It's a SICK house!

So we are dealing with another sick weekend around here! It's crazy! We have never been this sick, this long before! Go figure that it's the one year that I didn't get the kids a flu shot! Who knows what we have this time, but it's for sure viral. Right now it just affects me and the little boys of the house - K and Jeremy have been spared ... let's hope they stay that way!

I'm very thankful for my hubby for many reasons, but this weekend he has taken very good care of us and he's had to do it all by himself. I think he is actually looking forward to a break tomorrow by going to work :)

Hope you all are staying well!

An Oh NO moment!

This week I had an OH NO moment! It was one of those moments where as a mom I wanted to grab my 3 kids and wrap them in bubble wrap and NEVER let them leave my sight or at least home school them!! And any of you that know me, really know me, you know that homeschooling has NEVER been in my vocabulary ... like ever! I'm not against those of you that do or desire to ... I just figure that I'm not cut out for it.

Anyway, back to my point ... I was putting the kids to bed this week. Jeremy was away at a meeting and we were finishing up with our devotional. Our Bible Verse this night was "Create in me a clean Heart O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10. Right before we started to pray Ryan told me he needed to tell me something. He proceeded to tell me something that was weighing on his heart, something that someone at school had asked him to do and he did. It didn't make him feel good and so he wanted to tell me about it.

At first my heart was thrilled that my child opened up to me and shared with me. On the other hand I was ANGERED at what my child was asked to do and then did. I hope and pray that I handled it in a way that made my child feel secure and comfortable in talking to me, made him know he can always talk to me (and his dad), and helped him be able to be a little more discerning when in those type of situations in the future. We are working on critical thinking in this house. We are working on making wise choices when those around you are not. It's hard thing to teach a 6 year old who just wants to be friends with everyone.

On another hand it really made me proud ... it's times like this where I can see the Holy Spirit working in his life. That makes my heart so happy because if I ever doubted his faith at such a young age ... God is definitely showing me that I have no need to doubt that my boy understands the decision that he made as best as his little mind can. It shows me that for now, my child trusts me enough to come to me with the hard things and that we are doing something right in raising him.

So, although it was a very hard moment for me as I heard what my baby boy shared with me, it was also a moment where God showed me so much. I'm also praying so much harder for my kids than I ever had realizing even more what a crazy world they are growing up in!

Made To Crave: Satisfying your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food

It has been a while since I did a book review for LitFuse ... My time lately has been insanely chaotic. I know you chomping at the bit wondering what book I got to read so here you go: Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst.

When the opportunity to read this book came into my e-mail, I jumped at the chance. I will admit, I have not finished it yet. We have one crazy month with a death and the plague of the puke fest of 2011 hitting my house. I have enjoyed the Proverbs 31 devotionals that I have gotten for the past couple years and enjoy reading Lysa's blog when I can ... so I could not pass up this opportunity.

I will tell you that I have read about half of this book and I cannot wait to pick it back up and finish it soon! I will tell you that only having read half of it ... this is a MUST READ for you!

I love how Lysa was honest to show that we can fill ourselves with food in the moments that were created for God to fill! I also enjoy how I do not feel beat up when I read this but rather empowered to draw closer to God through my desires and journey to get healthy! Lysa talks about why God created us to crave and gives you verses from the Bible to help you when you might want to turn to other things instead. At the end of each chapter are questions for personal reflection that will help you along your journey. You will not regret picking up a copy of this book ...

About the Book: Just because a woman finally fits into her skinny jeans doesn't mean she's won her battle with food. Too often, women overlook the spiritual component to their physical struggle with healthy eating. Made to Crave taps into the desires god gave you to consume food without letting food consume you!

From the Back of the Book: Craving Isn't a bad thing. Has food become more about frustration than fulfillment? Made to Crave is the missing link between a woman's desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen. Author Lysa TerKeurst personally understands the battle that women face. In Made to Crave, she will help you:

• Break the cycle of "I'll start again on Monday," and feel good about yourself today.
• Stop agonizing over numbers on the scale and make peace with your body.
• Replace rationalizations that lead to failure with wisdom that leads to victory.
• Reach your healthy goals and grow closer to God through the process.

This book is not a how-to manual or the latest, greatest dieting plan. Made to Crave is a helpful companion to use alongside whatever healthy eating approach you choose-a book and Bible study to help you find the "want to" in how to make healthy lifestyle changes."

If you want to check out what others are saying on Amazon click here. You can also follow along with what others are saying at the official blog tour for the book here. If you go to the blog tour you can enter to win the Kindle package that Lysa is giving away.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and if you plan to pick up a copy!

A Horrible, Rotten, no good, kind of day!

Life has been CRAZY lately! Crazy busy! We have had so much going on. Right now we are dealing with 2 cases, at the same time mind you, of a stomach virus. Ryan had it on Monday and missed school Tuesday. Pace's school called me today to come pick him up. I get home and get him settled, got Kennedy down for a nap and 2 hours into her nap, I hear her scream ... went up and she had been woke up from her nap to vomit ... it was not fun. So, I had two kids at the same time vomiting on me today. Both wanted their mommy. Did I mention AT THE SAME TIME!? So I had one on one leg and the other on the other leg and each hand held a trash can for them to vomit in. Did I mention I was home alone with them? Ryan by this time is home from school, thanks to a dear friend who picked him up for me saying "don't touch me, don't breathe on me, don't even look at me. I don't want to be sick again." It was quite the scene around here today. Not fun, not fun at all!

However, There is a bright side to this horrible, rotten, no good kind of day ... I got LOTS of snuggles from two very adorable and precious kids (even in all their vomitness - yes I made up that word)! I will probably be hugging the toilet or nearest trashcan very soon .... but I love my kids!

Hope you have had a wonderful kind of day today!

A life WELL lived

Last week a very beautiful friend of mine lost her courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. In 2001 I met a woman who has touched my life in ways she will never know. My life will not be the same because of the influence she has had on it. There are a couple of women in my life who I consider a mentor and Norma was one of them.

Norma never met a stranger. She had an infectious way of making everyone around her feel completely comfortable in her presence. I have so many fond memories of Norma and her husband Bill that will forever be etched in my memory. They took me under their wing and poured into me. When I got married they loved Jeremy just as much.

There are so many memories that I have but the ones I miss the most, are the times that we spent with them around a table sharing a meal - whether it was in my home, theirs or out, I never walked away from our times together dumber :) I always walked away having gleaned something.

Yesterday, at her memorial service, one of the people who spoke talked about how you didn't go to a meal or event with Norma ... You DID a meal or event with her. It was such an accurate portrayal of time with Norma. She turned every event into a celebration and even something as simple as breakfast was a major event with her. She was a co-founder and vice president of her company and they labeled her the CPO - Chief Party Officer. She loved throwing a party and she loved investing in the people around her relationally.

Norma was a wonderful friend who was very loyal to all around her. She loved the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind and strength. She made much of Jesus with her life. She made much of Jesus with her diagnosis. Her strength and her courage as she faced a very devastating disease is amazing to me. She leaves a legacy behind. She has taught me so much and I'm a better person because of the impact that she made on my life! I have so many memories that are forever etched in my heart and mind with her and I'm thankful for them all.

I'm blessed and grateful to have known her and have her in my life! I pray that I will never forget the things that she taught me and I hope that at the end of my time here that I can be half the woman that she was! I pray that my life will make much of Jesus!

Happy 2011!

Merry Christmas and Happy new Year! I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and will have a wonderful 2011 as well! I'm not doing great at keeping up this blog lately. Life has just been so insanely busy! So much is going on and I feel like I have so much going on to write about ... just not enough time to do it all in!

We have had a wonderful Christmas break and I cannot believe that Monday my boys have to go back to school. It's been so fun having them home. Although, it has been exhausting as well. Those three have more energy than I know what to do with sometimes!! We are incredibly blessed to be able to parent these 3! I love every crazy minute of it!

I hope that you have had a wonderful time with your family and friends over the past few weeks as we took time to pause and celebrate the gift given to us so many years ago!!

Have a blessed 2011 peeps!