TSMS~~His Eye Is On the Sparrow.....

Mammogram results on Friday mean a sonogram on Monday.....
Preparing 5 children to go to 4 different schools.......
Trying to schedule a birthday party around 13 people's schedules......
Sports practices in full force.......

My friend the bird who lives in the fern on my front porch became a Mama again this week. As she was off hunting for food I snapped a picture of her babies.


This week we have seen scorchingly hot temperatures as well as severe thunderstorms with high winds and driving rain. Yet this Mother bird sits on her nest and trusts completely in God's loving care. Oh how I want to be more like that bird as I endure the intense heat, pressure and storms of my life!





Make sure to visit Amy today for more musical encouragement, you will be glad you did!

Opinion Poll & Another Closed Door!

Today I would like to take an opinion poll........

Have you read the book "The Shack" and if so what did you think of it?

I read it earlier in the summer and although I wouldn't say it was the best book I ever read, as far as the writing goes, for some reason I found myself thinking about it a lot. Mostly I was fascinated with the nature of God that it depicted.

After I read it I recommended it to several friends and family members but now I have heard of some people who didn't like it at all. So I am just curious; what is your opinion (if you have one).

And if you haven't read The Shack, what book have you read recently that you would recommend?



On another note, in the never-ending drama to find a new school for my daughter we had door #2 close on us this week. We had put in a transfer request to another school in our district only to discover that school is full and closed to transfers. God must have a very specific plan as to where He wants her to go and He is not going to let us mess it up.

I am praying we hit the jackpot with door #3 (whatever that may be....). Thank God that He gives us unlimited chances and Thank You for your prayers in this journey!

11 Years Ago!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CECELIA!

After having 4 babies in 5 years my youngest would be heading to kindergarten just as this one was ready to be born. I was looking forward to being able to enjoy giving her all of my attention. (Little did I know I would have 2 more by the time she was 5).

We told the kids we were expecting by letting them open a package of baby clothes on Christmas Eve. It took them a little while but they finally figured out that we were having a baby and we didn't just mess up on their sizes. haha!

Throughout my entire pregnancy with her I worked out at the gym. I would run on the treadmill, do step classes, circuits and I even went snow skiing during my first trimester. I have always wondered if I caused her to be athletic or if she was causing me to?????

I am so glad we got the labor and delivery on film. The doctor was so kind as to order an epidural before he even induced the labor. From the time I felt some pressure to the time of delivery it was less than 20 minutes! The doctor was literally sprinting into the room to catch her.

Of course it wasn't all pain-free. I got bad sores and infections while trying to nurse her (I think it was God's way of humbling me because I thought I was such an expert after having nursed the first 4). When my husband said, "I don't think you can do this" I set out to prove him wrong. I called the "Lactation Consultant" and she helped me through it. He should know better than to ever tell me I can't do something!

There is no way to put my feelings for this baby into words, I am just praising the LORD for her today!






I love you Cece!!

WFW~~A Mini Retreat

I am so excited to be back in the word and posting on Word Filled Wednesday again. It has been a few weeks and I have missed it.

I took this picture a couple of weeks ago when I went to a party at a friends house. She lives on a working farm and it is absolutely beautiful! Besides the several fruit trees growing in the yard she has a garden where the kids and I picked blueberries, blackberries and cucumbers.

As if that weren't wonderful enough there is a huge swimming pool in her back yard where everyone swam until they were exhausted!

This is a picture of the arbor that separates the garden from the pool and patio.

Is that not gorgeous????

It's always a fun place to visit and even if I don't get to travel anywhere this year I feel like I got to enjoy a vacation for a day.


For more Word-Filled Wed. blessings be sure to visit Amydeanne.

It's Not About Me (at least not today).....

Being the kind of humble, behind-the-scenes person I am, today I am dedicating my blog post to other people. Of course these are some very special people (as they would have to be to earn blog time on my site). HA!

Today is my husband's birthday and he is now officially as old as I am, at least until November when I will once again be the oldest in the family (a fact my kids will never let me forget!).



HAPPY BIRTHDAY John, I love you very much!

Actually I know a lot of people who are celebrating a birthday today. In fact I think August 5th is the most common birthday date in my circle of friends and family. Do you have a "most common birthday date"?

In a couple of days my daughter will be celebrating a birthday as well. She will turn 11 so she is still "pre-teen sweet". She spent last week at camp and today she is posting about it on her blog. Of course she only briefly mentions the bible teaching (that was the focus of the camp) and never writes about the awesome prayer and worship experiences, but she gives great details about the fun and games. Actually, reading between the lines, all of the weeks activities encouraged relationships and team work.

Anyway, if you are so inclined please visit her HERE.

So with that I will sign off and let my husband and daughter be the stars of the day, they really do deserve it much more than I do anyway!!

Because I Said So......

My 17 yr. old son has found his first girlfriend.

He has "liked" a few girls in the past but got tired of them quickly because, according to him, they talked too much.

"Mom, do all girls talk on the phone this much?"

"Yes son, they do!"

Anyway, he met a girl on the "Beach Conference" trip with the church youth group (she is the friend of one of the girls at church) and he has been spending quite a bit of time with her.

Because we don't know her or her family yet we told him we would prefer they hang out at our house. Also, we would like for them to watch movies in the den, not in the basement. Well, you would think I said we are going to cut off his left arm.

"Why can't we go to the basement to watch movies? We always watch movies in the basement, isn't that what the basement is for?"

Although I didn't have to, I decided to try and explain why I wanted to institute this rule: I spoke about respecting your date, being a positive role model for the younger kids, the temptations of being outside of supervision.........

But no matter what I said he argued and finally, I just laid it out "look, you don't have to like it and you don't have to understand it but you do need to obey it!"

Oh could I hear God in that statement!!!

As we have debated our daughter's school situation I thought I had found the "perfect" answer. There is a school nearby, where several of her friends from church attend. But it is in a different district and they don't accept transfers, however, my Mom lives in that district and we could use her address. Our other option ( in our own district) is much further away, not nearly as convenient and she wouldn't know anyone there.

Even though I really think the out-of-district school is the "perfect" answer and I have pleaded with God over this, He has obviously shut that door.

"Kelley, you don't have to like it and you don't have to understand it but you do need to obey it!"

The truth is I don't really know what is best for myself or my kids, but God does. He sees the picture I can't, the BIG PICTURE. The question is, am I going to obey Him or not? I just finished a study on several women who chose to "manipulate" circumstances instead of trusting God (Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel.....) and we are still living with the results of their actions. Since I don't want to leave that kind of legacy for my children, I am choosing to walk in faith and obey the Lord on this decision (although I still don't like it!).

As for my son, he has agreed to be obedient to my "movie watching" rule as well (although he still doesn't like it).

If You're Gonna Have Teenagers......

Good Morning and welcome to my home!

Should you need it, the toilet paper can be found in the trees today!

And this kind gentleman will be glad to collect some for you.......


He was really mad at me for taking his picture.

I was just glad we don't live in our old house with the 9 HUGE trees in our yard. This is nothing compared to those TP jobs!

25 years of teens!

I wonder how many more mornings like this one I have to look forward to???