So Blessed!

I am truly a blessed woman!  I have so much to be grateful for...I could go on and on and on...

This past week, my son came down with the flu, and lucky me...I got it as well.  Thankfully, I have an employer who gives us sick days (as well as the ability to work from home).  What a blessing!

Then, I have wonderful friends who sent e-mails offering help and prayers.  Friends who stopped by and left warm bowls of soup at my door.

And then there is my hubby who has been relegated to the couch this week.  Poor guy!  He's stopped and picked up prescriptions, ginger ale, etc...  What a champ!

J went to school today and I slept the day away until I had to pick him up. I finally feel like I have returned to the land of the living.

But in the midst of it all, I again realize...

I am blessed.  So very blessed!

Rainy days and Mondays...

Well, yesterday was gorgeous here; today, not so much. Overcast, rainy with tornado watches...not exactly my kind of weather.

J wasn't feeling too hot last night, and this AM, he woke with a temp of 102.5 and a terrible cough.  Needless to say, I gave him a little medicine and sent him back to bed.  So, lucky for me, I was able to work from home today.  But alas, now I have a fever of 100, and I have a feeling things aren't going to be too pretty around here tonight.

So since everything is so drab, I thought I would post a happy thought.  I made some extra $ doing odd jobs plus our tax return, and this month alone, we were able to pay off $4,045 of student loans and credit card debt.  We only have one CC left to attack, but it is at 0% interest for the life of the balance, so we are focusing on the student loans for the moment.  I don't think next month will be near as exciting, but I am really praying and hoping to get these balances down as quickly as possible.

Needs vs. Wants

So, I have been spending a lot of time lately pondering contentment, and I have really been trying to only purchase things that are truly needs, not wants.

My mind goes to my son, who thinks a need is the newest Wii game.  Nevermind that he already owns NBA2K10, he NEEDS to buy NBA2K11.  Nevermind that is loses 3/4 of its value within the year.

Oh, and he NEEDS a new basketball.  Nevermind the 8 basketballs he already owns.

I have been trying to instill in him what a need is versus a want.  Not that he cannot get a new game, but I want him to save up his money and work for it so he can learn the value of something, as well as the value of depreciation! :)  But he really needs to understand what a true need is...and in this household, we think so much is often a need when it is truly a want.

So what is a need?  Water, food, clothing...yep, that is about it.  Well, a need is also something that is necessary for survival or for doing what I am responsible to do.  (If my child needs a ruler for school in order to learn, I consider that a need). What's a want?  Pretty much everything else.

Anyway, back to contentment.  If you are reading this, you (like me) are overly blessed.  To have a computer and the simple blessing of the electricity to make it run is more than a lot of people in our world. Clean water is such a gift.  Not to mention multiple changes of clothes and shoes.  If you are like me, you have boxes of stuff stored away for someday...

We live in such an age of "Buy Now" or your have to try this newest version of the iToaster. ;)  Why can we not be content with what we have?  Why do we always have to chase after the newest and best.  I remember my mother and grandmother stitching up socks with holes in them.  Me?  I just toss them out or give them to Goodwill.  It's not worth my time to fix them, I say.  Shirt got a small stain on it?  Out to Salvation Army it goes.

Our society is one of replacements instead of being content with what we have and fixing things.  Case in point, new cars.  Oh, my transmission is going, I think I will go buy a new car.  Ever said that?

Now if you know me at all, you know that I am definitely not a spender.  Not that I don't enjoy shopping or buying things or especially going out to eat, but I am definitely one who thinks about the consequences of purchasing new things.  Because of that, I tend to be a hermit sometimes.  I don't like to walk around the mall, grocery store or supercenter.  I don't want to even be tempted to purchase something.  (The word "clearance" has a pavlovian effect on me!)

Anyway, so now I am working on contentment.  Being truly grateful for what I have.  Not saying, "But I don't have anything to wear today" when I have a closet full of clothing.  Not wishing to have the newest technology, but rather be grateful for the ability to even utilize what I do have.

I am asking God to help my heart be filled with Him and a love for others so that there is no room left for desiring things rather than desiring Him.  I am looking out for ways to help someone who is less fortunate.

I am also pricing things for a consignment sale.  Hey, I don't need it anyway. :)

What about you?  Do you struggle with being content?  What do you do to overcome that struggle?

I'm back

It's difficult to believe that it has been almost a year since I last posted here.  I stepped away because my life has too much going on to take the time to blog.  But I am back for now, basically because I figured the writing could be somewhat therapeutic.

Much has happened, of course, but I won't take the time to fill you in on the last several months.  There have been a lot of ups and downs, though the downs seems to be more than the ups, but I am surviving.  I am grateful that my hope is in God who cares about every thing that happens in my life.

As for a good dose of chocolate, I think I just drooled on my keyboard when I popped over to my friend Jocelyn's blog.  Seriously, you need to visit and see these amazing looking Brookie Bites.  You need to check out her website, make some Brookie Bites, then send me some, okay?  :)

Happy Monday!

Lessons from my parents

So, this is something I received by e-mail, not original to me...although it sounds like my family! :)

25 REASONS I OWE MY PARENTS

1. My parents taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My parents taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My parents taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My parents taught me LOGIC.
"Because I said so, that's why."

5. My parents taught me MORE LOGIC.
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My parents taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My parents taught me IRONY.
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My parents taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My parents taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10.. My parents taught me about STAMINA..
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My parents taught me about WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My parents taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My parents taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My parents taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father/ mother!"

15. My parents taught me about ENVY .
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My parents taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My parents taught me about RECEIVING.
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My parents taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

19. My parents taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you're cold?"

20. My parents taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My parents taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22.. My parents taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father/mother.

23. My parents taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you .. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My parents taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."


And my favorite:


25. My parents taught me about JUSTICE .
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.

April Recap

Hello, Friends!

I did not fall off the face of the earth, but maybe just the blogosphere for a bit.

So much has happened since my last post. Let me update you a bit.

On April 10, my only brother Ken got married. All three of us were in the wedding along with my sister-in-law from Tim's side of the family and my niece. Jonathan was so happy because not only were my parents there, but Tim's parents were there also. Jonathan loved that we all stayed in a hotel and that he got to swim in the pool. Here are a few photos from the wedding:

Then, Jonathan turned 9 this year on April 15. So hard to believe that time goes so quickly! Since we had just spent a pretty penny for all of the wedding stuff, we ended up just having a small party with Jonathan and two of his friends at Chuck E. Cheese in Roanoke.

While we were in Roanoke, we stopped at Krispy Kreme and let the boys pick out their doughnuts for breakfast the next day. Of course they opted to eat a hot one that night.

We had a get together with some of our military wives this week, where we learned how to bake cakes in mason jars, so they can be shipped overseas to the soldiers. Please pray for the wives at home; this is such a huge sacrifice on their part!

Other than that, I have been so sick this week. Lovely stomach flu. Thankfully, I am finally starting to feel better. Now my poor hubby is coming down with it. Hopefully, J can avoid it!

That's it for now. Hopefully, I will keep up a little better in the coming days. Have a great weekend!

A little April foolin'

Sooooooo, if you know me, I cannot let April 1 go by without fooling someone...

I posted this on our copier in our office (note: I stole this idea from someone else).

I e-mailed my co workers and told them that someone had upgraded our copier while they were out, and they left instructions. When my co-worker "K" came back, she needed to make a copy and was standing at the machine saying her name. The more she said it the louder she got.

She said, "It's not working." So I told her she needed to follow all of the steps...and she did...a few times.

So she said, "I feel funny talking to a copier." Since she couldn't get the "voice recognition" to work, she gave up and did it the old way.

Meanwhile, another co-worker and I were in tears in my cubicle from laughing so hard. He finally told her "April Fools!" and we got beat, but lived to tell about it!