Reinforcement

I love visiting Katie over at Katie's Calamaties blog. She is witty, unique, full of an interesting persepective, born in the wrong century and has a great apron. She has been experiencing a technology breakdown recently and is unable to post pictures. I took this picture recently and it reminded me of something that Katie would appreciate.

So Katie....this one is for you:

Hello Mr. Turkey

I hope that everyone has a happy and blessed thanksgiving! Here is a special thanksgiving wish from my daughter.

Tuesday Treasures

God is my treasure.



Zephaniah 3:17The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."




He has brought my two boys and I through this.

And we have lived to tell about it and testify to God's greatness and mighty power and awesome love.

6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:6-8 (New International Version)

There is no better treasure.

Thank you Lord Jesus. I love you. To God be the glory.

For more Tuesday Treasures, check out: http://storinguptreasuresinheaven.blogspot.com/

I must be famous!!

I seem to have my own papparazzi.

How cool is that?!?

I must be famous.

I must be mom.

Flashback Friday

**this is my flashback Friday post, and had originally started it on said day...but life & computer just got in the way today. So please read it as if I did post it on Friday.**









HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SON







My oldest son Matthew, turned 21 today (Nov 21). He was born at 7:48am, weighing in at 9lbs 110z, and was 21.50" long. He is an extremely special blessing to me, and he had been given up for adoption.







Here he is at two days old. This was shortly before I had left the hospital, leaving him there in the care of nurses, until the assigned social worker came to put him in temporary foster care. I wanted to take one more look at him as a 'newborn'.














A few short weeks later on Dec 8th, we had the hearing to terminate my parental rights and formally have him placed for adoption. The hearing was expidiated at my request, and my social worker was able to arrange a meeting early with a judge after only weeks, instead of the usual months.




We had picked his birth parents, and they were waiting to take their son home that day.



This picture is the last one I have of him & I together. We had just come from the judges chambers, and were on our way to meet his new parents. We were allowed a short visit with our son to see him one more time, and to say goodbye.














The parents that we had picked out for Matthew was such a blessing to us. They had sent me monthly pictures the first year of his life, and then every year after that, along with a letter to let us know how he was doing. Here he is shortly before his first birthday. What a handsome boy!!

Here he is at age two at his grandpa's farm.

Age 4

Couple of years later.....

Then here is his 8th grade picture, 14yrs old.

It has been a pleasure, honor, privilege and blessing to see him grow, to read about how he is, who he has been turning into.

Dear parents of Matthew,

Though I only "met" you one time in person, I feel that I have been invited to share a very special part of you. Though I know not your last name nor where you live, I feel that I have been a part of your life. Though I know not of what Matthew looks like since high school, I feel that I would recognize him immediately as a sister in Christ.

All these years you have been faithful in the raising of Matthew. You have been faithful in loving him, caring for him, meeting his needs. Faithful in showing him the love, grace and mercy of our mighty Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful in allowing him to be himself, yet guiding him into the man he is today. Faithful in keeping your promise to me that you would send pictures and updates. Those pictures and updates have been a HUGE BLESSING to me. Seeing him so well loved, hearing how his heart is, made me glad in the choice that was made all those years ago.

That choice was a diffcult one, but one that I have never regretted. As any [soon to be] mother knows, you cannot wait for your child to be a part of your life. I knew that Matthew was to be a part of my life, but in a special way. There were times that I longed to hold him and hug on him, but then I was comforted by my Lord, and knew that HE was holding and hugging me, and thus my longing was fulfilled. There were times that I missed him, and the Lord knew that too. It would be then, that I would receive some pictures and a letter from you. Once again the Lord taking care of me. When he turned 10, you had written about what a blessing it was for YOU to be Matthews' parents, and how thank you never seemed enough. I must tell you. *I* am the one that has been extremely blessed, and me saying thank you to you doesn't seem like enough. Looking at pictures of Matthew, it is very evident how fully he is loved. That made my choice no longer a difficult one. I feel as if Matthew could not be loved anymore than what he is loved by you today.

I am so thankful to you for raising Matthew. Thank you for being his mom and dad, not just father and mother. Thank you for all that you did. Thank you for showing him Christ, and living for HIM. Thank you for loving him. Last but not least, thank you for opening your hearts and arms to my son. I don't believe anyone could have raised him better. Truly, I am blessed.

Word filled Wednesday

with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills;
~Deuteronomy 33:15

This is both Noni's choicest gifts as well as her everlasting hill.

A trove of treasures for Tuesday

Tuesday's treasures.......ahhh kids. *smile*




"Mommy, let me get my iron and baby Emily's dress to iron so you don't have to iron alone."










"Hey mom! Wanna sing with me?"

"Mommy, mommy, mommy!" [As she comes tearing into the room and lays on the floor.]

"Look how big I am."

"Look at me! I'm an indian princess holding a baby."

"AND I can stand on my tippy-toes."

Check out Courtney's Tuesday Treasures at: http://storinguptreasuresinheaven.blogspot.com/

Flashback Friday

Once upon a time.......

they used to look like this

And then this.....

When it used to be just "the two boys" before they became "the four kids".

And now........it's this (as of Christmas 2006):

Click on over to Courtney's blog (http://storinguptreasuresinheaven.blogspot.com/ ) for other wonderful "Flashback Friday's".

Oh no! Silk tie...?

Yesterday morning, Noni was in desparate need of a belt, as we could not find her (one belt that she owns), and not all of her jeans stay up very well. I was behind on laundry - thus her needing to wear jeans to school.



So mommy had a great idea. Let's take an old tie of daddy's that he NEVER wears, and cut it down to size and just use that. Sounds good, right? Especially since he has so many ties that he had inherited from his dad (like from the 60's) that are not being put to any good use. I went and searched through the ties, and grabbed one that I have YET to see him wear. I figured that if in our [almost] 7 years of marriage, he has not worn it, he probably never will.


HACK!


SNIP!


CUT!








See.......? That was easy.

When daddy came home, Noni runs to him & tells him all about how fun it was to cut one of his ties for her to wear to school.

"Mommy cut one of my ties?"

"Yep. Wanna see daddy?"


A few moments later, daddy comes in to me, with his "tie" in hand and asked me............ "honey, why did you cut this?"

"Noni needed a belt."

"Yeah, but......... this was a SILK tie.

A very special silk tie.

A very special silk tie from England.

A very special silk tie from England that my uncle David (now deceased) had given me."



GULP.



"I didn't know. I had never seen you wear it before, and figured that it was one of your dad's that you'd probably never wear............"


"Did you not happen to see what kind of tie it was and where it was from?"








Ohhhh.......I suppose he meant that really big tag on the back of the tie that I just sort of ignored didn't see in my haste of getting her ready for school.

Nope. Didn't see it at all.

Who loves to eat pumpkin?

Apparently my son.