baby mum mums and a giveaway!

i love mckmama's blogfrog forum (minus the negative posts that i avoid). i have gotten some great advice from some seasoned mama's over there. just the other day i posted about some concerns i had with giving bug solids. i had quite a few replies that offered encouragement and tips. one of those tips - baby mum mums.



i have been giving bug teething biscuits. you know, bitter, hard, cookie like biscuits that leave a huge mess all over bug and what/whoever she may be sitting on or near. some moms on blogfrog suggested baby mum mums. i had never heard of them or ever seen them. i happened upon them while grocery shopping this weekend and picked up a box. they are fantastic! they do not leave the cookie like mess and they dissolve really nicely so i don't worry about a chunk being swallowed and choking buggie.

i like these things so much i want to share them with you! i receive nothing from the official baby mum mum people. i just want you to know how great they are. so, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and you're entered. and if you're a follower you can have an extra entry! just post a second comment telling me you're a follower of my blog.

happy commenting!

undeserving

the past couple of days i have come across some new blogs. i have read some really heart wrenching stories. i have prayed for strangers. i have questioned God's actions. i have praised God for His holiness. i have realized all is for His glory. and many of these stories children of God are weighing heavily on my heart. this post may be a little bit of a ramble. just trying to unload a bit.

as i have read the stories of 4 month olds taken by SIDS, or starving AIDS infected children in africa, or little 5 year old girls stricken with brain tumors i have become ever closer to my Savior. i have gone to Him on behalf of these brothers and sisters that i have never met and asked Him to please spare lives and bring healing. i have asked Him why he chose to take a perfectly healthy sleeping baby from his dear parents. i have worked on accepting that His way is perfect and good though it may hurt. and i have sat in wonder of why He has given me so much. i take for granted the good in my life. God's mercy has kept us from any life shaking horrible tragedies but i spend much time complaining that i don't have the right shoes to wear with a new skirt. good grief! what is wrong with me?

Father, forgive me for taking all the good in my life for granted. Forgive me for taking You and the gift of Your Son and eternal life for granted. help me to live each day only for You. in Jesus' name because without Him it would be impossible for me to come to You, amen.

Lord, i give You my heart
i give You my soul
I LIVE FOR YOU ALONE
every breath that i take
every moment i'm awake
have Your way in me

what, exactly, does your appendix do?

today we got a phone call that my sweet brother in love (bil) had to have an emergency appendectomy. poor guy was up all night in some pretty bad pain. bil is married to honey bear's sister ang. they are so dear to us and totally in love with buggie. we have dubbed bil the dinner time bouncer - see, whenever we are out to dinner with the whole family bil is bug's buddy. he walks her, he bounces her, he keeps her occupied. i will have to post one of the many pictures of bil and bug's dinner time playdates soon.

anyhoo, i knew that honey bear and i would go to the hospital to visit with him this evening and that bug wouldn't be able to go in. so i had to come up with a way for bug to say hello to her uncle. here is what we came up with:



we printed it at walmart and bought a simple plastic frame and tied some get well balloons around it. i really couldn't believe how great it turned out - and this was only our second take! needless to say, unlce bil loved it. he will be home tomorrow and we are looking forward to him feeling better.

all i want for christmas...

this morning was just like any other morning. i got bug up, changed her, gave her breakfast, and we settled down on the couch to watch rachael ray. buggie was sitting right beside me and i had my arm around her. she has found it great sport to chew on mommy's hand and fingers; so this morning my fingers could be found in her little mouth. it was during this usual chewing of my digits that i felt something...what did she have in her mouth? oh my goodness...a tooth...no, wait...not one tooth...there were TWO TEETH!

*not bug's actual teeth*

yes, ladies and gentleman, my sweet, tiny, precious buggie now has big girl teeth! i am so proud of her and yet so sad...

where is that 5 pound 13 ounce little baby girl i held in my arms just yesterday?

more importantly, how will my fingers hold up?

the time traveler's wife

if you haven't seen the time traveler's wife and plan to, don't read this until you do!!! if you don't plan to ever see it you may still enjoy this post!

i had mentioned that my sister had been staying with us for a couple of weeks. we loved having her but me and honey bear really had no alone time. and then i was leaving to take her back to pa and would be away from honey bear all together. so we talked to my in laws and they agreed to keep bug and allow my sister to swim in their pool on the saturday before i left for pa. honey bear and i were going out! we decided to see the matinee showing of the time traveler's wife.



i have to admit that i was really really really looking forward to seeing this movie. the previews i had seen looked so good. i was definitely in the mood for some sappy movie watching with my sweetie. the movie was good but not as good as i had built it up to be in my head. but isn't it sometimes funny how God works? at the end of the movie He reminded me of His promises to us.

here i was wrapped up in this love story - the time traveling henry and the love of his life, clare, who has known the 40ish version of henry since she was 6 years old. they finally meet in the present and marry. they have a daughter. henry still time travels and they try to cope with his unpredictable absences. henry from another time has traveled into their present and is dying. they now know henry will die when their daughter is 5. we see their daughter's 5th birthday and know what is about to happen. years later henry time travels past his own life and is able to see his now 10 or so year old daughter and to hold his clare again. but then he travels right out of her arms and is gone.

it is at this point in the movie when the sobbing begins...clare and her daughter head back home. with smiles on their faces. this man who means so much to them has died but they know that because of this gift/curse henry will most likely come to them again. they can go on living their present lives because they have hope of seeing henry again. i easily start thinking of my own honey bear and how i dread the day that we will be parted by death. how horrible it will be; how we will not have the luxury of time travel to bring us together again. and then that Still Small Voice reminds me of His great promise!

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
first thessalonians 4:13-18

of course!!! we have trusted Jesus Christ - we will not be parted forever. no time travel ability required. clare may have had hope that henry would return to her at some point during her life - but she had no hope past her life. one day honey bear and i will be parted by death, and like clare we will be able to go on knowing at some point we will be reunited. but unlike clare, our reunion will not be for mere minutes but for eternity!

how great and merciful is our Lord - He has offered us a gift far above all gifts. the gift of eternal life. praise His name forever and ever!

theory of relativity

"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity.”
~Albert Einstein

einstein pretty much summed up my week with that explanation of the theory of relativity. so, i haven't been sitting with a pretty girl, but i have been sitting with 10 pretty girls and 2 handsome boys - my family. and boy, einstein, are you right! the week has just flown by and i have failed to keep you all updated on the happenings around here.

it is late, i am blissfully tired and i don't think a full post will be happening tonight. let me just leave you with a funny little story about a day out with some of my little sisters.

i took 3 of my little sisters an hour away to visit our aunt and uncle. sb, who is 8 had been looking through a bridal catalogue and putting check marks over all the dresses she thought were pretty. when she was done she passed the book on to lr who is 10. as lr flipped through the pages noticing the check marks she said, "boy, sb, you didn't put many check marks in here. you don't have very good taste in fashion," to which sb quickly replied, "i don't EAT fashion!" get it - taste, eat? ha!!! it cracked me up! i sure do love these girls. they make me look forward to the days buggie will be cracking jokes.

i probably won't be posting again until we are back home in nc on monday. as much as i enjoy being with my family it will be nice to get back to my own bed. be looking forward to a post about the new movie the time traveler's wife.

until this yankee makes it back to her southern home, happy blogging!

leavin' on a jetplane

okay, maybe i'm just leavin' in a toyota corolla. the point here is that i'm leaving. or that i have left. i drove from nc to pa today. what a looooong day! my 2nd youngest sister, jb, (i'm the oldest of 10) graduated in june and she decided she wanted to spend some of her first 'adult' summer with us. my family lives in pa so i drove her home today.

jb has been with us for about 3 weeks and i really hate that today was the day to take her home. it has been so nice to have her around. i really love spending my days with bug, but she doesn't offer much in the way of conversation. we usually talk about dadadadadadad and babamababamamaba. so having jb here was really nice - she can form complete words. =)

i think what was really great about jb being with us was that i really hadn't spent much time with her for the past 9 years. i left pa to go to college in sc in 2000 and i ended up staying south after graduation. jb was only 9 when i left. you can imagine that at 18 she isn't exactly the same person i remember. sure, i've been home for various holidays, but 2 weeks here and 3 days there is hardly enough time to really know someone. so this past couple of weeks has been a sort of get to know you for us sisters. we are absolutely and completely different! no doubt about it. but let me share with you some of the really wonderful things about my second little sister that i discovered the past couple of weeks:

• she is stinkin' hilarious


• she doesn't care what anyone thinks about her - totally comfortable with who she is


• she is so shy! i had no idea. it is funny to me because she will talk my ear off.


• she has the absolute sweetest spirit of anyone i know - so kind, always ready to do whatever is best for the other person, always in a pleasant mood (really, not one time in 3 weeks did i see her in a funk, not once)


• she so sincerely and genuinely loves Jesus - her only desire is to do what is pleasing to Him- she was a real example and rebuke to me

i just wish you all had a chance to get to know her! i am so looking forward to the next time she decides she wants to visit.

and now, bug and i are in pa visiting with my family until sunday. honey bear is flying in on thursday morning (YIPEEEE!!! i miss him terribly and it has only been 14 hours). i plan to do some blogging while i'm here. with a house full of kids (my 7 month old bug, and sisters 18, 16, 12, 10, 8, 5, and 1 and a brother who is 2 and my 1st younger sister 25 visiting with her 3 and 2 year old girls) and my parents i should have some stories to tell....

*picture is jb and me on my wedding day in 2006*

rockabye baby

yesterday i told you i would post pictures of bug's room. i did all of the decorating on a pretty strict budget. i was able to find the crib on craigslist for only $90 and i found the changing table at a consignment shop for $40. the dresser was used by bug's daddy and her daddy's sister at some point. i am really happy with how it turned out! instead of posting 34 individual photos on the blog i am going to post one and then give you a link to check out the rest. the others are on my facebook but you don't have to have a facebook to view the album. i hope you will take the time to go give them a look!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=300959&id=692745726&l=ac3ef86ff4

let's share

when my daughter was born we lived in a one bedroom apartment so she slept in our room for the first six months of her life. we have lived in our 2 bedroom apartment for about a month now and i am pleased to announce that bug has her own room that i have finally completely decorated!

i thought it would be fun to share pictures of our little one's spaces. i haven't actually taken any pictures yet so let's plan on sharing our pictures tomorrow. i just love babies' rooms and nurseries. i like seeing how others have decorated and getting new ideas for future decorating opportunities!

so i will meet you all back here tomorrow with pictures of buggie's room and i look forward to seeing your sweet ones' bed chambers. =)

and while we're on the topic of decorating - how do you like the new look of my blog? i am quite pleased with it myself.

grace that is greater...

i had mentioned a few days ago that i wanted to talk about the greatest gift i have ever received. today is the day...grace is that gift!

i often struggle with the remembrance of past sin. the memories often creep up at the most inappropriate times - while enjoying an evening with my husband, while alone with the Lord during my quiet time. i often can't seem to escape the thoughts of things i have done to disappoint my Lord.

it has taken me years, and i still have not passed the test, to learn that these constant reminders of my human nature are not coming from God. He doesn't even remember them. i allow the enemy to swoop in and fill my mind and heart with shame and guilt for things that Jesus has already covered with His blood. these beautiful words are from a hymn that is very dear to my heart:

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, 
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! 
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured, 
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. 

Grace, grace, God's grace, 
grace that will pardon and cleanse within; 
grace, grace, God's grace, 
grace that is greater than all our sin! 

when i allow satan to remind me of sin that i have already laid at the foot of the cross i am saying that Jesus must have died in vain; that this forgiveness and grace that He speaks of is for naught. it is like telling the Father, "yeah, yeah, thanks for the forgiveness and everything but i just am not going to let this go."

holding onto sin that has been forgiven not only makes you feel lousy but it impedes your relationship with Jesus from growing and makes you less effective in living your life for Him. the Lord expects confession of sin only once. when He has forgiven, it is sealed. if i lash out at honey bear, ask for his forgiveness, and then every day after ask again and continually feel guilt for my attitude, honey bear and i will come to a dead end in our relationship. i will be so hung up on the past indiscretion that i will put a roadblock in any growth husband and i may have together. i think it works the same way with Jesus. if i refuse to accept His forgiveness and move on i'm blocking any further heart work He can do on me. and in that my Christian walk is halted.

the biggest thing i have come to realize through this is that there is a war going on for my soul. a spiritual war that i can not see but that absolutely does affect me. the enemy has lost my eternal soul to the Father but he so desires to make the earthly life i live as miserable as possible. when he reminds me of the wrongs i have done and tells me there is no way a Holy God could possibly use such a tattered mess of a person and i believe those things, he has won the battle. satan delights in my feelings of guilt. he delights in me thinking i am useless to the Kingdom. i must stand up to the evil one and remind him, "blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." psalm 32:1

God's grace has covered all the sin i have or ever will commit. i can live peacefully in the knowledge of my faithful God's promise. i can approach the rest of my life knowing that Jesus paid it all!

casting crowns has a song that has been such an encouragement to me as i have struggled with letting go of forgiven sin. i hope that it will speak some truth and comfort to you as well.

it is still monday!

as i am sure a few of you know, mondays over at mckmama's place are


after you take a peek at my wish-i-could-forget moments, head on over to mckmama's blog and check out hers and hundreds of others! we are not alone!

i absolutely would NEVER wipe my 7 month old down with baby wipes and call it bath time. NOT ME! only full sudsy tubs of warm water and a nice washcloth constitute a bath around here.

i most assuredly would not eat lunch out only to make it home in time to serve my sweet honey bear a frozen pizza for dinner. definitely NOT ME.

i, of course, would not keep my dear family sitting at the table in front of sunday lunch while i freaked out over spilled orange soda on the living room floor, promptly spraying it down with carpet cleaner and scrubbing until i was sure every last drop of orange was gone. the sunday meal would not be cold by the time i made it to the table and my husband and i would not have a conflict of interests over priorities. NOT ME! i am always quite level headed and not at all so concerned with the appearance of my carpets.

and finally, i for sure would not take my laptop into the bathroom and prop it up on the hamper so i could have a little alone blogging time. now that would be ridiculous! so NOT ME.

pressure

not wife pressure or mommy pressure but sinus pressure! i think my head might explode. so the post i was hoping to get up today will hopefully only be delayed until tomorrow...hopefully.

so until i can breathe from my nose why don't you give this a look. i'm not a tweeter myself but maybe my next little one will be!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/17/earlyshow/leisure/gamesgadgetsgizmos/main5168367.shtml

see you tomorrow, girls!

wordless wednesday...well sorta

i am no good at not talking! =) so i will post a picture today but i had to tell you that i am working on a post for tomorrow about the most amazing gift i've ever received. i just love talking about it!

until tomorrow my bloggy friends...my wordless wednesday:

is it morning yet?

what a long day. i had thought about skipping out on posting tonight but i was feeling guilty. i'm not that great in the kitchen but if you need some guilty feelings i'm your girl. we ladies are pretty good at feelings of guilt. i think i'll ponder on that for a bit and come back with a post on that later.

so today - i have been working on filing an amended tax return. ugh! the irs makes me nervous. but i think it is finished. i just hope they agree. and as if taxes weren't enough i think buggie may be cutting a tooth. i can't be sure but she has a clear runny nose and is quite antsy. i think she was running a bit of a fever tonight.

i feel like i didn't get much accomplished today - only one load of laundry, cooked dinner, and for the majority of the day rocked an uncomfortable little girl. come to think of it, rocking that little girl was a pretty big accomplishment!
what sweet moments. well, let's be honest, they didn't always seem so sweet today when i hadn't gotten a chance to shower and i had plenty to do around the house, but looking back on it it was pretty sweet.

i want to thank all of my new followers for deciding to tag along! i love reading your comments and getting a chance to stop by your blogs. i'm looking forward to getting to know more about all of you.

so until tomorrow when i will hopefully have a more interesting post...any tips on comforting a possibly teething little one...please...

how do i look?

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. -Psalm 139:14

so today honey bear and i went to have our pictures taken for our credit card (we have only one credit card used only when necessary but this is another post). i did not know that i was going to have my picture taken so needless to say i was not pleased with this revelation. i often tell honey bear that i feel like a sausage poured into its casing and today was no different. i am sure my hair was quite a mess and by this time in the day my makeup was next to invisible. fine, i'll have my picture taken - i mean, it is for the security of my identity. of course honey bear commented on what a good picture it was and, bless his heart, jeremiah the bank guy agreed in earnest. i was not convinced.

on the way home i started really thinking about my response to my physical appearance. i am always so quick to say how horrible i look or to point out my various physical flaws. no amount of compliments from husband persuades me otherwise. but today i am jarred out of my self loathing by the oh so sweet cooing and babbles of my little bug. she is undoubtedly the most beautiful baby i have ever seen and i am sure she is going to be the most beautiful toddler, preteen, teenager, and woman i will have ever seen. and i am teaching her just how lovely she is inside and out each day...um...negative.

if all my little buggie hears is how her mommy needs to lose weight, needs to apply her makeup differently, needs a new hairstyle, never says thank you to a compliment about her looks what will she think of herself? how can she have a positive view of her own appearance? i am guessing it won't be easy.

and what am i saying to bug about our Creator? that He left us out of the beauty giveaway? that He thinks our appearance is less than beautiful? come to think of it, not only am i saying all of this to bug but i'm saying it to Him. something like, thanks, Father God for all of your many gifts and for making me ugly. it sounds crazy but, in essence, that is exactly what i'm saying.

it is now my goal to replace any negative thought about my appearance with something positive about my appearance. and to remember that i am a work of God and His works are marvelous. let's do this to show our Father we are thankful for these amazing creations we call our bodies, to show ourselves that we are indeed beautiful, and to show our daughters that they too are fearfully and wonderfully made!

mommy and her sweet beautiful bug

downsizing

with the failing (but i hear starting to rebound...) economy the word downsizing has become a part of our everyday vocabulary. what a nasty word. so in church this evening when the speaker (pastor was away) said the word downsize my ears perked up. see, my husband's company has filed bankruptcy so everyday he still has a job is a good one. but tonight the word downsizing wasn't referring to our economy and unemployment; it was referring to our sin.

we all to often downsize our sin. we call it by names that sound so much nicer. i like to refer to my sin as simply my weakness. i didn't mean to do it, i'm weak. i have been discovering lately how quick to anger i am. i am disappointed in myself and often embarrassed. and the receiver of my quick anger is my so sweet honey bear who never raises his voice at me or reprimands my tiffs. after tonight's message i realize that i have been downsizing these anger outbursts. i apologize following it up immediately with "i've just had a hard day" or "i don't mean to yell at you." my God is not onboard with these excuses. i figured that out today. these 'moments of weakness' are out and out sin. not only should i apologize without excuse to my husband but i must apologize to my Savior for the sin i have committed.

it is so much easier to tell honey bear i am sorry and that i wasn't feeling well and for him to tell me it's ok and hug me than it is to say to him that i apologize for my inexcusable outburst and then face the Lord and ask Him to forgive me. but in the end i know that God is working in my life and showing me these heart issues i need to work on. He wants me to be wholly His and He chastens those He loves.

i know i won't get this perfect from here on out but at least now i recognize the downsizing of sin in my life. i covet your prayers as i work on this area in my life. and i challenge you to look at your heart and see if you've been downsizing sin in any areas. it is time for a rebound of our heart economy!