Honestly Keeping It Real!

I guess all my rantings and opinionated posts were good for something. I really do try to 'keep it real' around here, and most that know me personally will be quick to say that I wear my heart on my sleeve. I love sharing the great things in life and my beautiful family, but sometimes there's some icky stuff in there that makes it's way onto my blog. But, isn't that part of life?

I am humbled to announce that Holly at Purpose Driven Family has awarded me with the Honest Weblog award. This was her sweet comment, "Thanks for being real, for being open and honest and for sharing your heart and letting the power of of God shine through your "cracks". Thank you Holly!

As always, there are rules, and here they are:

"When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Honest Weblog’.List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. And then, pass it on.”

Hmm...10 honest things about me that you don't already know.

1. 1. I sometimes get really irritated when parents let their kids run rampant in restaurants while I constantly try to set examples with my little ones by saying to them, "We are at the table. How do we behave?" as they see the other kids rolling on the floor.
2. 2. I talk to my kids about Jesus 100x a day. I'm always saying, "Do you think Jesus is smiling at you when you hit your sister?" "Jesus is not happy when we're not nice." "Jesus gives us everything we have, including our food, so we need to share with others" (This one is usually used when someone wants a bite of something). "Jesus loves you so much." and so on. I sometimes wonder if the kids think, "Who is this Jesus guy that she keeps talking about and we've never "met".
3. 3. I look at skinny women when we are out and so wish to myself that I could look like that. (Mind you, when I was in my 20's I would do everything possible to gain weight since I was horribly skinny.)
4. 4. I am pretty good at forgiving others when I have been hurt.
5. 5. Although I have friends, I've never been part of a "click" in any scenario (i.e. school, work, church, etc.)
6. 6. I would love, love, love to move to China for a year or two and do missionary work, especially working with children.
7. 7. I would love to adopt another little boy, but I am now at peace that God doesn't have that in His plans for us.
8. 8. I hate wearing shoes around the house.
9. 9. When I started dating Scott, whom I had met online, I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to hear about how he could be some mass murderer or some pyscho. I did though, tell my Mom that I had a "friend" online who lived up north. Well, my Mom called me to her house one day because she needed to seriously speak to me. She had apparently been doing some "investigating" and she wanted to tell me that the "man that you know online lives just a few blocks from you and we should probably notify the police since he's been telling you all along he lives in Connecticut.". She thought he was a stalker/murderer/pyscho who had moved down to Miami to kill me. She said this through tears and it took everything in my power not to crack up while she cried. I finally 'fessed up and told her that I knew he had moved down to Florida and that he wasn't a killer.....that we were dating. She almost killed me. :)
10. 10. I love reading blogs and making online friends. I so wish I could host a huge "blog party" where friends from all over could come and meet, but then I wonder if people would think I'm pretty looney.

So, there you go. Ten honest things about me that you may or may not have known.

I will be breaking the rules a little bit. Since so many of you have been tagged or awarded before and I love reading everyone of the umm...100 ::clearing throat:: blogs or so that I follow, I will not single out seven blogs. If you want to join in the fun, leave me a comment and I will check out your honest traits! Or, you can just leave a comment, just because I love gettin' them! Have fun!

Working through the sludge....

Since the Princess has no clue that she had surgery 2 days ago and is running around having the time of her life, I decided I would find the time to go through all of the blogs I follow and catch up. I'm still not done!

As I have been reading blog after blog, I am amazed and in awe at your spirits. I mentioned before that I felt defeated and am still pretty sad about the whole outcome of the election. But almost every blog I went to, God was there! He was there in your thoughts. He was there in your images. He was there in your words, speaking from your hearts. His purpose for these elections will be revealed and he WILL be glorified! There's no doubt in my mind!

A dear friend sent me an email which really got me to think. She said, "McCain did not lose. He won!" My first thought was, "Ummm, what's she been drinking?" But, then I pondered about her words that followed and she was so right. God used McCain in a big way to bring to light the issues of life and morality in our nation. Many of us, myself included, have become complacent with the fact that this is where our society has brought us. Sometimes it could be very difficult staying on that 'narrow path' and not following the sheep. The 'easy' road is always so tempting.

Before I go on, I want to stop and make something clear, since one of my readers that disagrees with my beliefs said I would be too "close minded" to listen to his explanation. My battle wasn't to get McCain into office and it wasn't to prevent Obama from getting into office. The whole thing was not about the candidates, it was about God. It was about following His word and what He desires from us. The God that I know, the God who's word is alive, would never think it's OK for his children to be murdered. "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." - Deut 30:19-20

Had Obama been pro-life and McCain not, my other worries about him would have had to take a back burner, because LIFE comes before any other issue. I would have been Obama's biggest cheerleader had the scenario been reversed!

Apparently, the nation believes the economy comes first. I obviously disagree. I believe that when you stand up for the truth and your actions come from a loving God, that same God will take care of you. His word is very clear on this. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" - Matthew 6:25 I stand FIRM on that belief! And trust me, for those of you wondering, this is not coming from a woman who has to worry about being in that $250,000 (or 200k or 150k or 120k) income bracket who will have their taxes raised, so we do worry about finances. We are a one income family with 4 kids, two of which are special needs.

My point is that we did not lose. God won. God always wins. In prayer I am seeing more and more how he has revealed Himself through all of this. Just as He did during 9/11. Just as He has throughout history. He never leaves us. He is there. Even during our darkest moments when we feel so alone or lost or defeated. He is there. He is always there.

My prayer is that Obama's heart be molded and changed towards abortion. That as God has allowed him to be the leader of this country, that He use him in a mighty way. That He create in him a Godly-man filled with His Holy Spirit, with the wisdom that He once gave Solomon. ("Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore. - 1 Kings 4:29) May Obama use that wisdom to bring morality, peace and prosperity to our hurting country. May his eyes be opened to the fact that God created man and woman ("God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.- Genesis 1:27) to be united as one. "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). May he see that every child that God brings to the world, regardless of how they were conceived, was wonderfully created by Him, our Redeemer. That He is present in the forming of every single human life. (For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. - Psalm 139:13)

I will continue to pray for our new President, for his family and for our country. I thank God in a big way for using John McCain and Sarah Palin to bring these issues to light. I thank God for using them to get America back on their knees with their eyes focused on Him. The place where we should always be. God does sit on His throne and will always be God, as it was in the beginning, is now and forever shall be.

I also wanted to say thank you to the few people who have very graciously disagreed with me. I appreciate your respect and in turn respect your opinions.

God bless you all and may America bless God!

The Princess...before, during and after!

These were taking at the hotel, during the Betadine bath, and in the pre-op room. She was happy and smiling.

Poor baby, these were taken mostly in the recovery room
and shortly after being taken to her room.

These were right after we were told we were going home!
She was dressed at ready to go!

(YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM.)

We finally arrived home about 3:30 p.m. She was so happy to see Kai, AJ and the rest of the family! She proudly showed off her casts to which she got responses of "Owwieee" from Kai and

AJ just wanted to touch it.

I can't tell you how miraculous your prayers have been. The doctors had told me she'd be on Tylenol with Codeine for about a week. Well, every time I've asked her "Does your hand hurt?" Her response has always been "Nope!" I did give her some Motrin before going to bed tonight, but you'd never have known that this little girl had surgery yesterday morning. She was playing, laughing and being herself. In fact, I had to remind her a few times to stop running around, since her cast is so heavy and she's a bit top-heavy. She amazes me! The bonding continues to do well and we've had no attachment issues whatsoever in the past couple of days. I think she's really liking the one-on-one attention.

We return to the hospital in two weeks to remove the cast, change the dressing and check on her progress. I'm a very happy and relieved Mama tonight!

He Won...and Now What?

He won because in churches all over the country there were people kneeling in front of the Blessed Sacrament and before crosses with the crucified Christ, who ignorantly voted for him.

He won because people voted with their pocketbooks and not their moral conscience, which has almost become an anachronism.

He won because people who knew better waited too long to do what needed to be done.

He won because people allowed elegant rhetoric to trump substance and courage.

He won because change from something we don't like seems like change to something we might like and that is attractive, though hollow. The “grass is not always greener…” concept has taken on new meaning…

He won because we live in a world of images and sound bites…staging and falsehood…Styrofoam Greek columns…the abuse of the image of our flag…

He won because the courage and determination of the few was no match for the gullibility of the majority.

He won because people want it now and easy, even at the peril of losing something greater.

He won because enough did not do enough, while God was observing.

He won because there were not enough priests and pastors willing to stop the political correctness and take a stand.

He won because more people braved the cold in Grant Park, Chicago , tonight to worship someone they don't even know, than the number of people who go to worship God on Sunday in all of Illinois .

He won because good people who could have/should have stood up and fought, didn't.

He won because he managed to deceive too many into thinking that he is what they needed, because they did not have the will to find out who he is not.

He won because he appealed to the worst in so many and to those who see themselves as victims, but who instead have been cleverly used.

He won because we don't know who he is and it takes less wisdom to vote for the unknown than the courage to embrace the known.

He won because people ran from what they did not like while not knowing what they were running towards.

He won because we have become a God-less country where the powers of darkness have been invited to flourish and Truth is vanishing.

He won because Christians who are one body in Christ and whose numbers would have given McCain an incredible and assured mandate, did not listen to the Church’s teachings.

He won because the children of darkness are more astute than the children of light.

He won because we let him.

He won because the country bet on a MAN it does not know, instead of relying on GOD.

He won because God is not done purging us from the ravages committed on the unborn, since most still do not see it as ravishing. Like the Israelites in the desert, we are being told to take another (4-year) lap.

He won because God let him.




And Now?

We can give up, become depressed and go like “sheep to the slaughter” and turn ourselves over to MAN.

Or…

We must keep our focus on GOD.

I went back and read everything I wrote above and it boils down to three issues: Ignorance, lack of Faith and lack of Will.

Ignorance requires education—we have 4 years to address this.

Lack of faith is partly remedied by education but it is only realized by union with God and the will to follow HIM.

And lack of will? Only prayer will give us the strength to correct that. “Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, All Glory and Honor are Yours, Almighty Father, Forever and Ever. Amen.” This must become our motto and we must live it.

So, it is what it is…for the moment. We must not let this defeat us. This is not the end…It is only a setback. In fact, this should embolden us. We have 4 years till the next election. Nothing is for certain. We need to start now—ok, after a few days of sleep to recuperate.

But not much more than that.



What is at stake?

3,600 babies a day, times 365 days a year, times 4 more years…

5,256,000 more lambs to the slaughter.

UNACCEPTABLE

UNTHINKABLE

We have 1460 days, 35,040 hours, 2,102,400 minutes…and not a moment to waste.

Yes, we can!

May the Lord have Mercy on us all.

Let us pray…


As to my princess, no vomiting after breakfast this morning! We are headed home. Will post this evening, with pictures. God bless you and again, a million thank you's for your prayers and praises filled with thanksgving to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

A very quick update!

I am sorry this is so brief, but there is no internet access in the room and I literally had to go outside to a courtyard to pick up a signal. Scott is with our sweetie as I quickly type this.

The surgery was successful! Poor baby has thrown up 3 times and is still in quite a bit of pain. Please continue to pray for Anna Grace as she really is feeling miserable. But I am praising God that all went very well. I do have a HUGE praise report. Are you ready? When we got into the recovery room (they allowed us to be the ones to wake her), the nurse asked her if she wanted to stay in the bed, have Daddy carry her or Mommy. She looked at me then looked back at the nurse and said, "Mommy!" I of course tried to fight back tears! It was heaven holding her and letting her know that I loved her and that I would not leave her side.

I, unfortunately, brought the wrong camera cable, so I can't download pictures, not that I could anyways because of the internet.

Thank you again for your prayers, email, scriptures and comments!!

Much love and I will post from home tomorrow.

PS No TV in the room....so no clue on what is happening with the elections!!! UGH! I know it's in His plans.

UPDATE 7:05 P.M.: My techie guru (sweet hubby) was able to get me a signal on my laptop if I sit very still in the far corner of the room by the window, with the laptop a little elevated! Hey! I'm not complaining. Also, the wonderful nurses here at Shriners brought me a small TV that gets local channels, so I may not watch a play-by-play of the elections, but I'll at least be able to watch the 11 pm news! Wooohoo!

My beautiful princess is still throwing up, but her pain level has gone down a lot! She's really doing well and I absolutely know that it's because of all the prayers. Thank you Jesus for your faithful prayer warriors and for answering those prayers. I'm off to get some more snuggles in before she is out for the night.

Blessed!

First, I have to say that I am humbled and so incredibly blessed to have so many people praying for my baby girl. Wow! You guys amaze me!

We arrived at the hotel room at about 9 pm tonight. I gave Anna Grace a quick bath and we took some pictures as we scrubbed her hand and arm with the little brush filled with Betadine that the hospital had given me on our last visit. I then put her in new PJs and handed her a sweet little stuffed cow that her Grandma up north had sent her as a buddy to be with her during her stay here.

After tucking her in, I turned on the computer to see if I had any mail and there were 29 emails! All of them filled with prayers and well wishes for my baby girl. I sat here bawling as I read each one. God is so good! He sends you what you need, exactly when you need it.

You see, driving here with Anna Grace asleep in her carseat (Scott followed in a separate car behind us since he's leaving tomorrow night), I kept thinking about the elections tomorrow and all of the Obama hype going on. I began to get so depressed and truly sad. It wasn't because of our country. It wasn't because of our future. It wasn't because of all that is at stake with these elections. This time it was because I realized how much the world has rejected our God, and how evident it has become during these elections. My heart ached with every thought of Him nailed to that cross, being humiliated, spat on, in pain and suffering. And when I think about why He was on that cross in the first place, it breaks my heart. He did it for us. For you and for me. And His people, His world that He created, is truly falling apart with immorality, selfishness, power, greed, and people actually mocking the one, true God. I don't understand it. Yet, the words that kept coming to mind were "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do."

I read a couple of days ago about the boy who dressed as Jesus Christ for his Halloween parade at school and was sent home because it was too offensive to other students. WHAT?!! Offensive? Jesus is the image of pure love, humility and kindness. Kids could go to school dressed as Bin Laden and that's OK? But Jesus is offensive? Again, I don't understand. What kind of world are we living in? What are we teaching our children?

I have totally run off course here (as usual) and I apologize. What I was initially setting off to say was that as I drove and my thoughts wandered to all of the above, I felt deflated. I felt I had lost a battle. That was until I opened up my email a few minutes ago and saw how many people are praying for my sweet girl. You've brought tears to my eyes and I truly love the Jesus in each and every one of you. You ARE God's hands. You have His heart and His light and it shines. It shines bright as the sun! Thank you. You have renewed my faith in what seems to be a very dark world. You have shown me that God lives in each and every one of us and when we reach out to others, even if we think we're just doing a simple "nice gesture", we don't know what a difference we are making in someone's day. YOU have made a huge difference. You have reminded me that I am here to serve Him and that He is in control. Thank you!

My baby girl is now curled up next to me as I type. I love to hear her breathing softly. Oh, how I pray that this is the beginning of the end of her attachment issues. My heart is telling me that we are almost there. I will spend the next two days alone with her, catering to her and giving her as much Mama love as I can muster. Thank you, Lord for my little blessing.

I will post from the hospital after the surgery tomorrow. Hopefully we will have internet access and it will be a lot faster than here, hence the reason for no pictures.

Thank you all for blessing me so much tonight.

Please...pray!

Tonight we are leaving to Tampa for Anna Grace's surgery that will be tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. The doctors at Shriner's Hospital will be correcting her syndactyly of her right hand. She will be then put in a cast that she will be wearing 4-6 weeks.

I ask you to please join me in prayer as I lift up our little girl to our Savior. May He guide the surgeons hands so that every vein, every vessel, every piece of tissue that needs to be moved will be done so with guidance and wisdom from our Lord. May our Blessed Mother hold her and allow her to feel the warmth of a mother as I continue to pray that this be the last step towards our bonding. May my beautiful daughter see my love for her and know in her heart that she will never be abandoned again. May her heart be filled with peace knowing that she has a family forever and her fears of losing us will cease. We also pray that her physical pain be minimal and that she will soon be laughing and playing with her siblings. Lastly, we pray that the surgery be completely successful allowing her to have full and complete use of her little hand.

I will be taking my laptop and posting from the hotel tonight and hopefully after surgery tomorrow if I can get internet access at the hospital. Although I feel a huge sense of peace in my heart that all will be well, your prayers are so very appreciated.

Also, please continue to pray for our country, for the unborn and mostly for whatever the outcome of this election is, that it may be used to glorify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We pray that the hearts of those entering the voting booths tomorrow be filled with His mighty Spirit and be reminded of the sacrifice He made for us on that cross. Let us honor Him in all we do and say, but mostly in our actions by continuing to unite in His precious name as we protect his unborn children.

May God bless you for keeping our family in your prayers during Anna Grace's surgery and recovery and may American bless God, always!

Behold the cuteness!

Awww....brother and sisterly love!

I love those little lips! Am I being biased or is she really beautiful?

How can there be so much cuteness in one place?!

My boy always tells us he's gonna be a doctor when he grows up.

"Mama, are you sure it's Adam (big brother) under there?"

Almost the entire gang.

Missing is Amanda (she's at a retreat) and Tito.

More cuteness added to the mix with cousin, Seth.

" Yep, this is gonna be me in 30 years!"

Have you ever seen a sweeter puppy?

"Ruff! Ruff!" (That's all AJ said all night).

My stunning little Cinderella.

"SUPER MAAANNN!" (Oh, how I love this baby!)

Halloween was a busy day around here filled with lots of fun and excitement, from the moment the little ones opened their eyes. Anna Grace and Kai had a parade and party at school, then we came home to drop Amanda off at church who was going on a weekend retreat with our youth group.

Afterwards, we met up with my sister and my beautiful nephew, Seth. The got all dressed up including big brother, Adam, and we were off to go door knocking and to gather oodles of treats! Four bags full of treats to be exact! They were so darn cute saying "Trick or treat!" I especially loved AJ's rendition, he'd say "Treat me, please!" They were so tired by the end of the evening that they actually asked to go back home! Another Halloween gone by filled with great memories. Enjoy the pics!

P.S. Please check in tomorrow as I will be letting you all know the details about Anna Grace's surgery on Tuesday, Nov 4. We are leaving to Tampa tomorrow evening and are asking for prayers for our sweet girl!

Also, please remember keep praying for God's will to be done during these elections.