Thank God no disc involvement.
MRI on my neck is normal.
Thats what working too hard and being too stressed out did for me.
I strained it.

Thursday Thirteen *time out*

I took a time out this week. I did not do my meal plan menu, nor did I do a tackle on Tuesday. I set a side the Wordless Wednesday and just fled back to my youth for a "time out".
Thirteen things I discovered...

1. I really needed a break from meme's
2. I have been driving myself with the meme's instead of them just being prompts.
3. I had a nice day and got a lot accomplished in a very relaxed way.
4. I let meme's be my motivator (human doing verses human being) instead of following the goose ( Holy Spirit).
5. My numbers dropped and that was a challenge for me. I have aloud myself to be driven by the number of hits. I have been motivated by the number of hits to the blog.
6. I desire my compassion for others to be my motivator.
7. I want to have this blog compliment my life and not find my self hood in it.
8. There are several of you who genuinely love and care about me.
9. I do not have to perform or post exceptional post every day. It is too exhaustive to do tutorials every day. I need to slow down.
10. I can share my knowledge without exhausting myself. I can simply be me.
11. I was becoming addicted to blogging it was flooding my every thought.
12. Balance is beautiful. My focus became skewed, I want to share my experience strength and hope. My weaknesses are a part of that, I do not have to always be strong. Even if the numbers drop I can still be real.
13. Although I care about each of you, my readers, there are several of you who I have come to know and love personally. I care deeply about you all as individuals.

Sound Advice

Perfect devotional for me today, Thank you Denise.

Sound Advice

Read Exodus 16:1 through 18:27

Kathryn complains, “I feel like I’m always rushing around, always stressed. With family, work, church—my life is so busy! And I can’t seem to say ‘no!’” In some circles, stress has almost become a status symbol. However, there are times that it is necessary to “cut back” on one’s responsibilities to maintain health and peace of mind.

Moses once faced a similar problem. As God’s appointed leader, the newly-freed Israelites came to him to seek God’s will. Whenever they had a dispute, Moses would act as a judge to settle the issue. His father-in-law, Jethro, was concerned.

Moses father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone” (Exodus 18:17–18).

Jethro offered some sound advice. He suggested a plan to appoint capable men to assist Moses in the work. The work load was evaluated, and distributed among responsible men. Moses was able to handle his responsibilities.

Challenge for Today: Feeling stressed out? Evaluate your work load and set priorities. If necessary, cut back!

Quicklook:Exodus 18:17–23

Yep this one must have been written just for me!

Thankful Thursday

The mountain air is pure and clear and I wish to my soul that I could always be there...but
There is a reason for living way down in the valley that only the mountain knows....

I have been in a valley for a while grieving I think. Coming to terms with the thing I last wrote about on my other blog. Sometimes in life messages run deeply as the river down in the valley. Some rivers run to the sea. It is my hope that soon this one will run into the sea. Lies forge deep cliffs and the edges are steep as a gorge cut through. Flushing out the lies and exposing them the river runs wild and awash with rapids. I know in my head that the events were not my fault by a lie runs as the rapids do, treacherously cutting and scaring the topography. I am cut deep.
It is in the great forge that I traverse many stones and sharp edges of time. Hiking through to the other side. Climbing steep ravines.
These hikes make one strong yet week in the knowledge that I must be week to gain HIS strength. It has been in my own strength that I stumbled upon the stones that are scattered across my daily path. Some stones need to be picked up and tossed aside and other to be stepped around and avoided. Having the wisdom to know the difference ...ahh it is the lesson of the valley. I am grateful and humbled by the valley. For it in itself gives cause to gaze up at the mountain.

Good night sleep tight.

I rested most of the day. After I went to therapy I just did the dishes and some laundry and just took it easy. My sweet husband checked on me and brought me the heating pad a few times. He is so loving and kind. He is watching a movie in his office.
I need to go to CRS (children's rehab) on Friday. I'll do the financial and it will be finished. I look forward to that not hanging over me. I'll miss my beloved because he will start up the overtime again. He is so wonderful in his presence. A lot of men pursue wealth at the loss of their families my beloved works everyday never tardy or absent frivolously. He is such a generous provider. I love how he has his family the priority not the dollar. I know that God is our provider. I think I have taken a lot upon myself that I need to trust God more for. It is that balance of responsibility. The thing over the jacket really took so m of my steam away. I worked on it and it was not acceptable due to the culture. I do miss home schooling my kids a lot. I think my days are sorta lonely. That makes me think of the gift of loneliness is reaching out. I need to get myself into the Word more and find fellowship in the loving manual of my days.
We received a nice invitation for a Valentines evening out. I am looking forward to it. We also will be doing some hockey lessons that I found out about for free. There is another party (a going away party) for a young couple that I have known the wife from her infancy. They are leaving to spend a year in Germany.
My neck is sore and so sitting here at the computer is uncomfortable. The doctors office has not received any news on the MRI. That could be a good thing?
My sweet children found me asleep on the sofa at 7:30 p.m.. I got loving hugs and cuddles. Daddy man did story time. I spent my evening watching (flipping channels in boredom) T.V. Wow I do not miss T.V. We do not have cable so I just watch whatever is on. The shows are so bad and dark of murders and lies and just yuck! That was the first evening I watched in a very long time.
My head hurts so I'll close for now.
I hope all of you have a wonderful nights sleep.
~Donetta

A New Day

Today is a new day.
Full of promise and full of life
When I see my husbands eye in few moments
When I hand him his lunch...
I will remember...
This is a NEW DAY.

When I see my Son walking in with his blanket
I will remember this is a new day.
As I crack his eggs
and pack his lunch...
As my Daughter enters and shares her morning hugs
This is a NEW DAY.

Today as I see all that is undone
as my hands tend to dirty dishes
as I turn the knob on the washing machine...
as I pass by the mirror it shows me my face
I will smile and remember
This is a New Day.

I will remember my needs are met
My skills are useful
but that is not who I am.
I will remember I am so much more than the skill I employ.
It is in the inner beauty that I am adorned.
Within my heart relationship is born.

It is not in all that I have known
nor in all that I might need to do...
It is not in those numbers or that tossed aside pattern
I've sewn.Or in that meal plan to practice
It is not in that tackle that my worth might be found...
Today I will remember who I am.

A Day

Well good evening...

I hope all of you had a good day and full of all the beauty around you. I had some things occur today that were interesting (at least to me). The therapist that I worked with last time, quit on 12-21 He was working with me in the last days of being there. I am wondering about his heart and if he is well. I think back now at the atmosphere of the place being so oppressive to the others when the boss guy is there. He is so somber and introverted. I think that they may have had a falling out. He just quit and left that day after 11 years of working there just short of being partner.
So today I prayed for the boss guy for his soul. It was a little stressful being there.
My car needed emission's testing so I got that done and went to do the MRI. It went well just sore and tired from it.
Hubby is over at a neighbors fixing her rain gutter. It had fallen off. She is a Sister in Christ and a elder single woman. Beloved is happy , really happy to do it for her.

The Kids played out front, so I went out to keep an eye on them

Dash was playing on his skate board

Dove on the roller skates (she did not fall here)
Daddy man threw out the safety gear when he cleaned the bedrooms.
It is so hard to keep up on all the things for the kids and to get them to put it away properly. Sometimes it is frustrating trying to just supply their needs and manage the "stuff". I really do not like seeing them without the elbow and knee pads. I should of had them put their helmets on.
Trisha over at "Photo Daughter of the King" told me about a free program to get the kids 4 hockey lessons. I was able to get them registered. They have it at several rinks in the city.
The Kids are very excited about it.

MILove is out of the hospital. She is still pretty ill though so I would appreciate your prayers.

Good Morning

Moon lit Morn here
I captured the day with prayer.
As I awoke to the electric ocean wave, he hit the snooze button.
My dream flashed memory of an old friend Lynn
Captured her essence as I spoke to him
His presence...
I have not spoken to Lynn sense Dash was first home 6 years ago or a bit more,
but I felt her.
I asked him to hold her.
Last night while in the shower
He entered the room and he spoke...
"the sandwich...Hun that you make me ...I really appreciate it "...He said
"I really look forward to it each day and the bag of chips go so perfectly with it."

So I awake knowing that it matters
All that I do,
and who I am.
Moon lit morning as I step outside to feed the dog.
That utter thrill as he excitedly waits for the chime of the bowl as his kibbles hit steel.
Paused as I looked up to see that moonlit morning before me.
I pull all of the morning haul of of cold storage
Place it upon the counter top towel and begin to prepare those lunches.

Returning after breakfasts have been served
Safety pin in the pants that fall off the waist.
5 minutes to count down and so I close
To school for the children
To Physical therapy for me
Bye..........

Hello My Friends

I guess I have not been very wordy for a few days...
You ever have times when you just think that you reveled too much? When I shared about my dead friend I opened and exposed an event that was so very tender and now well...I feel tender.
My usual upbeat mood has been somewhat somber for this last week or so. I am struggling with the idea that you all just must think I am so crazy (that is the lie that the enemy of my heart keeps telling me). I am not however, I am a woman of clay (so to speak) yet I feel sorta cracked. It took me a long time to ever open up about what I went through all those many years ago. I opened up to strangers and exposed a very challenging time in the struggle known as my life.

The big thing was that I linked the blogs.
I got all a jitter over it.

Now I might really be judged!
Instead of reaching out, I just sorta pulled away.

The week was very busy and they just fly past the days like a blur. The kids had the day off today. So we had a play date at a friends house. It was so peaceful and a delight to be with her, Trisha is over at "Photo Daughter of the King". Our kids are matched where her two are almost two years separated she has a 12 and a 5, I have a 10 and a 6 3/4. The girls are the older and our boys the younger. They all played so wonderfully together. It was so nice just to sit and rest over a cup of tea with her. We each prayed our sons into our homes. Her and I both had a desire for a son. My friend sent us home with a big box of clothing for Dove. That was so sweet of her. She seemed thrilled to get rid of another box, she has been unpacking her new home they recently moved into.
I am have an MRI in the afternoon tomorrow for my neck. It really is paining me. Finding it a niusence I am just getting by with it for now. I have tried ignoring (thinking it is just stress) it for several weeks to no avail. I hate having pain it is such an annoyance to me. Slows me down and that is just not OK with me. Any way Mrs. Stubborn (me) got an appointment for it and the process begins to have some investigation into it. I think I must sound like a bleeding heart. So I did not want to post about it. There goes my days 3x's a week now for therapy on it. I am very grateful to be able to get the help with it yet it is just one thing after another. I guess I have more to learn on this circle.
You know the old "don't assume" thing because it makes an *** out of you and me. :)
Some times I falter and assume things with expectations for rejection. I pull away first so then it wont hurt so much if I am rejected. Old ways die hard.

My MILove is inpatient at a hospital. I am concerned about her health.

I did not get the meal plan up last night. I still need to get it accomplished. The muscle relaxers the doctor gave me cause me to fall asleep on the spot if I rest my head a moment.
Things are looking up around here. I am relieved of the heavy pressure to get clothing made in a hurry. I know that God was now telling me "too much" I have just been trying to do too much! "Do not do so much" His message to me. I was requiring way more out of myself than I needed too.
A line from an old song rings in my mind.

"The leader of the band is old, and his eyes are growing dim...
but his blood runs through my instrument.
It took me years to understand..."

Words.....a cool E-mail I recieved

DORMITORY: When you rearrange the letters: DIRTY ROOM

PRESBYTERIAN: When you rearrange the letters: BEST IN PRAYER

ASTRONOMER: When you rearrange the letters: MOON STARER

DESPERATION: When you rearrange the letters: A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES: When you rearrange the letters: THEY SEE

GEORGE BUSH: When you rearrange the letters: HE BUGS GORE

THE MORSE CODE: When you rearrange the letters: HERE COME DOTS

SLOT MACHINES: When you rearrange the letters: CASH LOST IN ME

ANIMOSITY: When you rearrange the letters: IS NO AMITY

ELECTION RESULTS: When you rearrange the letters: LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

SNOOZE ALARMS: When you rearrange the letters: ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S

A DECIMAL POINT: When you rearrange the letters: IM A DOT IN PLACE

THE EARTHQUAKES: When you rearrange the letters: THAT QUEER SHAKE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO: When you rearrange the letters: TWELVE PLUS ONE



Yep! Someone with waaaaaaaaaaay too much time on their hands!

He Had a Dream

Good Morning!

A new week begins with a holiday of Martin Luther King Jr.

Biography

Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.

In 1954, Martin Luther King accepted the pastoral of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. During these days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank.

In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.

Car is back in the garage

I got my garage back!!!
Happily sung to the tune of na na na na na na :)
January 20th the Christmas decorations are back up in the attic!

Sunday Smiles

Our weekend has been full of dance, we purchased the High School Musical #1 for Dove.

So she performed her dance with her Daddy Man

Then we had the "dogie scuffle" while Dash showed us submarine (box) battle

We Had the breathing treatments that are followed by the mania that the medications induce. Little man Dash was just speeding all day!

We all attacked the house. The kids need training on home management and chores. It is easier in many ways just to do it myself, but I must equip them for the future. That is my big task.

The Daddy Man decided to take on the training task with the bedrooms on Saturday. He and Dash worked on Dash's room. It was so amazing how Daddy Man hung in there. I was busy with the house hold chores and just resting a bit.

Dove wanted to do her room by herself, with no help. She is growing up.
I took a long nap.
I had to go to the doctors on Friday because of this terrible pain in my neck. I am on some muscle relaxers and anti inflammatory. I'll be starting therapy on Monday. This thing in my neck has been going on for months and I just could not stand the pain of it any more. I have just been trying to ignore it. I assume it is just stress.The doctor is concerned of my spinal involvement and has ordered an MRI on my neck to make sure it is not a disc. It is probably just stress thats why I have just been assuming thats all it is.

Dad and Dove finished their "Battleship " game from the night before.

Beloved and I loosened up the budget and we had Chinese food take out last night.
He just did not want me cooking. That is so sweet of him.
Yes of course we watched another two episodes of the Walton's. :)
Dove and I cuddled on the couch.
Beloved and I stayed up very late talking about some things that have been on my mind. We slept in very late and the kids had tended their needs well.

I am hemming pants for Dove (every pair is at least three inches to long. We were able to get her some nice pants Friday night. I was so frustrated that three of the pair I made her shrunk up, my own fault I should of washed the fabric first.
I am trying to get used to my new glasses they prove to be a challenge. Tipping my head back and forth to see to type and to read the screen, and that with a sore neck.
Mother in love is very ill, she has pneumonia. Please keep her in your prayers.

Dove decided to be "Sponge Bob" for the day

We are putting in that new door that we got off the curb last month. It is just like new. I will need to paint it to match the house.
My Husband has been doing a lot around the house this weekend. It is so nice to see some things accomplished. He has no overtime for another week to do the CRS financial qualifications.

The new door was 1/4 inch to wide so we stripped the hinges and kick plate and knobs off of it. We can not make use of the new door itself...bummer

The kids have been earning money for chores all week.

We use the tally on the big board to do simple math and keep charge of the earnings. They have been very highly motivated all week. The toys up on the refriderator had a real drawing effect

They did it!
Dash earned his Lego kit

And Dove earned her fusible bead kit. She needed white, yellow and black.
It came with a great idea book too.

We had a hot dog for them lunch rice and beans for me.
Watched two Walton's episodes and now we are all of doing our own things.
I am hemming Doves pants, Hubby is working on the door hardware.
Dove is on the computer and Dash is free play with Lego's.
I finally got the photo's all down loaded and I need to go put the orniments away. We are hoping a guy friend might come to help Beloved put the bins back up in the attic.

Photo Hunt *important*

Teaching kids how...to do chores.

Letting go and letting out, taking up and taking it all in

We have always had the good fortune to receive beautiful hand me downs for the kids.
Coming home from Russia, I will always remember a woman who had heard of Dash's adoption and had collected clothing from her friends and brought them to me at church one day.
I did not even know the woman. When we adopted Dash God Told me to trust him for his needs. We had been laid off of our 25 year career when the plant shut down and we were so afraid to bring him into that, we just were not sure how we were going to do it.
I have watched God provide for these kids.
I have been really trying to do all the sewing and clothing creation.
Yesterday after work beloved told me to go ahead and take the money out of savings to go buy the children some new clothing. I have tried so hard to avoid this and make all I can and get all the things I am able to from thrift shops and such. I have always shopped clearance (still do). I did not realize how much pressure I had placed upon myself.
So Dash must have a coat, if I were to go to get the fabric just for him and sew it up there is no way I can meet the need of warm gear for the next days needs. I had to let my self off the hook and go buy clothing. I had so much fun.
Seeing myself at Sears I went there and found several wonderful deals for the kids.
40-70% off. I could not even make it for that.
This was the very first time I have ever taken the children clothing shopping.
I took them one by one, first Dash, so he could have one on one time. We had a meal togeather and just "tied strings of the heart". Then I brought him home.
I left shortly with Dove and had alone time with her, it was a little too rushed though, she made her own choices. I have to go out again to get a coat for her. I want to do it when we are not rushed so I can "tie heart strings" with her too.

I have given them the things I have found while out searching clearance racks , but never before had they gotten to go to the store with me and choose what they wanted.
They were very frugal and thoughtful of their purchases.
Very appreciative too.

Dove got to have a High School Musical set, she was so excited. She has NEVER complained over what I have provided her. She is so happy almost to tears of gratitude. It was so touching to experience her response.
Dove is very petite so I had to cut off the sleeves and pant legs three inches this morning.
She leaned on me and just leaned in close for several moments... She was so moved by it. I found pants for Dove for under $7 pair (tactile will not be a problem) ya!
I am humbled and so very grateful to have made this investment into there hearts. I think if they would of been shopping all along they would not have the grateful hearts they do.
I love the character I am witnessing in them.

I got Dash a light weight jacket for $4. and a Lego star wars shirt too (he loved it!)

A new coat a field jacket on reduced price at Dillard for $30. it is beautiful.
Heavy and warm. I was able to get him new pants at $10. a pair too. He will be able to put them on himself (fine Motor).
He is so happy and is warm! I have a lighter load.
Not stress in the morning of wondering what they will wear and if they will lock frumpy or not.
I am not under all the pressure to get the pants sewn for Dash and the shirts for Dove.
I can sew now for fun for them and not necessity so much.
I do however have pants to cut off and to hem for Dove:)