Let God Lift You Out of Your Pit

Life is just a bummer sometimes, isn't it? Not every day can be great. Even if we're happy with our lives, we aren't always happy with our current circumstances are we? Can you imagine what our hearts would be like if we never had to depend upon God? Now, I know that we always 'need' God, but do we always 'know' we need God? For some reason, that's pretty easy to forget.


We all tend to drop into deep pits on occasion. Sometimes these pit experiences come from difficult trials or grief, and other times we find ourselves falling into those pits when life is peaceful, easy or sometimes just plain dull. There are times we simply lose our zeal - when we set aside our passions, and we can't see anything beyond those dirt walls of our pit.

Often when down in these dark, lonely places, we try to climb out, but it's like we can't quite grasp anything sturdy, and we continue slipping. Every time we slip we land a little harder and fall a little deeper. Often we get discouraged and think there's simply no way out. Usually when we're down there in that pit tired of fighting and ready to give up, that's when we drop to our knees and decide to look up. In looking up, we realize there's a hand to help us out - a large sturdy hand. We're told it was there all along.

Psalm 89:13 "Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand."

I recently met a lady who is really struggling with sadness and lonliness. She has some circumstances in her life that have caused her heart to ache, have made her soul feel empty and have put her in a place where she's searching for some hope. My advice to her was to find her joy in the Lord - despite all that's going on around her; despite the unfair treatment she's receiving and despite the lack of love being shown to her by those whom she's shown so much love to - to simply let Jesus change her life and allow that change to affect those around her.

Whether we're sad and lonely or whether we're in one of those pits and can't seem to find our way out, God is ready to lift us out of that pit. We'll see that if we just stop and look up.

Psalm 5:3 "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning O Lord. In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will look up."

Psalm 40:2 "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."

What are the steps we need to take to ensure that we stay out of that pit? There are two simple steps that take effort on our part but reap huge rewards. The first is to pray. Sounds so simple...why is it so hard?

Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."

If that verse doesn't make you want to pray, I don't know what will. Every time I read that verse, I get excited to pray. That verse makes me want to fall on my knees and call on my Savior who can make all things right...all things new. God wants to do "mighty things" in my life - things that I can't even fathom.

The second thing we need to do is open God's word and read it. Every single time I do that, I'm so blessed and just can't understand why I don't run to the bible first thing in the morning and grab it at every opportunity through the day. There's comfort to be found, hope to be seen, a future in Heaven to get excited about... Godly character to be learned, instruction on how to love and forgive, conviction... .

Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." (It gives clear direction for our lives)

2 Tim. 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:..."

One thing I do when I'm sad or have fallen into a pit is that I read the Psalms. The Psalms are so full of comfort. They're full of forgiveness. They're full of praise. They're full of hope. Years ago a friend shared this neat system for completing the Psalms in a month. When I'm down, I'll often read them all for several months until I'm back on my feet. Here's the method:

• Read the Psalm for the day. (i.e. If it's June 30th, read Psalm 30).
• Then read every 30th Psalm after that. (So, on the 30th, you would read Psalm 30, Psalm 60, Psalm 90, Psalm 120, Psalm 150)
• You will read 5 Psalms every day. There may be one that stands out as more helpful or encouraging, but read them all and then go back to the one that stood out and underline those verses that stood out to you, pray over them and write about them in a journal.
• On months that have a 31st day, use that day to read Psalm 119 (because it's so long) - skip Psalm 119 on the 29th day of the month.

You WILL be blessed. This system of reading the Psalms has pulled me out of some deep and dark places.

If you find yourself in one of those deep pits today, whether from a severe trial or from a spiritual "rut", I pray you'll look up to Jesus...he's waiting to help you out. I pray you'll follow these steps to liven your spirit and begin to shine again for Jesus.

Lord I Need You - Ron Hamilton (Patch the Pirate)

Sometimes when life seems gentle and blessings flood my way,
I turn my gaze away from You and soon forget to pray.
But when the sky grows darker and courage turns to fear,
My anxious voice cries upward with words you long to hear.

Lord, I need You when the sea of life is calm.
O Lord, I need You when the wind is blowing strong.
Whether trials come or cease, keep me always on my knees.
Lord, I need You. Lord I need You.

Lord, help me to remember I'm weak but You are strong.
I cannot sing apart from You, for Lord You are my song.
Although I'm prone to wander and boast in all I do;
Lord keep my eyes turned upward so I depend on You.

Lord, I need You when the sea of life is calm.
O Lord, I need You when the wind is blowing strong.
Whether trials come or cease, keep me always on my knees.
Lord, I need You. Lord I need You.

Get out of that pit and claim your victory. SHINE for Jesus!
*This post is dedicated to my friend Melody.

Some P&P and R&R .... and Meet a Precious Family with a New Baby Girl!

I enjoyed my Sunday - as usual. After having a very nice church/communion service (and great fellowship meal), we rolled in to our gravel drive at about 1:30pm. Cecily said, "Mom, you wanna watch a gurrrrrly movie?" I was like, "Yeah!"

This picture is actually from Saturday, but doesn't Cecily look pretty in her new (garage sale) dress?
So... back to veggin' ... I lounged in my usual Sunday spot on the couch (with Harry randomly climbing up on me).

He's a huge skin toucher. He always has his arm in my shirt so he can touch my tummy. He even tries to do this in public, at church, etc. It can sometimes be a little embarrassing - after all, 9 babies have lived in this tummy, and I don't exactly like showing it off - ya know?

So, we left the room messy (I don't clean on Sundays) and the kids rearranging (from "campout") was still in place (out of place). Yes, I even left the stuff from the top of the table, underneath the table.


Then we pulled out one of our favorites! Pride and Prejudice (A&E, 1996) Oh, how I adore that movie. The scenery, the music... ahhhhhh! We didn't make it all the way through it (yet), but I enjoyed every minute of it with my precious daughter.

Oh, and speaking of daughters...

This blogger hasn't been able to comment much on the featured blogs (she's just been so pre-occupised), so it might seem like I'm breaking my rule (featuring good commenters first), but God placed it heavily on my heart to share this blog today, and since it's my blog, it's okay to break my rule once in a while right? :) I know you'll agree ... at least this time.
Today we're getting to know, Kristy at Waiting for Happy!
This blog will break and bless your heart. This precious family has two adorable little boys...has said goodbye to two baby boys... and has just welcomed their first (adorable!) daughter, Hope. The Bolte Family is awaiting test results to find out if their daughter has Epidermolysis Bullosa and like any mommy would be, Kristy has been really struggling with this. I want to offer her more prayer support and I just know my chums will be willing to help out. I'm sure we can all understand the anxiety that would be involved with the waiting (I've personally been in a similiar place and many of you likely have too). Let's all visit Kristy's blog and let her know that we'll be praying for her. Oh, and there are a lot of beautiful pictures of the family on her blog, so enjoy your visit. I know your heart will be touched, as mine has many times while reading.
Here are some blogs that Kristy enjoys visiting.

http://emily0305.blogspot.com
http://sgirl79.blogspot.com/
http://obrienfamily2008.blogspot.com/
http://oursydneygrace.blogspot.com/
http://thestanfieldjourney.blogspot.com/
Oh, and you asked for it, you got it! New blog comment system is GONE! I might bring it back when/if they allow you to log in using your blogger account. We'll see...

(On second thought, maybe not! Removing disqus was not easy! Thank you Abigail! I panicked for a while and thought I screwed up my whole template)

Happy Birthday Silas!

Look who has a birthday today! I can't believe Silas is already 8!!!



Kyle had this great idea for a gift for Silas. A few years ago this would NOT have happened. I didn't used to be a fan of these ...however, I'm getting wild in my old age. ha! Actually, the fact that we have an outbuilding to keep them in made all the difference. I would have gone mad with a set IN the house. This is how the morning went.

I (in my jammies) was the camera lady - and wasn't awake enough to do a great job. Are you wondering what's in the box?...



...Kyle wrapped up the snare drum and made Silas think that was all he was getting. Silas was happy but did seem to have a "What?" look on his face. After all, how much fun is ONE snare drum?



Then I said, "That's just too loud in the house. Let's take it out to the gym where the sound won't echo so much (Kyle's idea). So, we went out and there was the rest of the set. Daddy set it up last night after Silas went to bed.



He is one happy birthday boy! The first thing he said to us was, "Now I can be in the band!" (You know the one with his daddy and brother and sister (and Mark) ). Isn't that cute? :)

I love this little guy!

Okay, here's the video! Who do you think they get their wild side from? ha! Kyle's screaming in the background is the funniest part! He cracks me up.

Harry Performs! My Crooked Face... and Myra's Mixing Bowls

You know how some people have one leg longer than the other or one foot bigger or have one side of their hair that's thicker...(I have all of those), well, do any of you have a lopsided face? Seriously. My chiropractor told me a few years ago that one side of my face was flatter and wider than the other. I had never noticed it before, but when I stared at myself in the mirror until I felt completely ooged out, I realized he was right.

Tonight I was with hubby - we took Harry and went to eat at On the Border - anyway, on the way home I looked in the visor mirror to check my hair and I began to inspect my face. One side IS significantly wider and flatter. The most noticeable place is my cheekbone up under my eyes, but my whole face is slightly 'off'. My chin tends to angle too. I've seen many pictures of me through the years where my face looks crooked, and I just thought it was the way I was holding my mouth, but I don't think so now. It kind of freaked me out when I realized how big of a difference there is.

I was hit by a car when I was 5 years old. I went to the hospital and had x-rays and didn't have any broken bones, but I'm wondering if that could have flattened that side of my face like that. Or maybe it was just something I was born with that is subtle enought so that it's just not noticeable to most people.

See for yourself. In this picture, I wasn't grumpy, I was purposely keeping my face expressionless so that it could be as symmetrical as possible and look at my mouth and chin! See, told ya!



Well, it doesn't matter so much. A crooked face isn't the end of the world right? hee hee And it doesn't show when I'm smiling, so I'll just keep smiling!

On to much more important things...

Wanna see my adorable son? Harrison is a total High School Musical fan. He's learned the songs and sings them as well as any 1 year old can. Jared used to do this when he was little and is a movie LOVER (studying to be a film score composer) - look out Hollywood! Here comes Harrison! (It's over 3 minutes, but he has some great stuff at the end, so I had to put it all here. hee hee)



Now, if you're still with me - and I hope you are! :) We're moving onto...

Today let's head over to visit... MYRA! at Happy Housewife Living Life

You'll find a little bit of everything on Myra's blog. Her most recent post is about mixing bowls and I happen to wish I had a nice set of mixing bowls (apple green even!). I don't even have an ugly set! If you scroll down on her page you'll see...wedding pictures, pregnancy pictures, hubby pictures... her "Saving Moolah!" post, and even pictures of her house! It's a totally fun and interesting blog. Please don't forget to tell Myra you stopped by. I know she'll enjoy hearing from all of my chummy chum chums.

Here are five of Myra's favorite blogs to visit:
http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/
http://www.thejoyefuljourney.blogspot.com/
http://www.soulemama.com/
http://www.southernhospitality-rhoda.blogspot.com/
http://www.mommanotes.blogspot.com/

Lynnette + ZTR Mower = DANGEROUS!

Welcome to Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane! I hope you'll join me and my Wednesday Walk "chums" - if you'd like to know how to participate, just click on the button above. It's EASY! This is a fun opportunity to document some of the things you don't want to forget and share those memorable times with others so we can enjoy them too.

____________________________________
Today Kyle called home and asked if Jared would mind mowing more of the yard (he had done the front yard yesterday). I said, "Yeah, I'm sure he wouldn't mind, but I think I'll ask him to teach me because I've been wanting to learn how to drive that mower." He said, "Oh, you'll love it. It's fun to drive."

So Jared told me how to back the mower out of the barn (not a good first thing to do on the mower), but I managed it. He instructed me how to move the handles to get it to go the direction and the speed I wanted it to go. I thought it would be a breeze...I was wrong!

I began to ride around with the blade up until I could get the hang of it. Jared said, "So, you think you got it?" With an I'm not so sure look on my face I said, "Keep everybody in the house."

I lowered the blade and ventured out into the yard. I honestly felt completely out of control and began to laugh hysterically at myself. I stopped the movement of the mower momentarily to look around and make sure nobody was watching - yet I felt pretty dorky laughing like a crazy woman with no one watching.



I managed to run into the clothes line pole. Run over the kids Blackberry phone that was left in the yard (don't freak out it was just Kyle's old broken phone). I murdered a frog. I ran over a metal baseball bat and a golf ball but I don't blame myself for those because I simply couldn't see them - it was the boys fault! Oh, and you know that feeling you get when you just accidentally ruined something? Well, that's exactly the way I felt everytime I heard a crunch.

Speaking of the corral - oh wait, I wasn't speaking of the corral yet. Well, that's where I should have started. The rest of the yard was like an obstacle course with all the bikes, shovels, toys, pieces of wood, etc. The corral was just smooth sailing. I got to go fast and there was nothing in my way. The only problem with that was that I went so fast I jiggled like crazy. I felt every ounce of fat on my body and when it's jiggling like that, well...let's just say I didn't feel exactly beautiful. I think I need to wear a sports bra when I mow that.

I couldn't believe how dirty I got. Dirt was flying everywhere! My back was completely wet from sweat. Not exactly the experience I expected. I thought I was going to go out with a cup of tea and place it in the cup holder (Yeah right! The person that designed that did NOT test it in our yard). I was going to get a suntan and some healthy vitamin D... and then just resume my day. Uh, no. I came in sunburned, sweaty, dirty and flat worn out from the stress of it all. (And by the way, my arms and shoulders are actually sore from holding so tightly to the mower handles. Am I a wimp or what?!)

*Pictures courtesy of my daughter Abigail. She couldn't figure out why I wanted pictures of myself on the mower...she didn't realize that I was formulating a blog in my head through the whole experience! ha!

I think I'll leave the mowing to the men! I'll just continue taking naps outside and capturing precious pictures of my sweet children. So much less stress!

Yes, have a (nother) laugh on me!

Don't ask me. I thought it was funny too! That's why I took a picture. :)

Because Kids Live Here! Link up your pics!

Remember this post last week: Finding Beauty in Things... we might be tempted to be irritated by! ?

Boy did I blow it today! I'm recovered now (after apologizing to my children), but I let those little irritations really irritate me today! The boys were so loud - and on top of that was their messy room and their trail of shoes, light sabers, tinker toys, socks, and bouncy balls. Yes, I blew it.

Would you believe I actually said loudly proclaimed, "I don't think you boys will ever learn to keep your stuff nice and be calm! Did it ever occur to you that you don't have to drive me crazy all the time?" Oh no! Naughty Mommy! I'm so ashamed of myself. Ugh! I hate this darned sin nature!

I had something else frustrating going on and that made me grumpy (just ask Abigail). What was that other irritating thing? Well, let me just say, Don't ever purchase a trial size of Acai Berry supplement for $4.95! Almost $400 later... my sweet, innocent hubby has learned that lesson. I think that was the biggest scam we've ever personally been involved in. What a headache!

Anyway...

You might remember in that post I said, "I choose to see beauty in the things that might irritate me, and if I blow it and get irritated, I choose to repent and be grateful again...and if I blow it and get irritated, I choose to repent and be grateful again...and if I blow it and get irritated, I choose to repent and be grateful again (oh wait, did I say that three times?)"

Well, that's exactly what I did today. I blew it and got irritated. I repented and I'm grateful again (for forgiving children and a forgiving heavenly father).

So, this evening as I type this and get ready for this fun picture event, I'm so happy for the timing of this - to stop and be grateful once again for these precious children who I love so much. Yes, they are loud and boogery at times, but I wouldn't want it any other way - really I wouldn't. (All three boys are on the floor in front of me right now - "camping out" and I just heard Silas say, "Jonas, stop pinching Harrison in the groin!" Goodness... boys.

I'm excited to see your "Because Kids Live Here" Pictures. So, don't forget to link up so I (and others) can hop over and take a peek at your beautifully, quirky household, because after-all kids live there!

This bubble bottle has been in the yard for about 2 weeks now. There it still stands.

Jonas' Indiana Jones hat and his dirty underwear (inside out of course), in the bathroom. Where else would they be? Laundry basket and bedroom? No way - they're supposed to go there!

Harrison is hoping to take off in Silas' and Jonas' airplane. Do you think it'll fly?

Do your kids float their toothbrushes in the sink? Harrison seems to think that's pretty cool.

Another of the boys great ideas. Harrison is not going to be swinging in that!

The baby swing was replaced with this. The tree it hung on was chopped down, so the boys found a new home for it. See how they hung it? Think it'll hold? Hmmmm...

Children are beautiful! Precious! Let's continue to see the beauty in their childish ways - because, after-all...they ARE children!

Okay! Let me see yours!

Post your own Because Kids Live Here pictures and link up your blog. No rules. Just post whatever tickles your fancy.

Liver Cleanse you requested...and Getting to Know somebody who knows how to stay healthy!

Okay, I know...weird picture - but kind of cute too huh? I went into the bathroom to get a picture of Harrison for our Tuesday picture challenge, and as I was taking the picture of Harry, I saw myself in the mirror with my toothbrush hanging out of my mouth and Harry with his toothbrush backwards, and well, it just made me giggle and I thought it would make you giggle too.
On to health matters - because health does matter (I should do a commercial huh?)...


It's extremely difficult to maintain good health in a world filled with polluted air, junk food, water full of flouride and chlorine, stressful lives, contaminated and hormone and antibiotic laden meat...chemically sprayed fruits and veggies, etc. It takes it's toll on our bodies. We can't avoid all the contaminates, but we can give our bodies things to help them fight off the negative effects of these things. We can build our immune systems by keeping our bodies detoxed and strong.


One thing you can do to keep your body free of toxins is a liver cleanse. After mentioning my liver cleanse a few months ago, and getting many requests to post it, I'm FINALLY getting it up here for you. Forgive my delay - there are just more fun things to post about. ha! But really, this liver cleanse if easy and truly amazing.


File of Liver Cleanse Technical Issues: Click here for Cleanse.

Today's Featured Blogger knows a lot about health - which is why I'm featuring her today! So onto Getting to Know YOU!

Today we're getting to know...

Jill! at Forever 'n Ever 'n Always

Jill was one of my very first blogging friends and the very first person to sign up for Getting to Know YOU. I think I found her through Blogs By Danielle - but not sure about that. Jill's blog is easy to get hooked to because she blogs regularly, she inspires spiritually and she has really cute kids! One thing that I discovered about Jill early on is that she is a health nut. Come to find out, she was working on a health related book and it's now completed. It's called Breaking Free - Truths for Healthy Living. I purchased the e-book and have really enjoyed looking through it (I just bought it the other day, so haven't made my way completely through it yet). She's also started a blog to accompany her book. If you're looking for answers regarding how to eat and how to stay healthy, hop on over and meet Jill and I'm sure she'll be happy to help. Her blog is ongoing instruction and encouragement for living a healthy lifestyle. Hop on over and meet Jill. You'll be so glad you did.

Five of Jill's favorite blogs are:

http://afuturepastorswife.blogspot.com/
http://theheartofapastorswife.blogspot.com/
http://hishandshisfeettoday.blogspot.com/
http://buildingtheblocks.blogspot.com/
http://oatsvallteam.blogspot.com/

Honoring Fathers...and Daddys

Since my husband and I are human and not perfect (duh!), sometimes we get in little tiffs - used to be big tiffs when we were newlyweds. I've discovered a way to get over with the tiffs quickly. All I have to do is remember what a wonderful person he is (when he's not being a booger - hee hee).

On Father's Day - with no tiffs at all to go off of - I'm remembering, once again, why I love this man that I married (besides the fact that he's such a hunk)! Don't say that dates me - actually I never used to say that! ha! I would have said "he's such a fox" back in my day - okay THAT dates me.

On to more serious things...

Today I'm remembering...

The time he insisted on laying on an ambulance gurney with our 2 year old Anna on his tummy, because that was the only way they'd let him in the ambulance with her.

The joy he expressed on the days he baptized Jared, Abigail, Cecily and Anna.

How desperately he cried the day we were given a false diagnosis of leukemia on our son Silas just 7 months after Anna died.

How the morning after Anna died we sat on the floor together and wept and said things that were hopeless and didn't make sense...we were truly one heartbroken flesh.

How strong he was to get up and speak at Anna's memorial service and give a most beautiful portrayal of our daughter's life.

The times he's made us all laugh- and believe me it's a lot of times.

Often the ham!

That he went to (almost) every pre-natal appointment with me (9 babies worth).

That he lets his sons work along side him and really enjoys it.

That he has chosen to be the one who takes our children to their piano and violin lessons.

The strength and faith he displayed when Josiah was in the hospital dying. He read scripture to Josiah in the NICU and prayed over him and shared scripture with the doctors. He was strength for me when I was weak.

How he washed all of our feet one evening to display service and humility for our Savior.

How he plays his guitar for the children (and his silly wife) to sing and dance to.

That he makes our "Kids Day" special every year. (I'll tell you all about it next month).

That he watches stupid movies with the kids and enjoys them way too much.

On Vacation...watching the movie "Clifford for the first time.

That he takes us on really awesome vacations when he can - even California last year! (That's a long drive from Kansas!)

Enjoying the beautiful ocean together for the first time.
At Universal Studios - Hollywood

You see...when I remember the beautiful acts of love and courage that my husband, my children's father, has displayed, I can only be grateful that God has allowed him to be my husband and the father of these precious children - here on earth and those awaiting our reunion in heaven.

I love this man with my whole heart and truly appreciate what a wonderful daddy he is to his children.

As you celebrate Father's Day ... think back to your husband's acts of courage and love regarding your children and remind him how much you appreciate and love him. (and try remembering those things when you're in a tiff - it really works!)

___________________________________

And to my Daddy (by the way, I never called him daddy until I was about 30, hee) ...

My daddy - on vacation with us!

I loved him since the day he came into my life (some 32 years ago). I called him "John" at first, but he quickly earned the title, "Dad".

I remember Hee Haw (ugh!) and his Monte Carlo that he bragged about taking 100 mph. I remember going to Alma, NE for many holidays to visit his family. I remember the time when hetook us girls to Nebraska without Mom and he got all mooshy and put his arm on my shoulder and said, "I love you."

I loved his 7 pound burrito (it was 7 pounds right?).

I hated that he was so smart in math and I was so...not smart in math. I'm thankful that he TRIED to teach me. :)

My love grew deeper for him when I saw him with his grandchildren. He is a wonderful and loving Grandpa.

I am blessed to be his daughter and I love him so very much - my "Daddy" (hee hee). My children are blessed to be his grandchildren and they love their "Papa".

Papa (with Grandma) enjoying his grandchildren (nothing unusual here).

My dad and his wife Bobbie.
Kyle's Dad (in his chair)

Happy Father's Day to these special men in my life and also to the dad that was there when I came into the world. I don't see him as much as I'd like to, but I still love him very much. And my father in law who is probably enjoying his Father's Day by sitting in his chair drinking his coffee or working on his radio control model airplane (which he competes in and often wins).

Liver Cleanse

Liver Cleanse:

To prep for the cleanse, you can drink apple juice (not from concentrate) or eat many apples for a few days before the cleanse. The malic acid in the apples helps to soften and break up the stones that are in your liver before you do the cleanse which will make it easier to release them from the liver and gallbladder. This is optional (I don’t generally do it), but it will help it to work better for you.


Day 1:
1. Don’t eat any fat at all (the whole day).
*For breakfast I eat fruit, veggies, oatmeal with fruit and real maple syrup and NO BUTTER - Drink a lot of water and warm drinks (herbal tea, etc) – STAY HYDRATED.
*For Lunch eat veggies, potato without butter, beans (NO FAT), Fruit etc.
*Don’t eat heavy, but eat enough so that you won’t get sick or shaky.

2. At 2pm, stop eating and drinking for the day

3. At 6pm, boil approx. 8oz water and add 1 heaping T (tablespoon) of Natural Calm (Magnesium Citrate) and drink it. (You can make ahead of time about 20 minutes so it has time to cool and you can drink it quicker)

4. At 8pm, boil approx. 8oz water and add 1 heaping T (tablespoon) Natural Calm (Magnesium Citrate) and drink it.

5. Between 9 and 9:30pm, mix 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil with 3/4 cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice.
*Tastes best if it’s room temperature (you might want to make an hour early and leave on the counter)

6. Be ready to go to bed before this step. At 10PM, drink all of the mixture (olive oil and grapefruit juice) (*Optional step – take 4-6 L-Ornithine capsules with the mixture to help you sleep) and go immediately to bed and lay on your right side (draw your knees as close to your chest as you can comfortably). Go to sleep.

Day 2:
1. When you get up (but no earlier than 6am), boil approx. 8oz water and add 1 T Natural Calm (Magnesium Citrate) and drink it (make sure you follow directions on the bottle!).

2. Two hours later, boil approx. 8oz water and add 1 T Natural Calm (Magnesium Citrate) and drink it

3. You can begin eating light. Stay close to the bathroom - you may have very loose stool (depends on how freely your bowels are moving). Liver and Gall stones will float. They vary in color (green, brown, tan, black). If you don’t pass any, it doesn’t mean you don’t have any. Sometimes it takes a second cleanse to get them out.

*Make sure your bowels move the second day. If you aren’t going to the bathroom, drink warm lemon water on top of the magnesium and take vitamin c to loosen stool and release the stones.

Meet JANET! A Blog Change...and a favor to ask

It's the weekend!

Is anybody else excited about that? I don't have anything spectacular going on this weekend and to be quite honest, that's just the way I like it. Peaceful weekends. No parties...no big events...no scary homeschool convention workshops to speak at...no garage sales to get ready for...just a house to clean and fun to be had. That's my kind of weekend.

I have something (else) new on my blog. You'll notice a new comment section. I went over to MckMama's blog today and she had this same new comment section. At first I thought, Well, that's unnecessary, but then I got to looking at it and it's actually rather cool.

Here's why I chose to add this special comment...thingy. First of all, you can leave your comment logged in on facebook or twitter. That's great for those who don't have blogs - or if you just want someone to find your facebook, etc. Also, you can leave a comment linking directly to your webpage/blog. What I think is the neatest feature is that you can reply to specific comments - so you can respond to other commenters and they'll receive your response - and I can respond to YOU from the comment section too. There have been times I've wished I could do that. Feel free to play around and log in different ways just to check it out. It won't bother me at all (that's what I did on MckMama's blog)

So, let's try it out and see what we think. If it drives you (or me) crazy - or you just don't like it for some reason, please let me know and I'll re-evaluate. If you want to use this application, you can get it here.

Childhood is so beautiful. I can't get myself to stop capturing my precious children on film - well on digital - well, you know what I mean. :)

Harrison has learned to stick that lip out way too well! Is that pitiful for what?!

Silas and Jonas went on what they called "adventures" in the forest (our tree row). This is what they pulled out of their backpack when they came in: a bone, a snake skin and a lava rock. What are boys made of?
Back in the pool today. I love the candid expression of joy on Silas' face.
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Today we're getting to know...

JANET! at...

Hmmm... we'll start with her profile page so that you can go see her three blogs. I don't usually do that. I usually just link to the main blog, but I honestly can't tell which of Janet's blogs is the 'main' blog! She spends time on all three of them and they are all very beautiful and encouraging. Here's her own description of her blogs so you can decide where you'd like to go:

"I have three blogs: Wildflower Thinking is a collection of devotional thoughts and prayer prompts, a practicing-the-presence-of-God kind of thing. Home Is Where God Sends You focuses on learning to be content wherever you are, whatever your circumstances. Of Books and Memes is where I play, where I write book reviews, respond to memes, and write about totally random things." Janet's been visiting me for a while and she is just wonderful! Don't forget to say hi! It's been neat to see my chums making lots of new friends by taking the time to leave comments and I know the featured bloggers appreciate it. Thanks for making this fun for everybody involved.

Here are five of Janet's frequented blogs.

http://homesanctuary.typepad.com/
http://chatswithanoldlady.blogspot.com/
http://victoriagaines.com/
http://lovinthearts.blogspot.com/
http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/

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One last (I promise) IMPORTANT thing today...

Our friend Kelly at Beauty of Sufficient Grace is being blessed in her ministry. A fellow blogger, Rachel has offered to donate $1 to her ministry for each comment left on her blog in memory of her niece Gracie. Is that awesome or what! Your comment doesn't have to be long at all and Kelly will get another dollar for your time. So...I know I'm asking you to hop around a lot today, but this is something you can do to make a difference for her ministry - which means helping grieving parents. THANK YOU!

Have a beautiful day - and KEEP TAKING PICTURES for Tuesday's event!!!

Finding Beauty In Things...we might be tempted to be irritated by!

Okay, admit it - it's really really really really really (and so on) tempting to get really really really really (and so on) irritated when our children ...

leave the door open

throw their dirty clothes all over the place

leave a trail of toys throughout the house

track in mud

lose one shoe

leave their bike right behind the car

leave dvd's out of their cases in dangerous places

forget to flush the toilet (especially when your guest just went to the bathroom)

borrow dad's tools and leave them outside in the yard

wake a baby up with their loud electronic toy (or their loud voice)

wipe their dirty hands on their clothes, the couch or your clothes

hit the"off" button on your computer at the most inopportune moments...

Should I go on? I could you know.

Well, I know that one day I'm going to miss those things. I'm going to laugh as I remember them. So today, I'm going to share some precious pictures to remind you...and me...just how beautiful it is to be blessed with children in our homes. If we have been given precious children to care for, let's make sure we enjoy each and every...

poopy diaper

snotty nose

sloppy kiss

pinched boob (okay, maybe I'm the only nursing mom that gets that when baby is hungry)

hurt foot (from stepping on a car, lego, light saber, etc)

headache (just teasing...snicker snicker...okay, maybe I'm not teasing)

lost remote control

thrown away item (Harrison threw away my cell phone!)

markered wall

finger up their nose in public

booger on your shirt (Ew, that's a tough one - GROSS!)

fingerprint (or mouth print) on the window...

"In everything give THANKS for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you!"

I love my little adventurous, sometimes sleepless, sometimes naughty, always adorable little people. I choose to see beauty in the things that might irritate me, and if I blow it and get irritated, I choose to repent and be grateful again...and if I blow it and get irritated, I choose to repent and be grateful again...and if I blow it and get irritated, I choose to repent and be grateful again (oh wait, did I say that three times?)

I have a challenge for you. In the next week I want you to take pictures of cute little out of place things that are purely kid related. If you find something in the toilet that doesn't belong there, take a picture. If you find your child somewhere they don't belong, take a picture. If you find a toy in the refrigerator, take a picture. Next Tuesday, I'll put a Mr. Linky on my blog and you can link up with your own pics. Okay? Go picture crazy over the next few days! It'll be fun and it'll help you to see beauty in those little potential "blow it" moments.

Here a few of mine - some are new and some are old, but they're all related to having kids in my house.

PS: If you have my other Dancing Barefoot button on your blog, make sure you swap it out for my new one. I'm so glad you all like my blog as much as I do. Makes me feel pretty inside (Oh stop laughing! It really does!)

Back in the Beginning... of blogging that is

Welcome to Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane! I hope you'll join me and my Wednesday Walk "chums" - if you'd like to know how to participate, just click on the button above. It's EASY! This is a fun opportunity to document some of the things you don't want to forget and share those memorable times with others so we can enjoy them too.

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Since I'm getting a new blog design (I woke up to it being done and I LOVE it! That was my sweet daughter's surprise for me this morning!)... Anyway... I've been thinking back to when I first began blogging. I didn't know what a blog was until about Jan. 2008. My friend Amy had a blog and she shared the link with me so I could read it. Thus I discovered the world of blogging!

I didn't start my own blog until July 2008. It's kind of unbelievable that I've been around for almost a year. Yet, it's kind of weird that I've only been around a year. You know what I mean? It's become such a big part of my life that I wonder how I ever lived without it. Well, I might be exaggerating a bit, but I do enjoy it very much - and I KNOW you knew that.

My first blog was Big Trials Vs. Little Trials, and I got a whopping ZERO comments! Gotta start somewhere right? When I went back and read it, I thought it was funny that I wrote like somebody would actually read it. Yet, I'm not sure anybody did. Makes me laugh now as I remember how it was so satisfying to just have a place to write - JUST IN CASE someone might read it, and now I actually have people reading what's on my heart and mind and yes, I'll admit it - I LOVE IT! You, my blogging chums are truly a part of my every day life and I think about you all the time. I always have my camera in hand so I can share pictures with you... and my family says things like, "Nothing is sacred anymore, it's going on her blog!" ha!

So, I just had some sweet memories of my first blogging days. I'm so glad Amy shared her blog with me or I might not be here and I might not have met YOU!

And here are some more "Dorky Pictures" for you - just because I want you to have a laugh on me today.

I'll just let you use your imagination... If I explain, I might blow it for you!
Oh, common' guys that's NOT me! Really!

I'm so excited to show you my new blog design, I can hardly stand it!

I've never been very good at keeping surprises. Well, here's another one I'm not keeping... Abigail is totally re-designing my blog and I'm so excited to show you! She's almost done so stay tuned!

The day that my new blog design goes up, I'll be having a giveaway in honor of my Grand New Blog Opening! Just sounds fun.

I'm going to have a page with a photo gallery and I've been going through all my old digital pictures and getting quite sentimental. I have so many pictures of Anna and the ones that are just very real and candid are my favorites because they remind me of her fun and spunky personality. You know what I find myself wishing though? I wish that the ministry, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep existed when Samuel and Josiah were born. I only have a few pictures of each of them and that really bothers me. I have something else up my sleeve regarding that (NILMDTS) and I'll reveal that soon too. I'm going to be asking for help from all of you - my sweet chums.

Because of my current mood, I would like to encourage you to do something with your children on Tuesday. Sing and Dance with them! Just take at least 15 minutes to do it. When I was looking at the pictures of my family...and Anna...I was reminded to take extra time for fun with my children. The night before Anna died it was a perfectly wonderful evening. While we do have wonderful evenings together very often, I find myself so grateful that God gave us that beautiful evening together. How would I have felt had we argued or done our own thing? Yes, it was a huge blessing that God let us have so much fun and reminded us to kiss each other goodnight and say "I love you". It would have been harder if we hadn't, I know it would have.

So, I'm reminded to make each and every day beautiful so I have no regrets. While the boys were in bed tonight I got the book out Sunrise, Sunset. You've all seen Fiddler on the Roof, right? It's just the lyrics to the song Sunrise, Sunset from that movie. I sing the song to my boys and show them the pictures as I sing (which by the way are beautiful). They absolutely love it. Tonight, Jared, Abigail and Cecily all walked in while I was singing it and began to sing it with me. It was a little thing, but it blessed my heart immensely.

So, dance and sing with your children and don't forget to tell them "I love you" every single day!
Make something fun in EVERY day!

Here are some pictures from our day.


Do you think it was a little bright? Isn't that funny?

Harrison hated the pool at first. (All my babies do.)

Eventually he got rather used to it - in fact...he loved it!

So much so that when I got him out, he turned right around...

...and climbed back in.

Yes, Harry loves the pool...

...even in his skivvies! (His diaper was loaded and had to come off! ha!)Have a most lovely day my chums!

Walking With You

Two posts for the price of one! Oh, wait you aren't paying! ;) This was too important not to post. Don't forget to read the post below for our FEATURED BLOGGER!

If you've grieved or are freshly grieving the loss of a child, please visit Kelly's blog. She's started a beautiful support ministry.

Wanna Hear a Story? Getting to Know... Pooh?

Happy Monday! (Is it?) Well, I'm actually hoping it will be a happy Monday because it was such a busy weekend that my house is a mess! What did we do? Well, let me tell you - too much!

Living in a 107 year old house has it's advantages and disadvantages. Our big old house has character, that's for sure. Our big old house has expensive problems, that's for sure too. We need a complete porch replacement (it's a wrap around porch with rotted support beams, floor boards and posts, and a bowing roof line), dungeon basement work (the cinder block walls are very close to crashing down), siding repair, and numerous other not-so-dangerous fixes (like an ugly kitchen).

In 2004, after Anna died, we applied for the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Has anybody else done this or are we the only unrealistic goof balls dreamers? We were having some major issues and thought, "Hey, why not?". Well, we actually got a phone call from their casting producer and they were actually giving some consideration to our family. I'll admit, it was pretty exciting. Justine (who's no longer with the show) told us, "I can't say that you're going to get it because I don't do the choosing, but I can tell you that your chances are pretty good since you're talking to me." Well, that had me dancing (not a hard thing to do - get me dancing that is).

We were SO sad that it gave us something fun to talk about. I especially appreciated the fun distraction for my heart broken kids. As I mentioned in my book, grieving is horrible (of course) but for me it's even worse watching my children grieve - truly heartbreaking for me. This was such a fun and exciting distraction for them and it gave me a tremendous amount of joy hearing them talk about it and seeing them so smiley.

Well, they didn't choose us (for whatever reason) and it was a big let down at the time (that I wasn't so sure was good for us), but we survived. It was kind of un-real anyway and we knew that. We're actually grateful we didn't get it. We didn't realize at the time what a community effort it was and we decided we probably would have felt guilty knowing that people who lived around us labored over our home and gave us everything for free. I'm not sure we would have ever felt like it was still 'ours', you know? Well, for whatever reason, it was just meant to be fun for a time and then life went on.

In my opinion, there were only two things that really bummed me out about not getting the Extreme Makeover. One was that we weren't able to share our baby boys and our sweet daughter with the world. I got excited about being able to share precious Anna with a large audience. Just as MckMama wanted Stellan's name written here, there and everywhere because she wanted his (thought to be short) life to be known - that's how I felt about my boys and Anna (who had only died a short 4 months before). I just wanted to share her 6 years with more people. I felt like I had this beautiful child that not enough people got to know.

Also, I was sad that our house didn't get fixed. HA! BUT, like I said before, there are such wonderful things about old houses - and once we can fix it, it will be wonderful! In the meantime, we just have to patch things up until we can do things the right way. So, this weekend, hubby was patching up the porch. It's gotten pretty bad and the estimate to get it fixed was around - well, only $30,000!!!! Ugh! The estimate for the porch plus siding and a new utility room (it's a porch that somebody added walls to that hasn't held up so well), was nearly $60,000! I mean who has that much money? Well anyway... we'll be patching things up for now.

Kyle with his helpers. Silas and Jonas were out there with him ALL DAY!

He still has a LONG way to go! (Pray for Kyle if you think about it). Thx.

Jared would have helped, but he had his life long friend Timothy over. He just got back from India on a college trip. They also got to see their friend Andrew who lives in Florida and was visiting. They didn't get much sleep (Actually, I don't think they went to sleep that night at all . Go figure.)

Jared, Andrew and Timothy

And as an added project for the weekend - Abigail and I painted her room. She used her birthday money to buy paint (normally we'd buy paint, but her room didn't actually "need" it (and so many other rooms do), so she was willing to purchase it). She did three walls bright white and one wall black. We also painted her bed white. She loves contrasting colors, so it's perfect for her. I'll post pictures when it's all together, but here's a picture of Abigail painting the black wall (after the white walls were done).

Cecily was my Harrison watcher and did a marvelous job! She got this picture of him while she was hangin' out with him.
As if that wasn't enough...THERE'S MORE!!!

Monday's Featured Blogger!

If you'd like to be a featured blogger, click on the button above to learn how to participate in this fun - and ongoing event!