b.f.f.'s

me and you
and you and me
no matter how they toss the dice
it has to be 
the only one for me is you 
and you for me
so happy (in my mouth) together.

what are your b.f.f. food combos?

p.s. i'm still "stoned," which might explain the food cravings
(trying to keep my sense of humor here).

Romancing the Stone

after 36 hours of flu like symptoms 

(which began early a.m. on emilie's birhday),

accompanied by excruciating pain...

pain which was not dulled by trips to the dr. and shots of morphine, 

but was only controlled by a delicous cocktail of i.v. pain meds,

i am now home,

heavily medicated, 

and in labor with...

a kidney stone boulder!

please leave sympathy and "get well" comments. 

oh and just because i'm "stoned" doesn't mean i've lost my sense of humor. 

here were other possible titles for this "feel sorry for me" post:

Stone Age

Rolling Stone

&

What to Expect When Your Expecting

eleven

dear emilie, 
i like you.
i like that you are tender, compassionate, and love people out loud.  you are intentional about relationships, the words you use, about details.

i watch how you bless people- i see the way you delight in and love others (especially your sister and brother).   i ABSOLUTELY LOVE that about you!!

i wish i had your energy, diligence, motivation, and enthusiasm to attempt new things.
your so brave.

you are so pretty, but even more you are beautiful with the type of beauty that comes from the inside and causes you to be radiant on the outside!

i've loved watching you be intentional about Jesus. i see you growing in your own relationship with him. i see you seeking his face and his heart.

i think about when you were born 11 years ago (7 weeks early). i'm reminded of that scary week in the hospital with our premature baby. at one point daddy and i were told how your heart was beating rapidly, and that your breathing needed to regulate.  we stepped out of the nicu and stepped into the throne room to pray, and there we laid our request before our Father.  we asked for him to place your head on his chest, that you would listen to the rhythm of his heart, that your heartbeat would beat with his heartbeat.  moments later we returned to the nicu and were told that your heartbeat and breathing had regulated.  our response to the nurses was, "i know."  
emilie, your heart still beats with his heartbeat (tears).  
you live to the beat of his heart.


you inspire me.


i love you my sweet emilie.

hApPy BiRtHdAy!

love,
mommy

fun money $

we use to live under the dark cloud of financial debt. 

we were so strapped that i ate, drank, and dreamt about money we didn't have.

i desired money, and therefor worshiped it.   

you can read the story of how God lead us out of financial and emotional debt here, here, here, and here.

the goal now is to stay out of debt.

one tool i highly recommend for managing household finances is quicken.  quicken allows you to link up to your bank, download statements, create and manage a budget,  categorize spending, pay bills, and much more. 

i know many people who manage their finances by using the envelope system. 

with the envelope system, designated envelopes are filled with $ for the month.

once $ is spent it is  G. O. N. E.

those who use the envelope system commit to not grabbing the debit/credit card and swiping. little by little (in our case) they see savings (with a vehicle hobbling around on its last leg we really need to see savings).  

we've decided to use the envelope system.  

i made these zippered pouches (envelopes) to hold our budgeted $.

after being in debt ourselves we see the value of teaching our children to live in freedom in all areas, and especially in the area of finances. 

my next project is to sew three pouches/envelopes for each of my children.  

i hope having their own envelope system will inspire them to save and spend wisely, and to give generously. 

praying for financial freedom for you and your families,

why i wear painting pants

i figured you were all curious about what i had painted while wearing my painting pants earlier this week.

first, i painted the base boards in our house.  we have lived here 5 1/2 years, and i have probably painted them 10 times (you shouldn't be surprised, i've told you before that i am o.c.d.).   and i apologize in advance to any of you who after reading this post look at your own baseboards and feel the need to clean and/or repaint them.

i also painted these frames.

these frames were originally cream or white. i spray painted them green, sanded and stained them.

 (the pix on the left are michael's parents and paternal grandparents. the pix on the right are my paternal grandparents, and my 11 year old grandfather with his siblings in the Azores). 

giving the frames the same punch of color gives a unified look. i like the bold statement these frames make on this red buffet table. 

painting pants makes me recall a funny story from my childhood... 

when i was in second grade my mom threw me a surprise party.
i walked in the door to our little house, greeted by a small group of family and friends shouting, "SURPRISE!"
instead of greeting my guests gladly, i quickly hid behind the door mortified because the zipper on my pants was broken.
my mother gladly informed me that there was a new pair of "painter pants" on my bed.
however when she said "painter pants" i thought she had said "hanger pants."
being the ham that i am, i put on my pants, then proudly hung wired hangers from each of the loops.
i walked out and greeted my guests wearing my new "hanger pants."  
i was such a funny girl. 

wiww

Because your dieing to know if i have any fashion sense, i thought i'd join in on my s.i.l., Lindsey's, "what i wore wednesday" posts, to show you that i have very little. 

As you can see from the photos i'm good to go in capri's, a top, and some flops. 
Although i do spruce things up a bit on Sundays... and paint days.

Sunday



Sunday after church and again on Monday (yep, i'll wear it twice!)


My L.L. necklaces make me SO HAPPY (and help me to remember my kid's names).


Tuesday & Wednesday


Thursday & Saturday (after i changed out of my p.j's around 1p.m.)
i love my paint clothes. These pants could tell some great stories!
Wondering about my head?
Believe me, it was better left unphotographed
(sorry about the florescent lighting. ick).


Friday (get your own pleated poppy here).


And because your trying to make out what the sign above my head says...


Everything is fine...with a little lipstick!

What are you wearing Wednesday? 

Today i'm in jammies, and chances are i won't be out of them till 1:00.