I Am That Woman

I had a dream the other night I was driving my car and the "check door" indicator was on the dash. I was trying to open the door to re-close it and the door was stuck. So I kept driving with a warning light on and unable to do anything about it. I was reminded of times in my life where that has been my life, knowing what was wrong but having no ability to fix it. It is like the story of the woman with the hemorrhage who touched Jesus in Mark 5. She had chronic bleeding for 12 years. She was an outcast, cut off from people and from attending the temple. Doctors couldn't help her, friends couldn't help her, money couldn't help her. Books, support groups, and the church, couldn't help her. She was at the end of the line. She had no other alternatives but Jesus. She reached out to Him knowing nothing else had worked and what did she have to lose? Her faith in action, reaching out to Jesus. Just a tiny reach, maybe the last of her faith in her fingers brushing against His robe. I am that woman. For me, it was a chronic physical illness, grief of lost loved ones, struggling with difficult relationships, sins of others against me, and the long term affects of my own sin. I tried everything to take away the hurt and pain but came up empty every time. We all have something that requires healing in our lives-some things linger for years in remnants of our struggles and in the forms of bitterness and unforgiveness. Sometimes we need to get to the bottom of the barrel of ourselves and realize that all it takes is that simple reaching out to Jesus, who is the ONLY one who can heal us.

Birdseed and Blessings

Two months ago I bought a bag of birdseed that sat in the garage until last week. The bad weather and lack of time prevented me from refilling the bird feeder in the back yard. A month ago, this area had a terrible Nor'Easter and the yard items had to be brought in. And there the bird feeder sat, not far from the bag of bird seed. Finally, as the green buds started to appear and spring decided to come about, I decided to make the time to fill the feeder and hang it back up outside. The very next day brought new birds flocking to the feast in our yard. And not just any birds; some of the most beautiful, colorful birds we have ever hosted in our backyard. We have a gorgeous, cheeky woodpecker with a bright red head who comes to the bird seed buffet! We have also seen cardinals, robins, chickadees, blackbirds, , grackles, wrens, and a yellow goldfinch! Not far from the bird feeder is a bird house we just discovered baby birds have recently hatched and we watch the mother get food and take to her babies. We are amazed and blessed by God's creation right outside our windows! And to think we have been missing this for the last two months. This is like what we do with what God has given us. Do we leave our time, talents, and money hidden away to collect dust or are we using all God has given us to bless others? The birds would still have been fed, but we would have missed being a part of it and all the beauty of it in front of our eyes. Who does God want you to bless? Don't wait another day...You are missing it!!

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

Last night, as I rocked my sweet little boy at bedtime, I remembered my mom, my grandpa, and my grandma doing the same thing with me so many years ago. I started with the first song I always sing, Baby Mine, which is from Disney's movie Dumbo. I followed Baby Mine with the first line of Jesus Loves Me, when Evan promptly started singing along with me. He got almost every word in the song! To hear your 2 year-old sing about Jesus' love is the most amazing thing. Even though I know Evan doesn't quite understand what the song is all about, I am confident that planting the seed of who Jesus is and that He loves each of us can never be done too early. When I tell him we are getting ready to go to church to play with the kids, he always says BIBLE!! He knows that when we go to church we learn about the Bible. This should be the goal of every Christian parent, to teach their children about Jesus from the day they are born.

Deuteronomy 11:13, 18-19 From now on if you listen obediently to the commandments that I am commanding you today, love GOD, your God, and serve him with everything you have within you...Place these words on your hearts. Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. Teach them to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night.

Can You Tell Me How to Get, How to Get to Sesame Street?

What a great Labor Day weekend! We spent time getting a lot of chores done, visiting with friends, and taking a day trip to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. For those of you who don't know, Sesame Place is a theme park devoted entirely to Sesame Street characters and rides. It is geared toward kids ages 12 and under (although I think 10 is probably the max that kids would actually want to be seen there). Evan was able to go on all the rides and Michael and I could go too! He had a blast! There is also a water park that he was able to enjoy since they have life jackets for kids under 36 inches tall. Evan was excited to meet Elmo, Cookie Monster, The Count, Bert and Ernie, and Big Bird. He even got to hug some of them! The best part was that he got into the park for free since he is under 2 (until the 25th!) so I would recommend doing the park before that age.

Start Spreading the News...It's Been 4 Years!

Michael and I celebrated our 4th anniversary in New York City on July 3 and it was amazing! I left Evan overnight for the first time ever, which was really hard for me to do. I felt guilty for leaving him, even though I knew he was in good hands with my mom and dad. I was able to enjoy the 2 days we were away and I tried not to call every 2 hours!

During our stay, we saw on Broadway "Grease" starring Laura Osnes and Max Crumm, the pair who won the reality show (Grease: You're the One that I Want) and also guest star Taylor Hicks

(of American Idol fame). We got autographs and pictures with the celebs which was fun! We also saw Disney's "The Little Mermaid" which was absolutely breathtaking! I would recommend either of the shows to anyone going to Broadway in the near future. We also managed to get hour massages from a little Asian Massage place near Times Square. A well-kept secret of NYC! We had a relaxing time seeing shows, grabbing dinner, and catching up. Evan did fine, but he was ready to be back with Mommy and Daddy!

Taking Trips and Turning Twenty-Nine

Since I last blogged, I turned 29 years old and took a family vacation to Nova Scotia, Canada. My birthday was great. I don't mind the number since I don't look or feel my age. If I were 29 and not married with a kid, I might feel badly about it, but I am in a great place in my life! I had three celebrations: Michael surprised me with a dinner with our friends in Georgetown the Saturday before my birthday; on my actual birthday, Michael made me breakfast and then I had dinner with my parents and cousin; the Saturday after, we had lunch with Michael's family, my family and some friends. SO the party was extended over a week, which made it even more fun!

Last week was our family fun trip to Nova Scotia. We flew into Halifax and then spent 2 days there, 2 days in Prince Edward Island, and 2 days on the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton. We saw where author L.M. Montgomery was born and raised and many places that inspired her books such as Anne of Green Gables and the Emily of New Moon series. She has always been one of my favorite authors so this was an amazing trip for me. We also drove to several lighthouses for Michael to take pictures.

Dani's Duds

Over the weekend, I went to a huge consignment sale called Dani's Duds that comes to the area 2 times a year. I signed up to consign a few things which allowed me to shop before the general public on Friday night. Although I didn't find the toddler tricycle I was looking for, I did come across a toy bin shelf for 50% off the price in stores. It looks like it has barely been used. What a find! We have been looking for one since we began planning to build the wall unit in the basement. The other side of the basement is now Evan's play area. He has a tv and VCR/DVD player and toys, and we eventually want to buy a car road rug from IKEA. I also found an AquaDoodle that Evan likes and is clean and safe.

I discovered that most of the clothes at the sale that were Evan's size were either ratty or overpriced. I am glad I found clothes at my mom's church's consignment sale in March. We were also blessed to get hand-me-down clothes from some friends at church. They have given us 4 big bags of clothes all the way up to size 4T! I guess when you have toddler boys, you are lucky to have clothes to consign at all, since most boys' clothes need to be burned at the end of the day from the grime and muck! Thank the Lord for OxyClean!