If a mom ...

I wrote my morning up in "if you give a mouse a cookie" style. Enjoy :)

What I am thinking this Memorial Day

Many years ago a man fought in the war. He went off to fight for his country. Then he came home and married. They had 8 children, 4 sons and 4 daughters. One of those sons had 1 son and 3 daughters. 1 of those daughters is me. My grandfather fought in the war and survived. Because he survived I was born.

There are many many men and women for whom the story was not so rosy. Many men went off to war to fight for their country and never returned. There are many children and grandchildren who were never born because of a war. There are many children who grew up without a father or mother because of a war. And many people have grieved lost loved ones.

On this day, Memorial Day, we remember those people who were lost in service to our country. I want to thank you to all those who have lost loved ones. Thank you for your sacrifice. I am so grateful to live in a country that has so many freedoms. I am so sorry for your loss.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

You know the saying "Eat, drink, and be merry"? Did you know that it is from the bible? Did you know that the next line is "For tomorrow we will die" (Is 22:13). I knew those things but I learned something new about that passage tonight.

In Isaiah 22 God is talking about the defenses that the Israelites put up around their city, knowing that their old defenses, and probably their new ones were not good enough to save them.

So they decided to have a party.

This is the part that blows my mind. They really thought they were going to die. They were sure that they were going to die.

And they decided to eat and drink and engage in revelry.

God had asked them to weep and wail, to tear out their hair and to put on sack cloth (vs 12). If they had done as God asked maybe they wouldn't have died tomorrow.

God was begging them to turn to him. But that still didn't change their minds or actions.

In verse 8-11 God describes the defenses that they had built up and then says "but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago."

God made everything. Including the things that I am hiding behind or building up to defend me. I need to look to the maker of these things for my true defense.

I'm sorry God for looking to the things you have made, instead of looking to you for defense. Please help me remember to always look to you. Thank you for being there for me always! I love you!

Why Not Me?

When I'm struggling with something the temptation is often to ask why? or why me? But I think we need to start asking why not? or why not me?

We live in a fallen world. There are struggles. Everyone struggles. What makes me so special that I should not struggle or that I should not have this struggle? God showed me this last week.

I struggle with insomnia.

It manifests itself in different ways on different nights. Sometimes I can't fall asleep. Sometimes I can't stay asleep. Sometimes I can't go back to sleep when I wake up. Lately it's been I wake up in the night and can't fall asleep for up to hours.

It all boils down to one statement; I'm tired.

One night I was up for 3 to 4 hours. When I had been awake for over 2 hours, and had already tried all my usual tricks, I looked at the clock and asked whhhyyyy?

And then God said why not? Why not me? What makes me so special? Why shouldn't I struggle?

Another great question is: What is God trying to show me through this struggle?

One thing i have found is that God is giving me a special time to be with him in the middle of the night. I have a time of quiet, which is rare of my busy life with 3 kids under 4. And I have the privilege of spending it with him.

My response needs to be (and sometimes is :)); Thank you God for giving me this special time with you.

What Connects Me To God #savoringtimewithGod

I am going through the devotional book Savor, by Shauna Niequist with my women's bible study. I thought the questions were so great and thought provoking that I wanted to share them and my answers with you. I would love to hear your answers in the comments or if you blog about them too please post your link in the comments!


June 9 p 174

Q. God is endlessly creative in how he shares his presence with each of us. And the specific way he chooses to connect with you matters. What is the tie that binds you to God?

A. Peace, quiet, alone time, time with people, deep conversations with girlfriends, loving my kids, sometimes some songs, deep abiding faith and love, my garden, my chickens, obeying, seeing God working in circumstances

The list above is what came to mind when I asked myself how I have seen and felt connected to God lately. As you can see it is widely varied. I was trying to figure out what one thing binds me to God and realized that it is not one thing, it is many things. I see God all around me, in many parts of my life. And he speaks to me in many ways, in the quiet, through the voice of a friend, in my garden, through my husband, etc.


But there is one thing that really ties my to God and that is inside of me. One of my spiritual gifts is faith. It took me forever to realize that that is a spiritual gift, not something I learned, but something I was given. But I have it. It is deep inside of me, and no matter the circumstances in life or around me I still have it. I believe in God, I believe that he is there, that he loves me, that what he says in the bible is true. I believe. That's it, I just believe. I can't explain it, I didn't put it there, it is just there. I have absolute faith in God. And that is the tie that most binds me to God.


But I am so thankful for all the other ways he speaks to me too! How do you connect with God? How does he speak to you?

Physical Difficulty #savoringtimewithGod

I am going through the devotional book Savor, by Shauna Niequist with my women's bible study. I thought the questions were so great and thought provoking that I wanted to share them and my answers with you. I would love to hear your answers in the comments or if you blog about them too please post your link in the comments!


June 4 p 168

Q. Have you ever run a marathon, or fulfilled some other physical goal that pushed you beyond what you had thought you could do? What did you learn from that process?

A. Well I gave birth to 3 babies. And nursed them.

Before the first one I thought it would all be fine and easy. I was planning to have an epidural and breastfeeding is natural, right? I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I didn't know how hard it would be. When my epidural didn't work right with my first two I learned how excruciating labor and child birth could be. At one point with my first I honestly wasn't sure how I would make it. But I did make it, and went on to birth 2 more children. I learned I am capable even if it is horribly hard. I also learned that I can endure horrible pain for a short time period as long as there is an end in sight. But even in that moment when I can't see the end I would still choose to do it all over again for my precious children. I guess I learned how strong I am?

Nursing babies took a whole different level of strength. I wrote about this before, but Nursing my first was incredibly hard. It was very painful. Problems with latch and neither of us knew what to do. In the beginning, for the first several months I daydreamed at every feeding about switching to a bottle. I sometimes wished that the doctor would find a medical reason for me to stop breastfeeding and switch to formula. (That sounds horrible, and I cringe writing that, but it is true). There were times I honestly didn't know if I would finish the week nursing. But I made it through. I made it to a year nursing both my first and second (still working on my 3rd). It started being easy sometime between 3 and 6 months (I can't remember for sure when, that whole time is a little fuzzy). Again I learned how strong I am. I can make it through. I learned to take the hard things 1 thing at a time, (I will make it through this one feeding don't think about the next one). I learned that pushing through one hard thing may make the next one a little easier (the 2nd and 3rd have been easier for nursing, one naturally and 1 with the help of a tongue tie being clipped). I learned that it is ok to lean on something to help you make it through (I doubt I would have made it through without nipple shields, I've used them with all 3 and they are a life saver!). I learned that hard things are only a season. I learned that God is right there with me through those hard seasons

5 Random Questions 33

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. Have you ever sleepwalked? yes, when I was little I sleep walked downstairs and tried to use the couch as a toilet (thankfully my dad stopped me), and this isn't sleep walking but it is a funny sleep story - When I was a freshman in college one night my roommate got up to go to the bathroom and I sat up in my sleep and said "What are you doing?" she said "going to the bathroom" and I said "why?". I didn't remember any of it in the morning. It still makes me laugh to picture it :)

2. Can you build a house of cards? I don't know, I never tried

3. What’s your favorite TV advert? The ones that stand out in my mind are those commercials with the two guy being the computer guys Mac and PC and their funny discussions. I still use a pc so they never convinced me, but I always thought they were funny.

4. Can you play poker? I never learned how to play, I'm sure I could if I learned but I have no idea if I would be any good

5. If your parents hated your partner you currently loved would you ditch him or carry on with him despite the protests? If they hated him I would try to talk it out and see what it was they had an objection to and then decide if I could live with it or not, if they just didn't care for him I would probably carry on and see if something specific came up. If nothing specific, just a mismatch of personalities then I would carry on.


I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 32

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. What would be your ideal partner? my husband

2. Have you ever been professionally photographed? for my senior pictures, and for our wedding our photographer was Mr. Random's cousin who is a professional photographer

3. What’s your favorite joke? I don't know if I have a favorite. I enjoy listening to them but I'm not very good at thinking of them

4. What’s been your best present? I have had lots of great presents. One that stands out in my mind was a picture my husband (then boyfriend) gave me of the courtship class that we met in. The class and the picture had happened several years before we started dating, and we had lost contact in the middle so it was special to me that he had it.

5. What’s been your worst present? Oh, I don't remember, I try not to rank presents as bad presents, all presents are a thoughtful expression of love (or should be :) )

I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 31

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. Have you ever played conkers? I have never even heard of conkers so no I haven't played it

2. What’s the most unusual conversation you've ever had? I don't remember any particularly unusual ones, does that mean non of them have been or all of them are?

3. Are you much of a gambler? no, I like to play it safe most of the time

4. Are you much of a daredevil? no, same as last question :)

5. Are you a good liar? sometimes, but I'm not proud of it, I may be sort of a compulsive liar (I don't lie all the time, but sometimes I feel compelled to lie, generally when I feel like I will get in trouble, at those times its like I can't stop myself from lying


I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 30

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. Are you a good judge of character? not really, I tend to look for the best in people so I have a hard time knowing if they are trying to hurt me, I have had a feeling sometimes that I needed to stay away from a person and I did, I have no idea if the feeling was accurate or not, but I listen to it

2. Are you any good at charades? I don't remember, I haven't played it in a long time

3. How long could you go without talking? Depends on who is around, and does typing on the internet count? Maybe a couple hours (am assuming we are not including overnight when I am sleeping)

4. What has been your worst haircut/style? One time I asked for a specific haircut and she did what I asked but it wasn't great with my hair. Fortunately I am not picky and my hair grows fast so I don't worry too much about specific haircuts, and I definitely don't fuss over the style. On Sunday I realized after I got to church that I had forgotten to brush my hair that morning, oh well (I doubt anyone noticed, my hair is thick enough that it generally stays in place, it probably just looked wind blown), which is one of the reasons I rarely fuss over style, even if I make it look great it will be messed up when I go outside, and my hair is too thick to do ponytails, it gives me headaches because it is so heavy, so I just keep it short (chin length) and brush, gel, and go in the morning.

Well that was the longest run on sentence ever, oh well.

5. Can you iceskate? I tried once but we couldn't find skates that fit right for me so I had to sit down for a while after being up for only a few minutes. It was very painful. I would like to try again, and I hope it would work better.


I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 29

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. If you could ask your future self one question what would it be? What choices do you wish you had never made?

2. Do you hold grudges? I try not to, I do sometimes but I work at letting them go

3. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature what new animal would you create? A dolphin cat, no, an animal that can take care of itself, no work needed by me that produces eggs and delicious meat

4 Do you decorate the outside of your house for christmas? not usually, we put up a few lights around the porch this year, but only had them on a few times, and i have no idea if we will ever take them down.

5. Can you solve sudoko puzzles? the easy level ones, yes, maybe some others, I just don't have time to try. When I had time to try I enjoyed doing the fun shaped ones or alphabet ones


I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 28

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. Have you ever tie-dyed your own clothes? no, I was going to once at school, but I didn't get to, I don't remember why

2. How often do you buy new clothes? every couple of months or so, when I see something cute at a Good Will half off sale

3. Are you reliable? depends on what you need, I am reliable at taking care of my kids, I am rarely on time, I am pretty good at getting job/blog stuff in on time, I am working doing what I say I am going to do and not saying I am going to do something if I don't know for sure I can

4. Are you proud of yourself? in general yes, I do some not pride worthy stuff, but in general I think I am doing good, because I have God by my side

5. Have you ever had a secret admirer not that I know of, so if I did they kept it a secret :)


I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 27

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be several things, the out of home job I wanted the longest was Art Teacher, the one I always wanted was stay at home mom, the one I went to school for for Day Care Teacher / Nanny

2. If you could change anything about yourself what would it be? hmm, I don't know, I guess I would lose some weight, but if I didn't lose weight I wouldn't be unhappy with myself

3. What’s the longest you've ever grown your hair? When I was little I had it down to the middle of my back

4. Are you scared of flying? yes, but I enjoy it anyways

5. Would you rather trade some intelligence for looks or looks for intelligence? I would trade looks for intelligence, the looks are going to fade anyways



I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 26

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. What’s the longest you've gone without sleep? 28 hours and it was horrible 

2. What’s the tallest building you've ever been up? the Taibei 101, at the time it was the 2nd tallest building in the world I think

3. Do you have any scars? yes, several.A few notable ones -  I have one on my head just behind my hairline from when we were in a car accident when I was little. One on the back of my ankle from when I stepped through a window (I was climbing a junk pile I wasn't supposed to be on). Two on my hand just above my wrist from burning myself on the oven.

4. Do you like marmite? I don't even know what that is, if anyone knows tell me what it is!

5. Did you ever win any sportsday events? I'm not sure what sportsday is, but probably not, I am not one who usually wins at sporting events


I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 25

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. What’s your favorite word? antidisestablishmentarionism, I have no idea what it means but it is the longest word I know and I know how to spell it :)

 
2. What’s your least favorite word? itched as in I itched myself, itch is a description of the sensation, scratch is the action you take to alleviate it

3. What was the last film you saw? Epic, the animated kids movie, it was actually pretty cute :)

4. What football team do you support? Ohio State Buckeyes, it is the team my family supports, I don't really follow sports much

5. Can you somersault? umm, I used to be ale to, I have to admit I haven't even tried in many years, although I'm sure  I will before too long when Monkey is ready to learn


I can't wait to read your answers!







Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 24

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. Have you ever been in a newspaper? I was chosen as a nominee for an award put on by a newspaper, I think I might have been put in that one then, a few time in the high school paper, and of course when I got married etc.

2. How long can you balance on one foot? not very long, there are several yoga poses that I simply cannot do

3. Have you ever fired a gun? yes, I did a 4H shooting range thing with my brother once and I shot more asprin than he did :)

4. Have you ever tried archery? only in school, but it was fun :)

5. What’s your favorite condiment? hmm, ketchup or miracle whip


I can't wait to read your answers!




Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 23

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. How big is your house? Small, a little less than 1000 sq ft, although we do have a decent basement too

2. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? Sunsets, I'd rather not be awake when the sun rises, although the few I have seen were very pretty

3. What do you typically have for breakfast? most days mini quiches (egg muffins, recipe coming soon) or some other form of eggs

4. Do you like scary movies? no, not at all, I still am scared from watching Sixth Sense when i was in middle school

5. What’s your favorite Milkshake flavor? Strawberry, or most any fruit flavor



I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 22

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. What type of music do you like? I like Christian music, mostly worship or fun upbeat songs, I also enjoy some non-christian upbeat music

2. Have you ever been skinnydipping? nope

3. How many Pillows do you sleep with? 1 under my head, 4 propping up my knees and feet

4. What position do you often sleep in? On my back

5. What do you wear to bed? PJ pants and a t-shirt



I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 21

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. Have you ever been famous? No

2. Would you like to be a big celebrity? No, I wouldn't mind this blog becoming well known, but I wouldn't want to be one of those celebrities that are followed everywhere.

3. Would you ever go on Big Brother? I'm not sure what that is, I think its a TV show? If so, then no, I don't want to go on it.

4. How big is your TV? Umm, not huge but bigger than it used to be, I would be fine with smaller but we got this one free. I have no idea what it's number size is.

5. What is your most essential appliance? Probably the oven, no, the fridge, I'm not sure how we would keep the food safe without it. I have plenty of others I wouldn't want to live without but that one I really wouldn't know how to replace in our current culture without huge ice blocks.



I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html

5 Random Questions 20

I love answering random questions, and I love reading other people's answers to random questions. So I thought that would make a fun series. I will answer the 5 questions in my post and you can answer them in the comments. We can all get to know each other better, how much more fun can you get?

So here we go 5 Random Questions:


1. Have you ever built a snowman? Yes, I love playing in the snow!

2. Have you ever been sleding? Yes!

3. Have you ever flown a kite? I havc tried, I have never been very successful

4. What colour socks are you wearing? Dark Pink

5. If you could live anywhere, where would that be? Right here, I love my town, being close to family, my church family. I would not choose to live any where else.



I can't wait to read your answers!


Questions Source:

http://allysrandomage.blogspot.com/2007/06/101-random-questions.html