Quick Post...

I just wanted to check in for a minute and let you all know that things are okay here. I'm still working on my Bible studies (I am currently in two different studies! :) and I am still trying to watch my portion sizes and exercise. Today we got to break out our bicycles and ride with Kiddo for a little bit - and I think my in-laws are both going to get new bikes for Christmas...bikes like mine! :) They both love my bike - we bought a Raleigh 4.0 Passage cruiser bike a couple of years ago. The Raleighs they have now are very similar...but are slightly improved with new gear shifts. My bike rides like a dream! It is smooth and easy to pedal. And it's pretty, too. :)

I've got to go for now, but I'll try to post next week!

Be blessed!

It's a Busy World!

Hi friends. Today I have been recuperating from one of the longest, most stressful weeks of my life. I cannot go into detail, but I have some friends dealing with an awful situation. My goal is to be salt and light to them until they can get past some of their anger, but they need a tremendous amount of prayer. Prayer that they can forgive, move on and run back to the arms of a loving God. Also prayer that this situation will be resolved this week. If it's not this week, it's not likely that it will be resolved for at least 6-12 months, and I can assure you that in these circumstances, that is simply not acceptable. They need God to work a miracle for them...and my prayer is that when He does, they realize His signature is all over it and run back to Him. Oh how He loves them!

Moving on to something more positive...Kiddo learned yesterday how to ride his bike! Several months ago, PaPa got an idea. Kiddo wouldn't trust anyone and so in order to teach him balance on his bicycle, PaPa took off his pedals. Kiddo would scoot and coast. Over. And. Over. :) Once he got that, we went to a nearby school parking lot where there is a very gradual slope and he would scoot and coast even longer. Once he really got the balance, we had to talk him in to putting the pedals back on. And in just minutes he was off on his own! It was amazing. I was taking pictures as soon as they got the pedals on and I caught the first images on the camera. My in-law's camera. Therefore I have no pics - or the video I took - yet. But when I get them, I will try to put something on here for you to see how proud we are of him! They grow so fast. I was fighting tears...such a sweet moment of pure joy. My baby's not a baby...he's a big boy. And soon he'll be a young man. How I want to treasure each moment like this and savor it forever!

It is going to be a very busy few weeks as I have added some new things into my already busy schedule. This is what my typical week will look like for the next 12 weeks.

Sunday - at church in the morning; First Place 4 Health in the afternoon
Monday - Kiddo's shots; school
Tuesday - Tuesday Morning Bible Study; school
Wednesday - school; appliance repair guy (yeah...fridge door seal and microwave and neither can be fixed in one week apparently :\ Ugh!); helping friends/meeting; choir
Thursday - school; NOVO; next week we'll have our homeschool meeting/Fall Party (that I'm in charge of! Yikes!)
Friday - school; next week I have my next Dr. appointment :)
Saturday - if we have to catch up, we will use some of the morning for school; Family Day

Each day this week, I have a First Place 4 Health Bible study to do. I have to track all of my food/drink intake. I have to measure myself (or have Hubby help :) and I have even more homework that I need to have done. (It's the first week, so I have a lot of things to start so that I have all the info needed all in one spot.) Then next week, I'll have that Bible Study in addition to my Tuesday Morning Bible Study homework. All this and I still need to exercise!

Wow! Am I out of my mind?!?

It is unlikely I will have a spare moment to post in the next two weeks, so know that I am trying to stay current on reading your blogs and get my homework done...yeah, well you know what I have to do! Please pray for peace for me. I need to get this done, but with the holidays coming up I knew it was going to start getting crazy. I'll go for now, but I miss you all!

And by the way, before I go...I weighed at Kiddo's appointment this morning. I'm down just over 10 pounds since my doctor's appointment in September! Next Friday is my next appointment and if she was happy with a 3.8 pound loss, she's going to be thrilled this time! Thank you for your prayers...I'm thinking of and praying for you all often.

I hope to update again this year! :)

May you be greatly blessed for the blessing you have been to me!

A Little Under the Weather

Friday night I was blessed to spend time with a lovely couple and their precious toddler boy. Hubby and I went to school with E back in the day. :) We weren't particularly close, but he was always a nice guy with a lot on his shoulders. He still is. His wife, H (common-law as they are not yet married) is beautiful...and just as sweet as she is pretty. She is a great stay-at-home mom to their active and oh-so-polite little guy...they both just adore him.

I have to admit, a few weeks ago I was curious why they were not married, so I asked him...politely, of course. He said, "...besides it's just a piece of paper, right?" I didn't really know what to say then...but later I had the words that I wanted to share with him. Since I haven't yet felt led to share them with him (God will show me the right time) I would like to share them here.

A marriage certificate is just a piece of paper. A marriage is so much more. When I agreed to marry my wonderful husband, I was telling him that I believe his promises to me. Promises to provide for me emotionally - better than my parents did. Promises to provide me with stability and peace. Promises to love me...even when I felt unlovable. And my husband has without a doubt provided me all of these things and more - but not 100% of the time. My marriage isn't perfect - no marriage ever is. It is work - and he promised me that he was going to work on that marriage as long as we are together. A marriage is a commitment - not just a piece of paper. However, by accepting his proposal and marrying him, I promised him honor, respect, love and friendship for all of our marriage. I promised in return to give him all that he promised me. I just hope I've kept up my end of the bargain so far as well as he has. (Most days I really wonder - I occasionally tell him that he's too good to me...and there have been a few days that I wondered what I did to deserve him! :)

Thanks for letting me rant a bit there. H is active in a nearby church, but E usually works on Sundays. I doubt that they have many Christian friends that they actually hang out with, but Hubby and I want to be a good influence on them. (That's what E tells us - that we're 'good folk'.)And we want them to see that despite the very poor examples that they have seen of marriage as of yet, there are some of us out there who love being married and (almost :) all that it entails. Not necessarily that we are happy every moment of every day, but that marriage as whole is a great thing that God intended to be enjoyed.

Today has been a rough day. Some friends of mine are in a horrible situation right now that I cannot explain - and likely will not post about in the future - and they could use your prayers. This is going to be a bad situation that a lot of people are going to have to deal with for a while and it all stems from a misunderstanding. In fact, misunderstanding a child...this is all I will share - but if you will please pray for the truth to be made clear and that God's will be accomplished with peace and comfort in the meanwhile. Thank you so much, dear Prayer Warriors!

My sister (Angel's mom) is also dealing with a lot...she would love to be out on her own but cannot afford anything as it is now. She is going to school full time and Angel is having issues at school. And my sister is having issues (still) with Angel's dad and his off-the-wall accusations. He is abusing the court system in addition and my sister and niece are the ones who have to pay for that. Please lift them up in prayer as well - it is so hard to see her struggle in need of legitimate help only to not "qualify" for anything. Not to mention that since she lives with our mom and stepdad, she tells me that my parents are struggling as well. (Mom wouldn't tell me...sis keeps me informed about all the important stuff and this is the first time she has really told me how bad it is.)

In the meantime, since this is such a deliriously happy post - so sorry that I seem to be in such a bad place right now! - I am feeling pretty icky. My throat is scratchy and my head is stuffy...I'm a bit nauseated and I'm not sure if it is just my nerves or what. I'm sure that is a very likely possibility, however as this is flu season, I'm not taking chances. I'm taking lots of immune boosters and trying to keep my hands washed and/or sanitized often.

I've got a Bible study to work on today, so I'm going to see what Kay Arthur wants to teach me today. Tomorrow is the last day of this study - I think, that's when our homework runs out - so I need to be ready.

Prayer for blessings for you all...I hope you have a great week!

UPDATE! Thanks, Beth...I really needed this beautiful astounding post! I am stuck in the 'yet'...and now that I see it, I can climb out! How wonderful is God? :) He is beyond words...