Archive for » November, 2007 «

Micheal W Smith

OOOHHHHHHH……..My hubby just told me that he got tickets to see Micheal W Smith sing with the Dallas Symphony, The Katinas will be there as well, and Matilda Doolittle (contestant from American Idol). And I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! I LOVE Micheal W Smith. He is my all time favorite. I can hardly wait. I like to get all dressed up with my husband and go out. We went last year as well and I thought I was on CLOUD 100! :)

SO THANK YOU…THANK YOU….THANK YOU…my honey. I cant wait to have an evening out with you! YOU ROCK! AND ARE AWESOME!

Category: My Thoughts  One Comment

27 days till Christmas

Can you believe it is only 27 days till Christmas. WOW. I sure cant. I still have so much shopping to do and things to make. I thought I would share my Christmas Wish List, that way if my hubby reads as well, he can print it out. :)

1- The new Micheal W. Smith Christmas Album
2- Christ For The Nations CD’s
3- A good travel cup for my coffee on the run!
4- A nice velvet jogging suit….black
5- Snowflake necklace
6- A date with Tony

I am pretty easy. I really dont need anything. I have everything I need. As long as I have Tony by my side and my kids, I am great!

So what do you want for Christmas….?

Enjoy the Christmas Music!

Category: My Thoughts  One Comment

Mexico

Today we are on our way back to Dallas. There is snow everywhere. It is prettier then just looking at brown dirt everywhere. :)

So our trip to Mexico, was wonderful. It was amazing actually. I had some “wow” moments in my head. We had no problem getting across the border. Which was a total blessing. We did not get stopped at all. When we arrived in Mexico we went to there supermarket to buy groceries. That was an experience in itself. I felt like I was back in Chile. I wanted to get bread…fresh bread. You have to get a big tray, wait in a line to get in the bin where they dump all the bread, then you wait in another line to get it bagged and counted, then you wait in another line to pay for it. about 45 minutes later you have bread.

The city was very poor. Very poor. We arrived at there home. Walked down a very MUDDY hill. Did I mention it snowed all day. Yep, it sure did. It was very cold. We were greeted by the mom first and some of her children and grandkids. I gave them all big hugs and told them how happy I was to be in there home. I do have lots of pictures I will put up later tonight when we get home. There home was very cold. Everyone was dressed in layers. Water dripped down the walls, since they had a horrible roof. They had no living room. We all sat where the parents slept. They brought in the one seat that they had, and then she started getting pots for us to sit on. I used there bathroom. I climbed into this little cave type area. One of the windows was busted out and they just had cardboard covering it. You dont flush your toilet paper down the toilet, so there was a bucket where you put your soiled paper. They had a whole in the wall below the sink. And water was just running down the walls.

There 4 families within the 9 people we visited. They each had a room, and if they had kids they slept with them as well. The rooms were very small, with not much in it. The Rio Grande that flooded there home was only about 20 feet away, so you can see how they got flooded out so bad. All there belongings were ruined, and people have since given to them to try and make a home again. Which is not much. The cold in there home, was so cold. My butt was frozen by the time we left, and my feet were ice. I felt bad for the kids, because they had to walk around bundled to just stay warm.

They are hard working people. They make about 70 dollars a WEEK. Yes you did read that right, a week. I cant even put my head around that. Groceries are expensive there.

We talked about the Lord for awhile and then prayed with them. My eldest sang Jesus loves me, and then we taught all the kids how to sing it in Spanish. Then we brought out the gifts. They were amazed at what was given to them. They were amazed at the food that was given. They were so thankful, grateful, and appreciative. The kids faces when they saw there toys. It was priceless, and I will never forget there faces. They loved there stockings filled with goodies. There home is embedded in my mind. It just reminds me how spoiled Americans are. YES most Americans are spoiled rotten, and I am speaking to myself as well. It is a shame. And what is even more a shame is that we complain when we cant get our house to that just right temperature, or we got stuck in traffic and are a bit late, or we dont have enough food for 3 helpings, or our bed is not soft enough, or we dont have that new pair of jeans that we want. I know some are extreme. And like I just said, I am guilty too. Sometimes though I get so sick of hearing what Americans are lacking, when they already have so much. It is ridiculous. I complain about my fridge not being big enough and my pantry being big enough…there fridge came up to below my chest and was about a foot and half long… and there pantry was some wood put together with little food in it. There kitchen was about as big as my bathroom at home. They all eat in there, and I complain about not having a big enough one. See how easy it is to get hung up on the littlest things. What is always amazing to me, is to see poor in such bad conditions, and see how thankful they are for all that they have. I am convinced that simpler is better.

Anyways, I could go on and on. But I come away with lots of good memories, and it was the best Thanksgiving ever. I am more thankful for all that I have. I am blessed beyond measure. And I would love to go back and spend a few days, helping to get there roof fixed and there walls patched, and make it just a bit more comfortable.

Thank you to everyone that helped with donations of clothing. We could not have done it without you. I pray that the Lord bless you for your generosity.

I will post all the pictures either tonight or tomorrow.

Category: My Thoughts  2 Comments

Lysol Commercial

I should do a commercial for Lysol, since I have bought so much of it lately. I am constantly going behind the kids wiping down where there little hands have touched. Just trying to get us all better. Come to find out Kaitlyn had pneumonia as well. So she has been so sick, but getting better. We go back to the Dr. tomorrow for another shot of medicine. And he will also check out the boys to make sure they are doing all right. I am so ready for them to be better. ALL BETTER.

My good friends, (B, R, J, and D) brought over a meal to us today. Total surprise. I know they will read this, so THANK YOU AGAIN….you guys are awesome and me and Tony are blessed to have you in our lives. WE REALLY REALLY REALLY appreciate you all. And the food was good. AND I was happy to not have to cook. I am trying to get caught up on sleep myself. So when they kids lay down I am trying to lay down too. It is hard, I start thinking of all the things that I need to do or have not done, or phone calls I need to make. So I am just trying to slow myself down. That is so hard for me, because I am such a “doer”. I am learning though…slow is good too! :)

Since we cant go anywhere tomorrow. We are going to put our tree up. And all the Christmas decorations. I told the kids we would make our gingerbread houses as well. They are going to each make one. I am anxious to see how each one turns out. I will try and get some cookies made as well. I LOVE CHRISTMAS…. I love putting out the decorations. Since we are going to be here for Christmas we are going to put out lights too. The kids are so excited. We love to go out at night and drive around and look at lights. We usually stop at starbucks and get hot chocolate for everyone. OOHHHH I cant wait.

When the rubber meets the road…

So yesterday’s post was… well good. And then today all this stuff came up. Kaitlyn has RSV. She is pretty sick. I need to totally clean my house with Lysol wipes. The other kids are sick too. And I am just exhausted. It has just been one issue after another. I am trying to stay positive and hold on to my gift of joy. :) I was in Target and I just started to cry because I am just tired. I started praying and I asked If I could just have a break. It seems as soon as I get on my feet, I get knocked over again. I know it is going to be okay. I know I am going to get through it. We always do. And we always seem to come out on top. But it is tiring to walk through it. These trials can get old. But at the end of the day, they are just that, trials. With every trial there comes an end. I know he gives me what I can handle. Sometimes I wish He did not think I could handle so much!!! But I know in every trial, no matter how big or small, there is an opportunity for growth. I think I grew today. Thankfully tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet!

The More I seek you

The More I seek You
The More I find you
the more I find you
The more I love you

I want to sit at you feet
drink from the cup in your hands
lay back against you and breath
feel your heartbeat
this love is so deep
it’s more than I can stand
I melt in your peace
it’s overwhelming


I really really like this song. It expresses where I am right now. It puts into words what my heart says. His peace really is overwhelming. Looking back in my life at the things that I have gone through, I see the peace that HE gave me. I see how his hand moved on my behalf. I see how he provided for me. I love the fact that he chooses to walk with us through the valleys and the mountain tops. He never leaves us. His joy is new every morning. I think joy is a gift. I think we can choose to take that gift every morning or choose to have grumpy days.

Fall

Today the temperature dropped pretty fast. It got much cooler. The wind was picking up. When I was driving up to our house, the leaves were falling. My yard is getting more and more covered with leaves. I told Tony tonight, that I can’t wait till we can have a fire and sit on the couch and just talk. :) The boys want to play in the leaves, so I told them this weekend. I will be sure to post some pictures.

So we are getting more and more ready for our Mexico trip. It is unbelievable how much stuff was given for the trip. I am really shocked. Me and Tony went through it all and I was like WOW. These people are going to be so blessed. I am really looking forward to going. This deep longing to do more missions oriented things has really popped up in me. I have always known that I really find great joy in helping others. This is already the best Thanksgiving that I can think of. And it has not even happened yet.

I find myself reevaluating some things. As a missionary kid, and in talking with other Mk friends. You grow up overseas with not much and that is life. You give to others, you love on others, spend time with others, minister, etc… and then you move to the US and you are usually shocked at how those in the US live. And you vow to never to be so into “things”, and then time goes by and I think we kind of forget sometimes. Well not really forget, but we get caught up in this mad living. It is more stuff, better stuff, more things, we become so self focused. We almost forget there is this big world out there…unless you watch the news… I would say that I am pretty down to earth. I am not really into things, well maybe some ;) . But I try to give myself a reality check every so often. :) I am really looking forward to seeing this families face. Each face. As they see what has been given. I hope they truly feel Jesus. And I hope that in the end that they accept the best gift that I can give…Jesus. I have been praying that they have open hearts.

Getting all this stuff ready for these families has been eye opening for me. I am bringing them new clothes, a jacket, new shoes, socks, underwear…when I have like 6 coats, and TONS of underwear and socks, and more clothes than I know what to do with. I am so blessed. But I don’t ever want to take that for granted. I don’t want my kids to ever take that for granted. I want to always remember where I came from and what I have seen and experienced. I want to always remember I am here just because of his grace. And all this “stuff” really means nothing at all.

the Starbucks lady

So I was at Starbucks with my kids getting hot chocolate the other day. Another lady was in there with her baby…probably just a few months old. She drinks some coffee, and then LEAVES the baby by a chair and then goes out to smoke a cigarette and starts talking to some guy. SHE never ONCE looked back to see if her baby was okay. I was so upset. I could not believe that she did that. I rrreeaallly wanted to say something to her. But because my kids were with me I did not.

So then we get in the car and I start talking to my oldest about some toy for Christmas. And he says, “That is so last year mom”…I was like it is what…where did you learn that from….who are you little Martian….why are you talking to me like you are Napoleon Dynamite. Where do kids come up with these things. Seriously.

Later on that night in Penney’s..the guy on the speaker says…” Attention it is 9 pm and the store is closed. Please take your final purchases to a counter..blah ,blah” Chandler starts crying…”oh no we are locked in here all night, where are we going to eat, where are we going to sleep. I say, “Chandler we are okay, stop the crying” Then my eldest wanted to help the situation by saying, “Chandler we are going to have to sleep on the floor and the bugs could get you, and we are going to be so hungry tonight, and cold.” Well thank- you son…now he is really crying. I got down on his level and reassured him the nice people in penny’s would let us out! Such brotherly love!!!! Will the teasing ever end. Probably not cause me and my sisters still tease each other.

Some favorite Songs…

So I am getting very excited about going to Mexico…I am very excited about seeing the latin people…It is such a different culture. I know it is not South America. But I know they will be warm. I cant wait to sit with the people and just listen to “there story”. To hear there hurts, pains, joys, and then offer them Jesus. I am really praying that it is going to be a powerful time. I am very very excited for my eldest to experience this. When he gets a little older I want to go on another missions trip. Like where we are flying to South America or something. I remember growing up overseas and offering the latins a new gift of some sort. And the poor were always so grateful. And there faces would light up. I am looking forward to that. I know this will be a good experience for me as well. I miss doing missions. I always found such satisfaction in that.

Day Light Savings Time

I love that day!!!! Means we get one more hour of blessed sleep. :) Dont forget to turn your clocks back and hour!

Our Trick or Trunk went really good at church. Lots of peopel showed up. My kids had a blast. Got way too much candy. When they finish a meal I let them eat one piece. Ben today after lunch was like ” I cant decide there are too many mom!!” They have enough to last them till New Years. And being the good mom that I am…I didn’t get any pictures!!! Yep you read that right. If you know me…I love pictures….I take lots of them….I love having those memories. I did not take any. And they were all so cute. I am kicking myself in the rear for not getting any. I think it was just that the kids had been sick all week long, and I just did not think about it.

I had boot camp last night. It was fun. I am surprising myself how much I like it. I cant wait to sign up again. I love being pushed like that. And I love pushing myself like that. I have some friends that keep telling me they are going to come and then something comes up. Excuses….Excuses. :)

Okay so awhile ago I put this little feature on my website that shows me where my visitors were coming from. We have some from Canada, Europe, South America (I know who you are!), all across the US….but no one comments. Maybe it is because you dont know me, and you just read my site. I want to know who reads. Come out of the woods….purrttttyyy please…….It is really simple. You click on the little button that says “comment” and then leave one. :) Maybe I should have a giveaway. Do I need to be more interesting. More photos. More recipes. More stories of my wonderful kids.

Speaking of funny stories. Today Kaitlyn was looking at her book with pictures of her brothers in it. She was calling Chandler…are you ready…”DO-DO” I was like no, ” CHANDLER” and then she would say “Um, Do Do” So his new name around here is Do-Do. I am sure she will eventually get it. When she went to the Dr like a week ago, he said she needed to be saying more things, and she did not know enough words. I am serious, as soon as we left that day…she was repeating everything I say. I guess I can’t say crap anymore. Last thing I want is her going to church walking around saying “crap” Then I would get the looks….what kind of mom are you teaching your daughter how to say crap.

So if you like county music. It is easy listening music. My cousin Erica has a band called EzraJane. They are making it big in Nashville. You should hop on over and visit them. Take a listen to there music. You can also go to www.ezrajane.com My cousin is the blonde singer. There are only 2 singers…cant miss her!!!