Wordless Wedensday

Moms in Touch

MOMS IN TOUCH

Would you like the comfort of knowing your children and their school are held up in prayer on a weekly basis?

Today after my service work in Doves class room I am meting with two other women. My sweet friend Debbie is starting up a group of Mother who will come to join each week to pray for the school that the kids attend. There will just be the three of us for now , but it will grow.

Moms In Touch
blogs about Moms In Touch
Az location list
Leaders corner
You can find your states groups by looking if up on a search engine.
If you have ever thought of doing such a thing , look into it.
Moms In Touch International gathers moms together to pray specifically and scripturally for our children and school. Won’t you join with us in prayer for this next generation? For information about our local group. For more information about Moms In Touch International, visit www.MomsInTouch.org.

I gotta tell somebody !

I gotta tell somebody !

So if you read my earlier post I had a concern about Dove and the little girl that was a bad character influence. So Dove walks in the door.
"MOM...I just can't believe it! I am not friends with (the girl) anymore.!
I have had it with her"

Me..."it sounds like you have made a strong decision to take care of yourself"

as the evening rolls on...
Her telling Dash the scoop...
"They said that they were sick and they needed water and I ran to get it for them I was concerned about them, I looked over my shoulder and they were just trying to GET RID OF ME! I went back and she said (the other little girl) was dying, and that if I did not get her water she would die and that it would be my fault!
I have just had enough."

Wow say I , I am so sorry your treated that way...

"She used me mom! I am tired of doing all their dirty work! They do things wrong and say it was me and I did not do anything"

"no Way! " say I, how does that make you feel?...

"mad!"..she adds
"I do not want to be friends with them."

Say I , "I would be angry too, I don't blame you.

No one should treat people that way.
I am glad your not like that."

Wow !
So I picked up Dash in the truck after student council. He had found a kids lunch box and so we drove it over to them , the mom and I are good friends. We parked the truck in the front of her home. We had a nice impromptu play date and then get ready to leave. We all get in the truck.
Now mind you 3 months now I have had a foreboding about my tires. I had watched a 20/20 about old tires and tread separation. Every time I get on the freeway a prayer is a continuum as I am uneasy. I had told Beloved several times to check the date on the tires. Some tire company sell OLD tires as NEW and the new looking tires have a tread separation and then the SUV's roll. People get hurt and killed. Big problem here in the states. Little known , BIG PROBLEM> So week after week I have said to him Truck tires ...please check the date...
He checked the tread ware and the air pressure was checked just two days ago all looked fine.

So after a trip today to fuel the rig, go to the post , and to go to the school to get Dash. Then a trip to give a lunch box...covered was I under the shadow of the wing.

As we started up the truck to go home from our unexpected play date the truck rolled funny... Yep! a flat rear driver side tire. Beloved made fun of me I did not notice when I got in.. Kids in tow a lot of things can get over looked... I rolled 6 feet and realized something was wrong .
sure enough a flat Driver rear.
I put a call into beloved to come home. He left work only a half and hour early (into his normal 2 hour O.T.) Very little loss of income! . He arrives as a sweet and generous friend feeds the children and then makes for her and I. Her husband would be out late working.
So he leaves after filling the tire with a portable compressor. I get a call.
That tire , the spare and the others were all separating!!!!!!!!
Only one of the five tires was good (it will be the the new spare)
So $824.00 later 4 new tires (it is a four wheel drive)

stock photo I want to go there

There I was with the children safe, he at the tire store safe.
A zero balance budget in place just the day before!
So after transferring line to line we were able to come up with the $824. to pay all of the cost of the tires.
No savings this month and Christmas will be slim, BUT no debt, no roll over on the freeway!

Sport Utility Vehicles and Tire Tread Separations

SUV Rollover Accident:
Tire blow-outs and tire tread separations can lead to deadly rollover accidents.

Belt-leaving-belt tread separations, whether or not accompanied by a loss of air from the tire, reduce the ability of the driver to control the vehicle. This is even more dangerous when the tire failure occurs on a rear tire at highway speeds. If the tread separation or pressure loss occurs on the front tire, the driver usually is able to control the vehicle by the use of the brake and the steering wheel. However, when it occurs to the rear tire the loss of control can be serious enough to result in a crash or rollover. The likelihood of a crash, and injuries or fatalities from such a crash, is far greater when the tread separation occurs on a SUV compared to if the tread separation occurred on a sedan or large pickup truck instead. Many SUVs have a higher rollover propensity and are therefore much more likely to roll over and cause serious injuries and even death.

Supper in the tummy we drove the car (he left it for me) home.

I stopped by the Christmas street (a decorated cul- de- sac of homes) and took the kids through the Bethlehem display , a walk through that tells the story.

The kids had shared their grumpiness about the Christmas being gone. I assured them they each got a nice gift from us.
We are alive safe, full and covered!
I told them this is Christmas! We have each other.
After the tour of the Bethlehem street, I again told them...
"Children...this is what Christmas is about. Not toys, not stuff but that Jesus made a way for us.Some day we may be able to have those kinds of Christmases again. God gave all to make that way.
He is the gift.
Dash slowed his pace..."Hay Dove, he said... Lets slow down and wait for Mom... That way you won't have to hurt your knee Mom"


Just had to tell somebody what He did for me!

Tackle It Tuesday

Last night I was able to finish the big board for the month
Beloved and I spent 12 hours Friday
9 hours Saturday
6 hour Sunday
and and hour or so yesterday and finished the Zero balance budget sheet. So now every dollar that comes in is allocated to a place. Then if we need to alter it we know right where we are!
We will be able to pay in full our several hundred for my new crown for the implant of earlier this year. We are working on NO DEBT! at all!
Save/save/ save...as per Dave Ramsey plan, so that we will have a three month of income savings some day. It is a goal that will take a lot of determination and discipline to accomplish.
We have our baseline done!
Yep eee!

On Sunday we all spent time on the tree and got it up , lighted and decorated.
The candy canes are missing though! The kids miss them :)
I do not miss the sugar high they get.
I think this year I will make some ginger bread Santa's. It is an old family recipe.
Bag and hang them (high so dogs don't get them).

Dash had His IEP (individualized education plan) this morning *stressful* I felt disrespected and rushed. The system leaves it up to the parent to tell the teacher the kids needs. Well the teacher saw the IEP and only had a very brief synopsis at the first of the year....I was told last year that the teacher would be informed of all the details. She was not, she... "has so many IEP students that she can't be expected to read each detail of each child".....Oh really!
Of course holding tongue and choosing battles I just did my best to understand it all.
She was reading so fast! The person who was the case leader quit and it was given to the speech therapist. I asked the teacher if the case manager had given her the needed information (not knowing that the case manager was sitting right there ) That did not go over well :) The saving grace was a wonderful woman (who came in late) the hearing advisory, a facially deformed by wine stained skin. When she entered I looked her right in her eyes and over looked the outside of the woman, she was so beautiful! She slowed the other woman down and answered my question and explained the structure to me so I understood what was happening. Then she asked if I had watched the recent 20/20 show about failed Russian Adoptions, it threw me...what was she trying to say? if anything...or just making conversation? I was not in the place to be conversant , she had a very small window of availability 15 minutes and I did not want to spend it on that. It made me question if she wondered if I felt that way. I would never dreanm of letting go of one of my children they are "MY OWN". I left feeling all upset at the thought of Dash and the possible Usher and trying to see if he is getting all that can be provided for him. I need to do a presentation of documentation about Ushers Syndrome to present to the teacher at her request. Why she cant go on line and educated herself!!!!!! No...I have to go through all the gory details and present to her. Wow!

I stopped by to check measurement on a lanyard that was altered for a teacher/customer (she love the fit and so I need to finish it tonight.

I went to Bible study and just got home. Very drained from the round table talks both at the IEP and at Bible study.
Because I needed to hear it; I told the girls at Bible study...."that you just HAVE to believe that ANYTHING our children face... will be, the end result... that GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED!"
I think I just really needed to hear these words for myself today.
I was at tears today more than once, and am all but there now.
I just had a plate of lunch, and I just need to defuse a bit.
I am so sad, not sure exactly ...but I think it might be having to address the Ushers Syndrome issue on Dash's behalf again.

Dove is falling victim to a child who as Daddy Man puts it "feels Evil" Dove has become her Pet. I am so concerned. Dove is so simple and is begining to close her ears to our concern for her over these kids.

A woman gave a wonderful beading book to me today, it had been given to her but she thought I would get use of it.

It has patterns in it I have looked for for years.

My plate is empty and my cup is half full (of coffee) in life too. :)
I am feeling a little better now. I did not have any breakfast to speak of. My blood sugar is rising.

I have Dove a coat in the process. The budget being done now I have to follow it.
I have to go get fuel and drop off a postal.

This week I need to finish the itemized list of all medical expences to take down to the Childrens Rehab to see if we will qualify for continued no-out-of pocket coverage for Dash's hearing tests and aides.

Priceless

Marriage Monday "The Sanctuary of Christian Marriage."

"The Sanctuary of Christian Marriage."

If it were for a man and a woman alone to succeed in the art of marriage one would consider it an impossibility. Life with it's endless challenges and countless battles.
An impossibility it was...Before I first knew marriage, alone, on my own I was a drifter. Often sharing dwellings with the unknown.

Those who were behind the masks of pretense. They were striving for a gain regardless of the lack of honor. Then it was, that survival was the breath known to days given to count.

A wondering bag of bones, wanting for meat to cover my wretched self.
Alone. Alone we come into this world. It is for many, alone they leave it. In marriage many live alone. Walking into a building with the souls of the unknown. Those who have spent years avoiding the glance of the other. Fears of intimacy and lives of toil. Every morning awake to provide, to retreat into the numbing addictions that remove that utter loneliness. Yet it is never far from the heart beat, that awareness of being alone. That was how it was for me, for my first 20 years of life. Mother , step father , brother or sister ...alone, empty vessels hiding in isolation.
I watched each member marry as I was the last. Alone they grew in there unions. Aligned to some cause that would expire when the waging war of days descending upon them. To a few, religion came to the "seaming" rescue, yet alas only time reveled in those powerless unions, that indeed, each player was yet, left ....alone. Some met that loneliness head on trying to accomplish on their own, the duel roles of parent to children , who were then left ...alone. Alone in childcare to languish, and survive with strangers. Who cared for the body, and ignored the soul. Spirits languished in educations based in that very empty existence.
As I watched the unions dissolve, those that remained, were tied by fears of being "alone", nothing more. Lives shipwrecked into believing nothing is going to last until they have forgotten there was anything left to fight for. No center place where all could meet and join. No place left sacred, all a loss. An empty chamber where sleep, though they might, they could never find a rest. A lifeless garden, soil turned, and planted for only every crop to fail.

This is how it is for the many , yet there are the few...
Few are they who have known first... what it is to team with an army together in purpose. Conquest is a given, for to disband... would never be an option.

My first union was with my maker, he who gave me life and saved me. It was first "within him", that I met the union. What it meant to dwell there, within that holy of holies. A place so sacred that not even the righteous could stand. I fell on my face before him.
I became a bride.
To marry into a union of purpose a cause for the right and what is good. Removing a garment of rags soiled by my own sweat and toil. Rags ripped and shredded by those who tore at me. It was then, the first time I wore a wedding vessel. One fit for the finest of wines. I poured me out then. Filled with new wine ...it was then that the fermentation began.

Within His cavern my wine vat rested while that new wine of youth aged, and gained flavor.
For me that cavern was needful of a keeper.
One who could be trusted with such a harvested woman.

A woman, the woman , I.
It was then that I wed my earthen husband. We together entered into that holy of holies.
A sanctuary of union.
A common purpose.
A single mind.
I did not pour me out empty, as to become subjective to another, never!
I aged with him.
We aged together.
For he too was a vessel of new wine in that very same cavern, but with a task.
He given the task of wines keeper, his own, and mine.
We entered into a covenant,
not just a "paper signed", as so many have called it.
No, a covenant, where I laid me down, as he did his own.
He gave all that he knew within him, learning more over time.
Like any fine wine the fruit must first be crushed.
Crushed it was, before hand, and even after. Life is a crushing vat draining out of us every drop. We both entered into it emptied and then refilled.
Yet many a marriage will start amiss.
Pour out in time, of life's great battles,and then together empty, they think that they will join to succeed.
This is not so, nor ever could it be .
For of their own with every good intention there is nothing left, and time has thrown them to the curb.
A union of those who are renewed in spirit and mind. A process will endure over time, and all that it will hand them.
Hand them it will, battles, and sorrows, and joys as well. Triumphs through suffering will be the course of those units, who held the banner high for each other, and for those that they are given charge of.
As rank in creases, as in military terms...understanding increases . Knowledge is gained, and the Generals and Admirals stand out as the leaders. Holding together a great stand.
So it is in the union of one woman and one man.
Holy , preserved in battle...they have the power to keep that stand.
Holding fast all ground gained, even if some have perished around them.
They together, only will look out to see so many have fallen around them.
This is a great sorrow for divided a house will not stand.
Unity of purpose and the banner held up for each other to fix our gaze upon.
This is the sanctuary in the midst of the storm.
A unity under one common banner of Christ holding them in, and evil without.
In the cavern is vintage, a wine of great worth.
This is what they offer each other .

Many years hince they pour out the vessel and taste of great efforts won over time.

This in the Holy of Holies, we toast one another for all it was worth.
A union joined within Him, the most honorable cause.

by Donetta

Sanctuary \Sanc"tu*a*ry\, n.; pl. Sanctuaries. [OE. seintuarie, OF. saintuaire, F. sanctuaire, fr. L. sanctuarium, from sanctus sacred, holy. See Saint.]

A sacred place; a consecrated spot; a holy and inviolable site. Hence, specifically:
(a) The most retired part of the temple at Jerusalem, called the Holy of Holies, in which was kept the ark of the covenant, and into which no person was permitted to enter except the high priest, and he only once a year, to intercede for the people; also, the most sacred part of the tabernacle; also, the temple at Jerusalem.
(b) (Arch.) The most sacred part of any religious building, esp. that part of a Christian church in which the altar is placed.
(c) A house consecrated to the worship of God; a place where divine service is performed; a church, temple, or other place of worship. (d) A sacred and inviolable asylum; a place of refuge and protection; shelter; refuge; protection.

A House (home) divided against itself can not stand.

• base: the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end
• place where something began and flourished

Dear Sister,

Andrea at Embracing Him will be our guest hostess for Marriage Monday tomorrow. (December 1, 2008.) Thanks Andrea! She will host the topic, "The Sanctuary of Christian Marriage." So, sharpen your pencil and teach us what you know!

Be sure to stop by Andrea's blog and leave your permalink in her Mister Linky. Afterward, take some time to visit as the other contributors.

See you tomorrow!

Blessings,

e-Mom @ Chrysalis

http://chrysaliscom.blogspot.com

Carnival of Family Life

On Family Relationships and Self-Improvement

I hope all of you have had a nice week end.
On Thanksgiving Day We took this photo of our little fold of fellows
that share the holidays together.
The children were not too pleased to stop their play for the photo op.
Look quick... Dove said "she will not be waring a dress any time soon".
They had agreed together to put on 1900's faces where they do not smile in a picture.
Goof Balls! This was the best of three.

Instead of cleaning up a big Thanksgiving feast...
We spent Friday working on our "Dave Ramsey" zero balance budget. We had to type out the forms and I did all the years filing and assessing the amounts in each category and getting a baseline for all the monthly standing amounts. We worked so hard for 14 hours on this. We have some things still to work out. But we are getting our monthly form in line.
Friday was a very stressful day as we addressed our goal to live "in the black" with goals in order for each month. It is the opposite way to budget than I have ever tried before. You really must twist your thinking around to understand it and organize it. You start with your income and allocate every single dollar into a category and sub category. Any variance has to be a peter rob Paul so that you do not over spend the savings,
and the projected expenses that will need funds set aside.
We are talking about MAJOR discipline here.
We are doing our part in improving our relationship with each other and money.
Financial stress is a major stress.
We are doing our best to come together and overcome.
Really look at where we are , where we want to go, and how we might plan to get there.
Relationally finance can be one of the hardest things on a marriage. It is also one of the greatest targets of the enemy of our hearts.
I have the review of the Childrens' Rehab Services for Dash (hearing aids and medical support for the possible Ushers and such) due this month. So I need to get all our deductions listed and in order to get the amount into the qualify for services range. It is a matter of hours of number crunching and paper sorting. It will be ready though for taxes so that's got a benefit too.

I went to my meeting this morning and then to the store for bread and butter.
We all had a little time together before Dash had a 2 1/2 hour play date.
After the child left we headed over to our sweet neighbor across the street.

A single woman who is my age. She works so many hours and just wanted (to decorate with someone there) help to get the tree up and sights outside. She spoke of how much we helped. I suppose , but I think she really just wanted to bless us with funds for Christmas gifts for the kids. She had called "out of the blue" stating that we had been on her mind. I am afraid I was not the best company. I have been very worn of late. Rather exhausted of the race that we have been on.
We will get the kids each two gifts with the funds. Share some with charity and give the kids some to get gifts for the other family members (sibling /Parents)

Living Debt free takes some self (and Child, the harder) denial and yet still I see Him supplying. I am educating myself on making my own soy milk and soy yogurt. MILove loaned me her yogurt maker. I have been doing research and educating myself on the process.

I lit the BBQ and grilled some steaks (I got on special 1/2 price) that I had defrosted and had it with nicely steamed butternut squash.
It was wonderful!
We all sat together and watched the movie DVD "The Kid".
It is a well acted story of time full circle.
We had a nice cuddle time.

Tomorrow there will be "Happy Dogs"!

In the mail our hopes for flossing Dove with more ease came.
It is a system that is like a "Water Pick" only it is hooked straight to the faucet, no noise (sensory nightmare), and no container to sanitize. I loved it! I have 14 porcelain teeth that have all had root canals. It was great to clean out the margins.
Dove got used to it and loves it!
Ya!
Daddy man and Dove do not have to do the floss dance every night.
Daddy Man has really hit a wall with it .
You try flossing a kid with sensory integration dysfunction.
They both were suffering, but we did not want Dove to have her teeth rot.
When there is a problem...
Think out of the box!

It has a valve that can send the water to the pic or the spicket.

Daddy Man and the Bible time. Dash (in the sleeping bag) is having a sleep over.
This has been a full day.

The Carnival of Family Life will be hosted this coming Monday, December 1, 2008, at Suburban Wife's Daily Dollar Diary. This is Elizabeth's first time hosting a blog carnival, so it would be wonderful if you would support her effort!!

You can submit your family-related posts by using this link.

Thanksgiving Flood

Hubby and I slept in this morning untill 8 a.m.. The kids were out playing in the back yard really enjoying each other.

I popped over to the store to get two gifts for the children before the crowds hit tomorrow.

We have a job on Saturday to put up some Christmas decorations and lights for a neighbor. She said we had been on her mind and asked if she could hire us. I told her I would rather to do it for free. She desired to give us a wage and I accepted it. We were able to get each child a toy they had wanted without disturbing the savings. We are really trying hard to follow our goal. Dave Ramsey money makeover.We are thankful that we have no debt except the mortgage now. We are working hard on our 3-6 months emergency savings fun. We have really struggled with getting far ahead at all due to medical expenses and not following through. We are taming the flesh. It is truly a challenge , but we are on the same page. We will be using this weekend to type out the pages to formulate the 0 balanced budget a hard thing to start.

Then it was over salt river and through the , well...traffic to grandmothers/ Grandfathers house to go...
We were running a few minutes late and I was so concern about loosing the reservation.
The men folk went and saved our place in line and we arrived with Grandmother in tow just in time.

This is a stock photo

Dash had this

Dove had her choice.

I indulged a bit with this, sharing my salad with the kids.

Mr Uncommon was sate with a cheese burger.
After our meal we all met at the grandparents .
The brothers and our kids went in one car.
Poor Grand parents came with me in my terribly messy car.

Dash came in to us at one pint saying ..."Mommmmm...
I think something in wrong in the bathroom."
I hurried in to see and found this!

So as I waded through the water soaking my swede shoes .
I got to the tank and pulled off the lid

just then Mr u. was at my side and I hurriedly turned off the cut off valve.

We spent an hour cleaning it all up.

Dash had used a toilet that was poorly designed.

I flooded and we were able to stop it seconds before it got to the hall carpet. After we shop vacked and towel up and wrong out the towels I took a shower of my feet and arms.

Beloved and I worked together and we always enjoy those times.

Grandma got new toys for her house. They were a hit! Dash built some Lego and Dove played a game with daddy where she made the rules and won often.

MiLove and I worked on a lay out for the front page of a web site for me. I really enjoyed us women both just being able to be together and not over a hot stove in the kitchen.

Grandma had pies waiting and Dove helped her make the whipped cream. Dove longs to do that with her Grandmother every year. I think it will be a life long memory with her.

My MILove actually mad pumpkin pie with soy milk so that we could all eat it. Dash and I were so happy to have an option.

It was wonderful~ Uncle brought his traditional rolls for he had already ordered them some time back. They come on a wheel like this. Dash was so thrilled to see them. It is his favorite thing about Thanksgiving dinners, the only thing he misses. We drove home to a sky a fire and clouded at sunset.

We gathered an egg, and covered the birds, and came in before the rains,
(I took this yesterday)
It has been a perfect couple of rainy days here.
Not too cold just romantically rainy.

The kids watched some cartoons and My Beloved and I watched some TV (an old ER) on computer together while the thunder rolled.

We all came togeather and shut the house down. After teeth brushing Daddy Man did his reading time.
They are reading the Bible.
He is reading it aloud to them.

They wanted to have a "sleep over". So although we would like to see this it is in reality more like...

this. Laughter and silliness that brother and sister do thrill in. They are catching up with each other. I hope all of you had a wonderful day. I really feel relaxed, without the stress of the cooking of the meal. I feel rested and refreshed. We all had a great day.