Changes and Plans

After I checked NaBloPoMo yesterday morning and entered my blog into the blog roll, and posted my post.....they changed the theme.  Instead of VISION it is now ART.  I can go with that because I like art and it's easy to blog/talk about.  That also gives me a whole month to show off my designs!!
Today I was offered to do a quick job that paid quite well.  I blogged about it yesterday right here.  This will be a simple job, I'm hoping, but it will take quite a bit of time today.  I am extremely grateful that it is something I can do here at home though.  I have an hour before I start.  After I am done blogging I need to wash some dishes so hubby won't have to look at the mess all day.  
We are not going to do any formal school today.  I will have the kids do what school work they can do on their own, quietly.  But I probably won't get to the subjects that I need to do with them.  And that's ok, because I need just one more day to finish last week and that will be tomorrow.  It works perfectly!  

Yesterday I was brought to the realization of something in the Bible that I want to research for myself.  It is the issue of women wearing head coverings.  You'll find the passage in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16.  I am intrigued by the issue and am praying a lot about it.  *PLEASE NOTE: I DO NOT WANT A DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS TO GET OUT OF HAND.  ANY RUDE COMMENTS ABOUT THIS WILL BE DELETED.*  I do not need to worry about others religious life.  I want to do what God wants orders me to do.  That is why I am praying about it.  I don't care how others live their religious life, if they feel that God wants them to live the way they do, that is their deal.  They have to answer to Him in the end, not me.  And it doesn't affect my personal decisions.  If the Lord convicts me in this area of my life, I will know it because He will make it clear to me.  I believe this and pray on this.  I will be blogging about this topic a little bit more.  I want to do a little more research and praying first.

Coming Soon...Spread the Word Homeschooling Moms!

I found a meme last year to join for homeschooling but the blog author gave it to another blog author to do and I never saw it again.  So I decided to try to start my own.  I want a weekly meme called Homeschool Happenins' so us Homeschooling Moms can post weekly about our adventures.  I am going to host this blog meme on my homeschooling blog called Teaching At Home in a Christian Way.  So if you don't already follow that blog and would like to and join the fun, please do!  Please tell your other Homeschool Moms that you know about it also.  I am in the process of making a button for it, so stay tuned!

Beautiful, Yet So Dangerous

 

Have you ever wondered how something can be so attractive and pleasing to us but at the same time is deadly to our very being and health?  Foxgloves are one of those things.  These flowers are beautiful.  They stand straight, proud, tall and just scream "I'm beautiful!"  But did you know that these flowers are deadly?

Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) grows wild and can be planted in your garden.  I love to drive down the highways and see them alongside the road, standing in rows waving in the breeze.  Unfortunately, these flowers are extremely poisonous even in small doses.  I was reading a little bit of information on this from this website called What's Cooking America? and here is a little tidbit from there.  Please read more of this article as it tells of some of the symptoms of getting into this plant.

The entire plant is toxic (including the roots, sap, flowers, seeds, and leaves), although the leaves of the upper stem are particularly potent, with just a nibble being enough to cause death. The upper leaves of the stem are more dangerous than the lower leaves. Foxglove is most toxic just before the seeds ripen. It tastes spicy hot or bitter and smells slightly bad. This plant is so poisonous that ingesting only .5 gram dried or 2 grams of fresh leaf is enough to kill a person.

I wonder if God creates these kind of things to remind us of an important lesson.  Is it there to help us learn about temptations?  In our daily life we are surrounded by beautiful, pleasing and tempting things.  It may be alcohol, drugs, being unfaithful to your spouse, over-spending, collecting too many material possessions, having the wrong friends, parties, having idols or whatever it is for you.  

Jesus says that we are to be sure that we don't collect too many material items because we have no use for them in Heaven, and getting to heaven is our main goal.  Right!?  RIGHT!!

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth currupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  Matthew 6:19-20 

How can we be sure to go to Heaven?  We must accept Jesus Christ as our Lord, Savior and the son of God.  

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.  John 6:71

 There are many other Bible verses that talk on these subjects.  Acts 8:20; Acts 4:12; Proverbs 1:10; Proverbs 14:22; John 12:43; John 15:19; Romans 12:2; Colossians 3:2; 1 Timothy 5:6; James 4:4; 1 Peter 2:11; 1 John 2:15-17.  


We encounter so many things that look like they are exactly what we need and they certainly do look beautiful.  But by participating in these temptations can poison our very lives and souls.  As we see the lovely colors and we are tempted to pick the flowers, bring them home into our lives and families, and poison the very place where our hearts feel safe.  But we mustn't do that.  Just as we are tempted to fill our lives with the fun and possessions of a secular world, we should not bring them home, into our lives and families, to poison the very place where our hearts feel safe:  In His Love.

Some of my information was used from these websites:
About.com Landscaping Foxglove Plants 
whatscookingamerica.net Foxgloves, Beautiful But Deadly

Common Christian Courtesy In The Family

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,

"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.

He said, "Please excuse me,too;

I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.

We went on our way and we said "goodbye."

But at home a different story is told,

How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,

My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.

"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.

I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,

God's still small voice came to me and said,

"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy

You use, but the children you love,

You seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,

You'll find some flowers he brought for you.

He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,

And you never saw

the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small,

And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;

"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"

He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.

I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today:

I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."

He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.

I love you anyway."

I said, "Son, I love you, too.

And I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

This poem was copied from an excerpt in my church bulletin.  It hit me because I don't always have the patience with my children OR husband that I do for others.  That is so sad.  These people should be the ones that I have the most patience for.  This is something that I am working on this week and praying about.  

 

My Lil Man

This morning I was awakened at about 3:30-4am listening to Kyle cough.  It's not bad coughing, but he coughs every 15 min. or so.  I got up and put some Vicks on his chest.  As I laid back down in bed and cuddled up to me I could see his profile out of the corner of my eye.  
This little boy is such a snuggler.  One of my ultrasound pictures shows Kyle's nose nudged into my uterus as close as he can get it.  To this day, he still loves to bury his nose somewhere into me.  He says he loves the smell of his momma!
I think back on that picture and remember the shape of his lips in the profile.  I remember thinking that his mouth was kinda like Amanda's but his top lip stuck out a little further.  Then I remember wondering if he would look like that when he was born.  And he did and still does!  It is just such a miracle to me that I can see a picture of him growing in my womb and know what he was going to look like, to a point.  
Then I think about the women who have abortions, especially the later ones, and wonder how can they say that baby is not a real person?  Mine was!  And still is!  But that is not the point of my blogging this morning.
I thank God for giving me Kyle because He knew that I needed this little boy to even out my family.  I needed a low maintenance person/child and someone who is happy and tries (most of the time) to be in a good mood.  I love Amanda dearly, but she is quite a demanding person and extremely strong-willed.  Kyle is laid-back and always laughing or smiling.  He can play by himself and laugh with himself.  He loves to learn, share, make others happy even at his own cost, smell me!, be a boy with his Daddy and make me laugh!  The boy has been laughing and smiling since he figured out he could!  
Kyle comes up with some of the cutest ideas.  K-Hey Mom?!  I know why they call Super Man superman. 
Me-Why Kyle?
K-Because he's Super and a Man!
He has this idea for many many things!  
K-It's a hot dog because they are hot and made out of dogs!  lol  I love that one....
He is such a loving child also.  He loves all people and is very tender-hearted.  It's very easy to hurt his feelings.  He gets very excited about Jesus and often amazes me with his thoughts on God.  He's eager to learn all that he can, which is why he started Kindergarten a year early and is now doing a lot of the schoolwork with Amanda.  
I am so proud of my Little Man and love him so much!  And he is so much like me in many ways.  
Some pictures of My Boy:
It seems I will have to upload pictures onto Picasa because there is no longer an option to upload from my PC.  Hmmmmmm..........Nope you can still upload from here, but it's a different button.  And it won't work.  Hmpf on Blogger!
Ok I figured it out, it was not difficult nor time consuming to add some pictures to Picasa.  I will upload from there and hopefully it will work!  *fingers crossed*
Yay it worked!!
This first picture shows Kyle when he was about 2 years old I think and he wore Daddy's gloves to bed.  lol

 My Little Man brings me flowers all of the time!

 This is Princess Belle that we met.  Kyle was so in love with her and said he was going to steal her from The Beast.  Her face here is right after he had kissed her!  lol  My camera then was too slow to get the kiss, but it's priceless to get the face after!

 Always grinning!

 He was my Chubby Bubby when he was a baby.  He's so skinny now!  lol

 Awe, one of my favorites.  Right after he was born.  Always such a good little boy.

Parents and Drugs

The following letter appeared on the internet, evidently submitted by a concerned citizen.  

"The other day, someone at a store in town read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in an adjoining county and he asked the rhetorical question, 'Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?'

I replied, 'I was drug to church on Sunday morning.  I was drug to church for weddings and funerals.  I was drug to family reunions and community socials.  I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults.  I was drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of a teacher or preacher, or if I did not put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.  I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help out by mowing the lawn, repair a faucet or chop wood.  Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say or think.  They are stronger than cocaine, crack or heroin: and if today's children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.  God bless the parents who drugged us.'"