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Showing posts with the label Reflections

Finding Our New Normal......

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After an emergency brain surgery on our ten year old son, five weeks in the hospital, a second surgery to put the bone flap in, daily infusions at home........ Our once active big little boy unable to ride his 4 wheeler, bike, jump on the trampoline, or run, but rather see him sitting on the sofa hooked up to iv's.... After a surgery for me (the mom) and health issues with another major surgery ahead. A 16 yr old who is working, learning to drive, recently graduated and looking at colleges, while starting to spread her own wings..... A Hubby (who is my rock) that is hitting his midlife crisis (which may or may not) explain the brand new Ford F150 pickup truck in his shop...... And a seven year old little girl who had to grow up way to fast this year..... as she spent most of her summer away from her mom.... Life this year, has definately taken a different turn and we are trying to find our new normal. Sometimes life has a way of changing so quickly t

If You Give Your Husband a Kiss....

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I fell in love with Leah Heffners "If you give your husband a kiss" article and I wanted to put my own spin on it for this time in my life. My hubby works long hours, we live on a hobby farm, own a home business, home school three kids, have a special needs son, and try to keep up with everything else that makes up this life we live.... but I still love kissing my hubby and nestling my head under his chin.... So here is my version... If you give your husband a kiss, he’ll probably want a hug to go with it. You’ll nestle your head under his chin, and just breathe him in. The smell will remind you of when you first started dating and you didn’t want to be anywhere else but nestled under his chin. You’ll think back on some of your favorite first dates – ice cream, long walks, holding hands, and late night talks. Before you can get too carried away, a child (or dog) will probably interrupt you, breaking apart your hug. You’ll open your eyes to see dishes tha

The Little Girl Who Broke My Heart...

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While my son, QW was in ICU of the Children's hospital, we were moved to the ICU Burn Unit due to the regular ICU being under staffed. We ended up staying in the ICU Burns Unit for 4 1/2 weeks out of the five weeks that we were in the hospital. We came to like and know most all of the burn unit staff and some of the patients..... including a little (3 or 4 yr old) girl called Miesha. Oh, my goodness, she was the cutest little thing!  She was already there when we arrived and was still there when we left. She was burnt from head to toe and could hardly walk or talk when we first met her, but every day she got a little bit stronger.  The kids in that unit would do their walking therapy in the hall. Miesha would stop and wave at our sons door when she did her walking therapy and my son and I would stop and wave at her door when he did his walking therapy.  Some days you could hear her just scream and scream when they did dressing changes. Other nights you could hear h

Class of 2017 - Baz Luhrmann Inspirational Speech - Wear Sunscreen

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My oldest child is graduating high school this year.... where did the time go?!?!  My hubby had me listen to the following speech a few months ago and I keep going back to it....   While it may have been written 10 years ago, I think it is still great advise for today's Class of 2017! Ladies and gentlemen of the class of 2007, wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists. Whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience, I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh, never mind. You will never understand the power and the beauty of your youth until they've faded.  But trust me, in twenty years you will look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now -  How much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.  You are not as fat as y

Seven Money Types and What Type I Am

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I am a sucker for quiz books and figuring out your 'type' whatever type that my be.... I love trying to discover who people are, and what makes them do the things they do, or act a certain way.... The Seven Money Types is not a book on how to manage money. Rather, it is a unique approach to understanding how you relate to handling money. This book gives a different perspective on money than any I have ever read. I found it fascinating. It uses Scripture as a baseline and the author does a good job of giving real life examples to back up his theories. This book will change your approach to money, helping you understand other people's interactions with money and your own! What money type are you? I am a Jacob .... My belief is that money should be used to create pleasurable experience (can anyone say travel?? I love to travel and explore the world, creating memories with my family!) I use money to create beautiful moments and buy beautiful things.... spending mon

The Passion Flower Story

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The passion fruit is a  vigorous, climbing vine that clings by tendrils to almost any support. It can grow 15 to 20 ft. per year once established. The Story of the Passion Flower   I have this beautiful flower climbing on my arch that I walk under on the way to my office entrance. It is so intricate and beautiful, I thought I'd share a little about it with you all. Although it doesn't bloom until summer - it always reminds me of Easter. The Passion Flower (Passiflora) is a symbol of Christ’s Passion and Cross: including his scourging, crowning with thorns, three nails and five wounds. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries adopted the unique physical structures of this plant, particularly the numbers of its various flower parts, as symbols of the last days of Jesus and especially his crucifixion.   The pointed tips of the leaves were taken to represent the Holy Lance that confirmed Christ’s death. The tendrils represent the whips u

Three Loves and Lessons Learned

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It's no secret that most of my friends growing up were boys....  I have only had two extremely close girlfriends in my life.... Carla and Suzie - one when I was younger and one as a young adult, - the rest were all guys.  I'm not sure if I liked hanging out with the guys more than girls because I was a tomboy myself, or because most girls are just too much drama, and drama has always stressed me out!  While I could name off a whole list of guys that I considered my friends over the years... there have been three guys who not only were my best friends at the time, but whom I also loved.... I came across the following article the other day and while it may not be true for everyone, it is definitely true for me..... It’s been said that we really only fall in love with three people in our lifetime.  Often our first love (his name was Joshua and I really thought we'd be together forever!) is when we are young. It’s the idealistic love—the one that seems lik

Talking With God Book Review

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Talking With God By: Adam Weber 5 Stars I love, love, love this book!!! The style of writing, the simple truths, the practical lessons, the humor, the realness. It's a great book! Prayer seems like it should be so simple. Yet, when it comes to actually praying, often it feels awkward and complicated. I mean... what should you actually pray about? What do you say? Is there anything I should or shouldn’t say? Do you have to speak out loud? Then comes the craziness which is life. Between work, changing diapers, walking the dog, unread emails, trying to keep up with our neighbors... and the laundry, who has time to pray? The truth is, prayer is simple. It’s like talking. Talking with a good friend. And the best part? Our God can’t wait to talk with us. I have always loved South Dakota ... the Badlands are one of my most favorite places, and we've also been to Sioux Falls, Falls Park and the Corn Palace in Mitchell.... if I'm ever in South Dakota a

When your Family Isn't Your Family Anymore

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I grew up as the middle kid out of seven. There are 6 yrs between my oldest sibling and me, and 9 yrs between my youngest sibling and me. There were 2 boys and 5 girls.  I have very fond memories when I was little.  I remember our family trips.... I loved playing the car game with Dad at night while everyone else was asleep..... it was my favorite part of traveling.  I loved going to the auction barn with dad -especially if we come home with a baby lamb or other animals. I loved the wintertime when Mom would read stories, with all of us kids piled up beside her on the sofa. We spent a lot of Sundays at G'pa Stumps house- playing games and eating popcorn and ice cream. I loved spending the night at my G'pa Fricks... G'pa had two nicknames for me... 'Goldilocks' and 'woodchuck'. I loved going to church, singing at the nursing home, and bible study- because it meant that I would spend time with my best friend- she was great. I love

The Man I Love

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Happy Valentines Day! Today, I want to celebrate my hubby! He makes me want to be a better person... He always does the right thing -even when it's the hard thing to do. He is a man of values and good moral. He is polite, not just around others, but here at home around me and the kids. He is a man of few words and uses his words wisely. I love hearing him talk. When he speaks, people stop and listen because they know he has something important to say. He always treats me with respect. I am his equal. He asks and values my opinion, He lets me choose where I want to eat. What I want to do. He always puts me first in the bedroom -enough said! He can tell when something’s important to me, and for the most part, he lets me run wild with my (crazy) ideas. He is a hard worker. He provides well for our family - we lack for nothing.   He is a successful mold maker by day. But he also works hard around our property. He can fix, remodel, and build anything..... and he is

Taking Care Of Me - Relaxing

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This year, I am choosing to take care of me ...... and that means I've been enjoying some time in the sun..... walks on the beach... watching the kids (and the hubby) play... laying at the pool... walking under the moss covered oak trees... exploring the island... seeing the beautiful views from our hotel balcony... listening to the waves crash... playing in the sand... watching the sun rise over the ocean... finding sand dollars and shells... watching the tide come and go... enjoying the warm breeze... spending time with my family... and simply enjoying life.....  ...... I think I could get used to this......

Taking Care of Me - 2017

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I've never been one for New Years Resolutions....i t always seemed kinda silly to me.... So many people make a resolution to change, but so few actually see it through. However, I do like to pick on word or thought to be a reminder to me throughout the year. The last few years, my thought has been to Choose Joy . We can all stand to have a little more joy and happiness in our lives.... but this year, I was ready for a new thought.... so, for 2017 - I choose to take care of me! Over the years as a wife and mom, I often get distracted with the busyness of life and have let myself go. When you have a mini farm, animals , grow and preserve your own produce , home school, run a home business , volunteer, have a special needs son, and in my case have cancer , chronic stress, and multiple autoimmune diseases..... taking care of myself is often the last thing I think of. So, this year, I am choosing to take care of me...... I'm having a relaxing soak in the bub

A Letter To My Other Son...

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To my son whom I did not raise.... You were my little boy. You followed me around the house and called me "Mommy".  You loved helping me in the kitchen - making daddy a cake was your favorite; you loved licking the spatula.  You loved going to the park and feeding the ducks.  You loved smashing ants on the sidewalk with your plastic hammer.  You loved the attention that your Uncle Marlan, Aunt Marla, and Aunt Rachel gave you... and wanted them to carry you everywhere!  You loved going fishing with daddy, and had your very own fishing pole. You loved wearing daddy's hat.  You loved your baby sister, and would call her "baby face" because you could not pronounce her name (Faith). You loved to play the keyboard; I have a picture of you when you fell asleep while playing it. You would watch me get ready in the mornings and would say "You pretty, Mommy".  You loved making forts with pillows and blankets in