tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81045595559166376122024-03-14T04:42:03.016-04:00Finding SunshineAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.comBlogger350125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-16846444835667897922012-11-30T22:52:00.001-05:002012-11-30T23:02:51.992-05:00Angel Mail # 19 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtwIT8JjddM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtwIT8JjddM</a> This entry wouldn't be the same without a musical link! You will have to pause the music player to hear this song. I hope you can see us in a family sing along! <br />
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Dear Jeremy,<br />
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Happy 5th Birthday! We send our love and birthday wishes from the depths of our hearts here on earth and hope they reach you there in heaven. I spent much of the day wondering about your days there in heaven and imagining that each moment is far more wonderful than the very best and most fun birthday party here on earth. I just hope and pray that you feel our love, know without doubt that we miss you, and somehow feel that you are never forgotten from any part of our day to day experiences here on earth. <br />
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I awoke to a morning that weather wise was very much like the day that you were born. As we left to begin our daily routines, gentle tears flowed as I reflected upon those moments in 2007 when your Daddy and I prepared for your impending birth. I am rejoicing that the first thoughts of you this morning were filled with love and sunshine and not despair. I am grateful to remember the warmth of the happy times with you, however short they might have been, and deeply cherish them all. I am still unsure of how to manage to experience that warmth of happier and "normal" times without the pain of realizing that time with you in earthly presence has come to an end. To this moment, I still shake my head with disbelief that the events that transpired really happened and that you are really waiting for us in heaven. <br />
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I "see" you in the faces of the other children your age. Sometimes they take my breath away when I see them running with glee in the midst of even the most ordinary of moments. Pregnant women, babies, and young toddlers have a particular way of tugging at my heartstrings. Some days I simply avoid them. I can still feel the barriers that I must still keep up to function and the fuzziness that comes over me when I am in their presence. Those moments in their presence still often cause time to stand still and I have difficulty escaping the thinking that centers on all of the why's...Those experiences never end well. I can say that I am coping a little better than I had in years past where these experiences are concerned but they are still hard. <br />
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In the weeks leading up to this day, I have often found myself thinking about how cool five year olds are! This creates the perpetual thought of thinking about all the milestones that you would have been making at this time in your life. This makes your absence very real and very sad for me. I wonder what your giggle would sound like? What kinds of things would even make you giggle? Hmmm<br />
I wonder who your buddies would have been? I wonder what would have been your favorite color? What book would you have requested to be read to you over and over until I could recite the words in my sleep? What show would have been the one to be "your special show"? I wonder what your voice would sound like? I am left here wanting something so very different than what I have ended up with to accept without choice. I am however, gifted with trust. I trust that all is well now and was meant to be just this way even though on this side of heaven it makes no sense of any kind to me to this day.<br />
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As we have in years before, we collected books in your memory and honor and donated them to the library at the hospital. We also chose books that were in donated in honor of the very gifted and special medical team that worked alongside of us to care for you while you were sick. Additionally books were donated in honor of some of your friends that dance with you in heaven that we have come to know through their loving families. This year there was a common theme of laughter to some of the books. These were books that made us laugh a little or a lot when we read them. We knew these books were especially needed in this special library. While we would never trivialize any part of being a patient in the hospital, laughter can be very healing. We wanted to spread love, compassion, sunshine, and smiles this year on your birthday. It feels good to find a way to honor you, to remember you, to help someone else, and to see your memory live on in the hearts and minds of others. Additionally we were also able to donate some tissues and band aids specifically to the PICU, which will forever hold a special place in our hearts. <br />
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I received an amazing letter by e-mail from a young lady that arrived out of the blue. It was of great comfort to read her words and to be reminded and know that your life was a part of the hearts of many from all over. These people are woven together by our Lord, with you, with us, and many others, for a purpose that we cannot always see and understand, but that was intentionally created with great purpose. I am continually amazed when I reflect upon this thought and it takes my breath away to see the many times when our Lord shows His sovereign presence over all of us on this earth.<br />
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Your Mimi is with you now in heaven. Her presence is greatly missed from our everyday world here on earth too. I imagined the reunions when she arrived and the time that you have together now in heaven. I imagine that she loves holding you as long as you aren't crying! Ha! Do babies even cry in heaven? We were especially comforted to find a book that spoke of that time that you now share in heaven and were able to donate that book to the library as well. We give thanks that were able to donate this book and the others last week while everyone was home from school on Thanksgiving break. I am thankful for the opportunity for your brothers and sister to have the completion of that experience, to see the library, and to know that our love for you lives on through these book donations that hopefully bring sunshine to others in dark and stormy times.<br />
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We continue to watch time here on earth sift through our hands like sand without any control. <br />
I have learned to cherish the moments beyond imagine and hold close to my heart the true gifts of this life. These very gifts often are the simplest of things that cannot be bought or are tangible items. There has been considerable trauma, loss, and trials in our lives. I continue to struggle watching it unfold before my eyes, to make it stop, or to feel as though I have any real power to make a difference in making it better. My heart prays daily for the ability to leave these concerns at the foot of the cross and to trust that the Lord has them all in the palm of His almighty hands. Each morning as I awake, I long for peace, true and constant joy, and steadfastness in trials, but admittedly still lack the ability to fully access those treasures. I can only hope that through prayer and a willingness to be open to the Holy Spirit to enter my heart, that I can get out of my own way, and fulfill those very hopes. <br />
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I spent the rest of the today wandering around feeling like I was lost. I could not do what I truly wanted, which was to honor your special day in the ways that I do with the rest of your earthly family. I simply could not follow through with the typical everyday trivial routines of a Friday either. <br />
For me, I have grown to accept that this day in the calendar year, will be painful, no matter what. <br />
Not much, feels just right. All in all, there is a little more strength to my soul as time moves forward. <br />
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As we visited your grave to take time and pause, it was nice to see that others had been there before us and had left symbols of their love and remembrance of you on your birthday. Their thoughtfulness also brought comfort to our broken hearts as well. We give thanks for the support of family and friends along each step of the way.<br />
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Jeremy, you are a true gift in my life. Your presence, while short, taught me more than I could have ever imagined a young child could have ever done. In this case, it was YOU who was sent to teach me, rather than the traditional parent/child relationship. I love you and always will. You are a part of me forever and ever. I am who I am, for better or for worse, because of you and all the other experiences that have been divinely appointed in my life. Please know that I feel your presence with me daily and "see" all of the ways that you show your love for us, your family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Today, I write and ask that you never stop finding ways to be present in our lives. <br />
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Happy 5th Birthday, my sweet son! It was you that was and continues to be my gift...<br />
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Love, <br />
Mommy<br />
<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-91428451248806311992012-10-28T20:28:00.003-04:002012-10-28T20:28:46.293-04:00Here I am...I have been wanting to write for some time now. There have been many reasons why I have not written, as my heart has deeply desired. Most of all, there have been events in my life that just honestly haven't been my story to write. There are folks close to my heart that have chosen a much more private approach to sharing their life story. There will not be judgement of right or wrong, it is JUST a personal preference, if you will. I just have not felt comfortable writing about these events or my personal feelings and reflections as a result. I have, after all, felt compelled to honor the wishes of those near and dear to my heart. For me there was no ability to honor those wishes and let out my feelings all at once. Significant time has passed, much has happened, and as a result, here I am. <br />
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If you are loading this page still after all this time, thank you. I have missed being here too.<br />
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We are bracing for the "Frankenstorm" here in our corner of the world. We pray for the safety of all in Sandy's path. <br />
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Speaking of storms, I very much feel as if I live in a "STORM" of some sort or other. Seriously, it has been that kind of FOUR years. (No, I am not counting !!!) Therefore, I would expect to be somewhat prepared as one storm doesn't seem to end before the next one begins...it has sadly become my new normal. I am worn down, but none the less, STILL, solidly anchored in my faith of our Lord. <br />
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I am being tossed amongst the tumultuous waves, all the while, hoping that by anchoring myself to my Lord, that I will eventually come out, in His loving embrace, no matter what comes to be on this earth. In turn, I hope to resemble the likings of sea glass, softened and polished through the storms of life. HA! That is NOT exactly what I think at first glance upon seeing my own reflection in the mirror! I would not be amiss to mention that I would also like very much to experience smooth seas for a change. <br />
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To those that have wondered "What is up with her???" To those that have loved on me without response...the cards, emails, phone calls, absentee friendships, lack of response, not being there in the thousands of ways that I have wanted, etc...know that your presence and words have indeed reached my heart, and that your love and friendship matter. I have deeply appreciated each and every gesture. You have sustained me when I have lacked the energy to go on to face another day of challenge. The Mother's Day Project 2012 is particularly dwelling in a significant place of guilt for me. I regret the ability to send proper thank you responses to everyone who had a part in making the past year so very successful. I petition your grace to understand when there is only so much that one soul can accomplish in a 24 hr. cycle. I feel so very overwhelmed most days of my life. <br />
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Reading this entry, you may ask? Oh My...Is she depressed? To answer you, I probably am to some degree. Please be reassured that I try hard not to be. It is a daily struggle. Just maybe...., just maybe, it is that very desire to hold on, against all odds stacked against me, and the ability to KNOW that I am anchored in the love of my Lord, that is what is keeping me out of deep trouble. No matter what storms continue to rage and those that may come to be, I do have ultimate peace in my heart, that I am ransomed by my Lord. There will be a day one day where all suffering will end and peace will be evermore. Until then, I will walk steadily in His grace for each day on this earth. <br />
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You may encounter me in your day to day life. If you do,please know that you get what you get, and you can expect me to be authentic. <br />
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Otherwise, if I exist here for you only in this virtual world, know that I am still here. I will hope to be present in this place more often than I have in the recent past. <br />
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Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-4901511695973052482012-05-13T09:00:00.001-04:002012-05-13T09:00:25.440-04:00Happy Mother's DayWishing all Moms a very special Mother's Day today! I am filled with joy to report back to you that we accomplished our goal this year and were able to fill over 290 bags this year. These beautiful, stuffed to rim bags were delivered to the hospital and also to the respite facility nearby the hospital. The nurses and staff will be surprising each mom with a special delivery today. It is my prayer that these bags will offer a Ray of Sunshine, a smile, a bit of encouragement, and love to these moms. Thank you to each person that participated, without you, this project would simply not be possible!<br />
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I will be back to share more pictures and more heartwarming stories from this year's project but at least wanted to get the word out to everyone about the total number of bags and that they were delivered!<br />
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This project makes my heart sing and makes my Mother's Day extra special. If you were a part of this year's project, I pray that it also reached the depths of your heart and blessed you too! I know without doubt that together, we helped many moms at the hospital feel that love from all of us to them today! These bags, this simple gesture of compassion for someone experiencing a tough time, this love that was intertwined throughout the whole thing, well, it matters, it makes a difference, it changes the world one little heart at a time! Thank you.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-18339451197936582762012-05-08T22:46:00.000-04:002012-05-08T22:46:20.908-04:00Almost DoneA quick update before bed. I am wiped.
Big Project. Family responsibilities. Everyday life.
Thank you for your patience. I have great intentions but sincerely lack the time to execute them at all or in a timely fashion.
Thank you for the kind offers to help me in every way possible. I am doing the best that I can to manage all the offers to help, respond to e-mails, accept, tally, sort, unwrap the donations, and also stuff bags. I appreciate your patience. I will surely need an assistant next year!!! If I have not responded to your offers to help, please know I am most grateful but also just a wee bit challenged right now to get it ALL done. Most moms can relate right? I tend to live in the moment and trust that somehow it will all come together, but that doesn't always lend itself to planning well with others. (insert deep breath)
So... I wanted to update last night but ran out of time.
The donations have continued to steadily come in ALL week!! YEAH
I must say that the bags are looking rather amazing thus far. I know of a few donations that are due to arrive within the next day or so and with that said, we are hoping to put the finishing touches on each bag, say a prayer over them all, and send them on their way to the Moms who will receive them this year!
I continue to encounter the questions "What else do you need?" If there are any folks out there that are willing to help at this hour of the project, we are still in need of some additional chocolate and also chapstick, lip gloss, or other lip care items.
I will hope to update more tomorrow with some more stories of this year's project!
I continue to be in awe...thank you!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-68911679633282862122012-04-30T22:22:00.000-04:002012-04-30T22:22:32.293-04:00Welcome to OUR Workshop<em>Sometimes one little spark of kindness is all it takes to reignite the light of hope in a heart that's blinded by pain. -</em><em>Barbara Johnson</em><br />
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You are cordially invited to our workshop. Take a look at what has been happening here in recent days. Thank you to each and every person that has been a part of this project to date and to those that are busy praying, shopping, baking, and preparing for a successful response in other creative ways. <br />
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The donations are steadily streaming in and my hope is still to have enough bags for all of the Moms Children's Center in time for Mother's Day. That being said there is still time for you to help! I am still accepting donations of all kinds. There is a lovely plum bin on my porch. I am waiting a few more days to begin the mega stuffing process. I am hoping to receive a few more of several items and I'm hoping that you can help me reach that goal.<br />
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I am appreciative of every single item that is generously donated. I am often asked what do you need? I have listed the toiletries and comfort items before, but there are also some really creative ideas that come in each year. Take a look...<br />
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I love these photo holders! :)<br />
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How cute are these cards? There is a tea bag in the little basket on the front of the card and really sweet messages on the inside of the card!<br />
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These handwritten cards brought me and the team of ladies that were working with me today to tears. They are so tender and will surely bless the hearts of those moms who receive them on Mother's Day.</div>
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I have been inspired by the stories that have been shared with me again this year. Stories of friends getting together to create bags and to bake homemade cookies. Stories of kids wanting to be a part of this time with their mothers. Kids are making things for the moms. There have been offices that have pulled money and donations together to make a difference. There have been the small world -BIG GOD kind of stories. It has all been so very amazing and such a blessing. I have also been inspired by the outpouring of my faithful supporters who have helped me now all four years in a row, those that have come back for multiple years, and also for the new faces that have joined along this year! I am so grateful.<br />
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If you are interested and wishing to help stuff bags this year, please be sure to email or comment here on this blog of your availability this week and in the earlier part of next week. Please indicate your availability of both dates and times. I'll do my best to have multiple days where folks can help out and be a part of making a difference in the hearts of so many moms this year. <br />
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One more thing...I am also in need of a few more boxes...Can anyone help me get perhaps about five to six more?<br />
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Are you inspired? What will you do with that inspiration? Now is the time to act...<br />
I'll be back with more updates later.<br />
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With a Grateful Heart,Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-51495023736751976262012-04-22T15:52:00.000-04:002012-04-22T15:52:02.841-04:00Mother's Day Project 2012 - An UpdateThe Mother's Day Project is well under way and from where I stand, things are coming together nicely. I am eager to see the amazing things that will come together to make this project a success again this year.<br />
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Here are a few updates that you might be interested to know...<br />
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1. In my day to day travels, I have noticed that Target and Michael's both have a nice selection of appropriate bag items in their dollar bin areas. Michaels has sadly raised their prices to $1.50 for most items but that is still a reasonable price.<br />
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2. Target is carrying the Mother's Day bags this year in their dollar bin area. <br />
I grab every one that I can find when I happen by our local Targets. If you see any more, would you grab them? Please leave a comment if you need reimbursement for these bags. <br />
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3. I am looking for someone who might be able to contact Chick-Fil- A on behalf of our foundation. It has come to my attention that they are giving away a book that a Mom and child can create together in their kid meals. Klutz is the publisher of the book. I need someone who might take on the task of seeing about getting some of these donated and/or purchased by Chick-Fil-A or Klutz. They are really sweet. Again, leave a comment if this task is of interest to you. <br />
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4. I am also pursuing the possibility of having a volunteer staged here at my house for the BIG Stuffing Week. I was hoping to have a person in charge of opening the door, greeting volunteers, and getting them started on the tasks that are needed to be done. <br />
If you have availability the week of April 30- May 4th during the day and are willing to camp out here at my house for a few hours at a time, please leave a comment or email me and let me know. <br />
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5. Are you available that week to stuff bags? Please leave a comment or email me the days and times that you are available to stuff. I am putting together a schedule now. I need to make good use of our time and I am hoping to get a few people together at the same dates/times. <br />
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6. Just a few tips if you are new to this project...<br />
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You really can donate just one item. All items collectively work together for a greater purpose and accomplish amazing things. Imagine the possibility of making a difference to just one human heart, it matters. Yes, one roll of lifesavers will be appreciated and bless a mom in need. <br />
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You can make a bag in memory or in honor of a special person in your life. You can fill the bag with items that remind you of that person. This bag can be different from other bags because these are not conference bags. The moms will not take opportunities to compare the contents of their bags. <br />
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You can donate a variety of objects or several of the same item. For example, maybe you have a ten dollar budget. You can send along ten notebook/journals or you can send ten different items, maybe a journal, a pen, a word search book, etc. <br />
Trust me...this is one of the most amazing things to witness come together. In the past three years, there has never been an overabundance of one item and a complete deficit of others. <br />
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The economy has been hard on a lot of families...we are in need of time, talent, and treasures. I need help with stuffing, writing letters of encouragement, prayers, and also shopping, etc. In years past, I have received monetary donations and need shoppers to purchase items for the bags. There are plenty of ways to be involved. Don't let a lack of funds stop you from being part of this project. <br />
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The number one question that I am often asked is "What do you need? What should I donate?" There are endless possibilities of contents to be placed in the bags. Listen to your heart, follow your nudges, suggest items that are comforting to your own heart on a bad day, etc. <br />
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Do you turn to Starbucks on a bad day? Maybe a small gift card to Starbucks would bless a fellow coffee lover. <br />
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Do you turn to a hot bath and the latest issue of a favorite magazine? Bath salts, bubble bath, scented soaps, books, magazines, and lotions might bless someone.<br />
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Do you love to get lost in a good story? Maybe pass along a copy of your favorite book. In general, books with small short encouraging stories, like the Chicken Soup series, are always useful.<br />
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How about a good movie? Walmart often has good movies in the $5 bin<br />
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Are you like me and find comfort and inspiration in music? Cds and Itunes gift cards might be the answer that you land upon.<br />
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There is a subway restaurant within the hospital. Gift cards for the mom to grab a sandwich would also be a blessing.<br />
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There were days that I did not have the opportunity to shower. I felt disgusting...How did I cope?<br />
I was gifted travel sized toiletries like deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and smelly lotion. An added bonus was mascara, lip gloss, gum, and breath mints. There were so many people in the hospital to talk with on a daily basis but who wants to have an intelligent conversation while sporting fuzzy teeth and stinky breath? I think overall, the doctors understood my place in the world but I did feel better about myself when these items were available for me to use. I was blessed to be in my own community where my family and friends could be an amazing support to me. Others come from all over our country and the world to receive medical treatment. These moms have NO ONE to love on them while they are here with their child. <br />
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I have long hair. On the second or third day of no shower or without the time to dry and style my hair, I often turned to clips and hair bands for a <em>stylish</em> updo or ponytail. <br />
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If you know me, you know I cry. Soft tissues were an absolute essential. <br />
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I spent hours on word searches. They were mindless and could be done even with the many interruptions throughout my time at Jeremy's bedside. Did I mention, that I could never find a pen? Those are always welcomed additions to the bags. <br />
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How about notepaper or journals for the moms to record important information or to even journal through their thoughts. <br />
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Prayer shawls, other homemade items, and handwritten notes of love and encouragement meant the world to me. I saved every one and they covered the walls of Jeremy's inpatient room. Don't ever underestimate the power that our human hearts have to love on one another, even strangers. Are you crafty? What might you be able to make that would be a blessing to someone else? Some of my favorites were scarves, blankets, bookmarks, note cards, cd's of inspirational music for me and for Jeremy to listen to...<br />
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I thank you for the interest in this year's project-together we will make a difference in the hearts of many moms who are in need of our love. Please feel to leave comments or contact me if you have any further questions.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-6353329236971117062012-04-05T21:42:00.003-04:002012-04-05T23:13:56.124-04:00Ready, Set, Go!<div>For weeks now there have been Mother's Day bag items delivered to our doorstep or to me personally while out and about! I can't even begin to describe how elated I am to see that there are those, like me, that hold this project close at heart and are already preparing for this year's project, even without my formal announcement.<br /><br />To cut to the chase...Ready, Set, Go! The Mother's Day Bag Project 2012 is here!<br />I am thinking we need a catchier name? Any ideas???<br /><br />This year is unique. A new Children's Center has been built and will open this month. How does this change our project? There are more patient beds in the new Children's Center. As in previous year's, I will leave the final number of bags delivered up to God. He has a plan and I will serve merely as His vessel to accomplish this mission for Him, that is of course alongside of all of you! That's because this has become a HUGE effort, ONLY made possible by the collective effort of so many folks out there!<br /><br />So, let's rise up together and make this project happen again this year! Here are a few details to get us started...<br /><br />1. 205 is the new total number of patient beds in the new Children's Center. Yes, you read that correctly, there could potentially be 205 mothers in just one of the hospitals in our very own community spending Mother's Day in the hospital with their child. Sadly, there are more...<br /><br />2. A girl can dream... I am aiming to donate bags to the respite homes within our area that feed into that hospital as well. That number is an additional 58.<br /><br />3. NEW GOAL = 268 bags!!!! Can we do it? Yes, WE CAN!!! LET'S DO IT!!!<br /><br />4. This is not a conference gift bag. What does that mean? The bags do not need to be alike and their contents will not be compared to one another. This is an individual and personal gesture to a Mom who is spending Mother's Day in the hospital with her child. Donate whatever and anything that speaks to your heart. Any donation however small or large will work and collectively be a part of something so AMAZING! Monetary donations are also always appreciated in any amount as well. We have shoppers who are ready and willing to serve. Checks can be made payable to The Rays of Sunshine Foundation, LLC.</div><div>and can be mailed to this address:</div><div>Rays of Sunshine Foundation</div><div>9 Newburg Avenue </div><div>Suite 201</div><div>Catonsville, MD. 21228</div><div><br /> </div><div><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">What does serving in a project like this look like?</span> </div><div>Serving here means giving of your time, talents, and treasures. Just like every recipient of the bag is unique and is in the midst of their own journey, that means every giver is unique too. It will mean something different to each and every person that chooses to particpate this year! I am hopeful to get the support of those faithful supporters that I have had in the past as well as some new help too! I can't help but to wonder of the nudgings of your heart that are whispered from above...where those nudges will lead us, who they will impact, and in what ways? My golly, I get goosebumps of these wonderings tonight. Any doubt that this is real? Ask me and I'll tell you some amazing stories of the many ways that so many others became the hands and feet of our Lord, angels on earth, that loved us through the most horrific time in our lives...</div><div> </div><div><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"></span> </div><div><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Need more details?</span></div><div>Are you gifted with prayer? Could you please keep this project in your prayers that we might fulfill the desires of our Lord and meet the needs of those individual Moms that receive these bags this year? <div> </div><div>Are you interested in serving as my assistant to this project this year? I could really use some help in this leadership role this year...Contact me with questions or your interest in serving in this role.</div><div> </div><div>Do you work at an office or have access to paper boxes? </div><div>We need lots of those! You can leave them on my porch or contact me for further information.</div><div> </div><div>Would you be willing to purchase or donate funds to purchase the actual gift bags used for this year's project? </div><div> </div><div>Do you have hours of your day that you could serve as a shopper or to help stuff the bags?</div><div> </div><div>We will need both jobs filled by multiple individuals the week of April 30th -May 4th. Yes, I am a bit ahead of the game but there is glory in planning ahead of the game! </div><div> </div><div>div><div> Are you gifted at writing notes of encouragement? Have you considered writing a note of encouragement to one of the moms or more? Do you make cards that could be used by others to write these notes of encouragement?</div><div> </div><div>Can you donate an item? Any item? Could you donate two or more of that same item? Ideas to follow in subsequent post...</div><div> </div><div>I have seen with years of doing this project that the items placed within the bags, seem to round themselves out all on their own. For example, there are NEVER a overabundance of granola bars and an absence of something else. What does that mean? Follow the whisperings to your soul. What would bless you in a time of need? What are your favorite go to items on a hard day? Chances are that very same thing that came to your mind would bless someone else. Trust me, just go with it...Now act on that nudging!</div><div> </div><div>Are there folks out there that you could share this project with? Do you know of any areas of business that might donate something to help with this project? Any creative ideas would be most appreciated. </div><div> </div><div>A box will be on my porch to receive any gifts that you generously offer at this time.</div><div>Gifts of any kind can also be mailed to the above mentioned address. Any other questions? Please contact me or leave a comment.</div><div> </div><div>I thank you and am grateful from the very bottom of my heart...</div><div>From one broken hearted Mom, on behalf of so many this year... let me assure you of this, it will matter, it will make a difference, no matter how you choose to participate this year, it will bring comfort to someone in need, and you will be a part of changing a human heart. Just do it!</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Wanna know something else? You will be blessed in return...I promise!</div></div></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-37243756527504321582012-03-25T20:19:00.004-04:002012-03-25T22:00:20.853-04:00EmergingTake a walk in my yard with me. Do you dare to take a walk within my soul?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmZrSqdoZb0FzlU4lu1c0H6jXNt6HSIN_AnxJr_4qTjfecaTBO0V1Lz-Oto3Y4HGDuXo3B2KsRgxd49C7hpYCk_9JOvKAwJJOPkoVLyrq80LBLAqS7fhdbO8EILKUp9MK3_IBu5h0WDI/s1600/IMG_4234.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmZrSqdoZb0FzlU4lu1c0H6jXNt6HSIN_AnxJr_4qTjfecaTBO0V1Lz-Oto3Y4HGDuXo3B2KsRgxd49C7hpYCk_9JOvKAwJJOPkoVLyrq80LBLAqS7fhdbO8EILKUp9MK3_IBu5h0WDI/s400/IMG_4234.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724006506897279458" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlVV0tEqSnWLaYQLdofTLihPxwuXu1P7Gon9RqHYv0rUHSTLcFr7Gb8275JSUybMFurKQe1K6ZJUVQzYVwdA9R5sXdHq7bhUCyrj5Yc4CU4lfeEyP_Kv2xhzSTTolLv3pB4DOjRtZlm94/s1600/IMG_4228.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkZ86Kz-ouspy4rFI0jjZ-DeFLS-k55vpBZWJaEkWEALoeu6dNwlXHN0DV0Olf4aC3zc5ZYpYxoFsGHEpD0qWexU1JszxcN_SsUVhdbo3l33tshPN-0DcwFBOXq0NOfh9uOpeeK11Fco/s400/IMG_4193.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724005958147618594" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtnvvPH27gUVLJIlskE6Zg6ex4BtGO9MkpOcBwgtQxb4uD9HydbqDLvNfm7yk-K6JNrLmAz4td9QTb3CWZv0_In9451cxBu4I-7Owj8Peku5-PaGtNQOQRo0N3kkSfvR4LK86FK3Xe7o0/s1600/IMG_4189.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtnvvPH27gUVLJIlskE6Zg6ex4BtGO9MkpOcBwgtQxb4uD9HydbqDLvNfm7yk-K6JNrLmAz4td9QTb3CWZv0_In9451cxBu4I-7Owj8Peku5-PaGtNQOQRo0N3kkSfvR4LK86FK3Xe7o0/s400/IMG_4189.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724005950180472242" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qOjumPbts2szdhf9J4nsuDQC4KqScVldQhjIjOpJEd8uv_kEVLHkGJAGyT5WbfC0LMu3yn2-5-3wx1CC7mmpp3Iu_UUNmv52vWZFhXlLdwcFd-pI3qdGu2JsFpJZ92gIvgFAi-eJZTw/s1600/IMG_4187.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qOjumPbts2szdhf9J4nsuDQC4KqScVldQhjIjOpJEd8uv_kEVLHkGJAGyT5WbfC0LMu3yn2-5-3wx1CC7mmpp3Iu_UUNmv52vWZFhXlLdwcFd-pI3qdGu2JsFpJZ92gIvgFAi-eJZTw/s400/IMG_4187.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724005939309311442" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNioEYBhzbJM5xyuSa5zBrDN72ezHHq279oWHhTbnb6b8SbJp_d4wmLidLWx9iEN41cpuCpMKqmnty-CEMqcbREsTWsPmRtRpywTbXIRR7pmA-yUJy6YQ8qogT3cRqqtbtbIY0FfUzs3g/s1600/IMG_4186.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNioEYBhzbJM5xyuSa5zBrDN72ezHHq279oWHhTbnb6b8SbJp_d4wmLidLWx9iEN41cpuCpMKqmnty-CEMqcbREsTWsPmRtRpywTbXIRR7pmA-yUJy6YQ8qogT3cRqqtbtbIY0FfUzs3g/s400/IMG_4186.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724005937459332162" /></a><br /><br />There is a heaviness to the air in my world. Life is a journey filled with much amazement each and every day. There is joy and there is sadness. There is life and there is death. There is light and there is shadow. I have been getting better at the dance in the middle but lately the scale has been beginning to tip...<br /><br />I spent an early hour at church singing the lyrics to Better Is One Day with a crackly voice and tears streaming down my face, all the while I was picturing what my youngest son would look like at four years of age and dancing in heaven. I pictured all the wonderful images that are a part of his world now apart from me and our family. I pictured such amazing things and then I felt strong knowing, that if given the chance to come back to me, that Jeremy would not. I imagined heaven as that wonderful...<br /><br />I opened my eyes at the end of the song to see a few babies all around me happily snuggled up on laps and nestled close within their mama's arms and then I felt empty all over again. I felt as though I have missed out this wonderful thing that is so very precious and my heart just ached as it has so many times and probably always will.<br /><br />My arms feel so very empty and they have ever since that sweet precious baby was called to go to his forever home. The pain is so very great and all consuming at times. <br /><br />I feel like there is this dark place within me that I don't want to see and that I don't want to remember. If I choose to close that part of me off and refuse to go to that place, then I choose,in part,to not remember Jeremy. What a quandry...I leave the dance empty handed and brokenhearted-EVERY TIME!<br /><br />Perhaps it is more likely that this is the time of year when I just remember too much? <br /><br />I took a brief walk this evening in my very own backyard. I could hardly believe the changes that have happened in a time period that seems like overnight. We have had unusually warmer weather this season and the early spring could surely be attributed to that for sure. I am not complaining overall since the sunshine and I seem to get along well together. The feelings that have crept in this week just go to prove that the painful memories embedded within the dates of the calendar are more powerful than the sunny weather I guess.<br /><br />While I was walking, I had this overwhelming feeling of the newness of life and of growing. It was afterall, all around me. I feel as though there are places withing me that are dead and dark. These images that I saw within my backyard stood to remind me that new life can and does grow from the most unexpected and even dark places. I felt a supernatural peace this evening. I was reminded that, as I have been busily trying to recreate, grow, and nurture what was once mine,something that is humanly impossible I might add, that the growing season for that fruit is over. That season and a very short one at that, yielded the most beautiful fruit... and now it is time to let it go and embrace the next season of growth which can and could be amazing in it's own way.<br /><br />Perhaps my trouble, as it has always been in the past, is that I am much too busy looking backwards to see where it is that I am going. I have noticed along the way some rather profound fruits that have grown in areas of my life that I almost never would have imagined. <br /><br />This ever so bitter and lonely place yields much human hearted growth, painful and the hard way as it must be, but growth for sure. <br /><br />Where it is that I am going and what I am being pruned to do next, I am just not sure. Something is on the horizon though, I can just feel it. It is emerging. <br /><br />... being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. <br />Phillippians 1:6Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-72765901967225343112012-03-09T13:23:00.003-05:002012-03-09T13:56:29.786-05:00Friday SunshineIt's Friday. Wahoo. We made it through another week. Have you ever had the experience when you repeat an activity, say the same day and time each week, that when that event rolls around, you wonder how it was that another whole week went by? That's me lately. <br /><br />The day started off a little foggy but I am trying my best to find the sunshine right? <br /><br />I managed to find a few moments to grab a few things at the store alone! Anyone else prefer shopping with no kiddos? Amen. I snagged a few things for the weeks ahead, oh how I love when that happens! I also had a chance to volunteer at school this morning. I love working with the kids and being present in the lives of my children. I value their school, their education, and their awesome teachers. <br /><br />Fridays mean Family Movie Nights in our house. We are all just so tired by the end of the week and we love to snuggle up to watch a good movie together. I really look forward to this family time together. They will be grown up all too soon. I stopped by our local Redbox to rent a movie and low and behold the Redbox man was there servicing the machine. How amazing is that? Let me just say that he was drawing a small crowd of curious customers who wanted to see what the inside of that happy Redbox machine looked like and just how it worked on the inside. It was pretty cool! To top it off, I even scored a free movie. Here's hoping that I picked a good one!<br /><br />I am even excited about what I am planning to make for dinner tonight. I can only hope that it lives up to my expectation. I actually made this meal for our monthly meal swap, intended to post that recipe here, and then got sidetracked with lots of other things on my plate. It's called <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/shrimp-destin-linguine-50400000119874/">Shrimp Destin</a> and you can go <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/shrimp-destin-linguine-50400000119874/">here</a> for the recipe and try it for yourself. One of my meal swap friends made her meal and served it over homemade pasta. She said it was delicious. The recipe says that you can serve it over fresh toasted french rolls, pasta, or even rice. I think we will go the route of pasta too, but mine will likely come from a box. <br /><br />The day is ending up to be pretty sunny after all! I hope your day has sunny so far too! I am adding prayers to those that are near and dear to my heart that are going through hard times right now. I pray that the Rays of Sunshine that shine down on your path today, wherever you are, sustain you through your difficult days.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-10413428183455985972012-03-02T16:32:00.003-05:002012-03-02T16:57:08.767-05:00ShadowsWe've all been hooked on this song in recent days. The kids request it almost as much as I do. Click <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls1KbEGwXZ8">here</a> for the link to hear the song, Shadows, written and recorded by David Crowder.<br /><br />It is significant in the fact that there is such joy and such sadness all around us in almost every direction we look. That's life though... I continue to walk with such balance of having the two together at the same time. Sometimes it is easier than others. <br /><br />The lesson in the song that speaks the clearest path to my heart...we remember<br />When shadows falls on us we will not fear, we will REMEMBER.<br /><br />Here are the lyrics if you'd like to read as you listen. Don't forget to push pause on the music at the bottom of the screen before you link up with You Tube.<br /><br />Life is full of light and shadow<br /> O the joy and O the sorrow<br /> O the sorrow<br /> <br />And yet will He bring<br /> Dark to light<br /> And yet will He bring<br /> Day from night<br /> <br />When shadows fall on us<br /> We will not fear<br /> We will remember<br /> <br />When darkness falls on us<br /> We will not fear<br /> We will remember<br /> <br />When all seems lost<br /> When we're thrown and we're tossed<br /> We remember the cost<br /> We rest in Him<br /> Shadow of the cross<br /><br />The darkness wants to suck me in and make me forget from where I have come. I have been here before, I have been rescued from this place of fear a time or two before. My flesh and soul oppose one another at times, but I want to remember.<br /><br />I want to remember this place of comfort and the feeling that no matter what-all has already been won. For me, for you, and for us all...<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls1KbEGwXZ8"></a>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-32780310235599879612012-01-27T16:57:00.002-05:002012-01-27T17:18:44.135-05:00Random UpdatesI am still here. I think of something to write here almost everyday but life is not affording me much free time these days. I am sure that most would all agree that when we fall into times like these, we prioritize our agendas so that we can survive. Thank you or your grace in understanding why packing lunches for my children at night comes before writing on my blog. <br /><br />There is some heavy stuff going on with our family right now so I would petition your prayers over us all. We are taking care of someone who is very dear to us that is very ill. That is all I will share for now. It has been a challenging situation overall for everyone involved but families pull together and stick by one another through Sunshine and rain, even the downpours.<br /><br />To end on a happier note, I tried the new Chick-fil-A grilled chicken nuggets today and loved them! Yeah! I still prefer the original ones and will now experience the guilt factor of having a healthier option available for the times when the original nuggets take first choice. No Yeah! <br /><br />I have a new word...grace. Do you?<br /><br />I am enjoying warmer than average temperatures this winter. I am ready for spring and flip flops. The sooner the better.<br /><br />I am tired.<br /><br />I appreciate those comments left by so many wondering why I have stopped writing, if I am okay,and to just check in. Thanks. I do feel loved.<br /><br />I AM doing my Valentine project for the Children's House again this year. More details to follow in the days to come but,for those of you who already know the drill, and would like to help, you now know what to do! :)<br /><br />Have a super weekend.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-39366189108708190542012-01-02T18:43:00.002-05:002012-01-02T19:14:31.242-05:00Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012Goodbye 2011! It was a bittersweet year. There were some really sweet memories and joyful moments this year for which I am ever so grateful. There was a time not too long ago when I seriously believed that I would never ever feel pure joy again in my lifetime. Fortunately I was very wrong.<br /><br />I admire those who can dance. I on the other hand have two left feet. Maybe that's why this delicate dance of learning to feel joy and acknowledge pain all at the same time has been so difficult for me. Ha...if only it were that simple to explain. <br /><br />Truth be told, I am learning. Painfully, tearfully, and stubbornly learning. <br /><br />While there has been joy, there have also been some really tough times emotionally in 2011 too. Some life circumstances that I could see coming and prepare for, and some that I could not. While I thought I could prepare for some things that I knew would challenge me to my core, when they arrived, I felt 100% unprepared. Then I beat myself up for knowing what was to come and for not being in a better position to handle them the way I had wished to or had planned for. <br /><br />Facts of the matter are that things have been very tough since this summer. You may have sensed this from my absence here on this blog. Too painful to write, too private, involving others now, and without their permission to share publicly, I have retreated to a very lonely place. One foot in front of the other has proven yet again, to get us to this point in time. <br /><br />And so at this place, having arrived in 2012, it is my prayer that this be the year of grace and peace in my life. My soul so longs for peace and grace for the moments when it isn't. I think I have had an all or nothing approach to this dance of life. I can't shake the notion that we have been dealt some pretty nasty stuff. I long to be past the Old Maid card if you will, it has been in my hand far loo long. However, me being me, I do not wish to pass it along. I wish to bury this card instead. <br /><br />So I welcome 2012 and all the possibilities that a new year can hold. Still trusting in the promise of our Lord that these places where grace is abounding in my life, will be redeemed beyond my wildest imagination. Not on my time of course, but on His. I pray this is a year of new life, new beginnings, good health, peace, joy, bright sunshine, and grace. I pray I can get out of my own way and to submit to Him fully and His will for my life,and most importantly for the ability to accept that of which is out of my control. <br /><br />"For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."<br /><br />Jeremiah 29:11<br /><br />I wish you and yours a blessed New Year as well.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-27229930551707528212011-11-25T20:05:00.002-05:002011-11-25T20:08:50.592-05:00Because Of Winn DixieGreat Book<br />Great audio book<br />Touching story<br />Grab your tissues a hundred times story<br />Turns out to be a great movie too!<br /><br />A favorite scene of mine, dare you ask?<br /><br />Gloria: Listen... Opal... you cannot hold onto anything that wants to go. Do you understand what I'm sayin'? You just got to love it while you got it, and that's that. <br /><br />That's that.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-29395637083066358892011-11-17T21:11:00.004-05:002011-11-18T06:45:03.949-05:00Oh So GratefulWe are grateful for many things here in our house. It is that attitude of gratitude that I am desperately trying to hold onto in these more painful of calendar days.<br /><br />As Sara Mclachlan writes in her song Full of Grace, I <em>feel like I am sinking and I am clawing for solid ground, I am being pulled down by the undertow...</em> The waves are beginning to roll in and I see bigger ones in the horizon to come. <br /><br />I was telling hubby tonight just how tired I am. It is emotionally draining doing this battle with grief on a regular basis. This time of year is especially hard.<br /><br />There is also a place in me that is full of grace. This is the grace that sustains me when I feel as though I cannot keep it together. Grace for the moment. There have been the moments that I feel undone and then also the moments where I experience tender grace and gain strength to keep going to a place of peace. Some of you reading this are those that have been nudged to send a little encouragement my way in various ways in recent days. Thank you for following that nudge. Thank you for the outpouring of love that you have shown to me and my family. <br /><br />I am grateful. I don't know what we would do without you all, each and every one of you. <br /><br />To end with sunshine, I'll share a few of our other grateful moments from our family to yours.<br /><br />I am grateful for my teacher. She makes learning cool. I really like the plays and projects that she creates for us to do.<br /><br />I am grateful that I feel better.<br /><br />I am grateful for nostalgic visits back to the good ole college days.<br /><br />I am grateful that I could remember good times in my life...<br /><br />I am grateful for my family amidst the daily challenges, all we are, we are!<br /><br />I am grateful for yummy dinners.<br /><br />I am grateful for friends and family who take care of us when we are in need.<br /><br />I am grateful for yummy homemade cakes.<br /><br />I am grateful for a heartlines from RM who called today. It made my day to hear from him. Of course what perfect timing!<br /><br />I am grateful for a warm bed to sleep in. <br /><br />All in all we have much to be thankful for...still. This list is just was uttered by my nears and dears tonight. The list continues on a daily basis. It doesn't take long to see the blessings in life waiting to be unwrapped. Even in the midst of great trial, there is always grace and love, evidence of how dearly loved I am, we are, and YOU are by our heavenly father. Amen.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-60652670712398872362011-11-15T18:48:00.005-05:002011-11-15T19:35:21.375-05:00On Angel's Wings...FourDearest Jeremy,<br /><br />It is unimaginable to comprehend that you will be turning four this month. Four years old. Your mama couldn't be more proud of you and what your life represents to my little heart and beyond in this earthly world. Your mama heart also breaks when I think of all the things that just won't ever come to be in this lifetime here on earth. <br /><br />I have been busy preparing for your birthday. It has been a difficult experience to describe. It pains me to buy things that would not normally be the case when one prepares for a four year old's birthday party but at the same time, it is the most healing way I know how, to experience this day, your birthday, in a healthy way. Tears stream down my face wishing for things to be different, but they aren't. All of the tears in the world won't change the fact that you are not here to share your birthday with me and your family in ways that I had imagined in a time once long ago. <br /><br />The last few days have been so painful but I know your presence has been right by my side and for that I am most grateful. I have felt all the little ways that you have been a part of my day! Please forgive your mama for selfishly wanting more...Your daddy and I wonder about the things that would have been your favorites. What things would stand out as "Jeremy" in our family? This year, I wonder if it a blessing or a curse to really not know anything about you at all. I feel like I know the painful times of your life inside and out...and I am so desperate to know just the normal things that all mothers know about their children, the things that I didn't get the chance to learn about you. I want and I cannot have... How selfish of me. You are healed and happy where you are in heaven. I know if given the chance, that you would not choose to come to me here on this earth. That does comfort me...Imagining you happy is an amazing image, I only wish I could have experienced that here on earth with you. Good things come to those who wait. <br /><br />I am at peace with the way that your birthday plans have been coming together. Having a plan for these really hard days, well that is half the battle. <br /><br />Tissues have shown up in our earthy world twice today.Then again, you already knew that didn't you? Tears...and more tears...Remembrance and compassion. It sustains me when I am weak with the grief. <br /><br />Sweet son, thank you for the love you have showed to your Mama on Angel's wings these last few days. I KNOW you are good, I just miss you with all that I am. My heart didn't miss a thing...Until we meet again, know that I love you forever and always.<br /><br /><br />Love,<br />MommyAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-75414592037737395822011-11-03T18:22:00.000-04:002011-11-03T19:32:52.164-04:00Gratitude<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwXohUEx9UYuiHJXQbi6kx302r_vb5akbZH-eeOLDJmDEebs2EFGQDdSY0P8cE9QGEVzZY7OLtJJCd6vwFFBtUIdPt0U5tPDevv2tdGADpH9dbWX-fLxScDTSxeu639hrP3Gj0InF0QM/s1600/IMG_3786.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwXohUEx9UYuiHJXQbi6kx302r_vb5akbZH-eeOLDJmDEebs2EFGQDdSY0P8cE9QGEVzZY7OLtJJCd6vwFFBtUIdPt0U5tPDevv2tdGADpH9dbWX-fLxScDTSxeu639hrP3Gj0InF0QM/s400/IMG_3786.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669418722534248562" /></a><br />I learned awhile back to fill the broken pieces of my heart with gratitude. If I just keep thinking about the many things that I am grateful for in my life, then maybe I would not have time to think so much about the hurtful things that dwell in my soul. <br /><br />Now that November is upon us, I am looking forward to the gratitude tree that finds a happy space on our kitchen table. I have been keeping a gratitude journal for awhile now but I also love the tree and the focus our family makes at dinner time to discuss the things that we are grateful for each day.<br /><br />I am looking forward to the intentional time to seek gratitude. We need it now more than ever. I tell you it is life changing. Won't you try it with me?Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-28872090756987055812011-10-30T18:44:00.006-04:002011-10-30T19:48:58.266-04:00Unredeemed in 2011<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZpzRhhKG4T-ZWEVNwutyhgGn_Smfn6nLjdQzzgTxDKpQ_flvhC_j5fW5lcxW0aEqGyLHSlr1IteYqyZA_DrY90cGpFGHETw76mdFnSenv2ppFoQirThbTrmmFWD7fel5drWgBTSwu9k/s1600/IMG_3776.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZpzRhhKG4T-ZWEVNwutyhgGn_Smfn6nLjdQzzgTxDKpQ_flvhC_j5fW5lcxW0aEqGyLHSlr1IteYqyZA_DrY90cGpFGHETw76mdFnSenv2ppFoQirThbTrmmFWD7fel5drWgBTSwu9k/s400/IMG_3776.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669420529690418786" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HqHNAHy4H2G_C-BO3KOF46DRWd1g8TnDEMXHHlD4T-D-AOaLfGQrqDjYJSEi2SHZ73JKmzgPmjkv-wgDqIVguEpSG2NdTIM2Qy9FmeWWyyDXgQ_s_mkajRLIn87NQnLe3dsDClbicCM/s1600/IMG_3778.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HqHNAHy4H2G_C-BO3KOF46DRWd1g8TnDEMXHHlD4T-D-AOaLfGQrqDjYJSEi2SHZ73JKmzgPmjkv-wgDqIVguEpSG2NdTIM2Qy9FmeWWyyDXgQ_s_mkajRLIn87NQnLe3dsDClbicCM/s400/IMG_3778.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669420351430586146" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkagTBMW8h_u6f1UBp-1tp4ID5mqNbIOpCrcPcxrjZvgYnOIrrCYL1OuI87Fpv1miLnQH16LNhTOHmYh7Zed5iTlSj0KFaNSbhGcemg-vo9Nq3I8ZjsFXOYeM7GssSqpWD34RuFh8K8G0/s1600/IMG_3774.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkagTBMW8h_u6f1UBp-1tp4ID5mqNbIOpCrcPcxrjZvgYnOIrrCYL1OuI87Fpv1miLnQH16LNhTOHmYh7Zed5iTlSj0KFaNSbhGcemg-vo9Nq3I8ZjsFXOYeM7GssSqpWD34RuFh8K8G0/s400/IMG_3774.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669420341303291778" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNtMvVA3CykLVklAzBrIkxOtjHAvnVdKhx0mKBZllG3CNERmgM6k-jHt-ghSoZ4vACbJkMgR4zSURPApAC5Vwye9Yg44Nd6b9xu5Q6t7tBNb-AeLasGdPWJp0oXLA7gPdGE9OLoDuMMs/s1600/IMG_3777.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNtMvVA3CykLVklAzBrIkxOtjHAvnVdKhx0mKBZllG3CNERmgM6k-jHt-ghSoZ4vACbJkMgR4zSURPApAC5Vwye9Yg44Nd6b9xu5Q6t7tBNb-AeLasGdPWJp0oXLA7gPdGE9OLoDuMMs/s400/IMG_3777.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669420339369246882" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TC01HuKZRI">Unredeemed-Selah</a><br />Click the song title to hear the song while you read. This version allows us the chance to hear a little bit about the song in the words of one of the band members, Todd Smith. It sounds like it was performed live. Oh, and scroll down to pause the blog music. :)<br /><br />The cruelest world <br />The coldest heart <br />The deepest wound <br />The endless dark <br />The lonely ache <br />The burning tears <br />The bitter nights <br />The wasted years <br /><br />Life breaks and falls apart <br />But we know these are <br />Places where grace is soon to be so amazing <br />It may be unfulfilled <br />It may be unrestored <br />But when anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord <br />Just watch and see <br />It will not be unredeemed <br /><br />For every choice that led to shame <br />And all the love that never came <br />For every vow that someone broke <br />And every lie that gave up hope <br />We live in the shadow of the fall <br />But the cross says these are all <br />Places where grace is soon to be so amazing <br />It may be unfulfilled <br />It may be unrestored <br />But when anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord <br />Just watch and see <br />It will not be unredeemed <br /><br />Places where grace is soon to be so amazing <br />It may be unfulfilled <br />It may be unrestored <br />But you never know the miracle the Father has in store <br />Just watch and see <br />It will not be <br />Just watch and see <br />It will not be unredeemed <br /><br />This song really spoke into my heart again today and I was sure grateful for the timing of when it was played. I heard this tender song just in time to hold those words close to my heart for when the pain was filling up to overflow. Click <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eX-D2xsS84&feature=related">here</a> to hear another version of this same song, this one sounds more like the one from the recording studio. Both tender in their own way...<br /><br />Me in overflow? Imagine that!<br /><br />I will watch and see... and in the mean time, I will cling to the one who can redeem it ALL.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-85695853814992528902011-10-29T18:50:00.003-04:002011-10-29T18:56:50.535-04:00Making HistoryIt has been 100 years since it snowed in October where we live. <br />I have mixed thoughts about this weather today.<br /><br />On one hand it is cool to have something happen that is so rare and unusual. Watching the snow fall to the ground is always a peaceful thought.On the other hand, I feel like winter is heading in and will take over without those warm fall weather days ever happening. <br /><br />All and all, it just looks bizarre to have snow falling against the backdrop of autumn colors. To top it all off, I do not have a picture to share!<br /><br />Oddly enough, our dinner conversation centered around a life lived in the Southern sunshine.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-68501501579275094252011-10-24T06:12:00.001-04:002011-10-24T07:03:58.843-04:00Mosiac TilesMosiacs.<br /><br />These are some pretty cool works of art. Each tile, while different and unique, works together with many other tiles and makes a rather beautiful piece of art.<br /><br />I feel like a mosaic most days of my life. I am filled with deep and profound emotion that spans both extremes of the spectrum and everything in between. It is the most bizarre feeling to feel such a wide range of emotion all at once. It is exhausting I tell you. <br /><br />Sometimes I laugh at myself and wonder which tile is winning each day? When one of those bumpy tiles starts to take center stage for attention, my initial reaction is to try so hard to surround it with the smooth, polished, beautiful stones. Finding Sunshine. That surely works some of the time. However, lately, I am also finding it better to just <em>be </em> <em>still</em> with the tile that is shattered, broken, rough around the edges, and imperfect. I am labyrinthing through yet another phase of my grief that was just too painful to deal with earlier in my journey. Acknowledgement and acceptance, again. I have also given up the hope that since I know what to expect, it will hurt less, because that simply stated isn't true. I am working hard to remember that this one tile or group of broken tiles, do not define ALL that I am. They are indeed part of me and always will be, I am forever changed. I am more that the brokenness, even when I can't see beyond it. There are beautiful, smooth, polished, admirable stones there too. Each mosaic tile/stone working together to make me the person that I am today. I can only hope that while I feel utterly messed up and all over the place, that someone out there appreciates the beauty in what I have become to date on each day. God does. That is enough. It should be enough. Funny how the one person that I crave that grace from the most is myself. Why do we as humans crave more in our flesh? I am accountable to one and only one. <br /><br />I felt the clouds slowly rolling in but now I know for sure that I feel their density above me. One day at a time. Here we go. Reminder to self... be sure and restock my tissue supply and to also switch back over to waterproof mascara!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-73688189680463575352011-10-22T19:07:00.006-04:002011-10-22T20:12:54.845-04:00Beef...It's What's For Dinner/ PW StyleThe <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/">Pioneer Woman</a> rocks! I love her blog, her cookbooks, her love story book, photography, and even her new Food Network Show. Do you know the Pioneer Woman? No? Go and check out her blog NOW! You won't regret it! <br /><br />A few friends of mine and I have been exchanging conversations about Ree (PW) and her recipes for some time now. I have been meaning to try one of her beef recipes for months and months. Tonight was the night to make that happen. Easy, delicious, and healthy, Amen! You were right Jen, it really was easy and delicious! Go here and read all about Pioneer Woman's <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/10/beef-with-snow-peas/">Beef and Snow Peas</a>. Be warned, you will be hungry after looking at her pictures of this entree. After looking at the pictures, you will be dreamy of making this recipe for your family. I encourage you to do just that!<br /><br />I'll be off putting the leftovers away, no not eating them. Not me. <br /><br />Oh, and also be warned that once you visit Ree's blog and get to know her a bit, you will be returning to that very blog again and again.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-63051113039918460042011-10-21T06:54:00.003-04:002011-10-21T07:08:10.604-04:00The Very Quiet Cricket-Or NotA cricket has found a home it would behind our dishwasher. It's lovely music, while appreciated on a quiet evening streaming though the window screen or perhaps even to another cricket, is not so appreciated inside our home. This particular cricket had quite a song to sing, ALL NIGHT LONG! The cricket sang so loud and it's song echoes through our kitchen and right up the stairs to our bedroom. Oh my! We are sleep deprived this morning for sure! I am chuckling a bit as I am writing this because this cricket doesn't even seem to care that I have turned on the lights and am up and moving around this morning. Most crickets would be quiet now, not wanting to be found, discovered, and caught! It's almost as if it really has something to say!<br /><br />Speaking of kitchens, we are looking to replace some of our appliances very soon. Do you love your refrigerator, stove, or dishwasher? If so, can you please share with me the make and model? I am feeling rather overwhelmed by all of the choices currently available and would appreciate a first hand review. I think we may have narrowed down our choices of refrigerators to some degree. So many choices...<br /><br />The oven, well that is another story all together. Standard oven or convection? Convection you say, well then do you want a dual temperature oven? How often might one really use these conveniences? These options significantly alter the price quite a bit!<br /><br />To say that all appliances run with the basic technology is understood, it's all the rest of the stuff that is overwhelming. Color choices, refrigerator styles, the sizes, the bells and whistles, which in my opinion, are just one more thing that will break and cause trouble. I prefer simplicity but also appreciate the modern technology that is available. AHHH. Some would think this process is fun. I am wishing to make a wise investment and to end up loving what is installed in my kitchen. I love to cook. I love spending time in my kitchen and I want these appliances to enhance that experience and not take away from my joy. I really don't want another thing that I just stubbornly have to learn to love. <br /><br />Please help. Perhaps I will sleep more peacefully without the visions of appliances running through my mind, all dancing in time to the song played by my most favorite cricket. :)Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-33317923791687685582011-10-13T11:07:00.010-04:002011-10-19T10:21:13.560-04:00A Clean HeartMy agenda this morning included cleaning our home. My area of focus was purposed to clean the kitchen and downstairs bathroom. These areas really needed a good clean.<br /><br />Now, I am the mother of (three) little boys and a wife of a big guy too. Those of you that only have girls can either laugh and dismiss what I am about to reveal. Those of you that have boys, you know what I am talking about! Boys have this part of their body, which one would think, would make it easier to control the stream of urine that is output from their bodies. Well, this is just simply not necessarily true. Getting the urine to go where it is intended to go without going anywhere else is a learned, trained, and very long process to achieve successfully. At least this is true in our house. I pray that those of you that have boys will back me up a little on this please! And on a side note, if you have any tricks in this department that have worked in your house, send them my way!<br /><br />So, on this rainy Thursday, while everyone else is gone from our little house, I began to tackle the job of cleaning this area of my home. I was armed with my cleaning products and I had begun the first part of cleaning the bathroom. I had quite the task ahead of me on this particular day. Perhaps life had kept us so busy on the spin cycle that I didn't realize just how dirty my home had really become. As I began this huge task, I thought to myself, "Wow, I have really overlooked the nooks and crannies of where these droplets of urine hide!" I know this is disgusting but bear with me. I started to clean the toilet with usual tools and cleaning products. I was not satisfied with the results so far. So next, I got a bigger and more powerful tool, the trusty old toothbrush. I start scrubbing into the areas that I just simply couldn't reach with the gloves,toilet brush, cleaner, paper towels, and other items that I was using. It was like magic, the yuck started coming clean and before I knew it the bathroom was much cleaner and pleasing to my eyes once again. Not to mention de-germed! All of those little spots where the urine had been hiding were once again clean. That's when it hit me. Well, God hit me with one of His lessons of love.<br /><br />I know, some of you reading this must think that I am a little abnormal by now. I don't care. I mean who speaks of lessons using toilets and pee? Really? You see, when you invite God into your heart and you have a relationship with him on a daily basis, this is what He does. God shows up and uses all kinds of ways to get after your heart. He uses ways that you and I would otherwise not even think of in terms of human to human relationships. So yeah. God used my cleaning hour to pull up his chair and to offer me a little heart to heart time. I find, more and more, that when my heart is open to his voice, He surely enlightens me to his wisdom on things in my earthly life. I always walk away from these experiences with such peace and also with a lift in spirit so high that I wonder how it is I would ever function here on this earth without Him in my life. I just love when God does that. <br /><br />My heart has been going through the valleys again lately with various things in my life. I am human. I am weak in the flesh of my body. I can see signs where I have grown more emotionally intelligent over time with the way I seek comfort from the pain in my heart and soul. After all, this has been a slow process and has taken years to get to this point in my life. I have also reacted to the stress in similar ways as most of people, by allowing the hustle bustle of life to be that distraction. In addition, I have also done what I have done before, I have kept it all bottled up inside without sharing a word with anyone, not even God. I have surely prayed over these very situations and on behalf of some very special and dear folks that are truly in desperate need of prayer. I have petitioned our Lord for healing, for peace in the hearts of many, for the answers/way out from circumstances to be shown, etc. I have given thanks and praise for both answered prayers and also for the daily gifts and blessings that are in my everyday life. Here is what I haven't done. I failed to come to our Lord to ask for his protection to guard my heart against the things of this world. I failed to ask for his peace, strength, and wisdom, especially to see the things that I do have the power to change and what I do not, you know like that good old Serenity prayer. So while I feel good about my prayer time on behalf of others, I sometimes forget to ask God to also include protection over my own heart. A part of me felt selfish really but I have since discovered that I need to include that prayer.<br /><br />We live in a world where bad things are happening all around us to really good folks. One can wonder when is trouble going to arrive at my doorstep next? I wonder sometimes when the next really bad thing will happen again? This is surely no way to live. The circumstances around us that we see others face and suffer through can consume us all with fear if you look around enough. Fear is not from God. It is something He does not want for us to feel. I need to get more into the practice of emptying the burdens that I carry in my heart and trying harder to leave them there at the foot of the cross. I need not take away from that prayer time the helplessness that I have been. I am not always powered with the tools for change circumstances aroudn me, but I am always powered with the ability to love, and to show that love to others in my path of life. When following that call to love, amazing things can and do always happen!<br /><br />I have continued to seek the answers to the "Why's" of this life and that question is almost never a good question to wrestle with in one's soul. I have not come before him to fully empty my heart from the "Filth" of this world. I have not fully trusted my hurts to God for him to take care and have control. On the contrary, I have attempted to do that all on my own. One would think that I would have learned by now. I have chosen to approach this weakness of my flesh almost as if, I am saying, if I just stay busy enough, I just won't have to think about it. Right now in the present time, that might work for awhile, but guess what, those feelings are really just pooling up and collecting one another in the distraction of everyday life. It doesn't work in the long run. These feelings if left, will find you and creep up on you. When they they are left still and dormant in your heart and deep within your soul, they will creep back to gain your full attention at some point later in time. When they do, they will have grown in power and will have taken over more places of your heart where God wants only peace to reside.<br /><br />As I was cleaning, I was reminded that God has all the tools needed to clean up my heart. Even my best tools and cleaning products if you will, pale in comparison to what He is capable of. He has that little toothbrush thing that can reach far beyond measure where I as a human soul can go. Why do I try to handle the things of this world all on my own, time and time again? Why do I think that I can handle it all by myself instead of turning it All over to Him on a continual basis? God loves me so much that He took time to teach me or gently remind me of His supernatural power while I was scrubbing a toilet of all things. God reminded me that He loves me and wants to help me. What He wants most is that intimate relationship with me. And you too, for that matter. He wants us to bring the trivial things and the big things of our life to Him and often. God wants nothing more than to impart His wisdom and His cleaning tools and cleaners upon us if we would just let him. You know he doesn't promise us that by cleaning with us, that he will take away that painful circumstance that we face. What does he promise? He promises that he already knows the beginning, the middle and the end of the story. He promises good things to come to those who believe in him. He promises that the things of this world are falling but His Kingdom that He has created for us, is pure and without the pain from this world. He promises that as we must face difficult times on this earth that He will be with us always, to love us. If we invite His presence, He will impart to us His is supernatural cleaning products and tools to help guide our way. God will provide us with our needs just at the right time. I have seen this happen so many times. Just when we thought as humans we had reached the end of the road or were at a stopping point, God came in with a whole other plan in mind and made a way for things to happen that were not otherwise possible. <br /><br />Next, I moved onto the kitchen and there were some stubborn places on the walls and the floor too for that matter. Have you ever used a Magic Eraser? I love that tool. You know what, I guess looking back, God thought I was being stubborn headed on this particular morning. He hit me with a second dose. He gently showed me that He can get into places in my heart that are so closed off to the rest of this world. He can get into the places of my heart that I don't want anyone to see. The best part is, that when He gets there, to those ugly, dark places of my heart, the ones that I worked so hard to protect, the ones where I have failed in my own human efforts to clean up, those places where the nooks and crannies hide far away from where I want others to see, He sees them, and He loves me anyway. Did you catch that? God loves me anyway, even with all of my dirt! God has just the thing that I need to clean my heart and make it pure. When I clean up this heart, then there is room for peace. Yes, the very thing that I am trying to create by doing things my way. This true and real peace can really only be found in God. You see He has tools for each and every one my problems in life. He has tools that little me knows nothing about. God has tools that I cannot even see, like my toothbrushes and magic erasers. Remembering how simple my cleaning became with the right tools, I was reminded to seek God and allow Him to choose the right tools for the job in my prayer time. <br /><br />I am certainly not suggesting in any way that when you seek a relationship with God through some of the most difficult times in life, that the difficult issue will just get cleaned right up, go away, and be resolved. Yes, God can and does do that sometimes. He has done just that time and time again. We have all heard these inspiring stories of how God made miracles happen here on earth right before our eyes. Jeremy's story is proof that sometimes, the answers that we seek in this life, that healing, or resolution that we seek, is just not found on this side of heaven. Sometimes, the answers aren't the answers that we want so desperately in our own hearts. Sometimes that cleaning process, even with His tools, still hurts deep down to the very core of your soul. It can rock your understanding and faith as you know it, but hold on to Him most at that point, the cleaning, is in process. I do know without a doubt that when God's will does not align with our own desires, it does not mean that He does not love us or that he did not hear the pleas and cries of our heart. One day, this whole story will be shown to us and we will see how God worked it all together for our greater good. God sees All things where as we see a limited perspective. God is weaving together the masterpiece of our lives. I am here, still hurting, still in disbelief that this really happened to me, still seeking the answers to the WHY?, still missing my sweet baby, still praying for resolution to my hurts, still lacking the understanding desired, and still broken in many places. I am also still in process and under all of that hurt, I know that I am still loved. I know and feel God's presence in my life everyday. I choose to trust that if He loves me this much, then He does have my best interests at heart, even when what I see with my human eyes doesn't make any sense or is painful to see. I will choose to trust that one day I will see how these events have all had their purpose to fulfill and that the outcome of that purpose was for good. <br /><br /><br />So today I learned that we just need to use the right tools for the jobs of life. For me, using the right tools for the jobs means that I need to empty my whole heart before God more often and not let the nooks and crannies grow into big ugly places that begin to take over my thoughts in ways that are harmful to me. When I turn to God with my whole heart, He will empower me with the right tools for the job. If nothing else, He will impart His peace over me. When the yuck areas of my heart are all cleaned out and purified, they are then protected from evil. These areas will not grow and fester into areas of fear and doubt. <br /><br />Dear Lord,<br />I am humbled before you and give all the praise to you for the lesson in love that you showed me today as I was cleaning. While I could see earthly dirt, you were working on my heart so that I could see things from a whole different perspective. You want to show me things that without your presence I would not otherwise see and understand of this world. You Lord, have all the tools that I need to survive and thrive in this fallen world. How much simpler my life would be if I would only trust in you to work things out for my greater good. I ask you to be with me and continue to lead me and guide me along the path of your will for my life. I invite your presence to fill my heart and soul to fulfill your will within each and every day that I am gifted and blessed to live on this earth. I wish to lead a life that brings glory to your name and one that seeks to turn other hearts toward your eternal kingdom where we can live with you Lord in the perfect and pure place that you have created for us all. <br />Amen <br /><br />Funny, I will no longer feel disgust when I see the urine in places on our toilets from time to time. Instead, I will choose to remember this love lesson from my heavenly Father delivered straight to my heart on this rainy Thursday. When I see urine I will think of the filth in my heart and I will remind myself that with the help of God, I can release it all and allow him to create in a me clean heart, one equipped to love, to serve, and to be filled with his divine peace.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-31515519642834295152011-10-11T20:40:00.006-04:002011-10-11T20:52:06.373-04:00Unplugged and Unpredictable<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7w8LPDRZ4MFdK5mRn-7y6MPoKsMm-vto03msHRaffY0vMyQXtvmvDIHRECdTttTtdYWJPKoOyKFhw5rQt6NTaljYJ61RNfG-dtXx8GCcSJaB9xOOzTtUbpU4t1XR_IsjUBY6UmqYwV80/s1600/IMG_3309.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7w8LPDRZ4MFdK5mRn-7y6MPoKsMm-vto03msHRaffY0vMyQXtvmvDIHRECdTttTtdYWJPKoOyKFhw5rQt6NTaljYJ61RNfG-dtXx8GCcSJaB9xOOzTtUbpU4t1XR_IsjUBY6UmqYwV80/s400/IMG_3309.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662401481448115698" /></a><br />I've been away for awhile.<br />Our access to Internet was limited and also not completely chosen to be a part of our time away. I guess I was unplugged as they say.<br /><br />I have things to share.<br />I often do.<br />Sadly, I write many posts and then choose not to publish them.<br />There are many reasons why I do that.<br />Sorry, not ready to share those here either.<br /><br />So take me or leave me, the unpredictable blogger that I am.<br />Mostly I write to remember and to have an outlet to express myself.I know there are no rules about posting or not posting. No rules either about what I choose to sahre or not share. <br /><br />I'll leave you with the rainbow chairs. I will share the warmth and hope of a pretty rainbow, even if it is man made. <br /><br /><br /><br />If you take me, I'll be back soon. Have a sunshine day!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-50060619868376740032011-09-28T08:38:00.001-04:002011-09-28T08:38:00.580-04:00God's Workshop<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0T-4BuSqx2IMU25nHIU0-XoPP7_MEFroOSMpBiJOKsPF8caBjZkd-uUg6hi7eTnZO2zyIYCOPk28tqwuPauxAniWgAgi1I1zMS44FdDuU3O5BAL2E89NjyyZ0dLQZN8WqujtLEPR2gPY/s1600/IMG_3239.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0T-4BuSqx2IMU25nHIU0-XoPP7_MEFroOSMpBiJOKsPF8caBjZkd-uUg6hi7eTnZO2zyIYCOPk28tqwuPauxAniWgAgi1I1zMS44FdDuU3O5BAL2E89NjyyZ0dLQZN8WqujtLEPR2gPY/s400/IMG_3239.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657207547841300450" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPnrnd8HP8gQfqZEDdEXsU81UBUO-ZiZEhS5kTbRxQmCWWecRp5w7pRq-xhQqXOKaT4f_H4TzEVc0HFf7nn7akKxZ459qpBajYy_NTH5ELl9Q4xNR-YZIJtqvOSq9jW1PyuobGF0hiTI/s1600/IMG_3237.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPnrnd8HP8gQfqZEDdEXsU81UBUO-ZiZEhS5kTbRxQmCWWecRp5w7pRq-xhQqXOKaT4f_H4TzEVc0HFf7nn7akKxZ459qpBajYy_NTH5ELl9Q4xNR-YZIJtqvOSq9jW1PyuobGF0hiTI/s400/IMG_3237.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657207543017230658" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTVpanrsrBy7iIL80a4FavThk3-rIHXXs_kAk33NiZv5pWzMJmmSI6jmovjBk-AWc_Q4oFqsAdAjeCAClUApQKVBfzAw0V1Jv5a7NtnYoWsYpA5_C2-bWbxu6LwN4U2vJui9ht_ivgBo/s1600/IMG_3235.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTVpanrsrBy7iIL80a4FavThk3-rIHXXs_kAk33NiZv5pWzMJmmSI6jmovjBk-AWc_Q4oFqsAdAjeCAClUApQKVBfzAw0V1Jv5a7NtnYoWsYpA5_C2-bWbxu6LwN4U2vJui9ht_ivgBo/s400/IMG_3235.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657207539092349826" /></a><br /><br />I am not a photographer. I want/need to learn skills to take better pictures because I know what is seen by my eyes and the camera doesn't capture that many times.<br /><br />I am a deep thinker. Anyone who knows the <em>me</em> today would all agree. I know, I know, I wear my own self out. <br />Love me or leave me...this is where I am, who I am, and who I was created to be.<br /><br />The rainbow was breathtaking. I couldn't stop staring at it for a long while. A double rainbow, even more rare. <br /><br />The sunset was the most beautiful deep amber and pale blue. The marrying of day to night. A subtle blending of the two, but only for a brief moment. My camera didn't quite capture that, but I know what I saw. I know what I felt.<br /><br />The heavens tell the glory of God,<br />and the skies announce what his hands have made.<br />Day after day they tell the story;<br />night after night they tell it again.<br />They have no speech or words;<br />they have no voice to be heard.<br />But their message goes out through all the world;<br />their words go everywhere on earth.<br /><br />Psalms 19: 1-4Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8104559555916637612.post-26606073683295019682011-09-27T06:51:00.005-04:002011-09-27T20:38:39.219-04:00Pasta and Fagioli SoupI'm running...not very fast for sure, but my effort is good and that has to count for something. Not exercise running, sadly. I am still just giving lots of good effort to create peace, a normal routine, and lots of love in our house. We are seeing glimpses of normalcy within the walls of our house and that is a good thing.<br /><br />I swapped meals last week and in the madness of the week forgot to post what I made. I was assigned beef this month. Truly, I don't care what kind of meal the other ladies bring, I am just grateful for the meal. I assume this is true of most of us but is does seem to help when the meat selections for the month are a bit varied. <br /><br />I decided to love on my crock pot this month and make a meal for busy moms, just like me. The weather in our area has been cold, damp, and rainy often lately. So it was decided and settled that I would make a <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/olive-garden-pasta-e-fagioli-soup-in-a-crock-pot-copycat-31717">Pasta and Fagioli </a>soup this month as my contribution to our swap. I for one, am really excited to have a hearty meal like this one waiting for us in our freezer on one of those chilly evenings this fall.<br /><br />Click on the highlighted text if you are interested in the recipe. Hope you enjoy it too!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406429375178710582noreply@blogger.com0