Haiku Friday - My Daughter

To read more haiku visit here

My sweet sweet daughter
Seems so grown up already
But still my dear girl

Loves to ski and read,
To scrapbook, sew and music
Proud to know her now


One of her loves is playing the harp:


And here is a Haiku she wrote about the harp:

The Harp is pretty
It is fun to play the Harp
I like Harp music

Thankful Thursday

“Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!” ~ Psalm 24:7-9 (ESV)

This is the verse that nancy posted over on her site today for Thankful Thursday. To read more lists of thankfulness or to join us with your own list click here.
Here is my prayer of thankfulness and my list for this Thankful Thursday.


Oh Lord~ I'm so thankful for the kids sleeping in an extra half hour the last two mornings ... this has allowed me such sweet time with You! You have blessed my life, Lord, in so many wonderful ways! Thank you Thank you Thank you! Amen


- I'm thankful I have a Wonderful Merciful Lord, My Savior, Creator, Comforter and Friend.

- I'm thankful that our pastor has been preaching on Joy Makers and Joy Breakers using the book of Philippians. To hear his messages from the last few weeks click here. I'm certain you will be blessed, too.

- I'm thankful that the week our pastor started preaching from Philippians I found a small study on the book of Philippians to do in my quiet time.

- I'm so thankful for my daughter, Rosebud, and:
her love for the Lord,
her desire to read her Bible,
her desire to connect with role models that love the Lord,
her desire to write Bible studies for her and her friends to do.

I've prayed for her and tried to set a good example for her, but
all that she is can only be credited to God. I'm so thankful he
blessed my life with her.

- I'm thankful for my mom. Those of you who know us, know how very different my mom and I are, and sometimes that stresses our relationship ... but yesterday as I was praying the Lord brought to my mind thoughts about all the places my family lived when I was a child. I now consider those times, those experiences and those places a real blessing. I learned alot about being flexible, I learned that "home" is your family -not a location- I learned about other people and other places. By the time I was 11 we had called 6 different cities "home". These were spread out over 4 different states and 2 countries.

As a mom myself now, I realize what a sacrifice that must have been for my mom. Relocating again and again with little kids in tow. All the packing and unpacking, making new friends, new connections, sometimes needing to learn a new language. And in one place she had no phone and was often without a vehicle, as my dad needed it to get to work. Talk about isolation!!!

I have great respect for my mom and all she did in my childhood years. She and I may say and do things very differently, but I love her and I'm thankful for her.

0. at birth and one and two!

O turned 6 today!!! And we had fun going back over older photos of him. Thought we would share a few with you:

When O was 2!







When O turned 1!






The day O was born:

Wordless Wed. & Happy Birthday to O!

If you would like to visit Wordless Wednesdays on other blogs check here

And yes today is O's (otherwise know as Daddy's Shadow) birthday ...
my how time flies. I'm going to try scan in a photo from the day he was born, that was back before I kept all my treasured photos on a laptop ... actually that was before we owned a lap top :-) So, for now here are a few pictures of our Birthday Boy:




Just a few weeks ago he lost his first tooth




He loves to ski





He just loves being outside





And he really enjoys those MN Twins baseball games




And here we go ... I figured it out! Pictures from the day O. was born! Can you tell we did not own a digital camera yet :-)

These wise words were written by Cindy and originally posted at http://www.thehomeschoollounge.com/

If you would like to visit her blogs, you can find them on my myspace at www.myspace.com/GosuMom



LEVELING UP ~~ or Lessons I Learned From Video Games


"The longer I stay here and fight these guys, the stronger I get."

That's what my son told me last night, as he was deep in battle with a giant flying whale on a video game. I was sitting on the couch looking at the game on the screen, but not really concentrating on it, and I suppose Nathan felt the need to explain to me what he was doing in that level of the game.

"Leveling up" -- that's what they call it. He further explained that the purpose of the game is to conquer the opponents in each setting, and then he can "level up". As he beats each level of the game, he levels up, moving closer and closer to beating the game completely. In his words, "You gain experience through fighting, and when you gain enough experience, then you level up." Sounds like your everyday, average VG comments, right? Yet I raced to find pen and paper and write down his quotes before I forgot them. Let me explain why.

Life sometimes HURTS. Situations get UNPLEASANT. Burdens seem UNBEARABLE. I had just spent a good deal of time sitting on the porch in the dark of night, praying for God to help me carry the burdens of my life. I was distraught, sobbing uncontrollably, and crying out in my anguish and frustration .... pure AGONY of heart and mind and soul. In my prayers, I had made thanksgiving to God for His blessings, being sure to recognize and vocalize how He carries me day by day. And I had asked for His strength as I faced yet another painful, unpleasant trial of life, a burden that sometimes is excruciating to bear .... a burden that I sometimes wish to be free of.

As I wound down to an end of this particular moment of prayer, my heart ached, my head ached, and the only words I could think of were "God help me." As I struggled to find words, those are the only 3 that I could utter. "God help me." Repeatedly. "God help me." Without flowery speech or church-y sounding lingo. "God help me." After the exhausting sobs, and the millions of tears, and the urgent petitions, I just collapsed -- physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally -- into "God help me". No other words would come.

When I left the porch and came back inside the house, I sat down on the couch and looked at the tv screen. Nathan glanced around to see me there. As he turned back to his game on the tv screen, PS2 controller in hand, he simply said, "The longer I stay here and fight these guys, the stronger I get." So don't ever, ever tell me that God doesn't answer prayer. Ten seconds after I prayed, He sent me the answer:

"The longer I stay here and fight these guys, the stronger I get."

"You gain experience through fighting, and when you gain enough experience, then you level up."

The longer we serve the Lord, the stronger our faith becomes. We gain experience through persevering, and when we've walked with Him faithfully thoughout our lives, we'll eventually level up. Eternity with Christ. Yeah, it's definitely worth struggling through the trials and tribulations. The more I seek Him, the stronger my faith becomes. Leveling up indeed.

"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'" ~~ II Corinthians 12:9a

Where were you 18 years ago tonight?

Where were you 18 years ago tonight?

I know where I was :-) Falling for an adorable highschool senior!!!
18 years ago tonight dh and I went out on our first date, we saw the
movie Stella. I could not tell you much about the movie,
becuase about 20 minutes into it this adorable guy reached over and
held my hand ... I melted.

We went to the same junior high and were now in high school
together, we were both in band, and choir, so for years we
had seen each other everyday. We had many of the same friends.
We had been in several school musicals together and a few other
school activites. So we had known each other as friends for
years, but something was changing and some of our friends knew
it. They convinced us to "go out", just the two of us, on a
real date ... we should really thank them :-)

He knew that night he loved me and even told me so. What
was my terribly unromantic reply??? "You can't know that
yet." (sorry about that, my love) But he did and one of
his greatest strengths is having patience with me.
He waited while I took time to figure out my feelings ...
three years later we were married. He is my best friend,
an amazing lover, kind and compassionate partner and the
world's best father to our kids!
He is the best blessing God ever gave me!

So, Feb. 23rd is a day dedicated to him.
Its been the best 18 years!!!

Haiku Friday - Homeschool Lounge

New homeschooling friends
What a nice treat and a joy
To be blessed like this

My thanks to the moms
I've met at The Homeschool Lounge
May God bless your day

If you homeschool too
Please come join us for a while
We'd love to meet you!



Please join us here if you are a homeschooling mom. And if you would like to put a link to The Homeschool Lounge on your blog and possibly win a Amazom.com giftcard check out this link, Tiany from Less of Me ~ More of Him is holding a contest ending Feb. 25th





And to read more haiku visit here

Thankful Thursday!

I'm so thankful for Iris over at Sting My Heart for hosting Thankful Thursdays, please check out the other thankful posts, its so inspiring!


My list for this week:

- FOOD! And that I can eat some again. 23 weeks pregnant and I'm finally craving real amounts of food ... and not throwing up.

- Our wiggly baby who reminds me everynight that she is fine by dancing her night away in my ever growing belly.

- Also thankful I finally LOOK pregnant and that the materninty clothes are no longer too big and baggy. Thats such an odd stage when nothing really works. Old clothes were too tight, but maternity were too baggy. Now I get to pull out a whole different wardrobe for the next 3-4 months.

- My oldest daughter, Rosebud, who has been such a blessing to me. She is so helpful at home and with the other kids, but she is also just a joy to hang out with. We love visiting craft stores and coffee shops together.

- Gus-Gus, our talented gymnastics loving son. Somedays his sense of humor can drive me crazy. But he is such a loving big brother to Z. Its fun to see him pick up his little brother and walk off to help Z with a toy or puzzle or whatever.

- O. our Daddy's Shadow boy. He loves all things tractor, trucks, and tools. He may not be as lovingly gentle with little Z. But he loves to kiss and snuggle him, when Z is in the mood. Its precsious! O. is our cuddle bug. Can't ever leave without hugging and loving each family member.

- And the one we've called Baby Z. for so long, just isn't much of a baby now. He talks so clearly now and he can even ski a bit. Makes me "snif" when my "baby" is growing up, but thankful too that he is learning new things everyday.

- I'm thankful for the opportunity to be at home and spend most of each day with these wonderful kiddos.

Wordless Wednesday - or not so wordless today

My picture for Wordless Wednesday is yes - a uterus. More correctly uterus didelphys (doubling of the uterus). Please just ignore the three babies in the picture (that is so incredibly rare), I'm only pregnant in one uterus :-) But the picture was the best visual I could find online. I was diagnosed with uterus didelphys during my first pregnancy in 1995. My Dr. then told me I'd probably never again get pregnant and if I did I'd most likely miscarry, well I guess God had other plans. I've now been pregnant 7 times and yes two were sadly miscarried. But we trust God's plan and timing and we are thrilled God has blessed us with a large family.

Here are a few good links explaining uterus didelphys:

http://www.medcyclopaedia.com/library/topics/volume_iv_2/u/uterus_didelphys.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uterine_malformation

http://newsbbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6199363.stm#uterus


Basically I have two smaller uteri (uteruses). This little baby is on the left. That makes it nearly impossible to see the right uterus now in an ultrasound (it has been squished up and behind the left one that is growing with baby). But since all 4 ultrasounds I have had in the last month have shown no clots, or tears or abrubption in my left uterus, my Dr. is assuming that the bleeding I was having was coming from the right uterus. This is good since it really does not affect the baby. She continues to wiggle and grow right on schedule. If I bleed again, I'll go in for a level 2 ultrasound and go back on bed rest. But we are praying I will not have any further problems.

Hey, how many pregnant moms can blame the trouble they are having on "my other uterus"? Well, I guess I get to. Praise God I have not bled in the weeks I've been on bed rest, so I'm now on the "get up and try do normal stuff and lets see what happens" plan. I'm being very cautious, still resting lots, but am no longer considered on bed rest. Praise the Lord!! And I'm also no longer as sick as I was ... I've stopped losing weight!!! And even with my bleeding and dehydration episodes baby is still right on track, gaining, growing and wiggling. So things are looking much better over here, Thank you Thank you for your prayers. God has been very kind to provide me with peace these last few weeks.


May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace ... so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
Romans 15:13

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:11

Baby Name Poll

Click here:
http://www.babycenter.com/403_names-to-go-with-mary_1742805_165358026050.bc
And please vote!

Heather has created a baby name poll on BabyCenter.com and wants you to vote for your favorite choice!

You can get FREE weekly updates on your baby's development, sent to your e-mail address. Join now!
http://www.babycenter.com/

Blogger Friend School #14 - Love Letter

Nancy came up with a wonderful assignment for Blogger Friend School this week. Please visit her site and read more of these wonderful love letters


Before I post my song/love letter to God here is a verse that means so much to me:

Romans 5:1-5
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.


I know several songs that I consider my words right to God, but last Sunday there was a baptism at our chruch and the woman being baptized asked her friend to sing this song. My husband and I just smiled and I wispered "I need those lyrics". He hugged me and nodded in agreement, so here are the lyrics to Sara Grove's song Less Like Scars


It's been a hard year
But I'm climbing out of the rubble
These lessons are hard
Healing changes are subtle
But every day it's

Less like tearing, more like building
Less like captive, more like willing
Less like breakdown, more like surrender
Less like haunting, more like remember

And I feel you here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
But you are able
And in your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars and more like
character

Less like a prison, more like my room
It's less like a casket, more like a womb
Less like dying, more like transcending
Less like fear, less like an ending

And I feel you here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
But you are able
And in your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars

Just a little while ago
I couldn't feel the power or the hope
I couldn't cope, I couldn't feel a thing
Just a little while back
I was desperate, broken, laid out, hoping
You would come

And I need you
And I want you here
And I feel you

And I know you're here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad, bad situation
But you are able

And in your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars (x3)

And more like
character

Fun with letters

Here's a fun little tool on Flickr--you simply enter your name (or whatever text you want) and the little elves inside the computer type it up all fancy for you. Here's mine:




or how about:



or: