Bad Attitudes

Shocker Alert: Sometimes I have a bad attitude.  Unbelieveable, I know!  However, it is true!  The other day, I was tired, B was tired and well, you can guess how this day started.  Two tired people doesn't exactly fit well together.  Needless to say, it wasn't even 8:00 yet and we were both getting on each other's nerves.  He wouldn't move fast enough or get in the car like I had asked.  I probably was confusing him with the amount of instructions I was giving him.  I'll admit to my mistakes. 

Once we were all packed up in the car, I paused and told B that I was sorry for my bad attitude.  I then said that we should both pray to Jesus and ask Him to help us change our attitudes and to help us not get so frustrated with each other.  I prayed and then B prayed.  Thankfully, the Lord did change our attitudes and we had the most wonderful day together.  Ah....the power of praying!  Oh, and naps:)

What Would Have Been

This beautiful baby girl weighing 3 pounds at birth and not expected to make it past that day would have been 21years old today!  She was such an inspiration and had the prettiest smile and the most beautiful red hair!  I miss this girl so much, but I know I'll see her again one day soon.  By the way, Baby M is named after her with the same middle name.

**Thank you to Mrs. B for posting these so I can use them on my blog! 

Book Review: Seek Me With All Your Heart by Beth Wiseman

Beth Wiseman is one of my favorite writers when it comes to books about the Amish community.  She is such a good storyteller and writer.  So when I found this on Booksneeze, I was excited and quickly chose this book to read and review. 

If you like books on the Amish, then you should definitely read it.  It will definitely not disappoint you.  She deals with marriage issues, dating issues, forgiveness, abusive relationships, and in a way addictions.  I was glad that she talked about all of these issues so as to remind us that they are all humans just like us and can be tempted by the same thing as those of us who are not in the Amish community.

In the book, Emily and David have to put behind their pasts and come to a place where they can finally love and forgive the horrible things that happened to them.  Not only that but Katie Ann must forgive and come to terms with how her life is/has/will change.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Discovery

There is NOTHING like watching the launch of the shuttle live.  Since most of my family live close to Cape Canaveral (and we like going to the beach near there), we have gotten to see several launches and one actually on the location spot.  That was completely unforgettable.  Many of our family members have worked on the launch pad or the VAB or with some parts of NASA.  Daddy T almost interned there, but turned it down.  I'm kinda glad because then I wouldn't have known him, but it would have been pretty cool to be part of that. 

I love the launches and hearing the stories from my parents about certain launches, since they watched EVERY launch growing up.  I hear the night launches are incredible, but I haven't seen those.  We've seen the shuttle flown in on the airplane after a return to Earth.  We've pulled off the interstate (along with lots of people) on our way back to my grandparents to watch a launch. 

Every time the shuttle goes, I get chills and can't help but get excited.  I love it!  I love touring the space museum and hearing my grandpa's stories about the Cape and pretty much anything doing with the shuttle or the astronauts.  It amazes me that it can make it into space and the pictures it takes to send back are incredible.  They get to see God's hand in a completely different way from me and I think that it is amazing.

Just a few days ago, B and I watched the final launch of Discovery.  We both clapped when it finally lifted off and was on it's way up.  I explained to B what it was doing and where it was going.  He was excited that it was going to see stars.

My great-grandma (who I miss dearly) used to serve alcohol to the astronauts after and before launches.  I think her stories were the best!  Don't worry...they don't go up drunk. 

I'm so thankful and proud that many in my family have a history with NASA and have a passion to learn more about it.  I can't wait to take B to the space museum when he's a bit older. 

I'm curious, though.  Do you have any feelings when you see a launch or is it just another thing that goes unnoticed in your day?

The Power of a Clean Sink

Scubbing sinks, huh?  You mean, that's the first thing I should do when my house is a complete mess?  Hmm....Guess I'll try it.  And I did.  And it worked.

There's just something about having a clean, spotless, and shiny sink.  I'm not for sure what it is, but it really does make me happy to see it when I first wake up in the morning.  Daddy T thinks I'm obsessed with my sink because I forbid him to touch it after I've finished cleaning it. 

So where did I get this idea to clean my sink?  Flylady.  I absolutely love her cleaning and organizing schedule and since I struggle with keeping my house clean, I thought I'd try it a few months ago.  Guess that having a toddler and baby aren't great ways to keep a house clean! 

I'm taking the flylady challenge.  Will you?  I'm all up for less stress and less apologizing when people walk into my house!

Prayer Request

I am requesting prayer for our pastor's wife.  She is such a sweet lady and a woman who strives to reach others for the Lord.  They just discovered in the past couple of weeks that she has stage 4 liver cancer.  Our pastor went part-time in January because he felt the Lord calling him to start the retirement process and he was going to focus his time on ministering to others.  Little did he know that God was going to have him minister to his wife.  God's timing is always perfect.  Please pray for healing and that if not, that He will give them the strength to walk through what He is asking them to walk through.  They are praying for the opportunity to minister through this and to encourage others in this same situation.  So, I'm asking...will you add Darlene and Bill to your prayer lists?

Clean Shave

Don't your know that the recipe for a good day all starts with a shave?! B got a shaving kit for Christmas (a kid's one) and he loves it! B and Daddy T shave side-by-side on those shaving mornings.

Speaking of B, our days are getting much better.  Granted, I still feel like I'm going to lose my mind at times, but thanks to this warm weather, we have spent the majority of our days outside running out our energy.  We have met with lots of good friends and let our kids run and play together, which has been so nice.  Good for B because he had friends to play with and good for me because I had friends to talk to and throw ideas around!

B has grown up so much in the past few weeks.  He talks in full sentences most of the time, does #1 in the toilet, and sings full songs and says verses.  I love it!  I have so much fun talking with him and spending time with him.  I've been working on some cool craft things for our "school" that I hope to reveal on the blog in the next few days.  I'm excited about it and B is already enjoying them even though they aren't finished.  Two more weeks before we start our Corduroy book and all of our neat crafts and experiments.

Book Review: The Bridge of Peace by Cindy Woodsmall

The Bridge of Peace by Cindy Woodsmall is the sequel to the Hope of Refuge.  I have not read the first in the series, so I was afraid that I would have a difficult time figuring out the people and following along.  I was pleased to find that was not the case and that I followed along quite easily.  Of course, I definitely plan to go back and read the first one now!

This book covered some tough issues, such as marital issues and judgments passed on by others because of looks or disabilities.  To be honest, I was a little suprised by the fact that these were covered because I don't usually tend  to think of the Amish having the same kind of problems that we have.  Not really because they are immune to it, but because so many books dealing with the Amish tend to omit these issues.

I definitely recommend this book to absolutely anyone!

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I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah through their Blogging for Books program for their book review. I was in no way required to write a positive review for this book.

Book Review: Little Star by Anthony DeStefano

Little Star by Anthony DeStefano is a wonderful Christmas book that I look forward to reading many times to my children in the coming years.  My 2-year-old has requested this book 5 times in the past 30 minutes since we have first read it!  He loves it and so do I.

This book is a cute perspective from the little star that shone so bright in the sky on the night Jesus was born.  This star was lonely and ignored by all the others.  The star that shone the brightest on the night Jesus was born would get a prize.  However, all of the other stars were fooled when Jesus was born as a baby in a stable because they thought he would be born a real king in a palace.  However, the little star knew that this WAS Jesus and he shown as brightly as he could to keep Jesus warm in the stable.  He burned so bright he burned himself out.  He was so full of love and joy for Jesus.  But don't worry!  The star isn't gone...he's on top of our Christmas tree every year. 

I definitely recommend this book for any child!

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I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah through their Blogging for Books program for their book review. I was in no way required to write a positive review for this book.

Do the Potty Dance

We have reached a brand new stage with B...POTTY TRAINING!  He is doing so well with it.  He tells us when he has to go potty, but I usually do make sure that I ask him often to keep it on his mind.  He loves his big boy underwear, which just happen to be Wonderpets and Cars, his favorites. 

I have been pretty lax about this whole process, to be honest.  I figured if I wasn't stressed and didn't push it, then he wouldn't stress and he'd be glad to do it.  I just don't have a schedule that will allow me to stay home for a week solid to work solely on potty training.  So far, it has worked.  He knows he gets 1 pair of underwear (or 1 pull-up before) a day and if he messed up in it, then it was back to a diaper.  He wants to wear his underwear so bad, so he does a really good job telling me when he needs to go.

This is the first week of us trying out his underwear in public.  I know it's going to be more troublesome for me simply because I have Baby M in tow.  However, we are so ready for him to learn to potty if he's ready.  Pop is, too, because he wants to take him to a tractor pull this spring if he learns in time.  B will absolutely love it.  I've promised him that if he makes it through this week with no accidents, he can go pick out a combine...his new favorite addition to his tractor collection.  Wish us luck!