Please God help us!

I can't stomach it to actually type about this. I'm nauseous anyway. So I will let others do it for me.....
These are MUST READS for this upcoming election. Especially if you are a parent!

Sprittibee: Obama Opposes Homeschool and Parental Rights

Christian News Wire: Obama Knows Best: Elitism Threatens Parental Rights

AmericaWantstoKnow.com: Barack Obama Explains Socialism

I don't have time today to find more, but I will before the election. Read up! Be informed! VOTE!!!

You'll have to excuse me....

I'm obessessed with all things pregnancy/baby related right now. I made this ticker and I about laughed my butt off. Maybe I'm weird, but maybe you'll laugh too. Let's see!

Guess What!!!

I'm Back From Gulf Shores!!!

We had so much fun! I didn't really want to leave! It was so beautiful down there! And my brother's wedding was beautiful too!! And his new wife is just a doll!!! I am so glad he found her! They are so good for eachother!!! Okay, now that I've thoroughly overdone the exclamation points, I'm going to post some pics. I don't have time today to tell more about our trip. I will soon though.

Here's the beach by my brother's house. It was less than two blocks away and you could see it from his deck!


I love this pic of my babies! They had a blast!!!


These little guys were all over the place! And they moved so fast. I was glad this one held still long enough to get his picture taken!



Kayla (my brother's new wife) and her brother took Noah and Baylee (Kayla's brother's daughter) out on the lagoon in a canoe. Noah was pretty nervous but he still had fun!


This is my new sweet baby niece, Wren! I just couldn't get enough of her!!!


This is my crazy, hippy brother, Dave. He always has to make some stupid sign when he gets his pic taken with me. It's become sort of a family tradition. I miss him! It was so awesome to get to spend so much time with him! Thankfully, they're moving about 13 hours closer soon! YAY!!!


Here comes the bride! And Anya and Noah got to be in the wedding too! Anya was a flower girl and Noah was the ring bearer.

Here's Dave, Kayla, Wren and my momma. I have no clue what they were looking at!
Here's the happy couple! They really are perfect for eachother!!!

Sorry!

I don't have time to do Friday's Favorites today. We have our homeschool group all day today. I should be able to pick up regular blogging a week from Monday, after we get back from Alabama. Have a great weekend!!!

Thankful Thursday!

Yes, I am back and I am doing so good! Thanks to any of you that said a prayer for me! I've gone through a few rough days but it's all good now! And what better day to come back on than THANKFUL THURSDAY!!! So, let's get right into it, shall we?

*I am thankful fo God's amazing mercy!!! I had time to think, this week, about what my life would be like without it. And by the end of my life, if I didn't end up in jail or a mental institution, I'd be a crazy old lady living alone with all her cats. I'd be in the creepy house at the end of the block that the kids ran past saying, "Stay away from the Crazy Cat Lady's house! She'll put a hex on you!" And they'd probably be right. So, thank you, Lord for pulling me out of the pit yet again!!!

*I am thankful for having a home where we can have people over finally. We're having our first friends from church over tonight. I'm so excited! We're having lasagne (not homemade), garlic bread and salad. And for dessert, strawberry cheesecake extraordinaire. THAT, I will be making from scratch! I love to be hospitable! I just could never do it in our old house.

* I am thankful, that in one week from right now, I will be able to have my morning coffee on the beach!!! We are leaving for Alabama on Wednesday. I have never been to the beach in my life! Just never had the opportunity. But I've always been dying to go!

*I am thankful that my baby brother has found someone to balance him out. To keep his feet on the ground, so to speak. He's an artist, and he's awesome, but he's got the artist mentality so he needs an anchor. And he's getting ready to marry her a week from this Saturday! That's why we're going to Alabama!

*I am thankful for the fact that, even though things seem uncertain right now, God has this country in His hands. Whatever happens, we will be alright!

*I am thankful for ADD. Of course, I don't see it as a disorder. I see it as a personality type. The negative aspects of it are just aggravated by our environment and what we put in our bodies. As well, as the fact that most people in society aren't ADDers, so we don't seem "normal". When we are just fine! I love my ADD! I embrace it! But I think I might need to cut back on the caffiene and sugar...I guess I should probably do that anyway.

* I am thankful for a hubby that loves me even though I am "crazy". I guess scatterbrained redheads are hard to come by and he just wants something unique. I dunno!

Well, I know I could come up with hundreds more but I don't have the time right now. I have company to get ready for!!! TTFN!!!

Break!

I've been having some issues over here on my side of the computer. Just some things I need to work out. So, I have to apologize, but I won't be blogging for a while. Not sure when I'll be back. I'll miss you all! Take care now! Bye-Bye then!

Monday's Martyrs

This is Pastor Zhang Rongliang. He is a prominent Chinese house-church leader. He was arrested on December 1, 2004. He had previously spent 12 years on and off in prison for his faith. He had been subject to harsh torture, including electirc shock, during his previous time in prison. After being in prison for a year, the officials tried to transfer him to a prison in Zhongmu, China. But they wouldn't take him because he was in such fragile condition, they thought he might die. He's been kept in a couple different hospitals. He suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and a number of other chronic health problems. They are still trying to decide his case. He's being accused of “attaining a passport through cheating” and “illegal border crossing.” They keep stalling, citing insufficient evidence for the case. But keep moving and retrying him. He has been sentences to 7 1/2 years, in which he's served almost 4.

Dear Lord,Please be with Pastor Rongliang now. Give him strength and healing. He has been a devoted servant of yours and is being treated more than unjustly. Lord God, please comfort him and give him peace until his release. Thank you. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

My Weekend and A Busy Week.

Well, it's Monday.....again. Did we even have a weekend? I know everything that was supposed to happen on Saturday fell through. Except my mom watching the kids, which was good. I was going to get to go to the MMA event with hubby and meet Matt Hughes too. But NOOOOO. Hubby's friend had something come up and couldn't go. So we didn't go. Thankfully my mom watched kids overnight so we had date night anyway. We had a nice meal at the place I clean once a week or so. It's a vegetarian restaurant. Who woulda thought vegan food could be so yummy! Pat had a lovely bruschetta. (to drool over!) And I had a very interesting meal. I had to try it. It just sounded so odd. It was a pumpkin bisque with black beans. Topped with an apple salsa and a cranberry sour cream. It was good. The cranberries were a little tart and it had almost too much spice to it. But it really was good. I'm a wuss when it comes to spicey things so it probably wasn't really that spicey. But it was enjoyable! I'll get the bruschetta next time though.

Now this week we are having company over on Thursday. So, we have alot of work to do. There's still so much evidence that we just moved. Having them over is a way to make us move faster. I have to clean, clean, clean. PLUS, I have to make my dress for my brother's wedding. Which is next week! I got a pretty green and orange tie dyed batik material. This is the pattern I'm using:It's going to be a beach wedding so I wanted something that fit the mood.
Stay tuned for Monday's Martyrs.

Rained out!

Today, we were supposed to have our rummage sale. It's a big step towards getting our old house sold. We had to miss going to the Tulsa Zoo with our homeschool group. We were really looking forward to going, but we HAD to have this sale.

So, Hubby goes over to the old house and gets everything out. I was going to meet him there. But once everything is out, it starts pouring. He has to get everything back in pronto, by himself! Not to mention, the tables we were using were on loan from our church...and they are wood. So now everything is soaked, drying out inside the old house. And we still haven't been able to have our sale. And it's too late to go to the Zoo. Eveyone was meeting at the church at 8:00...which is, like, now. I'm a little crabby. But I feel awful for hubby having to go through all that work putting everything out and then get soaked bringing it right back in.

He'll be okay though. He's going to go to a Mixed Martial Arts event tonight in Arkansas. He'll get to meet his hero Matt Hughes there. He's met him before. He's even trained with him once. So I think that'll lift his mood. Anyway, pray that we find some time to do this sale before it gets too cold. Thanks! TTFN!

Friday's Favorites

Hey everybody out there in blogland! Welcome to the first edition of Friday's Favorites! And since it is my first post, I will introduce you, first, to my two favorite blogs ever!

* The Brocante Home Chronicles - Alison May will make you laugh, cry and drool as she takes you through her everyday life and findings as the Vintage Housekeeper! She is an amazing writer! She is honest and isn't afraid to show her faults. And she does is ever so scrumptiously!

* Keeping the Home - Candy is one fabulous, God-fearing, homeschooling Mama! She isn't afraid to tell it like it is. She lives her life for Christ and helps others in their path as well. She believes that women are to be "Keepers at home". And she does what she can to help us organize our lives so that it can be more fulfilling and totally for Him!

Here are some other blogs/sites I enjoy:

Sojourner in a Strange Land - WARNING!!! This blog is controversial! There are things on here that I don't necessarily agree with. But at the same time, I respect her immensely. She knows what she believes and she is unwavering in her adherence to it. But even though there are some things we don't see eye to eye on, most of her posts are enlightening and empowering. She loves Jesus and lives her life entirely for Him!

The Homesteading Housewife - Humor and courage on the old homestead. This lady has got some spunk! She'll make you laugh out loud! This lady was on Wife-Swap people! She's got some guts!!! She also has a site called Bad Mothers Anonymous. It'll make you laugh and cry. But all in all, it will help you feel better about the mistakes you've made in being a mommy. We've all been there! On a side-note, their home went through hurricane Ike. Be in prayer for them please!

A Homegrown Life - I've been researching unschooling the past couple of days and I came across this blog. I felt like I was reading my own words. Have a visit and maybe you'll feel the same!

Here's a list of a few of my favorite etsy shops!

Julia Belle Vintage - unique, vintage-inspired jewelry.
FaireWares - Medieval & Renaissance Clothing.
Scarlett Cat - Playful and unique artwork.
SugarRoxx - extremely fun jewelry and other creations.

I hope I've introduced you to some of yur favorite new sites! Enjoy!

Thankful Thursday!

I apologize for my absence yesterday. It was a long day. So today is quite appropriate, in that I need to take a good hard look at my blessings. So without further ado, here is what I am thankful for this week!

*I am thankful for the wonder that is God's mercy! Where would we all be without it?

*I am thankful for two amazing children that actually get along (most of the time) and love eachother very much!



*I am thankful, not only that my children get along so well, but that they are close enough that they can goof off together!
*I am thankful for itty bitty rock stars in my house!
* I am thankful for fall and that it is finally cooling off enough to feel like it!

*I am thankful for a wonderful hubby who loves me and isn't afraid to show it!

*I am thankful for my new home! Who woulda thought I'd get my dream home so early on in life?