Okay the last pictures for the night I promise.  Here's Midge.  The boo-boo on her head made mommy cry more then Midge did   She's into climbing on everything.

Here's my family.  And my messy yard   Looks like kids live there huh!  We got the bridge today.  It has been something we've been wanting for a long time.  As we had to ditch the property to keep the water away from our house, and have been walking over the ditch on a slimy piece of plywood.

And here's where a man's hands ought to be   Sorry about the fuzzy picture.  Still mastering the flash. But I had to record this for posterity   Dh by the way does 90% of the dishes in the house.  He's WAY cool

Okay it is soo icky outside I can't get good outdoor shots of the kids, and they were not impressed at me taking it, but oh well....I will do better next time (still learning big time!) Any and all tips appreciated. 

Okay so I splurged got my respite check and bought a digital camera   Bottom of the line Walmart special.  I couldn't wait til my bday!!!  So now I'm learning how to use it.  Here's my house for all to see.  It was a schoolhouse in its prime.  I've spent the last 5 years restoring it.  It was built in 1905

And for those of you who have been wanting to see here's my upholestry job on my couch.  Its not quite finished...but this is the way its looking now....

Had to show off my roses too   There doing so well this year.  Even if I have completely neglected them.

And for the last one for now.  The view from my front window   Its raining in this picture for your information.  The overcast clouds finally started dripping.  We needed it!  Though I sure hope we get some summer too.

I will put pictures of my kids in as I catch them doing something cute, but for now just had to play with my new toy

Sing praise to the Lord. 

How often do you sing?  Do you find yourself wandering around with a melody in your heart.  I do.  Lately though its been theme songs from Annie   This is so unsatisfying.  I love it when I have a grande old hymn rolling around in my head over and over.  It makes me remember that all is well God is here!

Zeria has just discovered singing in church.  We go to the evening service and she opens up the hymn book and lets her mouth make a "joyful noise"  She doesn't know most of the words...so she makes up her own.  Their all about Jesus, and God and how happy she is.  Sometimes if a word from the hymn attracts her she will add that one in.  She is truely making a joyful noise.  And everyone in our small church gets a big smile from it!   She is doing what we are called to.

I have found when I get a flat tire, or the battery's dead in my car I have 2 choices. Scream, cry, or sing.  When I choose the latter I'm so much more refreshed.  Sing sing praise songs, sing Annie songs   It will do your heart good.  You don't have a good voice??  Who cares!?  I don't as long as you sing.

My father was raised to make a joyful noise.  He sings louder then anybody in the whole church. (By many decibals)  In a previous church he received an anonymous letter asking him not to sing anymore because it bothered them.  This was so wrong.  My father was putting into practice what the rest of us need to do.

Music is therapeutic.  Think about it when do you feel the most relaxed.  When your dancing around the living room singing loud to your favorite song.  Or you get a favorite on the radio in the car and you begin to jive to it.   These are the moments all the nasty, depressing thoughts of the world leave, and you are truely enjoying yourself

Is it any wonder God commanded us to sing so many times in the Bible.  Even as I slog through Isaiah.  Again a whole chapter saying Sing to the Lord!!  So I'm gonna start humming more, and complaining less (I hope)

I used to dream of being a Missionary to starving children in Taiwan.  I used to dream of becoming a Guide Dog trainer and raising dogs to help blind people see.   I used to dream of becoming a teacher and guiding young minds.  I used to dream of becoming a Counselor to teenagers with problems.   I used to want to hike the mountains and explore them for weeks on end.  But the dream I held the dearest the closest to my heart afraid to let anybody see was the one of wanting to become a wife and a mommy.  For fear the dream would not come true.

So instead of being a Missionary...we give to those who are.  Instead of training guide Dogs I have a dog who watches my kids and keeps them safe while their out in the yard.  Who lets my kids maul them and is so gentle with them.  I am a teacher, but to an audience of three.  I am a Counselor, but not with some lofty degree.  I go hiking, pushing, pulling & dragging 3 toddlers, holding hands with the man of my dreams. 

The dream that I held the tightest, God answered and more abundantly better then I could believe.  Please don't pinch me I do NOT want to wake up. 

The answer to fearing God!!!!

^{Isaiah 6:13}Do not fear anything except the LORD Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else. ¹⁴He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah he will be a stone that

When we are fearing God we will not be afraid of anything.  Because he will keep us safe.  WOW! 

Thank you God for this gift. I'm gonna leave my journal hear for now, because I want to think on that.

I found this when surfing for backgrounds.  This is so precious

Isaiah 3:5 Come, people of Israel, let us walk in the light of the LORD!

Light.  What a marvelous picture.  Like Kymber I've always been fascinated with the sky and with light.  It is what gives us hope.  Light is what enables us to see, and to move, and to function without stumbling (well most of us--me personally I'm a clutz)  Light can be blinding somedays so much that all you can see is light.  Matthew says the city on a hill cannot be hidden it is a light to all around it.  Light is a marvelous thing   How are you being light today.  How am I.

In my everyday mundane mommy kinda life.  Light means, not giving into discouragement.  Not yelling at a child who needs discipline, doing it quietly with love.  Not saying I caaaan't, or whining when an obstacle reaches my path.  Light means maintaining a even-kill possibly even a happy spirit.  Something to strive for definitely.

Today is my Bible Study day.  We all still have colds, but I think I'm gonna drag us out anyhow just so we can get a different perspective on life.  Everybody there has already had the cold--there who gave it to us to begin with. (bluch)

Yesterday we wandered around outside a lot.  Rob built a trail through our woods to the top of our property.  We still have work to do on it, but it was fun to explore, even if we had to carry kids over salal brush here and there.  Samuel of course has to carry a BIG stick everywhere he goes, and beat things with it just like daddy.  Kaylin was quite content to ride on daddys back.  Zeria was being brave and not crying when the stickers & thistles were taller then she was. 

Zeria "helped" me pick about a half a gallon of wild blackberrys out of our burn piles.  She had tons of fun, even if she spilled her little handful multiple times.  Ever picked wild blackberrys.  Its an adventure to say the least!  First of all there very small, so 20 berrys is barely a handful.  Second they grow in burns, or clearcuts, or stumps.  And disguise whats underneath.  So you take a step, and wham your down 8 feet 'cause OOOPS that wasn't solid ground afterall.  Needless to say I have scratches all over my arms & legs.  But I love to pick berrys.  I think its because it was something my dad and I did every year.  And he always said I was a "GOOD" picker.  Even if I wasn't  

Dad and I would sneak out of the house early on a Saturday morning (5 am) to beat the heat.  Bring a dog, to warn us of bears and drive somewhere to a "secret" patch.  Blackberry pickers guarding their patches zealously.  Dawn would be arising and the birds singing.  He'd put me secure in the best patch, and then work around the edges listening to me jabber away.  One lucky day we got to see a bear who was also picking berrys.  (This is why we always brought a dog--he was our early warning protection )  We'd pick until dad had a gallon and I a half a gallon, then come home where mom would have made homemade pancakes as our reward.  And mmm mmm blackberry pies for dinner that night

Father God, as I go throughout this day let me be the soft gentle light of dawn refreshing people and encouraging them.  Heal our bodies of these colds so we can function better, and enable each of us to honor you today.

Amen

Warning forwarded mail dead ahead   I received this from Daylesmilk today and I just had to share it.  Bring backs way too many memories   My apologies if it gag's anybody with a spoon   I'm a little nervous...hehehe I umm identified with way too much of it.

YOU'RE A CHILD OF THE 80'S IF.........
--------------------------------------
* You know what "psyche" means.
* You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, Wax off."
* You know that another name for a keyboard is a Synthesizer.
* You can sing the McDonald's Big Mac, Filet-o-fish, quarter pounder,
and French fry song..."Big Mac, Filet O' Fish, quarter pounder,
  french fries, icy coke, thick shakes...sundaes and apple pies!!"
* You know who Mr. T is.
* You know who Fat Albert is. And who the boy with the pink mask was?
* You ever wore fluorescent, neon clothing.
* You could breakdance, or wish you could.
* You wanted to be The Hulk for Halloween.
* You Believed that saying "By the power of Greyskull", gave you The Power!
* Partying "like it's 1999" seemed SO far away.
* You thought that Transformers were more than meets the eye.
* You knew that "knowing is half the battle".
* You wanted to be on Star Search.
* You can remember when Michael Jackson was black.
* You wore a banana clip at some point during your youth.
* You remember the garbage pail kids, and owned some.
* You knew what Willis was "talkin' 'bout."
* Rut row raggy.* and *Zoinks*
* You HAD to have your MTV.
* You actually thought "Dirty Dancing" was a REALLY good movie.
* You remember when ATARI was a state of the art video game system.
* You owned any tape cassettes.
* You were led to believe that in the year 2000 we'd all be living on the
moon. Instead we're sending people to live on deserted islands with nothing
but the clothes on their backs for 39 days vying for a million dollars
* You remember and/or owned any of the Care Bear Glass collection from
Pizza Hut.....or the Muppets glasses from McDonalds ...and drank out of them
with a crazy straw
* Poltergeist freaked you out.
* You knew who Ben Stein was before you could win his money,"Bueller?"
* You carried your lunch to school in a Gremlins, ET, Dukes of Hazzard,
Knight Rider, Strawberry Shortcake or A-Team lunch box.
* You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the ONLY female smurf.
* You know what leg warmers are and probably had a pair.
* You wore biker shorts underneath a short skirt and felt stylish.
* You wore your Izod shirt with the collar up, or you wore two different
color IZOD shirts, at the same time, with both collars up
* You had a Swatch Watch with the Swatch Guard.
* Your Legos collection started with the free sets in a Happy Meal.
* You remember when Happy Meals came in a box, not a paper bag.
* You remember when Saturday Night Live was funny.
* You had Wonder Woman or Superman underoos.
* You know what a "Push Up" ice cream is.
* You loved your Inch Worm, Big Wheel and Lemon Twist
* Jabber Jaw was your favorite Saturday morning cartoon
* You owned, or knew somebody with a Commodore 64.
* You recorded songs off the radio with your boom box.
* You wished you had a light saber.
* Somehow you still know all the words to songs played on VH1's"Big 80's"
* Your arm was full of rubber bracelets, also known as goomies, tied
together of course
* You have ever said, "Gag me with a spoon."
* You have ever wondered what happened to Saturday morning cartoons.
* You had to get up to change the channel.
* You can still sing 1 to 12 from the Pinball machine on Sesame Street.
" Onetwothreefourfive..sixseveneightnineten...eleven...twelve!"

If you can identify with at least half of this list then you, my friend,
are a "Child of the 80's".