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Monday, March 30, 2009

Red Envelope Day - It's not too late!

It's not too late to participate in Red Envelope Day.

Tomorrow is March 31st - the day you are supposed to mail your Red Envelopes to the White House to let the President know that you do not support abortion.

If you are like me and had good intentions of buying Red Envelopes but never did, you can order them online through the Red Envelope Day website. A third party mailing service will address them, put your return address on them and mail them by tomorrow.

So let the President know your feelings on abortion. Thousands and thousands and thousands of empty Red Envelopes will speak volumes.

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Miracle Monday

It's Miracle Monday!

Today I would like to share you with all a miracle from my life.

I was diagnosed with MS in 1997 and lived flare-up and symptom free until July 4th 2004 (one month after Sarah's birth).

Sarah and I were inside the house watching the neighbors set off fireworks when I felt a burning pain in the upper part of my right arm. The room also started to move from side to side. This lasted for 45 minutes.

At first I attributed the pain to a spider bite even though I could not see any marks. But when the same symptoms started the next night and the next and then began to happen randomly throughout the day, I knew I was having an MS flare-up.

Unfortunately, the neurologist I was seeing at the time didn't seem to concerned with what was going on. MS wasn't his specialty and I'm not even convinced he actually believed I was in pain. I switch neurologists and I began taking different medications in different dosages and different combinations.

Nothing worked. There were some days when I would only experience the pain once or twice, some days when it would happen 5 or 6 times. I began taking alot of medication which made me very, very tired. (Each episode of pain would last roughly 45 minutes.)

Eventually the burning pain moved from my upper arm to my clavicle area. And the pain was always accompanied by a strange sensation in my head that makes the room appear to be slightly moving. That part is always hard to describe but it made it painful for me to keep my eyes open.

Fast forward to almost 5 years later and I would like to report that for the last two months I have been pain free! TWO MONTHS! Can I get a Hallelujah and an Amen?!

I am still taking the pain medication to prevent the pain, but for right now I will rejoice in the fact that I have been pain free for TWO MONTHS!

Thanks to all my friends and family who have been praying for me! Please keep lifting me up!

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." - James 5:16


If you have something you want to share, it's easy to participate in Miracle Monday. Just post a miracle or an answered prayer on your blog and link it back here using Mr. Linky below.
Please mention "A Mom's Life" and my URL (
www.beth-amomslife.blogspot.com) in your post. And if you want, you can use the Miracle Monday button in your post as well.


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Sunday, March 29, 2009

That kid cracks me up.

Peter spent most of the day yesterday hacking and coughing. He had a baseball clinic yesterday morning and he hacked and coughed and hacked and coughed his way through that.

I think it must be his allergies because regular cough medicine did nothing to help.

We turned the humidifier on in his room last night and I propped him up on two pillows to help him sleep better. I covered him with an extra blanket and kissed him good night and told him, "Call me if you need anything."

Then he turned to me with a devilish grin and said, "What's your phone number?

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Friday, March 27, 2009

Easter Bunnies? Rorschach Ink Blots? Either way, there was a lot of paint used.

On Wednesday afternoon, after several rounds of Lucky Ducks and Operation, Sarah and I were both bored. It was raining…again…and we were looking for something else to occupy the time before Peter came home from school.

I had been at Peter’s school earlier that day volunteering and had noticed a really cute art project one of the other classes had done. It looked as if they had taken construction paper, squirted paint on one half of it, folded it over and created the cutest Easter bunny and lamb faces.

This is our attempt to do the same thing. I was able to create one bunny face by squirting a line in the shape of half a bunny head on half the paper. We folded the paper and then Sarah rubbed her hand on top of the paper until I felt we were ready to look at our bunny masterpiece.

We were both very excited when it actually looked like a bunny. Sarah was so thrilled with the project that she did about 15 of her own masterpieces. The only problem was that she didn’t want to take any guidance from me so her bunnies looked more like Rorschach ink blots.

It didn’t matter to her. She enjoyed the process more than the actual output. She enjoyed it so much that she did it yesterday and today as well!

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I finished project with some googly eyes,a pom pom, a mouth and whiskers. What a creepy looking bunny!

For more crafts, that probably won’t be creepy at all, please visit the We Made It, Showcase Saturday at Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Addendum

Tonight as I was saying the Lord's Prayer with Sarah before bedtime she added, "And Lord please make Mommy not so mean!"

To which I had to add, "And Lord please make Sarah listen to Mommy the first time time so I don't have to be mean!"

Amen!

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Monday, March 23, 2009

Miracle Monday - God, outdo me in generosity.

It's Miracle Monday and today I want to share with you a book I've been reading.

It's entitled Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To by Anthony DeStefano. I've only read three chapters so far because currently I have two other books I'm trying to read and the kids like to eat and my husband likes me to talk to him when he gets home from work in the evenings so three chapters is it so far.

But let me tell you, based on these three chapters, I would tell you to buy it. Buy it now!

Today I would specifically like to talk about Chapter 3.

I have always believed that God will take care of me and my family financially so we have always tithed. Every Sunday morning we drop our envelope into the collection basket and we've always felt good about it. We've never worried about it. We've just done it.

For the last eight months or so, I've decided to really put my trust in the Lord. We decided to give more than we thought we had to give knowing that God would take care of us.

But I started to panic. Our savings account was dwindling, our 401k and IRA accounts, thanks to the economy, were anemic and even though I knew God would take care of us I started to worry. And when I worry, I try to take things into my own hands.

And with that worry I started hanging on to our money tighter. We never stopped tithing even though I thought about tithing less.

But when all of those charities that we used to contribute to would come calling, I stopped giving. I would think to myself that we were tithing so we needed to hold on to the rest of our money.

And the more I held on, the more in control I felt but the less money we had. Does that make sense? I was holding on to more of our money because I wasn't contributing to any charities like before but we had less money than ever.

And then I came across the book Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To. I happened to be in Borders looking for a book written by St. Francis de Sales. Borders didn't carry the book I was looking for, but I happened across this one. I picked it up and even though I didn't think I should spend the money on it, I felt that little nudge from God that we all feel sometimes and I bought it.

I started reading it and got to chapter 3. The prayer in this chapter is "God, outdo me in generosity".

This chapter discusses the fact that Malachi 3:10 says "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. "
The Lord is telling us, or rather demanding that we test him! This is the only place in the Bible where the Lord tells us to test him. But he says give me your whole tithe and you will have so much that you won't have room for it!

There are many other verses where God tells us that if we are generous we will receive favor, blessings and rewards...

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done." - Proverbs 19:17

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Luke 6:38

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." - Matthew 10:42

The author isn't suggesting that you use this prayer as a financial plan. He reminds us that God tells us to be good stewards of our money but he says that "if you give your money away freely and consistently - regardless of the financial position you happen to be in - God will always take care of you and your family."

He suggests "saying this prayer 'God, outdo me in generosity' and then doing your best to be as generous as possible to anyone and everyone who comes your way" and then let God take over from there.

So, I tried it. I prayed to God and told him I would trust him the next time I got a request for a donation. And literally within hours, I received two requests for money from two different charities -one through the mail and one through email. Normally I would have discarded them.  But these had just come to me right after I prayed so I knew God sent them.  These two donations were not in my budget but I took a deep breath, wrote the checks and prayed "God, outdo me in generosity."

And for the next couple of days, I continued to pray "God, outdo me in generosity."

And then, I got a phone call from my husband who was at work. He had been told a week earlier that there weren't going to be bonuses at his company this year. But guess what? My husband was getting one after all.

He said to me, "This is so strange. They told me not to mention this to anyone I work with but I'm getting a bonus after all! I don't know why but I am getting one!"

I know why.

If you have something you want to share, it's easy to participate in Miracle Monday. Just post a miracle or an answered prayer on your blog and link it back here using Mr. Linky below.
Please mention "A Mom's Life" and my URL (www.beth-amomslife.blogspot.com) in your post. And if you want, you can use the Miracle Monday button in your post as well.
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Saturday, March 21, 2009

They should be used to it by now.

This morning Mom and Dad served my family and Jennifer's family brunch. Thanks ya'll! It was delicious!

After we gorged ourselves on bacon, pancakes, grits, banana bread, honey bun cake, cooked apples, sausage casserole and mixed fruit; Jennifer's youngest son, Colton, came home with me and Sarah went home with Jennifer.

At dinner tonight Sarah told us how much fun she had with Jennifer and Caity and Cheyanne.

"We had a girl party Mommy! Miss Jennifer put eye shadow on me and painted my fingernails and we put on glittery tattoos. And I got this matching cup and plate decorated with girly flowers from our trip to the dollar store and we colored with chalk on the sidewalk and lots more stuff I can't even remember."

"I'm glad you had fun sweetheart."

"I wish I could switch Mommies."

"Switch Mommies? Wouldn't you miss me?"

"Well, you could still visit me."

And then there's poor Colton. All he got to do all afternoon was help us spread mulch. There weren't any boy parties going on. We put Colton to work. Spreading mulch.

I doubt he's asking to switch Mommies. But Jennifer's kids should be used to that by now.

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Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Mother-Daughter Tea

This past Sunday Sarah and I attended the Mother-Daughter Tea at my church.

Sarah was very excited to be attending this with me. I’m not sure whether she was more excited about the actual tea itself or the new dress I bought her for the occasion.

Sunday was a rainy and dreary day here, but that didn’t stop Sarah from donning her new spring dress and sandals. Grandma got her the sandals and Sarah loved them because she thought they looked like high heels. (Perhaps it was the open toe that gave them the grown up appearance but they certainly weren’t high heels.)

This was our first tea so neither one of us really knew what to expect.

The Knights of Columbus wore their tuxedos and served as tea as soon as we arrived. We had our choice of different flavors of hot tea. (I chose Pomegranate Fizz and Sarah chose Lemon Burst. At least I think those were the names.) They also served a couple of different flavors of iced tea as well as Fruit Punch.

Then they served our tea sandwiches. Sarah had PB&J on bread that was shaped like a butterfly and I had a cucumber cream cheese sandwich as well as a prosciutto wrapped asparagus sandwich.

We also had scones with orange marmalade and strawberries. All the portions were bite sized just like they would be at a proper high tea.

After we ate, a story reader from one of the local county library branches read us several stories about mothers and daughters. My favorite was “My Names Is Not Isabella!” This book might just make it’s way into Sarah’s Easter basket.

After the stories we had cream puffs and tiny little cakes for dessert.

And then the real fun began…door prizes! Because everyone knows it’s not a proper high tea without door prizes!

There were probably 120 people at the tea and they probably had 30 door prizes. Sarah didn’t understand the concept and kept asking me when they were going to call her name.

I tried to explain that not everyone would win and that since there were only a few prizes left she probably would not win anything. I barely got these words out when they called her name.

She turned to me and gave me a huge smile and an I-told-you-so look and proudly headed up to the front to pick up her prize.

And with that, the mother daughter tea was over.

On the ride home, I asked her what her favorite part of the tea had been. Without hesitation she replied, “The door prize!”

Had she asked me what my favorite part had been, without hesitation I would have

replied, “Spending time with you!”

I think we will be going back next year.

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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Go Fish.

For the past six or seven months, Go Fish has been a staple in our house. Specifically the I Spy version of the card game.

It was a nice little game we could all four play together.

It was great for Peter and Sarah because they were having fun but at the same time, they were learning how to be good losers and good winners. We are still working on that, but now, there is very little bragging when they win and almost no tantrum-pitching when they lose.

After six or seven months, Sarah is still quite obsessed with it. She could play it 5 or 6 times a day and still want more.

Last night after dinner, I agreed to play another round and as I was dealing the cards I asked Peter if he wanted in.

"No thanks, Mom. Go Fish isn't very challenging for me any more."

Hmmmm, not very challenging? Guess I better call my grandmother. Perhaps Mimi can teach him Bridge!

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Keep Believing

Brian O'Neill lost his battle with cancer this morning.

Please pray for Angie and her boys and if you have a chance leave her a comment this morning to let her know that you are praying for her.

And if you haven't already, please consider donating to the fund that has been set up for them. There is a link on my sidebar.

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Monday, March 16, 2009

Miracle Monday

It's Miracle Monday this is what I would like to share with you today...

Do you ever wonder why you are here or what you are supposed to be doing? I wonder that all the time and I am always praying about it as well.

I know that God will show me what I should be doing, but I also know that he will show me in his own timing. But waiting is hard! Patience has never been my strong suit.

So I felt like God was talking directly to me when I opened my email on February 17th and read the Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotional email that I receive every day. (If you don't receive this email already, you should consider signing up. It's always very inspirational and full of good insight.)

This days email was entitled "Let Go and Let God Work". Here it is in it's entirety.


Surrender: Let Go and Let God Work

by Rick Warren

Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him. - Psalm 37:7 (GWT)

Surrendering your life means:

· Following God’s lead without knowing where he’s sending you;

· Waiting for God’s timing without knowing when it will come;

· Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide;

· Trusting God’s purpose without understanding the circumstances.

You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work.You don’t have to always be in charge. Instead of trying harder, you trust more.

You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself.
Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You are not self-serving, you don’t edge others out, and you don’t demand your rights.

The most difficult thing for many people to surrender is their money. Many have thought, “I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday.”

Retirement is not the goal of a surrender life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money,” (Matthew 6:24 NIV)and “Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21 NIV).

The supreme example of self-surrender is Jesus. The night before his crucifixion Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan. He prayed, “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine” (Mark 14:36 NLT).

Jesus didn’t pray, “God, if you’re able to take away this pain, please do so.” He began by affirming that God can do anything! He prayed, “God, if it is in your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfills your purpose, that’s what I want, too.”

Genuine surrender says, “Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another’s life, please don’t take it away!”

This level of maturity doesn’t come easy.In Jesus’ case, he agonized so much over God’s plan that he sweat drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it requires intense warfare against our self-centered nature.

© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved. Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers. Pastor Jon Walker is a writer for www.GraceCreates.com.


I'm still praying and I'm still waiting, but I'm trying to do it with a surrendered heart. I can't wait to see where he is leading me!

If you have something you want to share, it's easy to participate in Miracle Monday. Just post a miracle or an answered prayer on your blog and link it back here using Mr. Linky below.

Please mention "A Mom's Life" and my URL (www.beth-amomslife.blogspot.com) in your post. And if you want, you can use the Miracle Monday button in your post as well.


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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Happy Shaving!

I have a quick and easy tip to share that will help you keep your razors cleaner so that you can use them longer.

Use your Magic Eraser on them!

I keep a Magic Eraser in my shower and after each shave, I wipe the razor with it. A couple of swipes gets the built up shaving cream and gunk off and my razor is like new for the next shave.

A razor can last a month or more doing this!

And this is especially good if you are like me, and got spoiled using those fancy expensive disposable razors when you could get them about 6 months ago practically free thanks to coupons and sales.

I can still use the fancy expensive disposable razors but now, I can use them and use them and use them and use them and use them and use them....

This is the build-up after just one shave! Eww....

This is what the same razor looks like after just a couple of swipes with the Magic Eraser. Much better! (Please note...I have been using this razor blade for a month and it's about time for a new one...but I think it's probably still got a few more uses in it!)


Happy shaving! And for more Works For Me Wednesday tips, please visit Kristin at We Are That Family.


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Sunday, March 8, 2009

Miracle Monday

It's Miracle Monday but instead of posting a miracle, I'm asking for your help.

Melinda at Traveling the Road Home has a great movement going on over at her blog. It's called "Changing One Heart For Many". It is "a commitment to pray for God to change the heart of President Obama on the subject of abortion."

Every Monday she has a post about abortion and a beautiful prayer. And she is asking for others to join her in this prayer.

This is week seven of the prayer commitment and in this post, she is highlighting some places you can go to peacefully and respectfully make Congress and the President aware of your feelings on abortion.

  • Focus Petition: Focus on the Family's petition against tax payer funding of abortions.


  • Be Heard Petition: A petition to protect pro-life doctors that will be hand-delivered to the White House by April 1st.


  • FOCA Petition: Petition against the Freedom of Choice Act. I've highlighted this before, but if you haven't signed it, please do. There is a grab button for your blog, as well.


  • Red Envelope Day: This is a project that has been sweeping through cyberspace; you may well have heard of it. Empty red envelopes are sent to the White House on March 31st with a message stating it's representation of one life lost to abortion (click on "participate" to make a commitment).

I am praying that God changes President Obama's heart on abortion. Won't you join me?


It's easy to participate in Miracle Monday. Just post a miracle or an answered prayer on your blog and link it back here using Mr. Linky below. Please mention "A Mom's Life" and my URL (www.beth-amomslife.blogspot.com) in your post. And if you want, you can use the Miracle Monday button in your post as well.



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Why, yes. As a matter of fact, we are Catholic.

After a great ball practice this afternoon, Peter hoped out of the car when we got home and said, "Mommy, after our first game, will you get me a ring pop from the confession stand?"

"Yes, my child, I will."

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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

A couple of updates and an addition.

I felt much better yesterday morning when I woke up. Nothing like knowing that you don't have anywhere to be or anything to do on a Monday morning (thank you snow day!) that really helps start the week off right!

Peter was still under the weather as of yesterday. He spent the whole day on the couch. He wasn't complaining of pain, but he still had a low grade fever and he just didn't want to do anything . He fell asleep after dinner and is still asleep as I am writing this.

And, no, the new Pampered Chef item I am in love with is not a medieval torture device or a new punishment for your children. It is the Mix 'N Chop. And according to the PC catalog, it's "unique, beveled pinwheel blades efficiently chop and crumble foods for even cooking and seasoning."

I have been using it instead of a spatula when I cook ground beef and I'm not sure if it's my imagination but I swear, I can cook the beef more quickly. My friend Jennifer, used hers the other day when she was scrambling eggs and said it worked great for that.

When I bought it last month, I could have sworn I paid $9.50 for it. But now, the online catalog is showing that it is $10.00. It doesn't matter though, it's totally worth the extra 50 cents.

The kids have been harassing me for years for a pet. And I've always said no. They want a dog and while I don't have anything against dogs, I just don't want one in my house.

Two weekends ago, they would not stop begging me for a pet.

"Everyone else has one. We are the only kids we know that don't have a pet."

And then they started listing off everyone they knew and sure enough, everyone else has at least one dog, cat, gerbil, bunny, ferret or monkey. (Haven't you always wanted a monkey?)*

So we compromised.

Meet Goldie...

*Bonus points to anyone what can name the song that line comes from.

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Sunday, March 1, 2009

Miracle Monday - The Head Cold and Fever Edition

It's Miracle Monday again. (Well technically it's still Sunday.)

Peter came home from school Thursday with a fever and slept all day on Friday. He only moved enough to sneeze and cough in my direction a couple of hundred times so now I've got it too.

So I'm off to bed early and I hope I'll be able to sleep in. (It's snowing here now and I'm keeping my fingers cross that school gets canceled.)

If you guys have a miracle you would like to post about today, please do. Mr. Linky has been getting a little lonely lately.

I hope you all have a great Monday and I'll try not to sneeze in your direction.

It's easy to participate in Miracle Monday. Just post a miracle or an answered prayer on your blog and link it back here using Mr. Linky below.

Please mention "A Mom's Life" and my URL (www.beth-amomslife.blogspot.com) in your post. And if you want, you can use the Miracle Monday button in your post as well.

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