It's been a while....

...since I have really posted on here.  So I thought I would maybe do a bit catching up.  This could be VERY boring so WARNING AHEAD!!

I think my last "real" entry might have been when I got back from Haiti in April--where has the time gone.  First, I have to say missions trips do change you.  Once back I went through every emotion over a period of several weeks.  I did re-Americanize (if that is a word) so to speak but still I feel changed.  I did end up dealing with a mild/moderate depression for a bit but thankfully that is over.  Again, I was told this is normal.  One person told me they have been on 5 missions trips and dealt with depression after every one.  It helps to know I am normal (well I am far from normal but that is OK).

Then add in the normal business of life and well we are back to me being crazy (well crazy normal maybe).   Since I had quit my job before leaving for Haiti I soon felt lost wondering what I was suppose to do with my life now.  I prayed every day that God would show me where he wanted me next.  This the the answer I got every time..."TRUST ME, you are right where I want you right now."  AND "PATIENCE, I have great things for you just be patient and trust ME."  So that is what I have done just been waiting and trusting.  I don't just sit around waiting--although at times that does sound pretty good and I am not always patient.


red, white & blue bracelet for the 4th of July

I started a hobby.  I started making jewelry and now it is really fun and a bit addicting--I have to watch myself that I don't go and buy all kinds of beads just because they are pretty or on sale...that is unless I DO have a plan for them.  I just need to keep a balance and not spend too much time on that and not on more important things...like sleep, cleaning, spending time with others, etc...  So now I have a hobby and I really enjoy it.



HOPE bracelet



Started out with some very easy stretch bracelets... 





Necklace & Earrings I made for my mom

...but soon moved into some more exciting and creative necklaces and earrings. FUN!!

I am still cooking and except for a couple weeks I felt VERY lazy I am still enjoying it.  I have felt lazy but realize that I am dealing with allergies, I do get out and mow and do yard work, work around the house, help others when I can...so really I guess I am not lazy just sometimes not as motivated as others to do some of the normal housework that needs to be done. 



I have dealt with some insomnia & it has happened to me the last 2 months that my husband & I had nursery duty at church.  I still went & played with the babies but then took a nap in the afternoon.  Don't like insomnia and don't always know why it is happening but hey it all works out as long as I don't get to grumpy--right!!



EXERCISE!!!  I NEED to be doing that but that is one area I keep putting off...OOPS!!  I will work on that.

Well I hope your summer is a great one...it sure is going by fast that is for sure.  Also, it is HOT out there.  So if you read this far then have a GREAT day and thanks for reading my ramblings...

A quick link...

Read this devotion this morning and it really hit home to me.  Don't have time to go into all the details right now but would love to share it with you.  Here is the link:

http://devotions.proverbs31.org/

I get these devotions delivered everyday (M-F) and just love them.  Here is the link to subscribe if you are interested:



Have a great weekend!!

Off the bookshelf

I love to read.  I have tons of books.  Many I have never read.  I will admit that for years I did not read as much as I used to.  Well not books that is.  I would read a lot on the internet but I like my old fashion books.

So after my return from Haiti I wanted to make some changes in my life (I think I am always working to make changes).  One of those changes was going to be less TV & less internet.  First I had to catch up on the shows I missed while in Haiti (that doesn't count--right?).  I will confess that I have not done the best at watching less TV, especially with May being the end of the season for most shows.  BUT I keep on working on this.

OK, so back to the books.  Around the end of April, I think, I was looking on one of my many bookshelves to see if there was a book I had not read yet.  I found more than I care to admit but one jumped out at me and I decided to read it.  Before I tell you about this book let me add that I did very well reading it for a couple weeks in between a lot of business but then mid to end of May the TV won over and the book sat for a couple weeks.  Once I picked it back up I couldn't put it down and was finished by the end of May.

I have since been to one of our Christian book stores and got caught up in the $1 books and got 5 of them.  I thought that was a deal...5 books for $5.  Now I just have to decide which to read first so I read the intro of each and then picked one.

OK, back to the original book.  I read Confessions of a Prayer Wimp by Mary Pierce.  I have had this book for a while so I looked at the copyright and it is from 2005.  I am sure I have had it since then.  Oh well, better late than never. 

This book is wonderful.  She is funny and smart.  I laughed and cried.  I could relate to much of what she was saying and that helps.  She has points to ponder at the end of each chapter.  I didn't really take the time to do all them but I did read them and do some of them.  I wonder...why did it take me so long to read this great book?

So if you are looking for a quick, easy, funny, inspiring book to read I highly recommend this one.  Now back to my new book...

Cooking again...

Sounds weird I know but once my kids got older and everyone was doing different things at different times cooking just was not fun anymore.  Plus having some picky eaters it was the same meals over and over. 

I have been working on budgeting and found a website that they do all the planning for you--even the shopping list.  There are several meal plans to choose from. 

Since starting this the end of April we (my husband, oldest son and I) have been eating dinner at home pretty much every night.  No more phone calls from my husband on the way home from work trying to figure out what to eat only to get food out.  We are saving money and cooking is fun again. 

It is like Christmas every week to see what is on the next weeks menu.  I don't cook all the meals.  I pick and choose what I want to cook.  We usually have some leftovers so most weeks I make a "leftover" night to get things eat up.  It is fun and I wanted to share.  There is a link to the side and here is a link:



If you sign up please tell them I referred you...I get money back for that.  ENJOY!!

A Must See....

My husband was sent this link and I encourage everyone to watch the entire thing--it is only 2 minutes and then pass it on. 


http://media.causes.com/1060527?p_id=175378540

Let me know if this does not work for you and I can email it to you.

Glorious Day (Living He loved me) ~Casting Crowns

Home from Haiti

I am home from Haiti and already miss being there.  It is good to be home and especially be with my husband but the time in Haiti was amazing.  I did well flying...most of the time.  I had a great team and they were all a big help to make sure I had a window seat and that someone from the team was next to me.  I was thankful to God for putting a remarkable team together and so very thankful that He chose me to be a part of that team.

There were 8 of us from our church and we went out in 2 teams.  One went to work on helping the Haitians build houses and the other (which I was with) went out to be with the kids and do VBS stuff with them.

We rode in what was called a Tap-Tap.  A truck with benches in the back.  Our driver was awesome with all the traffic.

This one is loaded with our stuff for the day.  We then added about 6 people--it got crowded but it was fun.

The first day we were near the guys building but we were at a tent church and had over 100 kids--it was so much fun.  It was very hot in that tent but loving those kids was so very easy.  Some tried to teach me Creole which is their language.  I have a hard enough time with English so this was more laughing than anything.  I really enjoyed it.

The electricity was spotty and it was hard to regulate the temp. at night so the first night us 3 ladies froze.  We shared a really nice room.  I think we all felt a bit spoiled where we were.  Having someone cook for us all week was wonderful.  The food was great but I didn't always know what I was eating.  On Monday I ate a bit too much and ended up sick during the night.  This was not fun but I still thanked God for getting me through it and for sending me to Haiti.  I had to stay back as my team headed out on Tues. and that was hard but I had to get my energy back and rest up.  With no TV or Internet it was a great time of resting and prayer.  I spent the day with God and that is something I don't do here.  I have many distractions so it is easy to do other things but when I was in the compound with no one that spoke English it was a time for me to just be with God.  He has a plan for everything and maybe that was something He wanted from me--to trust, surrender and just spend a day with Him.

The rest of the week went well.  I did lose about 3 lbs from being sick and then cautious about what I ate.  I felt good though.

We spent Wed. going to pick up 2 teachers from one of the orphanages and take them to buy books.  That was a lot of fun.  They were so excited and thankful to have books for the kids.

We all spent Thurs at the orphanage.  The construction team was building new, safe benches for the kids to sit on and we were playing and loving on the kids.  It was so easy to get attacked to them and I look at the pictures and miss them so much.  They loved to wear my hat and sunglasses.  Run their fingers up my veins on my arm and play with my hair.  I had my hair braided many times since it is to fine to hold the braid.  Oh and they loved to take pictures and have their picture taken.  They knew my camera was in my right pocket and would point and say "photo".  So about 50 of my around 400 pictures were taken by kids.

Friday 3 of the construction guys went back to work more on things at the orphanage while the rest of us took a trip up to the mountain.  We went to the Baptist Mission which was really neat to see.  We went to an overlook to see out over Port-au-Prince.  That was just amazing.  Haiti is a beautiful country with beautiful people.

I fell in love with the country and the people. I feel so blessed to have been called to go.

Saturday 3 of the guys helped with some things that needed done around the compound while the rest of us went to a school that had not had a mission team come in before.  We had about 60 kids and did skits and things with them.  It was so much fun and several came forward to receive Christ--that was amazing.  As we were leaving I was hugging one of the young boys and he asked me to pray for him.  He gave me his name and I have been since.  I don't know exactly his need but God does.

We also had a pizza party for the staff that evening.  They didn't have to cook for us and it was so much fun to see how excited there were to have pizza.

Well if you kept up with me this far--thanks.  It is so hard to put into words everything and how so very thankful and blessed I feel to have gotten this opportunity.  I do hope to get a chance to go back and next time take my husband.  I know he would love it.

God really took me way outside my comfort zone but I took comfort in trusting Him.  He stretched me way more than I have ever been stretched.  I look forward to see what He has in store for me next--very exciting!!