Struggling with perfectionism...

(Scroll down and turn off music before playing the video.)

Never let 'em see you when you're breaking
Never let 'em see you when you fall
That's how we live and that's how we try
Tell the world you've got it all together
Never let them see what's underneath
Cover it up with a crooked smile
But it only lasts for a little while

[CHORUS:]
There's no such thing as perfect people
There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are, broken and scarred
Lift up your heart and be amazed
And be changed by a perfect God

Suddenly it's like a weight is lifted
When you hear the words that you are loved
He knows where you are and where you've been
And you never have to go there again

[CHORUS]

Who lived and died to give new life
To heal our imperfections
So look up and see love. Let grace be enough

[CHORUS]

By a perfect God [5x]

Be changed by a perfect God
Be changed

Train up a child...

We're all familiar with the verse in Proverbs....

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

-Proverbs 22:6

Usually we take this verse to mean that if we raise our chilren in a godly home according to the will of our Father in heaven, the will remain so as they grow older. While I do hold to that interpretation, I also think it can apply to trades and occupations, or even hobbies. When we find that our children have a love for something or are skilled in an certain area, it is our job to nurture that love and help improve those skills to carry them through adulthood.

My daughter, Erin, is has recently expressed a love for photography. She is drawn to the camera and has a natural ability to take see the beauty in objects and take wonderful photographs. Being only 9, turning 10 this month, I was apprehensive in giving her my only good camera to experiment with. But after seeing the products of a photography unit she participated in, I see now that this is definitely an area that I should "train her up". Judging by her photos, however, she might be the one training me.

Here are some examples of her work.

While my hearts desire and the intention in our parenting is to raise her to be a keeper of the home, I can see how photography would be such a blessing to her family someday. Think of all of the money that could be saved if she were able to take her own family photographs, or the added income she could provide while doing free-lance work. Photography is going to be area in her life that I will encourage and do my best to foster growth. Now I'm on the prowl for her very own camera. What do I get a budding photographer??

We're Home

A huge thanks to all who were praying for our family this past week. And for those of you who didn't know why I was absent, here's an update.


Ty was admitted to the hospital Sunday afternoon for "bowel prep" to get ready for surgery on Monday. We knew he needed this surgery, but due to scheduling, it was kind of sprung on us at the last minute. Anyway, Ty endured his bowel prep all day Sunday and well into early Monday morning. My Mother's Day gift was cleaning up lots and lots of pooey diapers. :)


Around 2pm. Monday afternoon, Ty was wheeled into surgery. His urologist did extensive work on his bowels and bladder. He had a bladder sling using cadaver tissue and an ACE procedure. Four hours later, the surgeon had finished and was confident the procedures went well. I wasn't able to see him until almost 8pm, and by then we was still sleeping.


The next four nights reminded me of having a newborn again. Because of the work done on his bladder, he constantly had bladder spasms which caused a lot of pain in addition to the soreness from the incisions. He also had a suprapubic catheter placed in his abdomen to drain the urine until his bladder healed, which again, caused great discomfort. To ease his pain, he was on low doses of Morphine and valium to control the bladder spasms. He would sleep for about 45min., then awake with pain. This cycle went on all night long.


By Thursday afternoon he was able to sit in a wheelchair, and we were able to visit the patient playroom for a short time. His sleeping improved and by Friday morning all of his IV's were removed and we were able to go home late Friday afternoon.

It has been good to be home, but he is still struggling with pain. It's so hard seeing your child go through such difficult situations, but I know it's for the best. Both of these procedures will ultimately bring about social continence and move him one step closer to wearing big boy pants.

God is mighty, and I know He holds Ty in His hands and will see him through this.....but it's still hard.

Thrifty Thursday

Lots of freebies out there this week. Check out these two.....

free meal @ KFC....

Follow the link here for a coupon good for a free 2 piece meal at KFC. ***Disclaimer*** The link will take you to Oprah's website. Although I am not a huge Oprah fan, I'm all for free food!!

Find more Thrifty Thursday deals @ Generation Cedar.

Enjoy, and Happy Mother's Day!!

This world is not my home...

In the wee hours of the morning, before I wake the kids for the day, I have a habit that I really must stop....I watch the local news. I began watching it a few years ago to get the latest weather report and to have something mindless help pass the time during my first cup of joe. The more I watch, the more I am aware that I'm an alien in this world of mine. I don't want to claim my heritage here, I long for a better place. Here's an example of this morning's headlines:

1. "Arrest made in death of baby thrown from car."

2. "Lakeland father kills wife, 2 children, and himself. Teenage son narrowly escapes."

3. "Area schools closed with confirmed cases of Swine Flu outbreak."

...and that's just my LOCAL news, this doesn't even scrape the surface of what's going on world wide.


God has given us warnings that this would happen.

Matthew 24:7

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

He reminds us who/what we are at war against.

Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Yet, praise be to God, He gives us a hope in Jesus:

Phillipians 3:20

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Maranatha, Lord Jesus, come!

Thrifty Thursday

One sure way I've learned to be frugal is in the kitchen. While I love my boneless, skinless chicken breasts for ease and convenience, they don't score high on the frugal scale. If you're willing to put in a little work, buy using a whole chicken, you can get three good meals from one bird. I once heard it called "stretchy chicken" because it stretches out over days of cooking.

3 Day Chicken
(using a whole roaster... currently $.69/lb at local discount store)

Day 1: Roasted chicken
1. Roast chicken in oven with olive oil and seasonings. Serve breasts and legs with salad and fresh bread.
2. Pick all meat off the bones and separate into two containers.
3. Keep carcass for tomorrow.

Day 2: Chicken Soup
1. Boil carcass with garlic, onion, carrots, and celery to make your own stock. You could also put all ingredients in crock pot and cover with water the evening of day one and cook on low all night. When you wake up, the stock would be ready.
2. Remove bones and drain stock. Discard vegetables.
3. In bottom of dutch oven, add chopped carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to olive oil and saute.
4. Add leftover chicken and stock. Simmer for 1 hr.
5. Add cooked noodles before serving.

Day 3: Chicken and rice
1. Prepare yellow rice as directed, bring to a boil.
2. Add remaining leftover chicken and small package of frozen peas.
3. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is fluffy.


The possibilities are really endless depending upon what you're family enjoys at mealtime. You could a chicken spaghetti, tetrazzini, chicken and dumplings, etc. The main goal is to make good use of what you have!

Find more Thrifty Thursday ideas at Generation Cedar.

Trying to figure it out...

I realized that there is no way you can even read the kids course study spreadsheet in the previous post. Until I figure out how to make it larger, you can click on the picture itself to enlarge. Bear with me, please!!!