All I Want For Christmas

It's time for a light-hearted post! :) Perfect for a Saturday morning....my Christmas wish list. Just came across this site and fell. in. love. It's time we steer clear of the typical, mass-produced, furniture-chain-store-collection. Get creative, people! Take a look at these that The Painted Home highlighted. Then head over to his site and go ahead and purchase me a Christmas gift. Thanks in advance. ;)

Bottle It Up

This is what I do. I'm good at it. I keep shoving it and shoving it until I can't shove anymore. Then I explode. That's what happened last weekend. I've always been very honest with you. Strange thing is, I'm having a really hard time doing it now. I think the wounds are too deep, and have never been taken care of. I carried my babies and bought groceries at the same little store that my mama carried her babies and bought groceries in. I walked down the steps, through the hall, and opened the door to drop my little girl off at the nursery on Sunday morning. My mom made those same steps, week after week, with me. We took a little drive up a dirt road that lead to the first house I've ever lived in. I guess living a life that doesn't contain history is really pretty easy. The hard part comes when you are given the chance to travel back in time and relive old memories. I held it together in public, thank goodness. But when the sermon was over, and the congregation was asked to sing "It Is Well", I had to up and leave. I couldn't do it. I almost gagged on the words. It is not well with my soul. Maybe a new boyfriend, and then a fiance, and then building a new marriage, and then popping out 3 of my own babies was enough to keep me busy. I don't know. For whatever reason, I am wrestling with God right now. A dear friend has assured me that it's okay. I think it's just a phase. Something new I need to work through. My Heavenly Father brought to my memory the verse He gave me at the beginning of 2003's summer. Romans 5:3-4 says "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope." I thought He had pointed that verse out to me before I met my first week's set of campers in case I had a home-sick little girl who would require an extra ounce of comfort. Little did I know what other circumstances would send me clinging to that passage as well. And here I am, 7 years later, still clinging. Angry and bitter, but still clinging. It's been a rough week. Lots of tears. Today He gave me another verse: Romans 12:12 "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer." Keep 'em coming, God.

Getting Away

My dad owned some land up north. It is pure heaven. :) We will be there for the weekend. I am attempting a no computer/no mountain dew/no nail polish/no razor weekend. I need to learn to find comfort in non-stimulants. My baby #2 and #3 have never been there. I wish they could understand the magnitude of what it means to me. Someday. There will be tears. There always are. Hoping that they refrain themselves to times when I'm under the covers, late at night. And really hoping it takes the "locals" more than 10 minutes to figure out I'm a flat-lander. :) Until I'm refreshed and recharged...

A Whole Food

Learning tons these days. If you have not watched Food Matters yet, shame on you. You can sign up on Netflix and watch it instantly on your computer. I think Food Inc has gotten a lot of recognition lately, but Food Matters is in a league all it's own. I'm starting my own health experiment. Many do not know that I am a licensed nutritionist and body-ecology expert. I'm looking for a panel of 45 volunteers. You have to be willing to follow a rigid procedure for 90 days. If you are not fully satisfied with your results after these 3 months, my health clinic will personally write you a check for $5,000 to cover the cost of your troubles. Do I see any hands being raised???

Okay, totally joking. :) I have absolutely NO credit to my name. Wishful thinking. {insert a wink and a sigh, here} Just seeing who was paying attention. Ha! I watched Food Matters today for the first time. Remarkable information. If you are, or are related to, or are married to a conventional practitioner, be forewarned. :) Did you know that two handfuls of cashews a day can be enough to cure depression? Did you know that the cure for cancer and almost ALL other diseases was found back in the '30's and '40's and yet legally your doctor can't tell you about it? Healthy people don't make them any money. Sad, but so true. Our economy depends on sick people. Did you know that chemotherapy is a carcinogen. Did you know that people being treated for cancer all across the country are given jello and white bread in hospitals (one of the many things that feed cancer)??? I don't want to keep quoting from the movie because I'm too afraid of messing up an important piece of information but please, please, please take the time to watch it.

Just an interesting tid bit to leave you with tonight. Are you familiar with Spirulina? They talk about it in the movie, and HERE is an article about it. Enjoy!

Flu Shots, anyone?

This just about blew my mind and once again confirmed that my children will NEVER be getting the flu shot. Just because your pediatrician is pushing it, DOES NOT make it safe. New studies (and statistics) have shown that 3% of people who DO NOT get the flu shot, will get the flu. But here's the surprising twist: 2% of people who DO get the flu shot, WILL GET THE FLU. Here's why it's not worth the risk: They have proven that people who receive the flu shot for multiple years in a row are at an increased risk to develop Alzheimer's disease. Interesting, eh?

It's His Birthday

7 years ago I became a camp counselor. I didn't go there with any high hopes but the morning that I loaded my '95 Maxima and left home my mom said "I'm praying you find your husband this summer". When the Bible says that "the prayers of a righteous man availeth much" it should've included righteous moms too, because that's exactly what happened. I met a handful of guys every day and with each new face also came the thought: "is he the one?" We were getting ready for our first week of campers when I was given a project of preparing signs. I think that's the first that I remember him. He was "the artist", so obviously he was in charge of the art work. :) He was funny and had the cutest freckles. I never sensed a morsel of ego in his personality and that attracted me. I was headed to Walmart with a group of girls and he asked that we pick him up something. Weird, I thought, but also really excited because I knew that just gave me another excuse to talk to him again. We slowly started talking more. At the beginning of the summer my parents said that any out-of-town counselors were more than welcome to crash at our place for the weekend or just for a home cooked meal. I decided it would be fun to invite some people over for lunch on Sunday. I asked him first, because that was truthfully my only motive for inviting anyone over. If he couldn't make it, then why bother inviting anyone else??? :) He seemed excited, so I invited 7 more people. Unbeknownst to me, word got out fast. That Sunday my parents ended up feeding 24 camp staff members. :) I remember them frantically defrosting extra meat from the basement freezer. My mom and sister knew that I was sort'f interested in someone and I was sure to point and mouth the words "that's him!!!" when he walked in the door. Our friendship progressed from there. I still have piles and piles of hand written notes. He is the one who introduced me to Oswald Chambers and the NASB Bible. It was remarkable to me that there could be one person who could talk passionately about God, soccer, art, and me, all at the same time! The 4th of July was drawing near and he was throwing hints around about how much he'd love to drive my car. I came up with the brilliant idea that he could drive some of us to see fireworks. That was the night I fell. Hard. He was just so stinkin' cute. And tan. And afterwards in an effort to not lose each other in the hoards of people he grabbed my hand. Be still my soul! It was LATE when we got back to camp. I was exhausted and still had to head home to repack my bags for a new week of campers. I called home and said "Hey dad. Remember when you said friends were welcome to crash with us for the weekend? Well....do you mind if I bring a friend home?" He said "sure Meg. What's her name?" "Um. Well. Hmm. Dad? Remember that guy....???" :) Seth was able to drive me and my exhausted self home. He told me to wake him up in the morning before we needed to head back to camp. WHAT!? I'd never woken a guy up in my life. He had no idea what he was asking of me. I debated asking him whether or not he slept in anything but his underwear but decided that it probably wasn't an appropriate question to ask "just a friend". I think that's when our friendship became more obvious to others. He started spending every weekend at our house and my dad quickly came to the conclusion that he talked too much and was too confidant. :) The pistol that met him at the door didn't even scare him. We spent a short weekend in NYC. That's a whole other post. Trust me. But it did end up with our first kiss while being locked in a hotel lobby before my parents had to drive up to rescue us because we had lost the car keys. See what I mean? A.Whole.Other.Post. When my dad found out he didn't hunt or fish and was a student at Bob Jones he literally asked Seth if he was gay. What an afternoon that was! One Sunday afternoon I had told Seth I needed some family time, so he stayed back at camp. My dad met me in our home office to ask where I thought our relationship was going. With tears streaming down my face I told him that this was the one. He wasn't so sure. He said "but Meg, you've said that before". "No dad. This is WAY different." I knew I had his blessing. I could just feel it. Little did I know that this was the last conversation I would ever have with him on this earth. Early Monday morning he came in to my bedroom to give me a hug before leaving for work. That was our last hug. I had a good week with my campers before hearing the news that he had been killed in a plane crash early Friday morning. Seth came in right after I had been told. He was planning on asking for my dad's approval the very next day. I really don't know how I survived that time without Seth. He continued to stay the weekends with us, even though I never returned to camp as a counselor. We would stay up until 4am. I tried to explain to him how my heart was literally hurting. I just remember night after night of sobbing in his arms. We officially became a couple on August 9th. After 8 months of a long distance relationship, he popped the question and I said yes! We were married 8 months later during a candlelit ceremony in December. Boy was it hard marrying someone who I had only dated long distance! There was so much to work through. So much adjusting. I became pregnant 8 months later, and then again 16 months after that, and then again 15 months after that. At least that part of our relationship was going well. :) Hehehe. Today is his birthday. He's 28. To be honest, I never imagined that married life would be this hard. I quickly found out how selfish I am. I also quickly found out that my assumption of marrying a perfect person was not a reality. :) I am thankful that my mom was praying. I'm thankful he still has his cute freckles. He is humble with his accomplishments, and honest about his failures. He rubs my feet almost every night and is the first one out of bed if one of the children has a bad dream. He never smells bad. Ever. EVER. He's a lot smarter than I am. (but I have much more common sense. hehe...) He is a family man through and through and will allow work to suffer if he knows we need him more. He wants me to stay home with our children, and allows me to financially. He never allows me to hang up the phone if we're having a fight and always reminds me that we never know when our last goodbye will be. It scares me to death when he gets on a plane. Or drives to work. Or walks to the mailbox. :) I can't imagine losing him. And even though we have our moments and our doubts, I would fight like a mama grizzly bear to save our marriage. I have. And I will continue to. I don't know why God blessed me with this man. I certainly don't deserve him, but am so incredibly thankful that he was His plan for me. Happy birthday, babe!

Home improvements...

We've been busy! My DH made the decision to pull the house off the market. Sniff sniff. I know it's for the best....I really do.....but a part of me is still mourning the fact that I lost "my farm". Remember? The one that we had a verbal agreement on, and were on our way to the lawyer's office when the seller decided to tack on $40K??? Yeah. That would be the one. I thought I'd be sipping hot apple cider on the front porch and gathering my harvest from this summer's garden. But no. God had other plans. SO.... we've decided to do a few little home improvement projects while we're here. Priority #1 has been a new faucet. Ours was the $19.99 builder's grade kind. We took a little family trip (OH how I love bosses who say "you've been traveling a lot....family is more important...why don't you spend a day at home???") to Ikea and scored big time. Our old spice rack we've been using for the past (almost) 6 years was wonderful but took up precious counter space:

Here's our new spice rack/buckets to hold the large amounts of tea I'm supposed to be drinking right now. We're heading back to Ikea to pick up another black bar and 4 more buckets which will probably just hold more tea.....or chocolate chips.....no, probably tea. :) Here's the new faucet, too! I LOVE it. Thankful for a hubby who knows how to do all this stuff!
This was my old faucet. B.O.R.I.N.G!
My boys are really into "being boys" right now. This morning I overheard a conversation where one of them said "let's fight! okay, just let me put on my helmet!"
And then there's this door. It's ancient old and covered in chippy paint. The only problem is that the chippy paint is the color of band-aids. :( So it has to go. I thought I could sand it down but ended up resorting to chipping and scraping it away. This is definitely a bigger project than I had anticipated, but it's getting there. Wait til you see where this baby is going when she's gorgeous. :)