I keep telling myself it could be worse

Hubby told me some scary news today. His department at work is cutting back. His is the last department to make these deep cuts and just the thought that they are doing this during the "busiest" season scares the crap out of me. If it is THIS bad now...what happens when things slow down in the winter months? Anyhow....he works for a flooring manufacturer and is on a 3 shift rotation. They are cutting out friday night work shift (which means he will miss one day every 3 weeks...no pay) AND they are having a few shutdowns between now and the end of the year. More days off.....no pay. And It looks like his department will have quite a bit of time off during December and the company is "graciously" allowing the workers to use vacation time from next year to cover that lost time. Seriously? Are the suit and tie guys in the corporate building taking a hit like this? Are their hours being cut back and days taken away. Of course not. I know that things are even worse in some departments and I AM very thankful that hubby still has a job. Nowadays anything can happen and we dont take it for granted at all.....but it still scares me. I have been trying to cut back and/or do without when I can....but it looks like I need to dig deeper and do a better job.

If you dont mind please say a prayer for Hubby and all his co-workers.....they (WE) need all the prayers we can get. Thanks!!

Soccer medal

My middle son J received his soccer pictures and medal today. Honestly he should have gotten them months ago but our schedule didn't mesh with his coaches schedule and we just never got out to her house to pick those things up from her. My oldest, C, has a part time job delivering pizza and recently delivered to her house and she gave him the pictures to "deliver" to us. The medal he received looks like most sports medals. Soccer ball, sporty designs and his name, team name and league info on the back. As soon as he got the medal he put it on and I could see the pride he had in his eyes. I truly believe he will remember this medal forever. He was so cute as we walked around the grocery store today. As we got near to each and every shopper he held his medal out to make sure they saw it! Even when I told him that it wasn't necessary to show strangers his medal he disagreed, saying "How else are they supposed to see it?!"

OK J, you got me on that one. Wear it proudly.


Don't forget to enter my Book Giveaway before Saturday night.

Blue Like Playdough- GIVEAWAY

I was asked to read and review this book by the publisher WaterBrook Multnomah (it is part of RandomHouse Publishing). I JUMPED at the chance, especially when they offered me a second book to Give Away! This benefited me and you. Yay...I love a win-win situation.

And believe me, this book is a winner. I loved EVERY PAGE. I laughed. I cried (serious tears!). And I couldn't wait to read the next page. Trisha Goyer has a true gift. As I read this book I felt like she and I were old friends sitting around a table drinking coffee and talking about God and our kids. She pulls you in to her world and shows you how to see God in yours. All those "Mom moments" that we all have are given a new light. A perfect light. She shows how God works through everyday trials to mold and sculpt us to be more like Christ. I found myself saying "Oh yeah! Me too!" on many occasions and "Wow, I never saw things that way" on even more. But I can tell you honestly that after reading this book I see God molding me, everyday. Even when that molding hurts....she can show you how it benefits you in God's eyes.

I HIGHLY recommend this book. Personally I plan to add Mrs. Goyer's other books to my reading wish list.

So here is the best part. I have TWO copies of this wonderful book that I am giving away. Just leave me a comment telling me about any Mom moments that you believe to be God Moments too. Or just comment.....I'm not picky. But enter quickly....I am picking a winner Saturday night.

And if you dont win you can order the book HERE or HERE

Giveaway...did you say Giveaway??

Yes I did. I will be having my first EVER Giveaway this week. But not today. I procrastinated and pushed myself into a corner. Hopefully tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow. I will post all about my giveaway...which happens to be a book. Yay...we all love Books, right??

I will give you a little HINT

Green Eyed Monster

OK, I am going to admit it.
*POUT*
I'm jealous. I didn't think I would be, but today it hit and it hit HARD. I am jealous of everyone having a great time at BlogHER '09. Yes yes yes, I am happy FOR them but I wish I was WITH them too. Stupid Twitter is overrun with tweets about how great it is and how much fun they are having. Even some blogs I follow are coming straight from ChiTown. Ugh. This time last year I didn't even know what BlogHER was, shoot! I probably didn't even really know what a blog was either. But here I am. Chin-deep in a Blog addiction that I cant fight. And did you hear....you get free swag at BlogHER. I LOVE free stuff!!!
So today I ask Hubby if I can go away for 2 days next year. "Why?" he asks. So I tell him how BlogHER'10 will be close by...in NYC!
He laughed. He shot down my little hope and dream of smoozing with other bloggers, getting free stuff and spending 2 quiet days away from home.
Crap. I guess the only "quiet" time I will be getting is when I head to the hospital next month. Can you think of a hospital stay as a vacation?? Is it wrong to ask the doctor to let you stay a few extra nights?

Update...good news

I went to the doctor yesterday and left with a smile on my face. Well, sort of. To start with he is increasing my Methotrexate from 4 pills a week to 7 a week. Ugh. That's tough to be happy about, especially since my hair is falling out already. But he said after my blood test on Thursday he will know if I need a medicine to help stop the hair loss. He cleared me for surgery (two doctors down, one to go!)and when I asked to start on Cymbalta he suggested that I be put on Savella instead. YAY!!! Cymbalta is a drug for depression that is also used to treat Fibromyalgia but Savella is an actual Fibromyalgia drug. He said that all the info about it shows great results. So WOO HOO! FINALLY a medicine to treat the fibro. I have been waiting a long long time for this. So yes, I am thrilled and have my hopes up....and I will let you know how it goes :-)

Thanks again for all the prayers....they are helping and I appreciate them all.

What I learned on vacation

-Boo Boo is cuter than Yogi
-Mr. Ranger is creepy
-I love to paint ceramics
-Waterpark water is COLD
-Kids fall asleep fast after playing in water all afternoon
-Napping everyday on vacation is PRICELESS
-I love Monster trucks
-My kids are spoiled, unappreciative brats.....but I love them anyway
-Smores are WAY better with Reese cups than Hershey bars
-Rain sucks when your camping
-Crockpots should be on every ones essential camping list
-The ride home after vacation is always shorter than the ride there
-Unpacking and catching up on Laundry is nearly impossible
-I love my family and wouldn't have them any other way (ok, I would change one thing....I wish C would go with us on vacation)



I guess I already knew this stuff...but figured I would list it anyway. I still haven't gotten Hubby to load up the pictures from our camera.(These pics are off my cell phone) Hopefully soon.

There is no way I will be able to catch up on all the blog posts I missed, so if you wrote anything that you want me to read, please comment or email me and I will read it ASAP.

Now I'm going to ask for a quick prayer. I am going to my Rheumatologist this afternoon. Please pray that the visit goes well and isn't as stressful as the last couple visits. And that he will FINALLY prescribe the Fibro medicine I have been asking to try for over a year. Thanks!!

I'm Back!!!

I'm back from vacation....knee deep in dirty laundry and stuff to unpack. As soon as I can I will post about our trip and post pics too!! See you soon!!

Friday Fill In

1. The last thing I ate was Ice Cream and a chocolate chip cookie.

2. Groceries is something I recently bought.

3. When it rains, it makes my flowers perk up.

4. J was the first person I talked to today.

5. Hugs are PRICELESS!!!

6. Chocolate is extra comfort.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to C coming to visit, tomorrow my plans include packing and Sunday, I want to Get AWAY!

Here are some pictures of what I did on Thursday.....first I baked 5 loaves of Zucchini Bread. Three went in the freezer for later, one is for Poppop and one is for Now :-)

Then for dinner I made Grilled Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs, Grilled Squash, Green Beans and Salad. My Hubby grew almost everything on the table.....but not the chickens, lettuce or ranch dressing. Those came from Save-a-Lot.

Tomorrow morning after I drop J off at camp I plan to take Poppop his Zucchini Bread. He will be so excited since he hasn't had any since last year. I plan to make more to freeze, especially since he loves it so much. C is coming for a visit tomorrow too! I had to almost BEG him to come, but he finally agreed. YAY. Tomorrow night we will be having something quick and easy....Spaghetti and Meatballs. Frozen Meatballs. See, I told you it was quick and easy.
I hope everyone enjoys their day and has a wonderful weekend! And remember to keep Kate McRae in your prayers!

Priorities

J: I LOVE baseball!

Me: Really? What was your favorite part of playing baseball?

J: The day you worked in the concession stand and saved a bag of cheetos for me!

Me: Oh...ok?

J: Next time give me a hotdog too.

Prayer Request for Kate McRae

Please, I am begging you. If you don't do anything else today, at least do this one simple thing. Pray for Kate. Precious little Kate is battling brain cancer. I read her story yesterday and just can't stop thinking of her and her family. So again, I am begging you......please Pray for healing for little Kate.

(you can click on the picture to go read her story at Carebridge)

So True!

A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed home.
He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed:'Dear Lord:I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while my wife merely stays at home.I want her to know what I go through.So, please allow her body to switch with mine for a day.Amen!'
God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish.The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman.
He arose,
cooked breakfast for his mate,
Awakened the kids,
Set out their school clothes,
Fed them breakfast,
Packed their lunches,
Drove them to school,
Came home and picked up the dry cleaning,
Took it to the cleaners
And stopped at the bank to make a deposit,
Went grocery shopping,
Then drove home to put away the groceries,
Paid the bills and balanced the check book.
He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog.
Then, it was already 1P.M.And he hurried to make the beds,
Do the laundry, vacuum ,
Dust and sweep and mop the kitchen floor.
Ran to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with them on the way home.
Set out milk and cookies and got the kids organized to do their homework.
Then, set up the ironing board and watched TV while he did the ironing.
At 4:30 he began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for salad, breaded the pork chops and snapped fresh beans for supper
After supper,He cleaned the kitchen,
Ran the dishwasher,
Folded laundry,
Bathed the kids,And put them to bedAt 9 P.M .
He was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren't finished, he went to bed where he was expected to make love, which he managed to get through without complaint.
The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said: -'Lord, I don't know what I was thinking.I was so wrong to envy my wife's being able to stay home all day.Please, oh! Oh! Please, let us trade back.Amen!'
The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied:'My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were
You'll just have to wait nine months, though.

You got pregnant last night.'

Weekend Pictures

Look at this Spread! Hubby made a Fabulous 4th of July Feast! Smoked Ribs and Brisket....Crab legs and Shrimp. Believe me when I say we waddled away from the table!!

This is the first tomato of the season. Yum!


This is R's booboo. He fell at the pool the other day. And he was such a trooper, he only whimpered for about 5 seconds.

Sunflowers Blooming already!!

Green Peppers almost ripe enough to pick!!

Another Sunflower

And my new Cookbook that I won from Jeannie. YAY! I have been drooling over the recipes all weekend. I just don't know which one to try first! Thanks again Jeannie!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Holiday weekend!

Happy Birthday America!

I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Holiday Weekend!!