Sunday Resting

My sister Caroline and her husband Sean came over after church on Sunday. I read scripture stories to Mosiah till I could read no more. Mom had Isreal's help with a bannana cake for supper. She said he was a real hlp squishing the bannana's.

Summer Sledding

Isreal and Mosiah seemed to think on this day it would be fun to go sledding in the summer. My cat Regan was happy to let Mosiah hold him for quite some time.

Sisters & Best Friends

A recent picture of my sister Caroline and I. We have my nephew Israel with us. No we are not golfing! Caroline's mother-in-law has a much enjoyed golf cart to putter around in for her chores and more.

Regan in the Laundry

My cat Regan is the perfect cat. He acts part cat and part dog. He follows me around everywhere, loves to be petted, and waits in the driveway or runs home when he sees me coming or going. If I step outside and I don't see him for awhile I start to worry. Usually he has been accidently locked into the shed, or in the car. I have to watch him like a hawk. Regan is so quiet and just slips in as he wishes. I had been watering the flowers then shut the garage and gathered the laundry. I went in to the laundry baskets and found Regan resting contently in one of the baskets. Too cute! Thankfully these clothes were already needing washed.

The Mantel

I wanted to post a few recent pictures. This was a birthday present for my Mother from her son-in-law Sean. Its really a funny story. Sean wanted to make Mom a mantel for her birthday (he is a cabinet maker). He had made this mantel for a couple's home some time back. The builder told him the couple was going to get rid of the mantel as they had been given an old one. Sean called up the couple and asked if he could have the mantel if he uninstalled for htem. They said yes. So with adjustments it was placed in my Mom's living room as a birthday present. Sean didn't even have to build a new one and he originally got paid to build this one! My parents were having most of the interior of the house painted so the painter was able to caulk and paint the mantel too. It look gorgeous!

Do Laws and Standards Evolve?

A noteworthy newsletter from the Vision Forum, "Do Laws and Standards Evolve?"

The Importance of Your Family History

As a co-workers father was dying it reminded me of similiar times in my own life. I have been with my great-grandpa, great-grandma, and one of my grandpa's when they died. As I thought back to those times today I was reminded of the time I took with one of my Grandpa's to ask him to tell me stories of his childhood, adulthood, and the life he lived. I asked him what he wished he had done differently. With my great-grandpa I didn't ask him very much about his childhood and family history and wish now that I had. My great-grandpa did tell me several days before he died what he wished he had done with his life. That has affected me greatly. The most important thing he said to me was he realized he had wasted his entire life as he lived for himself and not for the Lord. I don't mention this to be morbid but to realize the nature of the life and we have on earth. Read this email newsletter from the Vision Forum that speaks to the topic, " The Importance of Your Family History."

Thy List To Be Done Today

I have had this list written up on the inside of my prayer journal for about 6 years. I love "to do" list. I seem to have endless "to do" lists right now. They are in my head and written down. I printed this list out today to place on my desk at work. As I look at the list it will remind me of this list reflects the goals of my heart, the ones of eternal value, and remind me the daily task of this world are truely fleeting.

~Thy List To Be Done Today~
Abide with Christ
Walk within thy house with a perfect heart
Have the law of kindness on thy tongue
Fret not
Be anxious for nothing
Love God with all thine heart
Put others first
Harbor no unforgiveness
Pity not thyself
Resist Satan
Rejoice evermore
Pray without ceasing
Forsake wrath
Love mercy
Yield not to temptation

9 Million Toys Recalled

Maybe you haven't heard yet, but Mattel recalled 9 million toys today. You did read that right. Recall on 9 million Chinese-made toys. If you want to find out if your child could be swallowing a magnet from their toy, or be playing with lead paint then read more.

One Summer Day..

Here in the Midwest it has been pretty hot. Yesterday the heat index was 105. My nephews have a great way to cool off. they come to Mammay's (Grandma) house and play in thier wading pool. Mosiah (3) would throw balls into the pool and Israel (1 1/2) would promptly throw them out. Israel had is cup and I was trying to convince him to dump the water in the pool and not on the concrete. Aren't little boys at play sweet?

Thoughts on the Dugger Family

I have personally heard some pretty rude comments about the Dugger Family that I took offense to. On the other hand there have been some who highly praised the obvious love within the family, the order, and devotion of the parents to their children. I read this post by Crystal Paine the other day. She articulated her thoughts on the subject so well I wanted to post it here for others to read.

We need as many well-equipped arrows as possible from Crystal Paine
"I posted something about the Duggar's new addition yesterday and braced myself for the onslaught of angry comments which I knew would ensue. I've chosen not to allow comments of that nature here because there are plenty of other places on the internet to hurl insults at this family. Suffice it to say, people are very upset at the Duggar family for choosing to have 17 children. What I don't get is that the majority of people saying vitriolic remarks are also the same people who will say out of the other side of their mouth that everyone has a right to do as they please, a right to choose what is best for their life.Those statements all go out the window when it comes to the Duggar family, though. It is okay to sleep with multiple partners, have multiple abortions, or ship any children you have off to day care centers for the bulk of their growing up years. It is okay to call "marriage and family" a group of any sort of people you come up with that suits your fancy, it is okay for parents to work at the expense of their children, but it is absolutely not okay in their book for anyone to trust God with their family size and have 17 children. Never mind that these 17 children are in a warm and loving family environment, never mind that there seems to be much order and structure in the Duggar home, never mind that these parents are well-providing for their children, never mind that centuries ago, having 17 children was not anything extremely out of the ordinary.For some reason it is okay to have fancy cars, big mansions, and all the electronic gadgets and toys we could ever hope for. It's okay to have pets - lots of pets if you prefer - cats, dogs, reptiles. However, it is not okay to have a lot of children.Do you see how silly all of this is? We spend all of our lives working to afford fancier cars, bigger houses, and more gadgets and gizmos, and yet one of the few things which can leave a lasting legacy - our children - we overlook.No, I'm not saying that everyone needs to follow in the steps of the Duggars and have 17 or more children. Most normal married couples cannot have that many in their lifetime anyway. What I am saying is that we need to get over this low view of children, a view which has sadly infiltrated most of Evangelical Christianity.The Bible says children are gifts from the Lord, why would we want to reject His blessings? What is more important than investing our lives training and raising up the next generation?I pray God raises up many more large Christian families like the Duggars to show the world - by example - that children are a blessing from the Lord and that responsibly raising many children is possible. More importantly, though, I pray that many more parents would grasp hold of their responsibility to train and raise their children up to love the Lord with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength. We live in a sin-sick world and we need as many well-equipped arrows as possible to be shot out into the world to impact our culture for the glory of God."

Duggers Welcome Baby #17

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- It's a girl - again - for the Duggars. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar welcomed their 17th child, and seventh daughter, into the world Thursday.
Jennifer Danielle was born at 10:01 a.m. at Saint Mary's Hospital in Rogers, Ark., the Duggars said in an interview. Jennifer weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and arrived five days after Michelle's due date.
Less than 30 minutes after giving birth, the Duggars already were talking of having more.
"We'd love to have more," Michelle said, adding that the girls are outnumbered seven to 10 in the family. "We love the ruffles and lace."
Jennifer joins the fast-growing Duggar brood, who live in Tontitown in a 7,000-square-foot home. All the children - whose names start with the letter J - are home-schooled.
The oldest is 19 and the youngest, before Jennifer, is almost 2 years old.
"We are just so grateful to God for another gift from him," said Jim Bob Duggar, 42, a former state representative. "We are just so thankful to him that everything went just very well."Jennifer joins siblings Joshua, 19; John David, 17; Janna, 17; Jill, 16; Jessa, 14; Jinger, 13; Joseph, 12; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 9; Jedidiah, 8; Jeremiah, 8; Jason 7; James 6; Justin, 4; Jackson, 3; Johannah, almost 2.

Read the full story.

Health Insurance

My head is spinning. I'm trying to decide on the best health insurance plan. I have had some agents talking circles around me as I try to understand the deductables, coinsurance, maxiums, and so on of each plan mentioned. So far I'm liking Blue Cross, Coventry, and Assurant Health. So many options..sigh. I'll have to ponder on this tonight. I think one specific agent can recognize my voice now when I call to ask a question. :-( To me this is a big decision and I'm determined to take my time and understand what I'm signing up for.

Back Again

Gone since March? I can't believe it1 Wow time flys by. In the last few months life has brought some very busy times. I was able to stop and take a Colorado vacation in June. When I think about Rocky Mountain Park it brings a refreshing moment to my day. It’s absolutely beautiful there! This week was of to a flying start. My Mom spent time in the hospital. I’m very thankful she is home again and resting. I must say the entire staff at the hospital was awesome! She started out in a hospital nearer to home. The Dr. and nurse were very nice but everyone else seemed to have a “I really don’t care about you, please leave me alone” attitude. She was transferred to a different hospital and I was amazed. Everyone had a smile on their face and truly seemed to care about their patients as fellow human beings. When we care about people it shows up in the way we treat them! I was so happy with their care I’m going to send a letter to that hospital highly praising the people who were such a blessing to my Mom.