"Randomness"

Love those little tid-bit emails where you share random things...this one is from a friend's facebook notes.  Thought I would join in...

Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?  Always closed...big deal for some reason

Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel?  No
Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?  No sheet, just comforter...don't like the pinned down feeling

Have you ever stolen a street sign before?  I haven't, but we used to have one hanging on our house
Do you like to use post-it notes?  Don't normally have any to use

Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?  Don't ever take the time to clip them


Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?  Niether

Do you have freckles?  Yes (we'll just leave it at that)

Do you always smile for pictures?  Sure...I smile while I take them :)  Normally the one behind the camera

What is your biggest pet peeve?  Whining and lying

Do you ever count your steps when you walk?  I can't even talk and walk at the same time, normally

Have you ever peed in the woods?  And on the side of the river...

What about pooped in the woods?  That is reserved for a toilet and toilet paper

Do you ever dance even if theres no music playing?  Yep...especially with the kids

Do you chew your pens and pencils?  Um, no...yuck

How many people have you slept with this week?  Literally slept...one...my daughter sleeps in the same room as me right now.  Hoping its a stage we grow back out of real soon.
What size is your bed?  Queen
What is your Song of the week?  Get Back Up Again (Toby Mac)

Is it okay for guys to wear pink?  I think it looks fruity most of the time...but when they are tan, sometimes it can look good.

Do you still watch cartoons?  Isn't that a mom requirement?

Whats your least favorite movie?  Any of the Halloween ones, sorry.
Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some?  Wouldn't that require hiding it and not spending it?
What do you drink with dinner?  Preferably Cherry Coke

What do you dip a chicken nugget in?  Ranch or BBQ

What is your favorite food?  Steak fajitas with no veggies

What movies could you watch over and over and still love?  White Christmas (but only at Christmas time)
Last person you kissed/kissed you?  Drew

Were you ever a boy/girl scout?  No

Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?  Nobody would enjoy seeing that!

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?  last month...note inside a special order box

Can you change the oil on a car?  Nope...pay someone to do that for me

Ever gotten a speeding ticket?  No, thank God!

Ran out of gas?  Again, no, thank God!

Favorite kind of sandwich? bologna

Best thing to eat for breakfast?  doughnuts

What is your usual bedtime?  10 if I can choose to

Are you lazy?  How do you do that?

When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween?  A red crayon...only one I can remember and have the pic to prove it.

What is your Chinese astrological sign?  No clue.

How many languages can you speak?  English...but can count to 10 in French and Spanish (or at least I used to be able to do that in French)

Do you have any magazine subscriptions?  One currently...but they haven't sent me the newest one yet for some reason.

Which are better legos or lincoln logs?  Legos

Are you stubborn?  As all get out

Who is better...Leno or Letterman?  You can have em
Ever watch soap operas?  Closest I got was Beverly Hills 90210 (in high school), Grey's Anatomy, and Housewives...but none currently
Afraid of heights?  Not as much as I used to be

Sing in the car?  YEP!

Dance in the shower?  No, accident prone enough without that one

Dance in the car?  Yep...love the way it makes H laugh!

Ever used a gun?  No thank you

Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer?  last year

Do you think musicals are cheesy?  Nope...like them, or at least the movie version of them
Is Christmas stressful?  No, but getting ready for it can be...I like to be ready by thanksgiving


Ever eat a pierogi?  Don't like the frozen variety, which is all I have had

Favorite type of fruit pie?  Apple

Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?  Teacher

Do you believe in ghosts?  I don't go there

Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?  Yes

Take a vitamin daily?  Should

Wear slippers?  I have flip-flop ones...go figure

Wear a bath robe?  Isn't that what a towel is for

What do you wear to bed?  Shorts and a tank top or long sleeve top and pants

First concert?  Carmen

Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?  Walmart and Target  (my new Target normally only has one checkout line open which frustrates me to no end)

Nike or Adidas?  nope

Cheetos Or Fritos?  Cheetos

Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?  whichever is available and salted

Ever hear of the group Tres Bien?  no

Ever take dance lessons?  if you have ever seen me attempt to, you would know the answer

Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?  No, whatever he wants to do and gets him out of my hair for awhile everyday...hahaha

Can you curl your tongue?  no, but my girls can and love to tease me about it
Ever won a spelling bee?  don't remember being in one

Have you ever cried because you were so happy?  Yep...especially with Betsy
Own any record albums?  No

Own a record player?  No

Regularly burn incense?  Heck no...candles, but have to be Partylite

Ever been in love?  A few times

Who would you like to see in concert?  Toby Mac, again

What was the last concert you saw?  Toby Mac, at Worlds Of Fun in the rain

Hot tea or cold tea?  yuck

Tea or coffee? Yuck

Sugar or snickerdoodles?  Iced Sugar

Can you swim well?  does doggy paddle count?

Can you hold your breath without holding your nose?  sure, but not in water

Are you patient?  not normally

DJ or band, at a wedding?  neither

Ever won a contest?  only the kind on the radio that has more than one winner or from a blogger

Ever have plastic surgery?  No
Which are better black or green olives?  again, yuck

Can you knit or crochet?  Yep

Best room for a fireplace?  Living room

Do you want to get married?  Honestly, don't know
If married, how long have you been married?  was married, technically, for 17 days longer than 10 years.

Who was your HS crush?  his name was C.T.
Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way?  Never did any good

Do you have kids?  2 beautiful girls 

Do you want kids?  plead the fifth after today

Whats your favorite color?  RED!

Do you miss anyone right now?  Heck yes

Did you watch, Next Great American Band on FOX?  what?

Taking time to just enjoy the fall!

Gotta change the thinkin' and become more thankful

Today's list:
1.  Finished the Dora quilt for K.
2.  Went to the fun super JoAnns in Indpendence.
3.  Materials for most kid Christmas presents bought.
4.  Today was gorgeously sunshiney.
5.  Did I mention I got to go to JoAnns?
6.  H looks to have recovered just fine from "returning" Wednesday's school lunch.
7.  TGIFriday's was wonderfully delicious for lunch.
8.  KLove just started playing my fav song...Toby Mac's Get Back Up Again.
9.  And miracle of miracles, they are super close to being fully funded...and the pledge drive has only 65 min left.
10.  I have friends!
11.  Finally got to make a trip to Jefferson City and see my gals.
12.  The last piece of furniture is actually in my house with me now...granted, it is in the garage, but that is better than in the car where it was until yesterday when Mel and my neighbor helped me move it out of the car.
13.  My girls are quietly sleeping and took showers without having to be nagged at...and played nicely together this evening.
14.  Spent some time with my baby sister and she took lots of pics of the girls...some that she is super excited about.
15.  And I get a cd of the pics.
16.  Oh, almost forgot, supposed to get to go to Corner Cafe tomorrow...and have my tummy looking forward to a giant cinnamon roll.
17.  I get to sleep in my bed all by myself for the second night in a row.  (H was kicked to the recliner cuz of returning her lunch and I haven't let her come back).
18.  My fav soft comforter is on the bed.  Warm and soft!
19.  October is almost over!
20.  My God is still the same yesterday, today, and forever!  Nothing can change that.  No matter how crazy my new normal keeps changing to, He does NOT change!

"For we are the temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in and with and among them and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  So, come out from among [unbelievers], and separate (sever) yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not [any] unclean thing; then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor.  And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."  2 Corthinthians 6:16b-18 (Amplified Version)

I choose sewin' over stressin'

This was the absolutely gorgeous sun that was outside this morning.

I love love love doing my quiet time outside, on my swing!

Finished up this quilted duffle today.

It has only been cut out for a few months waiting for someone to finish it.

As for the sewin' over stressin'...today was repo day.

And I got a letter in the mail saying another payment was late...friendly reminder.

Turns out that God is the only one that has my back.

So I told Him that I was depending on Him to protect the girls and I.

And then I sewed and sewed and sewed.

Hemmed a shirt and made chicken legs for a Chicken Little costume.

Finished quilting and sewing the duffle.

Picked my 2nd grader up from school after her body decided to return it's school lunch.

Finished quilting a Dora twin sized quilt for a november bday.

And ended up missing the Mission night at church tonight.

Tomorrow morning I have a parent teacher conference for the same little gal that was told not to come to school tomorrow.

Other than that, we'll see how much sewing she will let me do tomorrow.

Would love to put binding on that quilt and cut out another bday present.

"Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear).  Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day.  For our light and momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!].  II Corinthians 4:16-17

Catching up on some sewing...starting some presents...

Finally caught up on the last two squares for the quilting group.

This is Christmas Present number one.

There are only 5 more to go like this.

This will be made out of the green fabric below...

for a totally ten bday.

This fabric is for T's Christmas dress, below.

Life...

Okay, so life is not what you expected it to be.
Maybe its not even something you can stand to face.
But, with God's help, it can be live-able.
You can even get to the place where you like your new you.
This past year was nothing I ever expected I would deal with.
Nothing I would have ever wanted to face.
I really wanted to just stop facing it.
But God knew that it would be that hard for me.
So He had already given me two angels who would need me to daily get out of bed.
And He knew exactly what friends I would need in my life to keep me motivated and surrounded with love.
He gave me the strength to start over and begin to embrace the changes.
And He KNOWS how much I hate change.
And gradually, day by day, He is helping me to look for the positives and keep handing Him the negatives, which He is more than willing to carry for me.
And today, despite all the pain and betrayals of the last year, I stood in my garage bawling with thankfulness.  Broken heart, yes. 
But thankfulness that I have a house for these girls (with a very understanding landlord) where we can make our own joy and laughter despite the pain.
And thankfulness for a library that can find all the books for me, when I ask, to encourage and build me back up.
And He is ALWAYS there for me.
And that makes this new and different life one that I am glad I am still in...with Him.

I did it!

I finished the applique quilt. 
I have to tell you, I really figured I would give up rather than finish.
I am not all that great with little pieces and normally steer way away from them.
But it is done!
Complete with a sash to put a curtain rod or quilt hanger through.

Continuing to be thankful

The girls and I have gotten on a kick of coming up with at least five things we can be thankful for, right at that second, when the gloomies try to sneak in.  Miss T is in a classroom where a handful love to yell at the classroom, so she has been coming home often lately overwhelmed.  She kept herself in her room until she could come up with an ornery list of things to be thankful for...which was a two-fold blessing...it changed her mindset and made us all laugh.  Miss H has gotten to where she wants to see how many different things she can come up with to fill my two hands over and over with things.  I am thinking that if we can keep this up, we may just keep changing our outlook and reactions.  After all, if you choose to think about the positives instead of what others are doing or saying against you, you take all the power away from them and keep your focus on the God who provides the things to be thankful for.  Now, to me, that is a pretty powerful switch-a-roo!
Today's list:
Time with family.
Communication with friends.
A filling dinner surrounded by a table of loved ones.
Laughter and passing on the tradition of Monopoly games.
The ability to help out by using the van to help dad get a little trailer home to pull behind his lawn mower.
Good times!

Counting my blessings

No pictures today...just words of thankfulness.
I am so thankful for...
...a God who never gives up on me (even in the times it seems everyone else does)
...my children
...friends who remind me to look for the good among the yuck.
...those who are willing to join in prayer to see each other thru hard times.
...the ability to communicate with friends from the past and the present through the internet.
...blue skies with fluffy clouds and bright sunshine.
...fresh new days to start over and then again and again.
...memories of how God has provided in the past to reassure me that He will continue to do so.
...my Bible...so full of things to hold onto that I will never know them all no matter how many times I reread it.
...hoodie sweatshirts, jeans, and flipflops.
...understanding landlords.
...realtors who help you pick up the pieces and love on ya after just meeting you a week ago.
...parents who are taking abuse just b/c they are supportive of ALL their kids not just the current favs.
...friends I have never met who are so willing to say a kind word right when needed most.
...telephones that work when they work and give you a silent break for awhile when they decide  they don't want to ring right now.
...laughter...totally underestimated and under used.  Nothing beats a belly laugh with your children.
...hugs!  OMG...how did I make it so long on so few hugs.  How can we get back to hugging more?
...acceptance.  I may not have it from everyone, but from the ones I need it most from!
...knowing God in a personal way.  and knowing without a doubt that He is real and working and that even the worst of things can be used for good eventually.
...life.  (may I never take it for granted or think that my life is worthless no matter what I am told)

It may not be thanksgiving yet.  But I need to remind myself of everything I do have at exactly this moment in time.  I choose to be thankful!