Purple Prose:
TIME

Well, I have been black headed for a grand total of 3 days now, and I've noticed somethings. 1. I'm not as confident. I thought I would be, but darn if I find myself wanting to run and hide so people don't see me, which is difficult since, well, I have black hair and it KINDA sticks out!

2. Old people do not like black hair on a young sprout. Of the 3 people who absolutely hated my hair, all of them were 45 and older. The younger people really loved it. Yay young people!

3. The hair has now changed to an interesting chocolate brown color. I'm liking it more and more as it goes away from gothic black. I'm a closet goth... ok, I'm not. I have no idea how to be a 'goth'. I don't really want to be. I do, however, tend to wear a lot of black and not have dark hair... so whatever that means. Maybe it was yet another phase I didn't live out in my teen years.

Ok, now to other things... it can't all be about my hair.

I said yesterday that the OC ff fans are the best in the world, and they are. I love them all, especially those who write replies... BUT there is another group of ff fans I love.. the TWILIGHTERS!!! I have been nominated for a twilight award for a story I wrote called Shades of Gray. NOW, If you are one of those people who laugh and mock FF writers, then go ahead... we do too. I sometimes find myself sitting in my chair when the kids are asleep writing about Ryan and Taylor or Bella and Edward and thing to myself, "Self, you are in idiot for writing something like this when you could be doing something important with your time." My reply to myself? "I work all day. Come home and take care of 2 kids and a DH, I deserve some me time and if it's writing a sex scene with Ryan Atwood then so be it." I have yet to write said sex scene, but you get my drift.

OH, here is the link to the Twilight Awards http://fallingstarr-mora.blogspot.com/ I'm nominated in the first catagory and like I said, the story is Shades of Gray.

**I plan on writing a whole thing sometime about how I'm going to vote in the election... but not right now. Now I'm worrying about driving to the 'big city' 60 miles away to an inservice tomorrow and I have no idea how to get there... I have my trusty map quest and that's about it. Wish me luck. I may never be back to update this blog... I may disappear and a body might wash up in the river in 3-4 years... the only way to identify it? It's unnaturally black hair!

Well, I just happened to remember I had this, so I thought I'd use it for it's purpose... to talk about me. I figure I'd write all of the things I would normally write in to my friends on a message board, but most of it is very random and well, this way they don't have to read it if they don't want.

Today's thoughts:

1. The O.C. fanfiction people are the best in the world!!! And I truly believe that. They read, give feedback, are friendly, etc... and some of the stories they write are amazing. I love it. If you want to check it out, go to fanfiction.net and find OC stories. Now, if you don't like the OC, you probaby won't get any enjoyment out of it. But if you are new to it like me, then you'll probably love it. You will learn, if anyone ever reads this, that I tend to be about 3-4 years behind on what's 'in'.

2. Never go to Wal-mart to get your hair colored. You go in for brown and come out with jet black. Not fun. If I make it through tomorrow at school, then I'll be all set.. but man my eyes look pretty. They have never looked green before.

3. It's not right when your 2 kids wake you up at 3:45 am because one has peed in her bed and one has lost her fooler. It's not a fun way to start a day... especially when you've got newly black hair.

So you see basically what this will be is a place where I can write random stuff. I hope you like random LOL.

Does anyone know where the quote in this post title came from? I'll give you a hint... it's from the best Keanu-Reeves-Bomb-on-a-bus Mega Movie EVER!

That's right... the most awesome movie of the 90s Speed. The scene I'm referring to is the one where 'The Bomber' is taunting Jack after he has killed Harry. (Sorry, spoilers if you haven't seen it, but really... it came out in 1994 so you SHOULD have watched it by now... just saying ;)). Ok, so 'The Bomber' (Howard Payne) is talking to Jack and says...

"A bomb is made to explode. That's it's meaning. It's purpose. Your life is empty because you spend it trying to stop the bomb from becoming. And for who? For what? You know what a bomb is, Jack, that doesn't explode? It's a cheap gold watch, buddy."

Now PLEASE don't call the cops on me because I'm NOT thinking of bombing anyone or anything (just thought I'd get that out there), but for some reason, that quote has been on my mind a LOT lately. And it relates to kids.

Why? And HOW would a quote from Speed relate to kids? Well, here is my take on it. My kids are live wires as all kids are. They are loud. They play. They make messes. They are KIDS. However, *I* feel like my life is spent trying to 'stop the bomb from exploding'. I constantly say, "You can't be so loud. Daddy is sleeping." or "Don't jump on the couch, you could get hurt." or "Ok, time to stop running. Time for the baby to go to bed... "

I mean GAH!

"Stop... " this and "Quit" that... what kind of a life is that for me OR my kids... so maybe MY life is 'empty' (for lack of a much better word) because I'm trying to keep the 'bomb from exploding' aka trying to keep my 'kids from being loud'. Maybe I should just 'let' them be kids and stop worrying about it SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much.

But how do I do that?

I'm terrified of everything. I'm afraid I will do or won't do something and my kids will get hurt (or worse) because of it and it terrifies me. That's why I try so hard to keep them in line... to try not to let them get hurt... to do what's 'right'... but what kind of life is that for my girls?

Am I doing right by trying to protect them or will they grow to resent me when they get older?

Sorry for the downer post. I've just been really thinking about this a lot lately. I keep telling my husband that I'm SOOOOOOO ready for that parenting manual to show up in my mailbox. I'm the type of person who wants to know I'm doing the right thing (at home, at school, in life), but 'in life' that's not really possible.

Anyway, that's today's ramblings. I was going to post my awesome couponing (well awesome to me) deal I got yesterday, but this wouldn't let me... hopefully I'll get to tomorrow or Friday. It was the best haul I've gotten.

Much love,

Kelly

Here are my results of this week's quest... yes, I actually did it :) I enlisted the help of my girls... actually turned off the tv (I KNOW! It was strange without PBS kids for 2 hours)... and we cleaned. And had a GREAT TIME. I'm going to miss this when they get older and cleaning isn't as fun for them. Oh well... no sadness today... Ok.

Here is how our morning went...

THIS...

Is what their closet looked like. This is what he has honestly looked like for years. I haven't hung clothes in there... well, in about 4 years when the clothes rod fell and I just never put it back up (lazy much!). Their clothes are all in another room (dresses anyway). And this closet just ended up being a catch all for... well... everything. You can see there are 3 backpacks (2 are mine from about 9 years ago and 1 from my oldest daughter, our christmas tree (yes, our Christmas tree is a 4 foot, white, pre-lit tree... Don't judge), a carseat, some big toys, a train set (my grandfathers), just a jumbled mess of messiness.

Not a room fitting 2 little ladies.

And a waste of space. Nothing was being played with. Just being a big, messy, unusable eyesore.

Finally, with the girls help we got...

This..
.
.

And

This..

ACTUAL dresses hanging from their ACTUAL closet.

I could do a happy dance...

And kick myself for not doing it sooner (sorry girls).

I know the walls aren't all that. I'll get to them someday. Maybe cleaning them up will be one of NEXT years Quests (because I KNOW you all are looking forward to next year ;))

Here is the final product (or at least, how I'm leaving it today..)

I think there is a big difference. I can't store the train or the tree anywhere else because I just don't have the space. I have another closet that I 'may' try to put them in later, but for right now, they are fitting ok in there. I know it's not 'perfect', but at least it's usuable.

However, today's confession is that... my kid have a lot of stuff. I didn't get a good before picture of their room previously, but lets say that we haven't been tidying it as we should this summer. It wasn't 'messy', just full of stuff. It's the catch all for all of my kids toys.

Here is an example of how much stuff they have in there...

(Um... no. Those toys aren't normally on their beds lol. I had the ladies put them on their beds so the baby could be in the room and not eat any of them. Those blocks there were what she played with.)

They have a LOT Of stuff.

I gave them 3 choices on all of it... keep, toss, yard sale.

And here are our results...

Much better :)

HOWEVER, I'd be a big liar if I didn't show you the reverse of this shot.

That's all of their stuff that we didn't want to give away or sell. I'm not entirely sure what to do with it. I mean... Hmmmmmmm... Any ideas from you awesomely organized Mamas?

So, there you have it :) The end of week 6 for me. YOU still have until Saturday to get your closet finished. Remember, you can pick which ever closet you want. This closet has been my nemesis all summer lol.

OH, and I just remembered that I said "Cleaning Was FUN!" And I meant it. My ladies had the best time playing with the toys that hadn't seen the light of day in years.

Especially...

We found this in the 'non used' closet. Now, to you and me this might look like some little baby toy. Not to my oldest 2 ladies. THEY decided it was a rocket ship. So all 4 of us (the baby included) spent a good hunk of time flying in outer space. We zipped. We zagged. We ducked (the 11 month old thought we were all silly doing that... ). We whirled. And my oldest daughter went all Dora on us because we had to listen and match the correct instrument to the correct sound... so the mole aliens wouldn't get us. (THANKFULLY, we knew what a drum, a trumpet, and a guitar sounded like! Shew!)

They have already made plans for our return trip tomorrow. I can't wait.

So, there you have it, ladies. Cleaning IS fun... especially when you find a really cool rocketship in your closet.

Much Love,

Kelly

(Linked with: The High-Heeled Housewife--Homemaking Link-Up

My 5 year old, Katie, loves Jesus. She loves him with her whole heart... even if she doesn't fully understand everything (really who does?). She 'tries' to understand (which makes it hard for ole Mama who is having to turn into a Biblical Scholar to answer all of her questions... but that's ok because I'd rather she ask me and to KNOW about Jesus than to NOT know).

Anyway, Katie always tries to be a good girl. She tries to take care of her little sisters. She is the typical oldest child who does too much for others.

But she is as sweet as can be.

Last Thursday, Katie came up to me and said, "Mama, I asked Jesus to come live in my heart. And he said yes."

Well, to be honest. I didn't know what to do. I was ELATED that my baby girl had thought enough to ask Jesus into her heart, but I was worried that she was so young that maybe she didn't know what she was doing, etc. I decided to encourage her, and to let her decide when/if she needed to be baptized (She's just 5 after all... but that is another story).

But I told her that I was so happy that she did that... and that she had to take care of Jesus now that he live in her heart...

And that is when, I think, this story took a wrong turn... (uh oh... anyone see foreshadowing????)

A few days later, my girls were play fighting. They are 18 months apart and sometimes they wrestle... laughing the whole time. I usually allow it for a while until they get too wound up. Apparently, I let it go a BIT too long that day.

Chloe, my 4 year old, hit Katie...

In...

The...

Chest!

OH MY WORD!

TEARS... BIG HUGE TEARS filled that girls face as she ran to me yelling, "CHLOE HIT ME! She broket my heart! She BROKET Jesus. And Jesus Ran AWAY!"

It was one of those mom moments that isn't funny... but telling it back later makes you chuckle.

I hugged her... she was REALLY distraught. She kept saying, "She broket my heart! She broket my heart! And Jesus ran away!"

I finally got he to calm down enough for her to listen to me. I wiped her tears away and said, "Katie. Jesus loves you. And even if Chloe 'broket' your heart in tiny pieces, Jesus would never want to leave. He would stay with you even if he could leave because he loves you that much."

Well, that seemed to satisfy her. She wiped her tears and went off to play.

And then, of course, I started thinking about us. How many times have WE thought we 'broket our heart and Jesus ran away'? But guess what, ladies? Jesus loves us. He would never want to leave us. He would stay with you even if he could leave... because he loves you that much!

As for Katie, well, she told me later that her heart had been fixed and now Jesus had a nice home in there again... at least until her sister breaks it again...

Much Love,

Kelly

I saved $33.22 today at Walmart using coupons :) I DID end up paying 90.09 so it wasn't one of those huge percents of savings... but still. It was the best I've ever done.
I didn't take a picture (honestly between shopping with the ladies and the hubs, I was just ready to put it all up lol). But I did save my receipt so I can tell you what I got... well, some of it.

**The = is after coupons...

Pantene ($3.00 off 2)= $3.78 for one, $0.78 for the second
Gold Bond Hand Santizer ($2.00 off 1)= $1.97 each (bought 3)
Dove Men's bar soap ($4.00 off 1)= $1.97 each (bought 2)
Schick 4ct razors (Buy one Get one Free)= $5.97 for one (got other free)
Lysol Wipes ($1.00 off 2)= $1.98 each + 2 free (bundle packs)

Those were the good ones. I had several $0.50 and $1.00 off ones.

All in all... it was a good trip :) The paper was well worth it this week... :)

How about you? Did you find any really good deals?

Much Love, Kelly

My friend Jennifer has a blog called Imitation by Design It is an awesome blog, and I'm not just saying that lol. It really is a great place. It has recipes, encouragement... and a little thing called "Meaningful Mondays"

I LOVE Meaningful Mondays! If she doesn't write it... I ask where it is lol. It's where she writes a devotional or something meaningful (hence the name). She has a real gift for this.

Now...

I've told her that she should do a Linkytool to her Meaningful Mondays so others can get in on the action. I'm not sure if she will or not... BUT I decided that I was going to do it anyway. We all need some uplifting. We all need some sort of encouragement. We all need something to think about. We ALL need something meaningful to read (What? You mean that 'In Style' I just read wasn't 'meaningful'? Um.. no. Informative thought it may have been... NOT meaningful... ")

I don't know if I'll do this every Monday, but I did want to make mention to you all about her site and what her Meaningful Mondays are :)
************************************
Here is my contribution to "Meaningful Mondays"...

Positive or Negative????

Have you ever been around a negative person?

Of course you have. We ALL have. You know those people who are NEVER happy. They could win $2 million dollars and still not be satisfied because they'd have to count it (ok, not REALLY, but you know what I mean).

The people who have been blessed by God and don't realize it.

The people who see the glass as half empty.

The people who when get good news, see only the problems that come with it.

The people who fuss in the grocery store because things didn't go their way.

Oh yes... we have ALL seen these people or been around them.

And how do they make us feel?

If you are around a negative person, you feel... negative.

Oh you didn't start off feeling that way. You WERE happy. JOYFUL even. You were excited about (insert something here... ). You were all smiles for miles.

And then...

You met them...

You talked to them...

You had a conversation with THEM...

And what happened?

You tried... you did... You TRIED to stay happy.

You worked hard to keep that positive attitude.

But their negativity... it just crushed you. It got into your mind and stole your joy. Do you know people like that???? How does it make you feel to be around them.

Oh...

Wait...

Proof-reading here...

OH, I wrote that wrong...

Let me go back...

Sorry about that...

Back to the top...

If Someone is around a negative person, they feel... negative.

Oh you (THEY) didn't start off feeling that way. You (THEY)WERE happy. JOYFUL even. You (THEY) were excited about (insert something here... ). You They were all smiles for miles.



And then...


You met them...



You talked to them...



You had a conversation with THEM...




And what happened?



You They tried... you They did... You They TRIED to stay happy.



You They worked hard to keep that positive attitude.



But their YOUR negativity... it just crushed you THEM. It got into your THEIR mind and stole your THEIR joy.

There...

Wow, proof reading that sure didn't make me feel very good.

We ALL know what it's like to be around negative people. It's, quite frankly, annoying. And it DOES steal OUR joy.

BUT what if WE are that negative person? What if WE steal OTHERS joy?

Whoa!

I don't want to steal joy... I want to give it.

I don't want to steal happiness... I want to give it.

I don't want to make someone sad... I want them to be happy.

I don't want to SOW negativity... I want to be positive not only for myself for others.

It's easy to recognize people who have a negative attitude, but can we say the same when the mirror is looking on us?

I admit that I'm not always the most positive person.. and I admit that when I'm around a negative person that I can easily turn that way. I need to pray about keeping a positive attitude. The world has enough negatives. Imagine if some positives came though?

That's NOT saying that we shouldn't talk to people when we are sad and down. The worst thing you can do is bottle it up. However, its good not to make a habit out of it. Look for the positives in life to counterbalance the negatives. A simple joy... a simple laugh can be a positive experience.

Much Love,

Kelly :)

Well, I've already posted about finishing Quest #5 (The Dreaded Baseboards). Now, its time to focus on Quest #6... Closet Calamity (dun, dun, dun!).

The basic premise of this is to pick *A* closet in your home, and clean it up. It can be in the living room, the bedroom, your child's room... whatever. You get to choose this week! (Yay you! ;) )

I, personally, am choosing to clean out my daughters' closet in their room. My oldest 2 (ages 5 and 4) share a room and... well... it needs help). Lots of help. I 'may' not get finished with it this week because it needs a full closet make over (it doesn't even have a clothing bar! I KNOW!). This one will take me a while, but I know I can get it done. :).

I'm really going to need some pushing this week, though, to get the basics done. It has became a catch-all for baby toys (and strangly Christmas ornaments). I really hope you consider participating in this challenge with me! :) The more, the merrier.

Much love,

Kelly

Ah... the Lord works in mysterious ways.

We've all heard it, but sometimes He smacks us right up side the head with it! Those are the fun times... well if you count oral surgery 'fun', but I guess you need to know the beginning of the story.

Yesterday, I had surgery to remove my 4 wisdom teeth. Now, I only got 2 out because one of them was worse than the doctor thought and I only had 20% left on my knock out meds so I have to go back and do it all again... oh joy. Naw... it worked out for the best. I won't be as scared the next time, and I'll have time for this one side to heal before I have to have it done again. AND I can chew on that side of my mouth which is awesome since I'm STARVING...

BUT, that has nothing to do with my Brag on God Friday. I know... you are wanting me to get to it.

I had the surgery Wednesday... TUESDAY I WASN'T going to! I had talked myself out if it. I sent my sister (my poor sister) lots of texts explaining all of this too her. I was too busy to be 'out of commission' for as long as I thought I was going to be (that's my 3rd out of 3 posts about what I learned in the dentists chair... stay tuned... dun... dun... dun!). I told her I should wait until my kids got older... I told her lots of things. I was a bit freaked.

And my sister... my poor sister... gave me this advice, "Do what you always say do. Pray about it."

WELL, whollop ole Kelly upside the head!

To be fair, I HAD prayed about it. I had prayed about it in great length, but it was all about how *I* didn't *WANT* to have it done and all the reasons why. I was trying to make Him see things MY way (and yeah, we all know how well THAT goes!).

So, finally, right before I went to bed, I had this thought. My alarm clock doens't work all the time. I have to set my phone alarm as a back up during the school year because my alarm clock isn't reliable (can you see where my wheels were rolling??) In my great wisdom, I DIDN'T set my phone alarm... only my unreliable alarm clock.

Before I shut my eyes for the night, I prayed, "God, I'm leaving this all up to you. If you wake me up in time tomorrow, I'll go get the surgery. If not, I won't." And I went to sleep.

Now, I know you aren't supposed to test God, but it was all I could think to do at the time. I was giving God the choice...because if it was up to me, I was running for the hills!

I have 3 small kids (the reasons, I kept telling myself, as to WHY I shouldn't have the surgery). My kids are 5, 4 and 11 months. They are VERY good sleepers. They go to bed at 7 pm and wake no earlier than 6:30 am. EVERY DAY...

5:45 am... Me, sleeping peacefully because I KNOW I'm not going to have to go have surgery...

Then I hear it..

Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Yeap, the baby woke up 1 hr and 15 minutes earlier than she usually does. I went in, got her, and asked her if an angel had kissed her awake (she just laughed and smiled and gooed lol). So I fixed her a bottle and, defeatedly, went to take a shower to get ready for my surgery.

God works in mysterious ways.

The baby slept until 7 am today. She hasn't woken up earlier than 6:45 all summer.. yet 'somehow' (yeah I know how) she woke up on the exact same day I needed her too... I prayed for it.

Of course, I had to laugh. I thanked God for the 'sign' and I had my surgery.

That's not the only thing I have to 'brag on God' on this week!

God has answered so many of my prayers! More than I could ever even dream of for one week. He answered some of them I had for my husband, my sisters, and my daughter. My 5 year old told me today that she asked Jesus to come live in her heart :) I'm not entirely sure she knows what that means, but I DO know that her and her sister were playing today and she was telling her sister how to get Jesus into HER heart. Some kids play Barbies.. my kids play church. I'm ok with that :) (they play restaurant too lol).

It has been a really big week of blessings at my house. I learned that the spot that the doctor was 'pretty sure' was cancer... wasn't. I braved oral surgery. The hubs and I had a big, long, awesome heart to heart. My kids know about Jesus.

And I'm not saying all of this to brag about MY family. We are nothing special (well, we are special to ME, but we aren't special in any big sense... we blend really well). But God has just been right with us this week (as every week, but I guess I'm just seeing it more now). I truly, truly thank him for all he's done!

I have another blog. It's called http://www.365daysofbiblicalencouragement.blogspot.com/. Its only been up for 5 days. God has blessed me so much writing that. If it was only *me* reading it, it would be a blessing, but I'm so grateful that others are reading it and being blessed.

Much love and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Kelly

So, yesterday I had my wisdom teeth cut out. I was going in to get all 4 cut out, but due to some unforseen complications, I only got 2 out and have to go back in 2 weeks for another surgery (ye-haw). But that's not the point of this post.

The point is that I was scared of the surgery.

I wasn't scared per sa OF the surgery. I was glad to get my teeth that had hurt me for years out. What I was worried about was the being put under, the not being able to take care of my kids, the possibility of doing something stupid while 'doped up'. Basically, it was the fear of 'not' being in control.

Being in control of situations is really important to me. It helps me as a teacher, a wife, and a mama. If I wasn't in control of my classroom, my kids would run amuck. If I wasn't in control of paying the bills, my family would suffer. If I wasn't in control of raising my kids, they would suffer in the long run (and my husband helps too... I'm not in control of EVERYTHING, but the need to at least know what is going on is strong in me). The thought of being put to sleep (it was my first time ever) scared me because things would be going on with me that I wasn't in control of... that I wouldn't know about.

And I knew I wasn't going to feel good today either (which I don't, but I'm making it... so far lol).

All that weighed heavily on my mind and I 'might' have had a come apart in the operating table to the nurse for feeling 'selfish' for having the surgery (I'm saving that train of thought for another post). The nurse reassured me that I was doing the right thing and that my kids would be fine.

And then I took a much needed nap (that nap was awesome).

***And now... the POINT of this post***

The hubs drove me home, of course. But I felt fine. I was just a bit sleepy. Nothing major. We came home. I laid in the bed (when I wasn't on the internet). I took my pain pills. I put gauze in my mouth. I called my mother to check on the ladies. And I bared my soul to the husband... APPARENTLY pain pills and whatever they give you to knock you out, makes me very talky! I think I told him my deepest dreams, biggest goals, plans for our family... wow. Things I didn't want to necessarily 'hide' from him, but that I really wasn't ready to talk to him about.

He was good. He laid with me and listened. I wondered at the time why he wasn't saying much, but it was probably because it was all coming out so fast and jumbled up, that it probably sounded like a rant of a crazy person!

Then around 6, he went to get the girls and when they got home, I decided to show the hubs my other blog. I had never showed him it before and I wanted him to see what I'd been working on.

So I sat down to show it to him... and he said, "Um, Kelly. You already showed me this today... you don't remember it, do you?"

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd,
I didn't!

Here I thought I was SO in control yesterday. I *thought* that the pain meds and other drugs hadn't affected me that much. I *thought* I was in control of my own actions when if that was the case, I wouldn't have spilled my guts (not that it was a bad thing), and I would have remembered showing him my blogs.

When thinking back on it, it made me realize why some people drink and drive. I don't drink... well, I very VERY rarely drink. I haven't had a drink in a restaurant in over 2 years. At home, its few and VERY far between. But, it made me realize how you can 'think' you are in control... you THINK you are perfectly fine to drive.BUT YOU'RE NOT. Heck, I *thought* I felt fine enough to drive home yesterday... BUT if I had, I might have wound up in Little Rock--- dancing on tables before I came back to my senses (there is visual image for you!)

To sum up, sometimes we think we are in control, when we really are not. If we think about it, we are never 'truly' in control because that 'job' is God's (even if we don't like to admit it sometimes). We need to be careful of the 'control' we *think* we have. Its good to be on top of things (bills, child raising, homemaking), but it's silly to think that we are actually 'in control' of it... *I'm* silly for thinking that.

The things you learn from Oral Surgery... (I think I have gotten 3 blog posts I want to write from it!)

Much love! Remember you still have time to finish Quest #5 by Saturday. It's a pretty easy one this week. I finished in a little over an hour.

Kelly

I'm going to admit something to you... I NEVER thought that cleaning a baseboard would do any good.

See, there I said it, and I feel better for it (in the words of Captain Jack).

I remember about 8 years ago talking to a co-worker about Spring Cleaning. She informed me that she was going to 'wash her walls' and I informed her that she was crazy.

WHY wash walls?

WHAT was the purpose?

THEY were JUST walls?

Oh... how the high and mighty have fallen... on their knees... and scrubbing their walls.

So, I finished my quest today (I KNOW... on Tuesday!) and I started looking at my walls and Wow, you CAN tell a difference.

And I'm not entirely sure if it's because I did it that I notice, but I can.

A clean baseboard is something that only *you* might know about. I mean, really, how many times do we go into someone elses' home and go, "Wow, you have some awesomely clean baseboards!"

Um... no.

No... We don't really pay attention to other people's and I dare say no one will look at yours.

UNLESS...

They are dirty and yucky and THEN people will go... ewwwwwwwww. (for lack of a better term).

(Yes, there are actually pictures on photobucket for 'dirty baseboards'. I was kinda afraid to see what I would get searching that. No, that's not my house.)

A baseboard is kinda like your appendix. You know its there. You know it does 'something', but you never really notice it until it gets yucky.

So, ladies. Please do this week's quest. Clean your baseboards. I did my house in about an hour. I never thought it would make a difference, but it does.

I'll post more about it on Saturday along with next week's quest...

Much Love,

Kelly
(also, get your daily dose of encouragment by checking out http://http://www.365daysofbiblicalencouragement.blogspot.com/ )

NOT CANCER!!!

YIPEEEEEE!!!!

Shew, I feel like I can breathe now. I got the results a week earlier than I thought I would. Whew... lots of answered prayers there!

NOW, that that scare is out of the way... don't THINK I'm going to let up on the skin cancer thing. My see-through girls will always go outside with sunscreen on, no tanning beds (as long as I have anything to say about it ), and monthly skin checks. This 'scare' is the most I ever want to have to deal with skin cancer.

Continuing to pray for those who do have it. Cancer is a nasty, nasty thing :(

Much love, thanks so much for the prayers.

Kelly

So, I have a confession...

It's a pretty big confession...

One that will tear the fabric of the space/time continuum (who knew that had 2 U's in it???)

Ok...

Ready????

I have...

A...

Second...

Blog!

Ok...

So, basically I had this thought, this 'want' to do a blog for daily, scriptural encouragement for while. Well, actually, I wanted to do it HERE on THIS one, but decided it would get too crowded. So I made a second blog. Its this blogs sister. It won't take away from this one. We will still have cleaning/quests/product reviews/and yeah, even some Bible stuff on here because I can't NOT do it!

However, I wanted a blog for daily encourgement (both for you and for me... I'm selfish that way ;)) that would stand on it's own.

You can find it at http://365daysofbiblicalencouragement.blogspot.com/

YES I know that title is WAY long... I tried to shorten it, but nothing worked.

This is where I need your help, Friends.

I have no followers (obviously), and it would really mean a lot to me for you to follow that one too. It will get all lonely if it doesn't have any followers lol. Two Kelly's for the price of one (and who said the economy was bad???)

Check it out! I hope you follow and get your daily encouragement from the Bible. :) It would mean a lot to me.

Much love,

Kelly

This week, we are tackling baseboards. I'm actually pretty excited about this one. Now, I'm not getting all crazy and moving furniture.. but I am going to do all of my rooms. My baseboard really need it!

There will probably not be any pics (I don't know, I might take a few... who knows)

I hope you go on this Quest with me!

This should be our 'easy' week... Quest #6 (if it stays the same as I plan) will be the doozie!

Good luck... and PLEASE do this with me (I can beg with the best of them). Motivation and encouragment are very much key when trying to reach any goal. We have 4 more quests after this... WE CAN DO IT!!!

Much love... Happy Cleaning!!!!
Kelly

I can't believe this week is already over with! And I can't believe we are already on Quest #5! That means I've been off of school 5 weeks! Wow, SURE doesn't seem like! At. All!

Anyway, enough of that...

This week, we conqured Bathroom Bedlam.(HUZZAH!)

I don't have a lot of pictures this week because... well.. it's a bathroom lol

I will say that I got a bit of a head start because we have been working on one of our bathrooms for a few weeks. It's 'almost' finished. Needs some more decorating (better get the hubs on that lol).

So, here is the before:

It's not horrible. Some baby bouncy chairs that I'm going to sell in a yard sale (I'm going to miss those). Not terrible.

Here is the after:

At least you can see the difference. lol

I also did the other bathroom... and I took pictures... but then I started looking at the pictures... and there is 'something' in the pictures that I don't really want you seeing (get your mind out of the gutter... it's not *that* or *those* or whatever 'dirty, married' thing your mind went to... ), but its still not something people should see. We don't know each other well enough yet...

SOOOOOOO there won't be a picture for that bathroom. I can feel your disappointment.

Anyway,

So, there you have it! The bathroom dragon has been dealt with!

I'm going to post Quest #5 in a separate post...

Much Love, Enjoy your new clean bathroom!!!

Kelly

Sunday is Father's Day. To celebrate, I'm going to talk a bit about my husband.

What? What?! You have a husband?

Yes, Dear Reader. *I* have a husband. I don't talk about him much because, well, I kinda told him I wouldn't (long story)... but I DID tell him I was doing this, and he was ok about it. Who doesn't like be bragged on sometimes?

Anyway, I thought I'd get all of my husband's awesomeness out in one post... well... the majority of his awesomeness. I could probably think of more if given the opportunity.

Backstory: The hubs (Brandon) and I have been married for 8 years. We dated a grand total of 2 months before we tied the knot... so, yeah-- we knew so much about each other going into this.

Over the past 8 years, we have had to figure each other out... what makes the other person tick... learn how to live with each other's faults (me more than him... Ok, so *maybe* I had some faults along the way myself... *maybe*).

AND we have 3 little ladies! (2 of which are TOTAL Daddy's girls... Apparently they don't realize that Mama carried and birthed them... but whatever, right... hehe)

We have a nice routine now... well, sometimes it's nice. It's hard. We don't work the same shift so it does get lonely at times... I'm not going to lie. But we try to make it work as best we can. Some days its only a brief kiss and a 5 minute conversation. I truly admire military families who don't even have that daily.

I've thought how best to descrive his awesomeness. I didn't want to get all mushy because we aren't mushy people. So then I decided that ye ole 'Top 5 List' would be the best way to go.

So...

Without further ado...

The Top 5 Reasons My Husband Rocks

1. He cleans out the mouse traps.
Wait!!! Whoa! Stop the train, Nelly-Bell. You mean to tell me 'That's' your number ONE? What about because you love him... or what about how the awesomeness of his being a father? Mouse traps are your number ONE???? (See how cleaverly I can read your mind... )

Well... yes... THAT is my number one and there is a very good reason why... ALL of that other stuff, the love, the awesomeness of being a father... THAT is a given. I wouldn't have married him if Ididn't love him (no shotguns were required... ). I wouldn't have had a baby with him if I hadn't thought he would be a good father...

And I wouldn't have had 2 more if he wasn't one.

All of those things are 'givens'. My top 5 are things he does that make me appreciate him more...

WHICH leads us back to He cleans out mouse traps.
I hate mice... I hate mice with a fiery passion. I'm not entirely sure if I'd rather see a dead mouse or a live mouse. All mice pretty much freak me out... Thankfully, the hubs takes care of those rather nasty creatures (sorry nasty creatures for putting you in the company of mice... I'm sure mice have their purpose.. just not in my house!). So score one for the husband!

2. He holds my hand when I'm scared...
Even when its a scary movie... in which case he might laugh at me while he's doing it, but it's the thought that counts, right???

3. Sometimes he says the right thing--- and I don't even have to tell him what it is.
I feel bad for my husband at times. I'll be upset over something and honestly I won't know why I'm upset and he doesn't either. But he does try to listen. He's not perfect of course--but he does try to make me feel better. Can't ask for much more than that.

4.He loves to cook--- and is much better at it than I am.
I'm not a cook. I've never been able to cook well... I can cook tolerable (ie, it's edible). But my husband is a terrific cook. That man can throw something together that you think would be nasty (or I would), but it's really really good when he's finished. My kids have a treat when Daddy cooks. I know he would more if he had the time. Time is a fleeting thing sometimes.

5. He is really good at decorating.
Ok, that one kinda irks me.. only because I'm SO jealous of it! I wish I could just look at something and 'make it work'.

In preparing this post, I asked my ladies why their daddy rocked.

They said:

The 5 year old: "Because he plays monster with us!"

The 4 year old: "Because he is happy."

The 11 month old can't talk (well she can, but... you know what I mean), but she is a TOTAL Daddy's girl--Never saw a girl's eyes light up so much when she saw her Daddy like E's (thanks kid... )

There are many other reasons why he rocks... like he knows exactly how to kiss me and make me swoon--even after 8 years.
... like how much he loves God--even if his work keeps him from church sometimes.
... like how sometimes he stays awake over 24 hours to do something with us.

You get the idea.

So, that's it. Now you know there is an actual "Mr." in this home, and that he's a pretty special guy.

Much love-- and don't forget Quest #4 is due tomorrow!!! :)

Kelly (aka... 'The Mrs.')

(P.S. I'm entering this into the "My Husband Rocks" writing contest linked above, however, I had already thought about writing something like this for a while. I just needed a bit of... what is that word????? Ah... MOTIVATION

"Brag on God" Friday is a link-up with http://www.beholdingglory.com/ where you write something Awesome about God. Well... that sounds easy, doesn't it? lol

And it is... Well it's Easy to THINK Of things that God has done awesome this week... and every week.

But when I started trying to actually write it down, it wouldn't come out for some reason. I tried to write this last night... and I got nowhere... not that I couldn't think of a million things to write about... but because I couldn't write it down (writers block I guess... )

Anyway, I'm glad I didn't end up posting what I was *trying* to write last night, because while taking a shower this morning, I found the exact words I wanted to say this morning... yeah, I was happy! :)

I was taking a shower and thought, "God, I know you do all of this stuff for me... every second... every day... but I can't find the words." And the thought popped in my head, "Well, you got up this morning, didn't you?"

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD the ball started rolling lol.

I'd like my first official "Brag On God Friday" to be about His just letting me wake up this morning. He didn't have too. There is no rule that says, "Kelly MUST wake up every day until she is 100 when she will die in her sleep." Nope... not written in any book I've ever read. So the sheer fact that I can sit here and type this... is a big God brag.

Then once I started thinking about that... the ball just got rolling.

Another thing that I've talked about this week that I've done is called S.O.A.P (Click the link next to this post). You pray, find a scripture, observe what it means, apply it to your life, and pray. It's really really REALLY neat! Honestly, its so cool how God can talk to you... with words over 2000 years old!

I won't be posting all of my 'SOAP' writings because I think they are personal, however I will type out one or two scriptures I used. Some of you know what I've been thinking about this week (Um... Spud is one of the top things lol... No you aren't the only one that thinks its weird that I named the 'mole' lol). There are others, and the verses that I found this week go either directly to that or other things that I want/am thinking about.

James 4:2--You desire and do not have, so you murder, you covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. (Yeap, that wholloped me right upside ye ole head!)

Matthew 21:22-- And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall recieve. (If I pray, and don't believe it... what good does it do?)

Luke 1:37-- For nothing is impossible with God. (That's where the Big and Small posts came from)

Proverbs 3:6-- Seek the Lord in all you do and He will show you which path to take.

Luke 2:36-- Anna, a prophet, was also in the Temple. (Anna had 2 things against her... well 2 things we'd consider NOW DAYS against her. 1. she was old. 2. she was a woman. God can use old, young, men, AND women to spread His word. Somehow I needed to know that this week.)

There are MANY many more (I've kinda been on a SOAP binge this week lol).

THE POINT IS: My 'Brag on God' today is that 1. He let me wake up. 2. He let my kids wake up. 3. He gave me these verses when I REALLY needed them the most. The Bible is huge, but 'somehow' (well *I* know how, but you get the idea) those popped out when I needed them the most.

**Remember, Our bathrooms are due tomorrow! I got one closet finished... gotta work on the other... I WILL get it finished by tomorrow though! HUZZAH!**

Much love!!!!

Kelly

I found this on facebook and I didn't know what was when I clicked on it. To my surprise, it was about skin cancer.

http://www.thatvideosite.com/video/dear_16yearold_me

Please watch it. I think I did a bad thing by saying that it 'was no big deal'... I think I was trying to make myself feel better. I feel bad for saying that. A mole.. especially a mole like 'Spud' that changes over time, is very much a big deal. If you have any suspecious mole, PLEASE get it checked out. Don't wait like I did.

I still won't know my biopsy results for another 1 1/2 weeks.

But still.. my kids will never go outside without sunscreen again. I have 2 redheads. My oldest is so pale she's 'see-through'.

So... please watch the video. If you have a suspecious mole, go to your doctor. A biospy isn't fun, but it's better than the alternative.

Oh, and if you don't mind, share the link around on your blog, on you facebook, on your twitter, on your message boards. It's a good video and can help save lives.

Thanks so much!

Much love, Kelly

Yesterday, I blogged about how no problem is too small for God. Today, I want to talk about Part 2 of that...

Ready????

No PRAISE is too SMALL for God.

Last night, the Ladies and I were reading our devotional, and in it, we were told to thank God for everything we have. So we closed our eyes and took turns saying, "Thank you God for... "

Now, my ladies are small so the things *we* were thankful for are
*tomatoes
*carrots
*our house
*dishwasher (I added that lol)
*the baby
*pets
and
*our family

I can just imagine God smiling as those 2 little girls had their little eyes closed thanking him for all of those seemingly small things. It's good to praise and thank him for the big things... but it's also good to take time to think about the seemingly small ones.

At church Sunday during the praise part, the baby raised her hand to the sky and jibbered something. Now, *I* don't know if she knew what she was doing or saying. She might have just been imitating what she was seeing others do... but even if she was... I believe God appreciates the effort.

Imagine yourself.

It feels good when you boss says something awesome to you! That is a really good report. You have lots of happy parents (I'm a teacher... happy parents make me happy :) ). You are doing a great job.

BUT...

It also feels good when our peers take time to say something nice... so of the small things that make your day. You look so pretty today. I love that shirt. Your smile is just brightening up the room.

Big or Small, praise makes us as humans feel good.

There is no praise too small for God either. The only praise NOT small enough is not taking the time or effort to do it.

Much Love,

Kelly

So, about an hour, I didn't know what I was going to type tonight. I had a few ideas. I was going to post a recipe that my family loves. I thought about posting an example of S.O.A.P (Please click that link. S.O.A.P is an awesome way to go through the Bible and apply it to your life. I'll show you an example of it hopefully some day this week.). However, while I was rocking the baby to sleep, this popped in my mind.. and I knew I had to write about it tonight.

And THEN while the Ladies (my oldest kids, 5 and 4) were doing our nightly Devotionals another post came to me... Then I figured out that they are related (how cool!). Tonight I'm doing part 1 and tomorrow part 2 (See.. something to look forward too ;) )

The idea that popped into my head while rocking the baby was "Nothing is too SMALL for God.."

Small?

Wait... what?

SMALL... isn't that supposed to be BIG? Nothing is too BIG for God! God can move mountains. God can cure "incurable" disease. God can sustain life. God can do BIG things.

Yes... yes he can.

But he can also do seemingly 'small' things.

Mark 10:27--Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God."

Mark 9:21-- "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes."

Ok, when I read those, I think of BIG things.. HUGE miracles. GINORMOUS acts of GOD. ANYTHING... EVERYTHING those are BIG words...

But don't they also mean the opposite?

The smallest thing God can fix.

The most insignificant worry we have, God can help us though.

But if you are like me, the small things are the things I don't pray for. Those little "tiny" things are the things I don't want to 'bother' God with.

God is NOT like us Earthly parents (thank goodness lol). You parents know how it is. Your child has had the same bruise for 2 days.. but still talks about it.. constantly.. and in that whiny voice... that you just want to say, "You are FINE!"

Yeah...

Or your kid comes up to you and is crying over the most insignificant thing you can even imagine. My middle daughter nearly had a meltdown when Nick Jr. changed their night time viewing schedule.. I kid you not. She was squalling, and I thought it was the littlest thing to be upset over. *I* didn't take the time to really understand WHY she was crying. She was upset because she can't tell time, but she knew when she was supposed to go to bed according to the show on Nick Jr... when they changed the schedule, she didn't know what was coming next and it scared her.

Something BIG for her, was something pretty little to me. We worked it out, but still...

I haven't prayed like I should over this mole removal/biopsy/cancer thing going on with my arm because eveyone tells me it's not a big thing... and I know that. I know that if it IS cancer that we will just cut it out and all will be done. I think I whine too much about this biopsy hurting (I know, imagine that lol) and how sick I've been all day. I have made my family endure looking at pictures and/or seeing the remnants of ole Spud. Poor Family...

Guess what I just figured out? I've been 'whining' to the wrong 'person'. My friends and my family have been WONERFUL to have to put up with me lol. Honestly, I could talk about it all day (and it seems I might lol). But I REALLY need to be talking to God about it. God's not like an Earthly, human parent who (as much as we try) get tired of hearing things from our kids.

NOTHING is too BIG... or too little for God.

I'm going to admit that I've been kinda embarrassed to pray for my arm because it's such a 'little' thing and there are so many other people in the world with it much much MUCH worse. I didn't want to bother God with it... well... that's the great thing about being God... you can deal with it all. There is no 'Miracle Quota of the Day'.

Got a test you need help with...
Need some energy to get through your day...
Got an ache or pain you want to pray about it...
Want some cleaning motivation (had to sneak that one in there.. you know I had to ;) )

Go for it.

God will listen. He won't think the problem is too small

(Wow, tonight's post was pretty therapeutic for me lol... ). So, in conclusion. Pray for big.. pray for Small... because God can take care of them all...

Tomorrow is part 2 of 'Nothing is too small for God'-- I'm looking forward to it! :)

Much love,

Kelly

*P.S. don't forget to start on your bathrooms! Quest #4 is in full swing! I'm changing the deadline to Saturday (You're Welcome!! lol )