An Article for Every Parent to Read.

http://paradoxology.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/giving/

This was really convicting. Any parents want to jump off the soapbox with me?

What Happened to my Kids!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9620790569

God Knows My Future

Wow. I just need to share how God has recently watched over Owen and I.

Almost one year ago to the day, we had our home inspection for the house we are now living in. One of the issues that came up was that the roof needed repair (it was obvious even to my untrained eye). After going back and forth with the former homeowners (who were going through a divorce), we decided to settle on an amount, rather than have him replace the roof. The amount we settled on was far less than it would cost to replace the roof, but on the side of the house was a pallet of shingles. Owen and I thought that was part of the deal, that we would receive the shingles as well as the money to pay for the labor. When we moved into the house, the former homeowner took the shingles. We were annoyed, but because of the difficulty we had with this man, we had a sense to just let it go (we DID get the money for the labor at closing, by the way).

Throughout the year at different times, I've wondered if we should have pursued it. Our roof remains in need of repair, not in an emergent way, but it needs to be done soon. At times, I doubted we made the right decision to let it go, and thought we were fools. Then yesterday it was confirmed that we made the right decision. Here is what happened.

When I got home from a visit with my friend, there was a business card of a detective from a nearby city. Gulp. My mind immediately thought the worst - was a relative dead over there and they were notifying me? Was my husband involved in something shady (sorry honey, my mind went there!)? Did I do something wrong? I called, and only got the detective's voice mail. I called my husband, who immediately thought the detective had the wrong house, and really wanted our neighbor. You see our neighbor is a principal at a school for troubled teens in that city. Yup, that must be it. I walked over there (he was home because it was Veteran's Day). The detective had talked to him, but it was us in fact he wanted. Gulp again. Thankfully because the detective talked to our neighbor, we were able to get a heads up. This morning I received my return call from the detective, and it is actually the former owner he is looking for. Phew (for us, not for him)!

Remember those shingles we thought we were going to get? Turns out they were stolen. And these shingles weren't the only ones stolen. Thousands, upon thousands of dollars worth of shingles were stolen. The cousin of the former owner was the yardman for a roofing supply company, and would steal shingles and do jobs on the side, charging the full price of a roof repair/replacement. Because he was stealing the materials, he made quite a bit of money off these side jobs. Can you imagine?

Here is where the Lord was looking out for us, His children. The detective told me that had we kept those shingles, or had those shingles been put on our house, there would have been a lien on our house! Yes, we would have had legal recourse to sue the former owner, but that would have cost us money, time and aggravation. That sense we had last winter, to not pursue getting those shingles back, we now feel was clearly from the Lord.

First, I am so thankful that God takes care of details like that for me. When answers aren't coming the way I think is best, I need to sit back, and rest in God's care, knowing that he is orchestrating my life for me. I only know what the past was, and what is in front of my face, but I don't know what my future holds. God does, thankfully! Second, this makes me realize, that that small voice I hear inside could very well be from the Lord, and I need to give attention to it more often.

Thank you Jesus!

It was 8 years ago today.....

that I married the love of my life! He has given me a most wonderful life, and I am so eternally grateful. I am honored to be his helper, his lover and the mama of his most beautiful children!

Here's the lyrics to the song sung at our wedding: I Will Be Here by Steven Curtis Chapman:

Tomorrow mornin' if you wake up
And the sun does not appear
I...I will be here
If in the dark we lose sight of love
Hold my hand and have no fear
'Cause I...I will be here
I will be here...When you feel like bein' quiet
When you need to speak your mind
I will listen
And I will be here
When the laughter turns to cryin'
Through the winnin' and losin' and tryin'
We'll be together
'Cause I will be here
Tomorrow mornin' if you wake up
And the future is unclear
I...I'll be here
Just as sure as seasons are made for change
Our lifetimes are made for years
I...I will be here
I will be here....You can cry on my shoulder
When the mirror tells us we're older
I will hold you
And I will be here
To watch you grow in beauty
And tell you all the things you are to me
I will be here
I will be true
To the promise I have made
To you and to the One who gave you to me
I...I will be here
And just as sure as seasons are made for change
Our lifetimes are made for years
'Cause I...I will be here....
We'll be together
'Cause I will be here

Throughout the years, we've had dark times, we've had joyful times, we've had times when we're quiet, and times we can't say enough. But one thing is certain, God has blessed us greatly over these last 8 years, and I'm so thankful!

I Think I Have a New Identity!

The first part of this post is really to my family and friends: Would you believe it if I said I think I have curly hair? Yup, I believe I do.

So I've come familiar with this book called Curly Girl. I haven't read the book, but have come familiar with its principles on this website, put out by some Christian girls.

I've always had difficult hair. The last woman who cut my hair this summer, finally admitted this to me! I've never had a hairdresser agree with me! I just thought something was majorly wrong with me for NEVER being able to do my hair like they do in the salons! They convinced me that if I used the right shampoo and conditioner and put the right product in, it would do wonders. Well I never was able to re-create what they did and because of that, my hair almost always is up in a ponytail or back in a clip.

Yesterday I shampooed and blow-dryed as usual. I actually had what I would typically call a "good" hair day, but like most days, it just ended up big and poofy. Had it been humid, it would have ended up frizzy too.

So today, I rinsed my hair well, and put a huge glop of conditioner in my palm, and just worked it well through every inch of my hair. I then finger combed it and rinsed well again. I didn't twist my hair up in its usual turban, but just blotted it dry, and then put some gel in it. That was it, I just left it to air dry. Here's a picture of my hair today!

Those are definitely waves, maybe even the starts of curls, right?!? From what I'm reading, I potentially could have CURLY hair! Huh? I feel like I have a new identity! You see as a child, I definitely had straight hair. So, I still consider myself to have straight hair (just like I still consider myself "blonde", but my husband, who is truly a blonde, reminds me that I do not have blonde hair! You see the pictures of my kids - he's right!) Anyway, when I was a teen (when I actually started caring about how my hair looked!), I started washing it more, drying it more, getting perms, and just making a mess of my hair! Although I had beautiful straight hair as a kid, I'm pretty certain my hair changed when I hit puberty now that I think about it! So I've been fighting this for many, MANY years! Not anymore, I'm going to do my best to follow this Curly Girl routine, and see what my hair does!

Oh, and the reason this post is directed to my family and friends is that I don't want you to think I got a perm when you see me next! (Does anyone get perms anymore?)

And on another note, I know I've kind of not finished some of the things I said I would (like a review of the Deceptively Delicious cookbook for one), but I will. Life is calling me away from the blog! Also, when I started this blog, I wrote about more spiritual things, and have also drifted away from that. I guess you can say I'm in a spiritual phase of just sitting back, being quiet and trying to listen what God has for me. I think that is a good place to be sometimes.

Blessings,

Jen

P.S. Confession time - I was tired this morning, so I said, "just one cup of coffee won't hurt." Do you know, I could not even finish it? I barely drank half a cup. Can I say it tasted the way I imagine eating an ashtray would taste? Yuck! It SOOO wasn't worth it. I'm enjoying my cup of french vanilla tea (black)! Much better taste! And getting off that much caffeine has been amazing for me overall. I just feel "even". Getting up in the morning has been easier (I must be sleeping better), and I don't get the crash in the afternoon. I never thought I'd do this, but I'm SO glad I did!

Halloween 2007

We had a wonderful day. The weather was perfect! Little Owen had a parade at school. A 40 second parade. Some of the parents that work were quite disappointed that they took time off for "this." How much time can you take from a 2.5 hour kindergarten for festivities? I was fine with it honestly.

In the late afternoon, Grampie came over to let the kids trick or treat out of his and Grammie's stash. After we walked in a little parade. Very cute, and not one scary costume. A local church was given out refreshments and provided a bouncy house. Of course the kids loved that. Madison wanted to go on desperately, but the bigger kids were a little rough. She would have hated it forever had I let her get on it! Then our local fire department came, and Owen and Collin got to get inside a REAL firetruck. Every boys dream!

We came home, scarfed down dinner quickly, and Grammie came trick or treating with us. Collin and Maddie didn't make it too far, and Grammie brought them home, while I stayed with Owen and our neighbors and hit some more houses. It was a fun day. Here's some pictures of our kids.

Owen is age 5.

Collin is almost 3.

Madison is 17 months.

What blessings they are to me!

Now, its time to get ready to decorate for Christmas!