was throwing up.  Well, that settled that!  So, I stayed home.  Well, that was another busy day!  Mom was slowly recovering while I was in the thick of it.  What an interesting household, but Bella held the fort down well!  She was such a good little trooper hanging out with us sickees, barely getting out to enjoy the outdoors.  So, it's been another busy week in a different way.  We are finally feeling on the better side, but it has taken the week to do it.  We were definitely well taken care of this week with mom's pastor and our neighbor, and many other offers!  So thankful for wonderful friends...and for plenty of sick days!
Lord, thank you for taking such good care of us, allowing me to already have gotten many groceries.  For allowing people to be so caring with homemade chicken soup, gatorade, ginger ale, and constant checking on us.  You have truly blessed us!  And thank you so much for helping this too to pass!  Thank you for the constant strength that you gave this week!  You are the Great Physician!

I Think Myself Happy

No, no, it's OK, I'm not becoming one of those think yourself thin/happy kind of people.  Those words are actually the words of the Apostle Paul as he stood before King Agrippa.  He was just stating that he was happy to be able to share his testimony with King Agrippa.  I had never seen that before....well, of course I have, but had never really noticed or thought of it much.  This weekend our church had our (somethingith) annual Christian Ladies' Seminar....oops, people at my church will be disappointed that I don't know the number. :)  Either way it was a wonderful weekend.  The theme was liberty, I wondered how the speakers would use that, and boy did they use it well.  I gained so much this past weekend!  This phrase...I think myself happy... just keeps coming to mind.  Mrs. Sheila Snider from Shawnee Baptist Church in Kentucky spoke about Flying High the Flag of the Joy Filled Life.  She's the one who took us to Acts 26 where we saw those words of Paul.  Again, I understand why Paul said this, but the Lord has used it to remind me that Paul was in a pretty rotten situation when he spoke those words.  Yet he still spoke them.  I understand he was just happy to be able to speak for himself before the king, but using those words just spoke volumes to me.  When things are tough, can I still find joy/happiness?  When things don't go the way I want them to go, or don't happen in the time I would like them to happen, am I able to still think happy thoughts, positive things?  Do I allow sadness, depression, or  discouragement to keep me from being happy or being able to find the simple joys?  Sadly many times that is the case...times when even the good things end up with an ugly edge to them and keep me from enjoying the good.  Times when Satan's lies scream to me to see the bad rather than the good...or to focus more on the bad rather than the good.  So... I'm thankful for this verse.  Thankful that the Lord has used it to help me consider how I think and how I handle situations that come my way.  It's a process, and not an easy one, and I'm sure I'll struggle with it often, but I will try with the Lord's help to think myself happy...OK, I still worry about the way that sounds and how it might be perceived, so I'll say...I will try with the Lord's help to consider and count my blessings and find joy. :)
Lord, thank you for this past weekend... for great lessons learned, for things spoken in due season, for reminders of what You desire for us (me) and from us (me).  Please remove and keep Satan's lies from my mind, and help me to see Your truth.