It's a MakeOver!!

Got this idea from Misty and thought since this is what I am doing next Thursday the 9th, this would be fun to try out!!
What do you think?
A


or B


I'm not 100% what I'll get done, but these are cool to see!! I will most definitely do my own before and after pics...stay tuned!! I haven't had a haircut done in a salon since about 6 yrs ago, so I am a little nervous!!! but I need to go short!
I guess I should really do this virtual thing with a newer pic, maybe I will after!!

Go do one yourself!! Marie claire
Post a link if you do!!
God bless, Penny

Food blog updated and something Fun!!

I didn't get the grocery list done yet as I don't have a budget yet. I will find out tomorrow and then I will post it.
We were watching Sesame Street and lo and behold what came on?? Ernie and Bert singing and dancing and Ernie WEARING a baby!!WOOT!! I loved it so much I had to take a pic, so excuse the weird look to it!!

I love it!!!!

God bless!!
Penny

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

For some reason I can't get that cheesy little song Ren and Stimpy used too sing out of my head. On the other hand, I suppose it should be a good thing that I awoke on a Monday morning with a happy tune in my head!!LOL If you ever watched Ren and Stimpy back in the early 90's, you will now have that song stuck in YOUR head!! Or better yet, how about the Log song?!?!Ok, I'll stop getting cheesy songs implanted in your brains!!

What a busy last few days! Hmmmmm, don't I say that every time I get on here?!?! Let's see, Thursday......I don't think anything interesting happened, other than me trying excruciatingly hard to get laundry done! Poor Bill is in terrible need of clothes too! He put on a pair of jeans and the crotch spilt (teehee!!) at least it was along the seam so I can fix that, then his only two pairs of shorts he's worn to work and has got them badly stained with some sort of grease. It all happened because before he started at his OTHER job he was ummmm a little plump squishy Fluffy, but then he lost a ton of weight, so we Freecycled his fluffy clothes and got him new clothes. Well, while he was off on disability, he got a little fluffy again and a lot of his clothes don't fit.
Thursday night Kerri and I went out for a girls night, had my yummy Vanilla Latte, except Mr.cutie forget to put my cream on top of it, oh well, it was sooooo yummy even without the whipped cream. I will just have to make sure I specifically ask for whipped cream and lot's of it!!!

Friday was a lake day again! Went with Kerri. It hasn't been that busy there lately which is nice. I will put more pics in the Flickr. I just realized that Kerri and I need to do a family group pic!! We've done kid group pics, but not with us Mama's in them!! Next friday Mama!!! Then I will post them. Bill also went and picked up my other find on Freecycle, a mini fridge!! It's actually a cooler that can be plugged into your vehicles lighter outlet and it can keep things cool or warm! It's shaped just like a little fridge, it's really cute! I wanted a mini fridge to keep juice and other drinks in for the kids. I was hoping it would free up some room in the big fridge. Eventually I will find/get a 3.2 cubic mini fridge, but for now, this is perfect!! It had never even been used before!!

Saturday, was cleaning. Trying to get the basement done. Trying to!! As I was about to clean the bathroom downstairs.....I opened the door only to find something out of a Stephen King novel!! There were Flying ants and crawling ants EVERYWHERE!!! EWWWWWWWWW!! I screamed the kids screamed, I'm tripping over all the kids that are behind me as I am trying to shut the door! That was soooo gross! So, that was our fun on Saturday. Thank goodness, flying ants aren't dangerous. They're just creepy!
Bill went and picked up the clothing from Freecycle for Matthew, which thankfully was clean this time!! However, the majority of it was a little too small for Matthew. But, at least there was a few t-shirts and a couple pairs of pants. But oh my!! Some of the little stuff was just sooooo cute!!! So, I will pack that away, you know, for a rainy day!! There was however, two little jackets that will fit him come the fall and even a little fleece Gap hoodie!! see, in the fall or winter months, all the kids have Gap hoodies that they wear out, to keep warm AND to create a unified look out in public and now Matthew has his very own!!!

Yesterday, Bill decided he would BBQ supper for us!! Hurray! I didn't have to cook, other than a pasta dish for the side. We did burgers and hotdogs.....hmmmmmmm......there are leftovers, might go get me a burger for breakfast!!LOL Robbie had received some $$$ for his birthday from Nana and Papa, so Bill took him over to Toys R Us so he could pick out something. of course, he chose a Transformer and a Spiderman figurine.

On the plans for this week: GROCERIES!! It'll only be a itty bit, but hey, it's something!!LOL I will put up my menu's and lists on the other blog in just a little bit. I'm just finishing up making menu's based on what is on sale at Stupidstore Superstore. Lake Day again on Friday!!
Then it's a long weekend!!! Three whole days with daddy!!

I can't believe the summer is almost half over!! Although, I'm not THAT disgruntled over it, LOL, that means it's closer to the fall!!! It has been sooooo hot here, ok I know that my Southern readers will laugh but when we're hitting 31-33 degrees Celsius and add on 60-70% humidity makes it feel like we're at 37-38 degrees Celsius!! So that's what, somewhere in the 90's in Fahrenheit?!?!
Today and the next few days are supposed to be around the mid 20 mark, much more tolerable!! It looks as though it may even try to rain/thunder storm!! WOOT!!
I think with the temps being a bit lower, I will try to get 3 or 4 dozen muffins baked and maybe a couple dozen cookies!! I would like to make some oatmeal cookies.We'll see what I can get done!!

Have a blessed Monday!!
~Penny

Just For Fun: mom Survey

stole this from: dreabecraft520 Blog from maya's mom.

1. How long have you been a mom?
Since November 1996

2. Girl? Boy? Both?
Both, 3 girls and 3 boys

3. How many children call you mommy?
six

4. Did you know what you were having?
Yup, everytime! Mama intuition told me and then an ultrasound. Except in the case of baby number 3 (Robbie) i was convinced he was a girl until 37weeks!!LOL

5. How old were you when you became a mom?
2 mos past my 18th birthday

6. How long were you in labor?
Altogether I have been in labour for about 47hrs give or take

7. What was your least favorite thing about labor?
the medical atmosphere and the un-comfy beds

8. Do you plan on having more kids?
oooooooh, don't even tempt me!1 I would soooo Love more

9. Does daddy change diapers?
He has only changed a handful. Not one from Matthew yet!!

10. How many times have you been peed on?
A handful of times, mostly from my first boy!!LOL

11. Barfed on?
Waaaayyyyyy too many times to count!!LOl

12. Is your child named after anyone?
Yup, all the boys are

13. When your child gets in trouble, who is the bad guy?
pretty equal between hubby and I

14. Who is the good guy?
usually it's me

15. What is the longest you have been away from your children?
12-24 hrs, only to have a baby!!

16. Kids' bedtime routine?
After dessert I start showers/baths for everyone (usually goes in order of youngest to oldest) then jammies, then teeth, then story/prayers, then lights out.
This all happens from about 7pm-9:30pm

17. Are your toes painted?
I always have my toes pink in the spring/summer and red in the fall/winter

18. Last movie you saw in the theater?
The Illusionist

19. Last time you had a date?
When Bill and I went to see above movie, I believe it was Sept 1st2006

20. One thing you gave up now that you are a mom?
I guess the freedom to do as I please, it's tough though because I always wanted to be a Mama I don't feel like I actually gave up anything!!LOL

21. One thing you will not give up just because you are a mom?
Trying to dress stylish and look presentable for my hubby

22. The worst thing I have done as a mom?
I fell asleep with Mariah in my arms when she was about 3days old and dropped her!! Thankfully she was swaddled in thick blankets and my legs were out stretched so she kind of rolled down, but I felt terrible!!I'm sure there are a few more that I can't think of right now

23. The stupidest thing I've done as a mom?
Listening to what other people said when my first was a baby and even with my second, when I should have really just kept going with what my Mama intuition was telling me. They both would've most likely nursed longer and so much more!!

24. The best thing I have done as a mom?
I am able to forgive myself for my mistakes and learn from them and I try to set an example of how I want them to be as adults and I always say sorry when I am wrong or done wrong.

God bless, Penny

Catching Up!!

I have been so busy these last few days! Where to start....
Excuse the bullet form post!!LOL
-Matthews rash is completely gone, and he is all better, it completely cleared up on Saturday. It was Roseola. So I guess in a sense I was wrong (not to completely push all the blame on the doctor, since I DID say that Mariah had already HAD Roseola) At least now they're both done!!LOL Personally, I would rather have them be babies when they get it, Mariah seemed much more uncomfortable with it.

-Robbie had his 7th birthday on Thursday!! My Grandma and Great Grandma came and we had cupcakes and Ice cream cones. Grandma also brought some outdoor toys (A Rugby set and a Golf set....she really enjoys payback!!)There are pics in the Flickr!

-Friday LAKE DAY!! We met up with Kerri and her kiddo's at the lake. Lot's of fun again. I swear this is what is making the summer bearable!!LOL Knowing that on Friday the kids will play and Kerri and I can visit!!LOL If only they had a Starbucks or Timmy's there.............

-Saturday Bill went and picked up a Ginormous lot of stuff from Freecycle for me!! So I spent the day re-organizing/cleaning my kitchen. I had over 8 boxes of 'stuff' to unpack!! The clothing was nasty...ewwwww!!! i don't understand why someone would do that. I was hoping to find some clothing for my little man (see below) who has next to no wardrobe!!LOL There were 3 bags and he had said there was some ladies clothing but he didn't want to sort through it (no problem, it was his Ex) Let's just say I was actually nervous to put my hand in the bag!!LOL But I managed to get two t-shirts for Matthew, thankfully they took a bleaching nicely!!LOL These people were not the most cleanest, but hey, that is why there is bleach!!

So all in all, I got some new pots and Tupperware and some other dishes and my kitchen is organized. There was also a whole bunch of cutlery, which I REALLY needed!! So then I turned around and Freecycled what I couldn't use and some stuff that was in my cupboards that I haven't used forever. (like a two person indoor grill?? small pans??)

I also cleaned out some clothing that I had that doesn't fit the kids and doesn't belong to anyone AND won't sell as well some of my clothes that I usually alternate between donating and Freecycling.
So all in all between yesterday and the day before I got rid of 3 garbage bags and four boxes!!

Now this week, the kids and I have been busy cleaning and organizing the basement. I'm hoping to come across a play kitchen, play house and the like on Freecycle. I would love to find a table and chairs set too. I want to turn the basement area into an area with 'centers' for play set up. like a housekeeping center, a media center, etc. But, I need to find the toys first!!LOL You'd think with having 6 kids my house would be over run with toys, but it's not. It's why they get so excited when stuff gets passed down to them!!LOL Of course, I do get some mommy-guilt with that, should I be buying my kids toys?? But, I don't. They like to spend their allowance at Value Village once in awhile, Bill and I get them one toy for their birthday and then about a month before Christmas we go through all their toy's and they all usually donate a small box to either freecycle or goodwill.

We also organized the girls room again. I moved both Kayla's and Alyssa's dressers into my laundry room and then put a shelf in their room. Gives them more space and makes it easier for me to put their clothes away. I'm hoping it will somewhat eliminate the clothing issues that kept happening, dirty clothing and clean clothing getting mixed up!!

So, over the next little while I am hoping to finish the basement and hopefully, prayerfully, have it set up as a nice play area(C'mon Freecycle!!!)!! Then before I know it, it'll be time to start cleaning and organizing the homeschool area!! We don't have a startdate until about sept.10th or at least sometime that week!!LOL

Tonight, I think Kerri and I are going out for coffee! Maybe I will embarrass her and take pics!!LOL *giggle*
This is supposed to be grocery week, but I don't think it'll be happening. We are still waiting for Bill's dumb stupid EX employer to give his holiday pay to him. So we'll see!! Prayers!!

Speaking about prayer and believing that the Lord will provide, the clothing that I got on the weekend for Matthew just well, wasn't. So I was bummed, but thought God will provide a way. So then last night I was checking my email and there was a post on Freecycle for a big lot of baby boys clothing. I figured it was taken since it had been posted a while before I saw it. It wasn't and now Bill can pick it up on saturday!!! I hope it's nice, I think it is, she sounds like a regular Mama and said that she really loved some of the stuff in there. Hopefully!

Friday is another lake day!!Woot!!

well, time to get going on today!!
have a blessed Tuesday!
~Penny

The Doctor was wrong

I had already come to this conclusion partially last night, when Mariah began scratching her butt cheek...ummmmm I don't put bugspray/sunscreen on her butt cheeks!!LOl Then come this morning, the decision was final, I know for a fact she was wrong, why?!?!
take a look at this!

Poor Matthew, the rash claims it's second victim!

This is exactly how Mariah's looked on Sunday when she woke up, resembles a heat rash. This is Matthew now...so I would say it's a fairly accurate assumption that this is a virus related rash. Now which one, I don't know!! Anyone got any ideas? It's an itchy one and the spots are raised and some have 'pimply' tops while others are just bumps. The good news is that there doesn't seem to be any other symptoms, no fever or anything! Mariah has been vaccinated against Measles (although I now it's not 100%) Where as Matthew has not (not until he's 12mos).
Here's what I know it's not:
-chicken pox (I wish!!)
-Roseola
-Scarlet fever (no sore throats, although dr did say to keep an eye out for peeling hands/feet and a strawberry tongue)
-Hand, Foot, and Mouth (ruled out by dr, but not by me. However there are no 'blisters' on Mariah's hands or feet or in her mouth.)
*sigh* There are so many virus's that cause a rash, so really, who knows. I just hate having the kids with something and not knowing what it is!!! I like answers!!LOL
I'm curious to see if anyone else will get it, or if it will stay with the youngers?!?! time will tell!!

Well, it's been a long day so far, besides a grumpy itchy baby and pre-schooler. Everyone was up SUPER early this morning thanks to a HUGE thunderstorm.

Have a blessed Wednesday!
~Penny

Sometimes my Kids Amaze Me

Okay, so sometimes they amaze me in a negative way!!LOl However this time it was positive, one of those moments where you think to yourself "hmmm, maybe I do do something right every now and again"

Mariah is not allowed outside right now, most likely just for today to let her rash heal. However, the other kids are allowed outside. I was actually dreading the scene that would entail should the older four venture outside only to leave the lone rash girl inside. Oh how there would be screams, yells. Items would be thrown, the injustice would be unimaginable!! Thankfully, I don't have to worry about that. They all decided that since Mariah wasn't allowed outside, that none of them would go outside because ya know, it just wouldn't be fair Mom!!! As I sat waiting for some sort of ultimatum or other, there was nothing and off they went.

However, all things comes with a cost! My living room is currently being taken apart. There are cushions everywhere, toys all over.....ugh! Ah well, perhaps the lesson of empathy is much more at front here than a messy living room!!

I on the other hand, have many things to get done today. Laundry, vacuuming, dishes...oh, don't I do that everyday?!?!!?

well, I suppose getting that done would be much more efficient if I were to remove my butt from in front of this screen and get going!!LOL
Have a blessed Tuesday!!
~Penny

Just another manic monday

wish it were some OTHER day!!LOL Okay, no other new lyrics to bore you with!!

First off I have been wishing it was bedtime since about 2am THIS morning. I was up all night with both Mariah and Matthew. mariah woke up yesterday with what I thought was just a heat rash, although as the day and night wore on, it continued to get worse. Matthew was off all day yesterday, but I just chalked it up to being one of those days. However through the night it became clear that there was more involved. By this morning I decided they both should be seen, I figured Matthew most likely had his very first ear infection and I had no clue what was going on with Mariah.

After sitting and waiting for over an hour in a virus infested waiting room (with a family sitting a few feet away from me with their little girl barfing in a bucket...ewwww) and a man sitting across from us coughing up a lung and the lady sitting a few feet away from us in the other direction with a toddler crying and coughing......we finally got in to see our doctor. She checks Mariah over and asks the usual questions "eating alright?" "yup" "any fever?" "nope" hmmmmmmm I'm not sure. She looks her over more closely and then asks if we have been outside a lot and if I use sunscreen and bug repellent. Um, yes I most definitely do! She figures it's one of a few things, either she is allergic to the sunscreen, the bug spray or a combination of the two. She figures that applying it every day for over a week straight has cause her skin to become 'sensitive' if not allergic to it. So, now she has to stay inside for the next 24-48hrs to give her skin a rest and we will be using a wrist band that apparently is supposed to repel mosquitoes. I hope it's not the sunscreen!! That stuff is too expensive to try a slew of different brands!! we shall see!! She also gave us some cortisone cream to apply to help with the discomfort and to calm it down
But here's how my baby girl looks right now:


Now with Matthew, he's a mystery!!LOL His ears are perfectly clear, her conclusion, he's teething and it's radiating into his ears. Which I had originally thought as well, but you can never be too sure when it's a baby and a possible ear infection, I do not like to play around with those! So, we'll try tylenol for a few days and see what happens. poor baby, he's not usually an unhappy boy!! Even with his first two bottom teeth, he wasn't that bad. Maybe his top ones are all going to come in at the same time?!?!I refuse to use that baby crap orajel. I guess if he needs to nurse for 12hrs straight, so be it!!

So, I am hoping for some decent sleep tonight....hoping!!

Last night we had some crazy weather, we were even under a tornado watch!! I don't think our city has ever actually had a tornado before, not as long as I have lived here and that's over 28yrs!!But check out these clouds!!
This was basically right over top of my house:



and a bit closer:


Thankfully, praise the Lord, nothing serious came out of it!! as much as I would love to witness a tornado in person, I would rather not have my family/friends go through it...yeah maybe I should've been a storm chaser!!LOL For now, I'll take the challenges from the storms within my own walls!!

Have a blessed evening and I am going to try and get my menus posted in the food blog tonight, we'll see after I get my babes in bed!!
~Penny

Lake Day!!!

What a nice day we had today!! We were up early and out the door to head over to our lake. We were the first ones there, which is perfect because then we get prime choice for a spot!! Kerri and her kids met up with us shortly after we got there and everyone had a great time. It was sure hot though, I think we hit about 31 degrees Celsius...perfect for being at the lake!! The kids had fun swimming in the wading pool and chasing each other around. Then we had a nice picnic lunch and left shortly afterwards. It got so jam packed there, and I think a daycare and then a summer camp showed up, too many kids!!LOL The one daycare lady was quite something, makes me so very happy that I can stay at home with my kids. Alyssa said to after we got home, "How come that lady was so rude to those kids?" I don't know, wish I had an answer!! She wasn't what I'd call overly mean, but if that would've been my kids she was speaking like that to, I would have definitely had something to say about it. She was just so cold and abrupt! I mean these kids were Mariah's age and maybe a bit a younger. Alyssa said she was sure happy they didn't have to go to daycare too!

The kids were exhausted when we got home, and a wee bit grumpy. For the rest of the afternoon, I just got everyone washed up and got some laundry done. there are pics in the flickr too!!

Here's one of our lake:



and some pretty flowers:




Tomorrow we are having a BBQ and let me tell you, I am SOOOOO very much looking forward to a BBQ's burger cooked by Bill!! YUM! He is definitely a man of art with the BBQ!!!

Oh, and an update on his new job!! Bill is so happy there!! Hurray!! It is a really, really awesome place to work. His boss is great and is really kind to his employees and notices the little things and appreciates them, yay!!!

Oh and I thought I would end this post with a few pics of my mom's car!!(remember me saying it's all decked out in clowns?!?!?)
Here!!




Now I am off to go and post some pics in the food blog!!
Have a blessed Friday!!(or Saturday!!LOL)
~Penny

The funny things they say

This morning Bill was going through some change to put the 'smaller' coins into the change jar we have. He left it all sitting on our dresser. A little while later, I am getting Matthew out of bed and Robbie was chatting to me, he noticed the pile of pennies, dimes and nickles sitting on our dresser and says, "WOW, is this all the money Daddy earned at his new job?" ROFL!!! Oh to be at the age where nickles, dimes and pennies meant you had a ton of money!!

Today is a busy day, I want to make sure everything is packed for the lake tomorrow that isn't food. I have to wash a couple of life jackets. Make sure everyone has their change of clothes and towels in their bags. Make sure that the blanket is clean and ready to go, then try to fit all of the crap stuff into the stroller!! Ah, well I've made work every other year!! Then go grocery shopping, then come home and put all said groceries away, then pack food for tomorrow. There is a good possibility it could be a late night. I'm sure Mariah is going to be in a joyful mood today...not! She was up and down a ton of times with quite a few mosquito bites on the backs of her legs, poor girl. They are huge, so finally she caved in around 4am and took some Benadryl. Today only a couple are going outside and they're going out earlier so they can wear pants and long sleeved shirts to put the bug stuff on.

Well, best get off here and get going on the day...which apparently is going to start off with my changing Matthew........Goooooooood Mornin'!!

Have a blessed Thursday and Friday, I should be on here tomorrow night with pics!!
~Penny

When will I learn

Okay, so 'Bronzed Betty' has no sunscreen in it (which I knew before I put it on, which makes me even more of a dork) But, i thought that maybe it might give me a glow...um...yup! Definitely have a glow, more of the red variety however!!LOL It's not that bad, but I really should've known that sunscreen would've been a better choice on my ghastly white skin. What's even more fun, the children making fun of me. "Well Mommy, guess you shoulda put the sunscreen on" Yeah, yeah!!

Next few days are going to be busy, groceries tomorrow night, lake on Friday. I've decided I am going to cross the line, I am going to take my camera grocery shopping. I mean really, as if I don't look odd enough with my baby strapped to my body in a piece of cloth, walking around with a woman who has a multitude of piercings (I think over 25 in her ears alone, then there is her nose and eyebrows) not too mention the fact that her car is TOTALLY decorated to reflect her other job as a clown. So, I may as well walk around snapping pictures!!

If you could Mariah right now, you would run.away.very.fast. She is totally exhausted and is screaming at the top of her lungs at everyone about everything. I have had to get up and down more times than I care to count. So, I will sign out for now to go and deal with the screaming meanie one.more.time.

Have a blessed Wednesday!!
Penny

Is it a bad thing....

-that my children are sitting around the table eating snack quizzing each other on internet chat abbreviations?
-that before going outside today I covered my ghost white flesh with a product called 'Bronzed Betty'?(at least it smelled fabulous!!)
-that I taught my 10.5yr old how to weed whack and he keeps begging to go outside and do more?
-that I had visions of squishing my husbands head last night when he nonchalantly replied with "Oh yeah, must've forgot to tell you about that..hehe"(this was regarding a letter we received from the car finance place saying that our van pymnt was in default...which it isn't...we made different payment arrangements for last month because of Bill's new job and apparently 'THEY' cannot stop the computer generated letter that states our account is in default)
-that all I really want for dinner is an Espresso Brownie and a Venti Vanilla Latte with an extra shot (or two) of espresso?

I didn't think so.

Have a blessed Tuesday! Penny

~update~

Updated to say that Pics are loaded and I also put a new post in the food blog!!
I'll try to post the rest in the food blog later!
Blessings!! Penny

I Am Free

I am free to run
I am free to dance
I am free to live for you
I am free

I AM FREE ~Newsboys

****************************
Yeah totally lusting over their latest CD, GO! Must save up for that, awesome songs! I think I would like to get the remix album too.......They soooo need to come to Canada!!! I could even take Alyssa to see them and not worry about inappropriate stuff!!Hmmmmm, I do have birthday coming up!! What an awesome b-day present that would be!! MOM?!?!?!!? The CD that is!!LOL

Happy Monday! What a busy week it's been!! Thank you for all the emails and comments about my last post! I decided as well, rather than moping around, I would make as much positives arise from the situation as possible. I created an email group (just like that one) for Christian Attachment Parenting!!! There is nothing like that for my city, and these parents need a spiritually safe place to discuss and encourage one another and my goodness to be able to say I am praying for you!! I have big visions for this group!!!

Last week we got started into our 'summer' routine...ahhhhhhhhhh...as much as I dislike the heat (not an issue today tho!!LOL) I love the relaxed atmosphere of the summer! I will upload some pics from last week into the Flickr later (they're still sitting in my camera!!LOL)

On the schedule for this week, baking today!! Taking advantage of the cooler temps!!
Thursday is grocery shopping! My mom's schedule changed, so we have to go then. I will be posting Menu's and all that good stuff in the Food Blog sometime today. As well as a new list of money saving tips!!

But for right now, I need to get the diapers on their second cycle, and get the muffins in the oven!! Have a blessed Monday!!

I’ve heard it in the silence
Seen it on a face
I’ve felt it in a long hour
Like a sweet embrace
I know this is true
It's calling out to me

Something Beautiful GO! ~Newsboys

Psalm 117:2

For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

I awoke this morning with a heavy heart and it has nothing to do with my family. It has to do with an email group that I had joined a few weeks ago. A group that has many different faiths, but is based on the attachment parenting values. A topic came up that I am VERY passionate about, Pro-Life. I am very firm on my beliefs and I prayed about replying. I tried to choose my words carefully so as not to come across as 'blaming', yet, still getting the word of God out as well. As you can imagine, in a group that may have the same parenting ideals, my biblical viewpoint was not taken so well. Long story short, I was very sad at the outcome. I know that with each issue there are two sides and one most of the time you'll disagree with, but this is such a deep issue. A lot of very hurtful comments were expressed in regards to religion and it broke me. I have very, very good friendships in real life with wonderful women who are not Christian and we can talk openly and honestly with one another and they have NEVER made me feel terrible or wrong. I can maintain a relationship with my mother and my sister, who are VERY much not Christian, and we do so in a loving way. Sure they crack a joke here and there, but I know that is not their true feelings and I know they appreciate the fact of knowing that I pray for them daily.

But to hear such distorted information about Christianity(and basically any God fearing religion) was too much, it made me feel sick to my stomach and I broke down. I'm still so shaken and the lump in my throat keeps resurfacing.

Now having shared all that, here is where the Lord is faithful, which is why I posted that as my title.
Through all of that, the Lord brought a friend to me. Interestingly enough, we were both emailing each other at about the same time this morning. She is likeminded and was hurt the same. I believe the Lord brought me the group to meet her!! I love how the Lord provides, He saw me hurting and said "Here, look at the diamond in the rough" It was worth the bit of hurt and pain to have come out with a friend!! And who knows, maybe my words reached someone, even if they didn't reply

I will never step down from my fight until all women feel there are much better alternatives, and can access them freely. If you're on the fence about Pro-Life or Pro-Choice or are pro-choice, I urge you to click on my pro-life graphic on the right up by my Flickr, she has posted MANY links that are very informative and blunt. I think it's well over due time that we get blunt about this.

Well, it has taken me almost 3 hours to write this!!!LOL, Dropping a sentence here and there, in between chasing Mariah around and cleaning up after her!! Alex didn't put away the box of salt after he used it to rinse his mouth, and lo and behold Mariah took it and dumped about 5 cups worth on the carpet under the table.

Today was Bill's first day at his new job, he just called me awhile ago on his lunch break and said it's going pretty good so far. I guess as good as it can be when it's your first day!!LOL

Have a blessed Tuesday!!
~Penny

Happy Birthday Canada!!!

We didn't do anything special this year, not too sure why either!!LOL Usually we go to the lake or something, but for some reason or another it just never happened today. Bill was going to take the older kids to see the fireworks, but then the thought of being downtown and trying to find a place to watch just seemed more effort than it was worth. Besides, in the next couple of weeks there's going to be fireworks every night, so we'll make a point of going to see them at some point. We did have a busy weekend though, lot's of cleaning and organizing. I took a shelf out of the front hall closet and put it in the living room. We really needed another shelf in here to hold books and stuff. Then we put up some of the posters we had got from Freecycle. We put some up in every ones room, the computer area in the living room, and a few other places here and there, as well as all over the basement. Here's some pics!!

~computer area~





~my filing cabinet~ that is turned around to prevent little ones from getting into it!!





~one of the basement walls~





~Alyssa's little nook~





~Robbie's wall~






There are more pics in the Flickr!!

Oh!! Some great news to share!! Bill's Mama should be getting out of the long term care facility on Thursday!!! Praise the Lord!! She is doing much better, although still has a way to go with things, but I know she can do it! If anyone is capable of accomplishing something, it's most definitely her!! She has not been home since the middle of January when she was rushed into emergency. She was in very dire condition at that point in time, but as per usual, she blew everyone away with her will to live and fight!! Even the doctor said he had never had someone be coherent having potassium levels as high as she did, most people are unconscious at the level she was at. I'm so proud of her!! Both my Mama's are doing so good with their struggles!! I'm so blessed to have them in my life!!

Hope everyone has a blessed Holiday day tomorrow!!
~Penny