7 Quick Takes Friday

I was supposed to post this on Friday, but today is Saturday and I'm still going to post it (b/c afterall this IS my blog and what I say goes!)

1. I lost my camera charger about 2 months ago.  Boo!  But while hanging out with a friend she told me she had a universal charger that I could borrow.  I was so excited and let the battery charge all night.  The next morning I took these pics.  Not shortly after I was watching Halley take a picture when suddenly Mariah knocked the camera out of her hand and it crashed to the ground!  In less then 2 hours my camera was dead.  I was quite upset to say the least.  So, if any of you out there have an extra camera feel free to send it my way. 

2.  Eddie, Mason, and I are headed to BOSTON on Sunday.  I'm pretty excited.  We will be attending a seminar on support raising.  I've never been to Boston, so I'm looking forward to it although the cold weather doesn't exactly excite me.  This will be my 1st time traveling with a baby and I hope that it won't be my last on account of the stress.  I plan to nurse Mason A LOT in hopes that it will put him to sleep.  I get a little nervous thinking about how a crying baby can make the ride difficult for the passengers.  But, I'm going to give it a go.  Halley, Mariah, and Max are going to my parents. 

3.  Speaking of my parents, have I told you how wonderful they are?  They keep our kids at their home quite often!  It's a huge blessing.  Now that my brother and his wife have had twins, they help them constantly too.  My parents are both retired thanks to God's grace and Dave Ramsey.  Their lack of debt is paying off in huge dividends to our family!

4.  Max is nearly potty trained!!  Woo hoo...can I get an AMEN?!  It was hard work but consistency, snacks, bribes, a kitchen timer, persistance, and partying like it was 1999 with every victory, paid off!!  Here's the little guy doing his thing!

(yes, that is a pink potty.  he has an older sister, what can I say?!!)

5.  My goal of only washing clothes that I know I can fold, dry, and put away in the same day is proving quite helpful.  Twice this week I got all the clothes washed and that's no small feat considering that we are a family of 6.

6.  Anyone have suggestions for what I can do to get the little guy pictured above to stop screaming?  He constantly whines and screams at the top of his lungs.  I've always enjoyed peace and quiet, but that rarely happens anymore.  Ironically, I certainly get the quiet I oh-so-crave when I go to see the gynecologist!!

7.  Looking for a good read?  Check out When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol Kent. 

In this book, Carol, a Chrisitian women chronicles how she finds hope in the Lord after her 28 yo son is charged with the murder of his wife's ex-husband.  Sorry, for the very brief synopsis...Mason is screaming, the twins are fighting, Halley is playing dress up, and my house is a WRECK!  Now how's that for a dose of reality?!



For more quick takes check out Conversion Diary.

My How The Tables Have Turned

Earlier this week I had to go to the Gynecologist for my yearly exam. Though most women shrink back with anxiety from such an appointment, I looked at it as an opportunity to spend some much needed time alone.  I gear up for the appointment like I'm going to the beach as I pack a good book, snacks, my Ipod, and journal. 

After filling out the necessary forms, the nurse put me in the room with the instructions to “put the gown on with the opening in the front and drape the paper across your legs.” Something we’ve all heard before.

After removing my clothing, I hoisted myself onto the exam table and before I knew it, I was asleep! Asleep- at the GYN- is that possible?!! Well, when you have 4 kids it is! Not only was I asleep, I was dreaming!

The Doctor walked in verbalizing his many apologies for running behind.

“No problem,” I said, “I’ve been resting.”

To which he replied, “If you consider resting, laying on the exam table at the Gynecologist office then you are definitely an overtired mom!”

We both laughed. Prior to having kids, I used to get so agitated when I had to wait to be seen. How dare the Doc have to deliver a baby when I’m waiting. Now, I get agitated when he’s in the office when I get there!

My nap was so good that I considered asking him

               if there were any other patients he needed to see,

                        a c-section to perform,

                               kids to pick up from school,

                                    groceries he needed to get

…absolutely anything he needed to do to get me more time on that beloved table so that I could rest!!!

O Picasa, where have you been all my life?

I've been dying to write a new post for a couple of days. I'm so excited about the blog banner that I made using Picasa. My co-worker, Sarah, has a great blog with a great link to a Picasa tutorial on making a blog header. This tutorial showed me just how to do it. Isn't it lovely?

Since I haven't posted in over 6 months I thought a change in scenery would inspire me. Now if only I could stop playing around with pics and actually do some writing.

Eddie took our laptop into the office for some repairs, so I've only had our desktop to use. I uploaded Picasa to this computer and I'm so glad I did. Looking through these older pics has brought back so many fun memories of the olden days! LOL!

I learned how to add text to pics...

I also learned how to make a collage!

That's all for now. If you need me, I'll just be sitting in front of the computer playing with Picasa. And if you could, please send the memo to my kids!

Hiding His Word in my Heart

(This post is actually a comment that I left on Brenda's blog. Because it was so long and a bit of an update of where I am, I thought I'd copy it to my blog. How's that for killing 2 birds with one stone?!!!)

A few years ago, you gave the challenge to memorize 1 Peter. I started then just memorizing chunks of 1 Peter, but not the entire book. Then I went through a GREAT trial in my life and this book really helped to guard my mind and give me strength in the battle.

1 Peter is my favorite book (ask my friends...I reference it all the time). I have the Bible on CD and over the years I have listened to 1 Peter sooo many times and continued to read it. I was challenged by a msg on Revive our Hearts (ROH) to begin memorizing large sectiions of scripture or even book. Of course, 1 Peter came to mind. I am also doing a Precept study of this book now. I brought a spiral set of notecards and started working on chapter 1. Without even knowing it, I almost had all of 1 Peter 1 memorzied because I had meditated on it and listened to it so many times. I am so motivated to memorize the entire book...even the saluations at the end!

I called up a friend, and she joined me in memorizing Ps. 19 just about 3 weeks ago. Each Friday we quote the passage that we have decided on to one another. We are currently on the last 3 verses of Ps. 19. The accountability really helps to. Next she is going to start on 1 Peter! What a blesing to hide God's Word in my heart.

You can go here, to listen to the 1st message in the 3 part series from ROH. The woman that Nancy Leigh Demoss (host of ROH) is interviewing has memorized 14 books of the Bible (including Revelation and Ruth) and over 100 chapters! I use this woman's same method...carry my spiral around with me during the day and memorize as I do my daily chores.


By the length of my comment, I guess you can tell that I really value Scripture Memory.

Voices of the True Woman Movement

So, what could possible motivate to write on my blog after a 4 month hiatus? It's the new book edited by Nancy Leigh Demoss called, Voices of the True Woman Movement. Revive Our Hearts sent the book to me for free with the commitment that I had to write a review of each chapter. I needed some accountability to get back writing on my blog, so I thought this was just the ticket. (Not to mention that I LOVE free stuff!) Without further ado, here goes!

This book is a compilation of all the sermons/talks given at the True Woman '08 conference. I had the privilege to attend the conference in Chicago at that time. My friends, Nicole and Antoinette among others joined me on this trip. It truly left a lasting impression on my life as I can still remember so much of what was said. Pastor John Piper delivered the opening message and it is therefore the 1st chapter in the book.

Pastor John makes the statement that "Wimpy theology makes wimpy women." He gives examples of what the opposite of a wimpy woman looks like. She has courage to bear up under struggles when in the face of opposition, temptation, and fearful circumstances. Her trust in God's sovereignty leads her to glorify Him. I've been memorizing 1 Peter and as I read this chapter I continually thought of 1 Peter 1: 6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The women that he highlighted had suffered great trials, but their faith was proved genuine because they withstood the trail to God's glory. Only He could strengthen and equip them to bear the death of loved ones, sickness, and imprisonment in a way that honored Christ. These women saw the God centered purpose for all things that came into their paths.

Pastor John says that true womanhood is a distinctive calling of God to display the glory of His Son in ways that would not be displayed if there were no womanhood. God knew that womanhood and manhood could display Christ's relationship with the church and therefore, he made me a woman.



So how do I glorify God as a woman? I do this, by living out His Word and living a life that is contrary to the world. To live out His Word, I must know His Word. It is my goal to spend time daily reading and memorizing the Bible. (More on Scripture Memory in the next post). I want to display Christ likeness to my husband and children, as well. As a wife, I seek to honor God by submitting to and honoring my husband. Whoa, that's a mouthful and not an easy task to accomplish. Serving my husband means putting his needs above my own. That can sometimes be very hard to do! It means, trusting God in decisions that Eddie makes and following him. Boy, do I need to meditate on that. But truly, submission should free me up to please God. I can trust that because God set the order of a household, He knows what is best. As I submit to Eddie's decisions, God is honored.



As the mom of 3 under 3 and 1 on the way, I have a home full of little disciples! They are watching to see how I respond to things, and how I use my time. Breezy, my 3 yo mimics nearly everything that I do. O, that I would show her the things of the Lord and she would follow me as I follow Christ.

Further, the Lord has placed other single ladies in my life. It has been my joy to ivite them into our home. "Doing life" around them has hopefully been a representation of the Gospel. I want to spread the aroma of Christ and make them long for Him.

How do you glorify God?