Tiger Lili...

So we were zipping through the grocery store this afternoon when Lili pipes up out of nowhere with, "Mamma, what makes YOU such a GREAT teacher?" I wasn't quite sure what the emphasis meant at first so I said, "Well, I don't know...do you think I am a great teacher?" She let out with a resounding "NO!!!" (Okay...now I know what the emphasis meant!!)

"Well, Lili...why do you think that?"

"Because you are a MEAN teacher!"

"What??? I'm not a mean teacher Lili! I do make you do things you don't

want to do sometimes, but that's not being mean."
"Why do you think I'm mean?"

"Cause...you make me do mean stuff...like go to the bathroom!!!!"

Gotta love my little Wombat!!!!

"...I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love..." Philemon 1:8-9

In HIS Mighty Grip

The Simple Woman's Daybook...April 13th Edition

For Today...

Outside my window... The Sun is shining, but I see dark clouds off to the North!!

From the learning rooms... a little math, a little geography, working on our books of the Bible, catching up on Aly's journal from all of our adventures last week.

I am thankful for... A friend who thought of us last week and passed on tkts to Disney On Ice when they could not go. The girls were so excited and had such a wonderful adventure! More pictures from our adventure later in the week.

From the kitchen... getting ready to go make a big blender full of Green Smoothie. For dinner I was thinking maybe Taco Salad.

I am wearing... My black house dress.

I am reading... still reading "Fields of the Fatherless" but I haven't gotten very far as I my eyes are bothering me. I desperately need to get new glasses!!

I am creating... plans for the spring and summer. Lots of stuff I want to do with the girls and lots of projects I want to get a grip on.

I am praying... for David as he continues in school. He is doing well and I pray for that momentum to continue! We are counting on him!!!

Around the house... continuing to get the girls room organized as well as Lili's old room. Cleaning out some cabinets in the bathrooms also.

One of my favorite things... is getting caught up on laundry!!!!

A few plans for the rest of the week... just getting back into our routine after being out of everything last week for spring break.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

...RESSURECTION EGGS...

Stop by The Simple Woman's Daybook for links to others and to start your own. Thanks for dropping in today!In HIS Mighty Grip~

August 5, 2007...has it been a year already?

Wow...what was I doing a year ago today? Well, it is now 10 am and my Dad had just called me from the nursing home to let me know that Mom had taken a turn for the worst and I better get over there immediately. I flew over there as quickly as I could and spent my last day with my sweet Mom. She had not been conscious since about middle of the day before. She never woke up again. But she met Jesus face to face that day!!! That fact makes it all somewhat tolerable for me...and it is the only thing that keeps me going some days. Just to know that she is safely in the arms of her Savior makes me able to deal with my grief. I don't always do it very well, but hey...she was my Mom! How do you let go of your mother?

I found myself telling God things about her...you know, stuff you would tell the babysitter when you go out so that they can attempt to care for your child the way only you can. Stuff like, "Okay God...you know that Mom doesn't like it to be hot...so crank up the A/C. She is terribly afraid of heights and small spaces, so give her some room. Oh, and please watch the chewing gum...she goes nuts when someone is smacking gum!! Oh...and she always sleeps with her glasses on, so don't try to take them off or you will wake her up. She has a really dry sense of humor, so don't let that throw you...just give her back what she dishes out and you'll be fine! Don't get her laughing too hard or she won't be able to stop laughing and then she will...um...well, she'll probably pee on herself!! She loves to sing, but she doesn't think she can. She has a beautiful voice, so could you maybe work on her self-esteem issues a bit when she gets there? Oh yes...and if you need some help decorating...give her a call...she'll fix up the throne room in no time flat. It'll be a showplace!! While your at it...give her something really cool to do up there...she is an amazing woman with a big heart and a lot of common sense and she is very very smart. She always had the right answers for me. She always gave me good advice...even though she was a bit bossy...try to overlook that. Most of all God...please just take good care of my Mom till I see her again. I still feel so very lost without her! Thank you for letting her be MY mom...of all the moms in the world that you could have given me...I got the best one!!"

God just laughs, I'm sure. In that still, small voice I hear, "I know my child...I know all about her! She is in good hands! We are having a wonderful time getting to know each other even better. It will be okay...I promise...in time."

What is it I miss about her so much? I think about that a lot in light of my own daughters. I wonder about them missing their birth mothers vs Me. But, I know that what I miss about my Mom is not that she gave birth to me...but it is our history ...what we carved out together that I crave and ache for. The wisdom, the relationship, the time, the love, the rough patches we overcame, the advice (solicited and unsolicited!) the shared experiences, the late nights, the laughter...God, the laughter, the phone calls, the yelling, the yelling??? yep...I miss that too!!!

Someone told me just before Mom died that I will never get over it, but I will simply learn how to live with the new reality. She was so right! If I allow myself to think about it all too much, I can immediately feel the same raw pain that made me not able to breathe that night. I can feel that punch in my gut that caused all the air to rush out of my lungs in total disbelief. It is all right there at my fingertips. But you know what? Sometimes I need to go there. The truth is that many days I go along in my own little world and I don't think about it too much...kind of like shallow breathing. When I need to take in some really deep breaths...I can be there in a few short seconds. I take in those deep breaths and somehow feel alive again. Then I am okay and can get back to my world again for a while longer. I will be breathing deeply today. I will be doing a lot of talking to God today. I will be missing my Mom a lot today. I will slowly be moving forward again.

~Oh thank you God for precious memories!!! Thank you that I can hear her voice in my head anytime I need to. Thank you that I can say something that Mom used to say to Daddy and a huge smile will come over his face! Thank you that time marches on and we learn and grow and are able to adapt to life as the changes come. Thank you that I can talk to you about it anytime I need to!!!! By the way...she REALLY can be bossy!!! Just take it with a grain of salt and tell her to hush!!! She's worth it!!




In HIS Mighty Grip

A Mommy...a Daddy ...and a Savior. Reckless Faith!

I saw this on a friends blog...it is long, but please take a few minutes to watch it and let it's powerful message imbed your very soul!!!

It is very simple...there are children all over the world who simply need a Mommy and a Daddy and a Savior!!! Can you help them with any of those three things?? Take a minute and let God speak to your heart and find out the answer for yourself!!

Okay...can be a little personal here and give you too much info? It's important..stay with me.

When we were in the process of our second homestudy...for Lili, our social worker asked me if I had dealt with my infertility issues. (She was assuming I had infertility issues by the fact that we were adopting...but I digress) Anyway, I told her that there was nothing to deal with. She tried...in vain...to argue her point, but there was no winning this one! I told her that there were NO infertility issues to deal with...not because there was or wasn't infertility but because that wasn't the point. We never saw anyone about the fact that we hadn't ever gotten pregnant, because I realized very early that my goal wasn't to get pregnant...my goal was to be a Mommy. I didn't need to see specialists to be a Mommy...I just needed to say yes to God and be a Mommy to a child who was already out there in the world needing someone to love them...with all of their scars, their pain, there issues, their problems and whatever else came along with them. I mean...after all...God took me on with all of my problems...he certainly didn't wait around for the "perfect" child to adopt!!

Okay...that is my soapbox for today. Please watch this video. Please pass it on. Please pray for this woman and the work she is doing. And pray for God to tell you how to get involved in some way...anyway ...to help these children and the many other ones like them all over the world who just...need a Mommy and a Daddy and a Savior!

...the secret is in the sauce!!!

Okay one and all...check out this really cool new site I just found yesterday!!! Don't you hate it when people come to your blog and don't comment??? I love that people come check out our life here at the Wok, but I SOOOOOO wish they would say hello...or at least yell at me for not posting anything new in a few days!!! Anyway...that is what this blog is all about...spreading the comment love to those around us! I LOVE IT!!!!
Go check it out for yourself. There are always contests abounding, new blogs to check out and lots of love to spread.



Blessings~
Shelley

My purse ...

Okay...it has been sad and depressing around here for too long...on to some other stuff!!!

MY PURSE! um...well that could be cosidered rather sad and depressing, but I digress...

Before we moved to Florida last year, my "purse" was the Land's End Do-It All diaper bag. Holy cow!! It is awesome, holds everything including the kitchen sink, but it is a monster!!

Before my Mom passed away last year she made the comment to me that I needed a purse now...not a diaper bag. I reminded her that Lili was still only 1 and in diapers, but she said that I needed to find something else because I needed to start carrying a purse again and not that big diaper bag everywhere. Her comment was, "Yes, but you are more than a mother...you are a woman too and you need to have a purse not just a diaper bag". She suggested that I find some sort of "Mom bag" that could contain all the essentials for my two girls, but could also contain my purse. Whatever Mom...but I do understand your point!! So, the first quest began.

She had just ordered from somewhere...okay wild guess here, but I'm thinking QVC!!!! Anyway it was a neat little bag that went from small to large with the zip of a zipper. I thought...COOL...I can leave it unzipped when I need to put the girls stuff in it and zip it up when it is just me. AWESOME...dilema solved!!! here it is:

here it is unzipped as the large version

here is the smaller version. I left it partially unzipped so you could see what I mean.

I have been using this since last summer. Well...actually I have been frustrated with it for about 5-6 months now. It just isn't working.

Here are my points of contention:

1- it looks as though it has great big shoulder straps, but in reality it is very difficult to keep it on my shoulder and when it falls off and into my hand, it actually drags the ground. NOT good!!

2- It is very bottom heavy...that would be because EVERYTHING falls to the bottom of the bag. It is like a bottomless pit!!! There are some pockets inside toward the top, but because the fabric is so flimsy and thin, stuff falls out of the pockets and into the bottomless pit when the top of the bag falls over. REALLY NOT good!!

3- The mouth of the bag doesn't open very wide and again, is very flimsy when you are trying to get something out of it. Not at all good when I have Lili in one hand and need to find something one handed. It just isn't possible!!

4- on the up side, this would make a good bag to travel with because it expands, but it isn't very practical to use as a Mom Bag.

I have not really used it very much lately and am about to lose my mind!!! Surely I can find something!!

*I want something that is sturdy, but doesn't look like diaper bag.

*It needs to be big enough and have an opening big enough to put in several "organizer bags" of some sort...one for the girls stuff, one for my "purse". That way I can just grab and go with what I need.

*It needs to be able to fit on my shoulder and stay there, yet not dragging the ground if I have the strap in my hand.

*A light colored interior is a plus ( for ease of finding stuff) but not a must have.

*It needs to be relatively inexpensive!!! I WILL NOT pay BIG BUCKS for a purse!!! That is insane!!! Who has the money for that!!! :-)

Okay...I'm open for suggestions. I want to see what you use, too!! Leave me a post with a link to your site and a post about your purse!!! Tell me what works and what doesn't. Take pictures. I need ideas people. If I need ideas, then surely I'm not the only one!!!!

Can't wait to see how you all carry your "Mom and baby" stuff around!!! :-)

Blessings

Shelley

"Oh No!!!! She's awake!"

Okay...I believe that the time has come to fight fire with fire. My new mantra is ...

"Live life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor each morning, satan shudders & says...

OH NO!!! SHE'S AWAKE!!!"

Keep those prayers coming!!!!!

Shelley

The North Face of God

Ken Gire, in his book The North Face of God, says, “When suffering shatters the carefully kept vase that is our lives, God stoops to pick up the pieces. But he doesn’t put them back together as a restoration project patterned after our former selves. Instead, he sifts through the rubble and selects some of the shards as raw material for another project—a mosaic that tells the story of redemption.”

I don't know what is happening, but I feel like God is beginning to move. At least he is beginning to move in me. It is small, tiny increments...like the beginning of a glacier melting. At first I was not even sure of the movement at all. But it is there. I can't describe it accurately. I really can't put it into words as I don't really understand it myself. But I feel it...somewhere down deep...somewhere only God and I go...somewhere I haven't been in a long time.

"For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down,
that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not fail.
Though its roots grow old in the ground And its stump dies in the dry soil,
At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant."~Job 14:7-9

I think I am beginning to smell water!!!

~Shelley

Hello????? Are you gonnna tell us what happened????

Yes...I'm sorry...I will tell you what happened to the orange clothes!!!!
Most all of the crayon did indeed come out! A few small faded spots here and there, but mainly just on the play clothes. The newer stuff looks GREAT!!! A couple of outfits (unfortunately ones that I loved!!)were ruined, but they will work for play clothes. It completely came out of all the denim shorts and overalls. One new shirt has a few spots, but the shirt is red anyway and it just looks like some color variation. Praise God...all's well that ends well!!
Would you believe that after ALL of that I actually found the girls under the kitchen table yesterday with a crayon coloring on one of the kitchen cabinets???? ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thankfully it came right off with a spray of Goo-Gone.
I will certainly be checking pockets even more carefully from now on...lesson learned thank you!!!

In HIS Mighty Grip
Shelley

ORANGE...you glad I told you???

If you look closely at the photo above you can kind of see that the pile of clothes are spotted with lovely little orange spots. Those lovely spots would be ORANGE CRAYON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah hem...MELTED INTO THE CLOTHES!!!!! BY MY DRYER...WHICH WAS ALSO COVERED IN ORANGE MELTED CRAYON!!!!!!!!! Someone just shoot me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I put a large load of the girls clothes, some NEW, into the washer last night and then transfered them to the dryer this morning. Before you ask...YES...I checked pockets, etc...for stuff, but apparently I either didn't check them well enough or "someone" wandering around the house with an orange crayon, dropped one off into my dryer!!! Anyway...after spending 70 minutes on HIGH HEAT, I took them out of the dryer only to find the girls clothes looking like they had the Orange chicken pox!!

After I composed myself, I called several friends to find out what on earth to do. After finally coming up with a plan, I cleared all the counters in the kitchen and started spotting the clothes. Mind you...they were COVERED in orange crayon so this was no small task. My dad walked into the kitchen to find me slumped over the sink on the verge of tears at the task ahead. He patted me on the shoulder and said, "Well, you have two options...you can sit here with your bottle of stain stuff and spot each and ever spot until the deed is done, or you can call it a wash (no pun intended) and throw them all away...either way, you better get going and do whatever you are going to do" Thanks Dad!! The thought of throwing that whole pile of clothes away just wasn't an option, so I began spotting them. It took me several hours, but i finally did it.

My friend, Mariya, helped me by cleaning the dryer of all residual melted orange crayon and then checked the washer for me. So I put the spotted clothes in to wash on Hot with oxyclean on the super long cycle. I did it twice. I am now getting ready to go check them and see if the girls now have a rather large pile of play clothes or not!!! Wish me luck

Lesson for the day: check, check and double check pockets for Rogue Orange Crayons trying to excape!!!!! They are ruthless!!!

In HIS Mighty Grip

Shelley

Sizzling in the Wok...the need for peace...

I have started a second blog. Not to replace this one, but to compliment it. It is called "Blessings in the Wok" (click here) and it is in response to my hearts desperate need for some relief!!

Please stop by and check it out...maybe you will be inspired!

In HIS Mighty Grip

Shelley

Fruit basket turnover...

I need a new look!!!!!
Bear with me over the next few days as I redo the Wok.
It has been rather interesting learning about Widgets and layouts. My head started spinning when I got to html vs xml and then my head came off when I started getting error messages dealing with expanded widget code and duplicate sidebar values!

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay...so I finally just decided that it would take less time to just to it the long/hard way. So I am going to be adding back in all of my links individually over the next day or so. WHEW!!!

Maybe one day I will understand all of this...today is NOT that day!!!

Anyway, enjoy the renovations...

In HIS Mighty Grip

Shelley