New Favorite Girl's Night Activity!

So.... they liked my story, but I think our second activity was the favorite.

Can you guess what we are doing here?

It all started when I decided not to get my nails done professionally.

I was like, "If I can't get my nails done, I'll just get a tattoo!"

Noelle and I laughed when I said it, but it got us thinking.

Why not a Henna tat?

It is natural and only lasts 4-6 weeks.

So... we ordered a kit and impatiently waited for it to come.

And what was the first thing I got put on my body?
Why this, of course! :-) The idea is you put the die on, leave it on for 12 hours, then wipe the top part off with the die underneath. Dustin got a big kick out of this one!

Faith's choice.
Mine.
Elle's

The scary thing is, each of us thought after the event that it might be fun to get a real one. :-)

Who knows.....

I've come to the conclusion that in order for me to write I need a motivator. What I wrote of our book on a piece of scrap paper promptly got lost, or put in a pile nevermore to be found.

While I was in Chicago last week one of the goals was to find the right notebook. Rae and I made it to the right aisle, but I promptly got distracted by that little orange journal in the picture. Orange is one of my favorite colors, I'm a sucker for leather covers, and daisies are my favorite flower. It was me, and it found it's way into my cart.

Rae remembered the purpose of the visit and found a very earthy notebook for my inspiration. It has served it's purpose as 2/3 of the book is hopefully written. I have till Saturday. Noelle wants it done so she can get the pictures started. Slave driver!

Seriously though. I left the notebook on my bed, and when I woke up at five I kept thinking about the book. Lines were going through my head, and I knew that I had to get up and write or I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it. So I did. Three pages worth.

We will see what Elle thinks of it tonight. She and Faith are coming over to do something that I am very excited about. I'll post about it later. Maybe tomorrow.

I've loved my journal to record what God has been teaching me. There are some things so personal I can't post it on the blog, but mainly it has been to rest in Him.

That seems so basic, so simple.

For me, it isn't.

I want to be able to do.

I want to do something about what is going on in my body. It kills me that nothing seems to be helping. AUUGGGHHHH!!!!!!

But that is where God has me.

I have no choice but to rest and trust in Him.

When I panic, which is more often than I would like, Dustin reminds me of where my foundation needs to be.

I need to be building it on the Solid Rock. When all the scary thoughts of the doctors not knowing anything, or what should I do next come chasing me down, I need to be able to turn to Him.

Putting my trust in doctors right now is like shifting sand. That hope can get washed away pretty quickly.

It's a hard lesson to be learning, though, I'll be honest.

Thank you for helping me through this battle with your continued prayers. Just knowing they are out there gets me through a lot of moments.

As you may have guessed, there is nothing really new on the health front. Just going day by day. Looking and searching for new things.

Praying for God's directions and strength.




This morning when I woke up I heard little people moving around in the other room.

I listened for a bit.

Doors opened and closed.

Giggles.

I love the giggles.

Finally I pulled myself out of bed to investigate.

Karis wasn't in her room.

Gabi's door was closed, which meant my munchkins were probably up to something in there.

Usually I find a huge mess behind closed doors, so I braced myself.
No huge messes. Just sisters enjoying an early morning snuggle. I love them so much.

God knew what He was up to when He gave me these little blessings.
It matters not how the battle goes,

The day how long;

Faint not! Fight on!

Tomorrow comes the song."


That is my new slogan. My battle isn't going to be a short one, but I won't faint! I want to fight on!

Sorry, that's a little random, but I just read that and wanted to share it. :-)

Flowers and such....

See that flower pot? That pot has been sitting on our front porch for the last two years, maybe three.

Empty.

Well.... empty except for rain water, the rocks that the girls put in. Leaf soup that they create, and ooey, gooey, something or other until I dump it out.

In short, a disgrace, and a reminder that I wanted to plant flowers in it someday but never got around to it.

Grandma Robin came to the rescue and delighted my munchkins by going and picking out flowers to fill it.
They took turns digging little pits in the dirt and planting a rainbow of color. Now, if we remember to water it every day my dream should come true this year.

A pot of beautiful flowers.

Thank you Grandma Robin!
Who wouldn't have a wonderful Mother's Day with these two precious daughters.

They picked out my favorite flowers, and Dustin's card brought tears.
Since I still have a fuzzy camera for some reason (What happened to point and click?) I'll tell you that in that box is a speaker for an iPhone or a iPod. I am so excited because this will allow me to listen to a ton more music, sermons, and such. Perfect gift.
Karis is trying out her skills.
Karis adores Amy, Uncle Dave's girlfriend. The rest of us adore her, too!
The best mom in the whole world! Love this woman more everyday!
The girls surprised us with a song. I loved listening, but tears came in spite of myself. It was a song we have played many times together and it was hard just to watch. Right now I can't play even if I wanted to. Most of the time I don't mind, but today I watched my sisters and prayed that soon I would be able to join them again.
This little girl might just turn into a drummer. She did a pretty decent job keeping the beat for her first time.

After playing several songs she rubbed her arms and informed us that she would be "So sore tomorrow from playing." Poor dear. :-)
Gabi, not to be left out of anything, rocks out on the jingle bells with her sister.

Today, along with all the other special gifts, I realized that I could sing with everyone else. I didn't push it in church because I still occasionally cough, but I sang with my family and didn't cough once.

I have no idea what this means, if anything at all, but it was such a blessing to praise the Lord through song. It has been a long, long time.

My last post was a little dreary, I realize. The past few days have been an encouragement for me. God has been sufficient as He has promised.

I've been able to eat and put back on the weight. Please pray it keeps up. I always get to this point and then lose it all again. This time I want to keep it and add more. :-)

I'm headed back to Chicago with my sisters.

We are going to see if a couple of visits closer together help or not.

Pray for my mom and Dustin as they have the girls while I'm gone.

Pray that we will find something that helps me. Something is out there somewhere.

I'm also hoping to get the rough draft of our book done. Noelle is itching to get some painting going so I have to get my bum in gear. :-) She is a good motivator for me. I need it!

Have a great week. I'll try to write more during that time, but if I don't, don't worry about me. (Teresa:-)

Loves

Low moments

I will admit to some low moments the last few weeks.

Lower than usual.

I never question that God is out there, I just question if He is really listening.

Yesterday I was particularly so.

This is the first time I can honestly say I have no where to turn but to God.

The medical field has no answers.

I'm continuing my trips to Chicago, and while they make me feel better, I'm still sick.

We are looking other places, but you began to doubt that you will ever find answers.

Yesterday I let all my doubts, fear, and insecurities take over.

Dustin heard a bitter rant and rave.

Did God really hear me?

Where was the wisdom He promised if we cried out to Him?

Why this lingering on and on and on and on of being sick and relatively helpless?

Why doesn't He either heal me or take me to heaven?

With me being in this state I'm such an inconvenience to others - I feel like I take, take, take...


I heard the bitterness edging everything I was saying.

I heard me.... little puny me questioning my creator. His wisdom. His even hearing my prayers.

I hated what I heard.

Gently, as always, God brought me to my knees. (not literally in this case as I was in the car:-)

There wasn't any flash of wisdom or instant healing. Just a pouring out of myself to Him.

Confessing my doubt that He has my best in mind.

Realizing that He has knows in every intimate detail what is going on in my life.

Surrendering myself yet again (a daily thing for me) to whatever His plan is.

I'm scared - I'll admit.

Having something that nobody knows anything about is a bit disconcerting.

God does, though, and He reminded me through all of you that He does indeed hear the prayers that are going up for me.

Here are just some of the ways.

I received flowers three times yesterday.

An aunt made a beautiful bouquet with lights that she gave us along with a yummy lunch on our way home.

A friend sent me a flower picture that made my day.

Another brought fresh cut flowers from her garden.

A reminder that one of my friends little boys prays for me every night before supper.

I received a letter in the mail from a precious friend/previous camper at Box T about how much my life had meant to her.

She has no idea how much that meant to me right then. God knew I needed to be reminded that my life mattered and He did it through her, as well as reminding me that "My grace is sufficient, my strength is made perfect in weakness."

That verse has never meant more to me than now. I love the last part. "Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Cor. 12:9

I can glory in infirmities like never before. I'm looking forward to seeing His power!

So.... yes, times are a bit tough.

We are looking for answers and realizing that maybe they will never come.

Maybe they will.

One thing I know for sure. God knows the number of all our days. He knows the plans He has for me.

I can rest in that.

And tomorrow I will need to remind myself of that yet again. :-)

I am humbled and blessed by your continued prayers on my behalf.

Thanks for all your prayers.

I am feeling so much better today.

I'm eating a lot and that is helping.

Would you pray that this isn't just another little phase? I want to put a lot of weight on this time without getting sick and having it come off again. :-) Though I'm glad I had the little bit extra to come off.

Speaking of.... I'm hungry again. Going to grab something to eat!

Love you all and have a wonderful weekend.

I'm going out to enjoy the sunshine!

Royal Wedding Fever

The Fever didn't hit our house until last night, actually.

Karis and I talked briefly about it, me telling her it was this Saturday - see, I really know my stuff.

We did NOT wake up at five to watch it, however, we were up and running at six. I barely got the girls some frozen strawberries before I was dragged downstairs to start the footage.

And I promise that I have showered lately, just yesterday, in fact. I know you aren't going to believe me with the pictures I keep posting.

Anyway, let me tell you how we caught this fever.

Last night the girls were safely in bed.

Gabi was sleeping, but a few minutes later an adorable little red head poked around the corner.

"Mommy, I can't sleep."

Amazement washed over her face as I patted the space beside me and told her to climb on up into our bed.

She scurried up and I told her I was watching them get ready for the princesses wedding tomorrow.

"I thought you said it was Saturday."

This girl misses nothing.

For the next half hour our conversation went something like this. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

"Is that Prince William and Kate?"

"Yes, the one in the red jacket."

"Who is that?"

"That is Prince Charles, Will's father."

"Oh, is that Will again?"

"Yes, and that is Kate."

"Who is that pretty lady, she is beautiful." (Di in her dress)

I explain who she is and what happened to her.

"Oh, why did the car crash? Why didn't they drive slower."

I scramble for an answer, but we had moved on already.

"Who is that by William?"

"That is Prince Harry, his brother."

"Harry? His name is Harry? That is a funny name. Why did they name him Harry?"

I didn't know, but again, we were moving on.

"What is that dog doing?"

I explained it was sniffing for bombs.

"Why would there be bombs?"

"Well... at royal weddings sometimes bad people do bad things," I began, but she was off on something else...

"Why did they name him Harry? I don't like that name. Why didn't they name him Peter."

"I think his mom liked Harry..."

"I don't like Harry. I would name my boys Peter or John."

"Ok... that's fine."

"Who is that?"

"That is Camille. She is married to Prince Charles now."

" Oh. Mom, you know the dog? The one sniffing for bombs?"

"Yes."

"Why can't they just have a normal wedding like us?"

Oh my goodness..... my brain was spinning like a top!

"Kate is beautiful mom! Who is that?"

"Camille."

"Oh yeah, she is married to Prince Charles."

When the show was over I sent my precious little princess to bed. My brain might be spinning trying to keep up with her questions, but I'm so grateful for the precious time we got together and the glimpse of her mind it provided.

This picture? No reason. She is just so stinking kissable!

Pretend

Karis and Gabi have reached the stage that they are starting to play "pretend" together.

I've been dreaming of the day this would happen.

Yesterday my mom overheard a conversation between them.

Gabi had come up from the basement where they had been playing "mom and daughter."

Gabi was the mommy.

After a couple of minutes had gone by Karis crawled up the stairs, still very much the pretend baby girl.

"Mommy, Mommy, you need to come downstairs with me. Please Mommy."

Gabi, still very much in mommy mode says,

"I can't dear, I'm going stinky in my pull up."


I had to laugh and shake my head. What a thing for a mommy to say.

My precious baby girl is still terrified of going stinky on the potty chair and with the way things are around here we haven't pushed it.

She puts a pull up on all by herself.

Has no accidents.

Someday, I'm praying, it will all click.

For now, I'm just enjoying watching my little girls growing up and pretending together.

My mom is doing such a wonderful job with them. They are blossoming in ways I would have thought impossible in our situation.

God knew what He was doing when He gave me my mom.

Happy Tuesday everyone!