Thursday, March 27, 2008

Happy Anniversary to US!!!


4 Years!!


I can't believe it!!! Yesterday, March 26, was me and Mike's 4 year wedding anniversary!! Mike and I met and got married within 6 months. Fast? You betcha. The best thing I ever did? YES YES YES!!!!


I know it sounds cliche', but it is so true... when you meet the right person, your soul mate, the person God made for you ... you just know. You know with every fiber of your being. That's is what happened when we met.


Time and love are strange in the way that they relate to each other. In one way, it seems like we just met last week. But, in another way ... it seems like we have always been together. It seems like I can't remember my life before him.


Like all married couples, we have had our share of ups and downs. That's just life. But, we have grown so much closer, more in love and even stronger because of it. He knows me better than anyone and he accepts me just the way I am. And, he is always there for me and he treats me like a queen.

Mike is truly the love of my life and my soul mate. I would say "I do" to him a million times over ... every single day of my life. Mike and I make an incredible team and I love every single minute of being married to him!! I love our life together. I love him and our kids more than you can imagine!


Ok, I'll quit gushing now!! Have a great day!!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Happy Easter!



Up until recently, Christmas was always my favorite holiday. But, in the last couple of years ... Easter has replaced every other holiday for me. Don't get me wrong, I still love Christmas and all it represents... but Easter just has a special place in my heart and in my life.

Where would we be without the cross?? I can't imagine a life without the promise of God's love, without the sacrafice of Jesus on the cross to save US from our own sins, and without the promise of spending eternity with Him. How unimaginable is that? Jesus - the King of Kings, the only son of God, died for us. You and me. Sinners full of imperfections.

From the time I was a kid up until I was in my early 20's, I went to the Catholic church. I was christened, made my first communion, went to confession, made my confirmation, and was married the first time in the Catholic church. That's a lot of years to go to church and not really get anything out of it. I mean, the tradition and the "ceremony" is beautiful. But, I would go to church and leaving feeling the same as I did the morning before. I was pretty much just going through the motions and not learning and growing in my faith. Lots and lots of Christmas' and Easters came and went without me really FEELING them.

Then I found HPC. I sincerely thank God for bringing me to Healing Place Church, for showing me another way to worship Him, to learn about Him and to love him. And, I thank Him for blessing me, my family, and all of the people of HPC with Pastor Dino. He is amazing and has such a way of really showing us the love of God.

Anyway, after going to HPC for about a year... one day I found myself thinking about the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. And out of nowhere this thought popped in my head: "If I... ME, Lesley... had been the ONLY other person on this earth, would God still have commanded Him to and would Jesus have given his life for me?" He said YES just as clearly as I would talk to you. The peace and overwhelming joy I felt was instantaneous. He said yes. Wow. He loves ME that much. He paid for my sins with His sacred blood. That in itself is pretty amazing since He made me and knows ALL of my sins and imperfections. He loves you that much too.

All you and I have to do is ask Him into our hearts and live for Him. That's it. It's THAT simple. He paid for my sins with His blood. After everything He did for us and all He sacraficed for us ... in the end, it is our turn to say yes.

I say yes, today and every day. Do you?

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Craziness & Chaos!!!

Whew!!!


Ok, here I am sitting down to blog - finally!!! This past week or so has been completely insane!!! We've been working really, REALLY hard on a few things, all the while believing in God for his never-ending grace.


First, we've been trying to get our house refinanced to help lower our monthly expenses. This is my first "real" experience with real estate stuff and it has been extremely nerve-racking for me. I've had to really put my faith into action these last few weeks. Dealing with the mortgage company, the bank and credit stuff is enough to make a person loose their mind QUICKLY!! Anyway, we got all the stuff done and then we knew we would have to have our house appraised... which normally wouldn't be a problem - BUT - as you may know we are in the midst of getting ready for a garage sale!!! My house has been upside down for a couple of weeks. I thought it would be a week or so before the appraisal would happen. WRONG!! They called Mike on Monday afternoon and said they would be sending an appriaser out TUESDAY morning at 10:00AM!!!!!!!! Can you believe it??? I seriously almost passed out!!!!! Needless to say we kicked it into super-high gear cleaning up and organizing the mess for the garage sale. I was pooped out to say the least. So, they guy (who was very nice) came out and did the appraisal and
I don't want to jump the gun, but - by the grace of God -it looks like it will be approved and will go through!!! Hopefully we will find out today or tomorrow about the closing date. God is SO incredibly faithful!!


So that was Tuesday.


Ryan had been having a yuck nose and a little cough since Monday. Well, by Tuesday afternoon he was wheezing and coughing really bad. I called and made a doctor appointment for him, it was scheduled for 9:15am on Wednesday. Tuesday night was a nightmare. Lane has baseball at the HPAC and Ryan stayed hom with Mike. Poor little Ryan just continued to cough and wheeze. He coughed and wheezed all night long. I got little or no sleep, which is ok 'cause that's what Moms do!! Thankfully, we have a nebulizer at home because when Lane was little he had asthma. Thank God, Lane seems to have outgrown that. So, I gave Ryan cough medicine and breathing treatments as frequently as possible all night long, but by 6:00am he was even worse. I was about to just take him to the emergency room, then decided that I would just take him to the doctor and be there when they opened. Our pediatrician - Dr. Danny Wood - is the BEST!!! I wouldn't trade him for anything in this world. We got to Dr. Wood's office at about 7:15 and by 7:45, Ryan was in Dr. Wood's very capable hands. Dr. Wood took one look and listen to Ryan and said his chest was "tight as a drum" and that he would start doing breathing treatments right there but if it didn't loosen up, Ryan would have to be admitted to the hospital. Lots of praying. Come to find out, he has bronchitis and asthma. But, three breathing treatments, a set of chest x-rays, an oral steriod and an antibiotic later ... we were on our way HOME!!! Thank you Lord...your love and grace continue to humble me. He is still coughing some and has a little wheeze going on, but he is WAY better. We are still doing treatments at home, and he hates each and every second of them. He screams and cries the entire time. It's heartbreaking, but necessary.


We are still convinced that the devil is attacking us, big time ... but WE will not let him win. Our God is way stronger than he is and our faith and love for our Father is immeasurable. Dumb old devil! He may as well move on 'cause he will never beat us!!!!


I am really looking forward to Easter this year. Probably more this year than any before.....


Oh well...,ore later ... my sick little boy is wanting all of my attention!!
Be Blessed!!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Wish Me LUCK!!!


Ok ... here goes nothing!! For a while now, I've been wanting to join the HPC Choir. And for more than one reason... ok, ok... I have made up excuses to justify not trying out. Fear? Yep, you got it.
Anyway, in the last couple of months I have felt in my heart that NOW is the time to go for it. Soooooooo, I was on HPC's website this morning and stumbled across the CHOIR AUDITION page. Funny how God does stuff like that!! Anyway, I submitted my registration form for the audition coming up on April 3rd.
I am SO excited ... but, really really nervous at the same time. My heart knows that God is with me, and that he will calm my spirit and my nerves!
Singing by my purple chair during worhip time at church service is one thing - but, it has been a LONG time since I got up in front of someone - ALONE - to sing. Back in the day, I had a really decent voice. God willing, it will still be halfway decent when I try out!!
Wish me luck, and maybe send up a quick prayer that I make it, or at the very least that I don't pass out at the audition! LOL!!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Playing Catch-Up



Guess whose legs these are? Give up? Ok, they are Mike's legs. Now .. next question. Guess what that red stuff is all over them?? Yep, you got it right ... it's POISON IVY!!!!!!!!! I don't think it shows up too good in the picture, but it looked horrible!! Bright red and all blistery!! My poor baby :-( He had been outside weed-eating on Saturday and then Sunday evening he asked me to come look at his legs. I'm no nurse, but I felt pretty sure that it was poison ivy. Looked it up on the internet and the pictures online looked identical to Mike's legs. So, I gave him some Benedryl and nite-nite he went. It was considerably worse Monday. He hates going to the doctor but I managed to convince him to go to the after hours clinic Monday night. The doctor said it was a classice case of poison ivy, gave him a shot, and two perscriptions... Vistoril for the itching and Prednisone (a steroid) to help speed the healing process. Mike is one of those people that doesn't like to take medicine so these medicines have pretty much knocked him for a loop!!! Thank God his legs look much better now, aren't itching anymore and he only has two pills left to take!!! I pray he never gets that again!



This is Ryan rockin out with his guitar!! He is just adorable when he does that! I wish I had a video of it to post. You'd never guess, but he is singing ONE WAY JESUS at the top of his little lungs. When he is done with that song, we have to clap. The he rocks out again to TAKE IT ALL!!! He says he is "Mr. Jason!!!" He wants to play his guitar and sing on the stage too :-)


We've been cleaing out the attic to get ready for our garage sale. It's amazing how many treasures you will find in your attic. For example ...here is Mr. Lane modeling his pre-school graduation cap and gown for us!! He was so little back then, it makes my heart so melancholy to think about that. Our kids grow so fast - right in front of our eyes!! Our time with them when they are kids passes so fast. Anyway, Lane was barely 5 when he graduated from preschool. Now, he is 9 years old and in the 3rd grade. Lane is a wonderful little boy and I love him so much!! Although I'm sure he'll probably won't be amused that I posted this picture on here!

Things continue to be as hectic as ever around here. We've had a couple of issues with the kiddies I babysit. Nothing that we couldn't handle though. It's a learning experience daily. Plus, our house is upside down as we prepare for the garage sale... and it is really working on my nerves!

Please continue to pray with us and for us about our financal situation as we should hear something this week on if our re-financing the house will go through. God has been with us every step of the way, and we know He will continue to walk us through this journey. He is so faithful!!!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Getting Worried ...

Ok, I am now officially "worried." As the results of yesterdays primaries and caucuses started trickling in last night, I couldn't even watch and turned the TV to off. So, this morning, I am horrified and sickened to find out that Hillary somehow managed, with her trash talking ads, to actually win Texas and Ohio.

Is there nothing that "woman" won't say or do??? You never know what is going to come out of her mouth, and she wouldn't know the TRUTH if it slapped her in the face. She reminds me of a chameleon... you know, that lizard that changes his colors depending on his environment?? Instead of sticking to her position on the issues all of the time, she changes her position depending on who she happens to be speaking to at that moment. I can't stand the hate tactics and/or the scare tactics that she is using. People who will stoop to whatever means necessary to get their way is horrifying. Is this the person we want to lead the free world?????? To me, that is a terrifying thought.

What in the world is going on?? Haven't people had enough of politics as usual??? I know that I for one certainly have. Let's do a quick recap of the past 20 years:

George Bush --- 1989 - 1993 (4 years)
Bill Clinton --- 1993 - 2001 (8 years)
George W.Bush --- 2001 - 2009 (8 years)

20 years later where are we? Look at where our country is today. Are we better off then we were before 1989?? Absolutely not.

Now, I'm not a college graduate with a bunch of fancy letters or titles behind my name. But I am a fairly intelligent, God fearing woman who takes care of our household daily. My dear sweet hubby pretty much makes the money...I balance the checkbook, pay the bills and do the shopping for groceries, clothes and other necessities.

Having said that, here is how I see it. We went to war with a bunch of misinformation and no exit strategy. We are still at war that I don't think we can "win" because there are no clear cut lines that define a "win." The rest of the world pretty much hates us now, and sees us as an International Bully. Our economy is basically in a recession. I'm no expert in math or whatever it takes to determine an official recession. However, I do know that my grocery money each month goes about half as far as it used to... and our bills for electricity, gas, water etc. continue to get higher and higher and, of course, there isn't any more money coming in to pay them. And, don't even get me started on how the price of gas effects my family's budget. You can only stretch a dollar so far.

Between the Bush and Clinton families, this country of ours has been torn apart in countless ways. Come on people...isn't it time for this insanity to stop????

I will admit that I did vote for Daddy Bush and Bush Jr in the previous elections. But, hindsight is 20/20. I seriously don't think I would do it again. McCain is just another Bush puppet. He is cut from the same cloth as the Bushes. He doesn't seem to care about us "middle class" people, he doesn't seem to have a way to help the less privledged and he seems to be a war monger.

God help us, if it comes down to voting in the general election for McCain or Clinton ... I won't be at all happy about it, but I will vote for McCain. I'd rather vote for a snake, knowing he is a snake... than vote for a snake in disguise.

On the other hand, if it ends up being Obama or McCain this fall, I will happily vote for Obama. At least this man truly believes in what he says and has the courage of his convictions. We need someone in the White House with morals and someone who will TRULY work hard to unite this country and who will try to heal the wounds of the past 20 years.

God help us. And I don't mean that lightly. I truly mean it as a sincere prayer. God help us and help this country.