The Roberts Rock Farm

List maker make me a list!

2012-01-05T07:00:00.004-05:00

List maker make me a list! ~ sung to match maker make me a match from fiddler on the roof. (written a few months ago and was reminded about it when I spoke with my MIL about making lists)

It's 5:30 am, and I write this I have been up since 2:30 am unable to sleep. Some of it has to do with the fact that my husband is having issues sleeping, due to a chest cold and a smaller factor is the temp in the room is way to warm. But the third and main reason is because, I am a list maker. Mainly lists in my head of things I need to accomplish, but they are just that "in my head".

I tend to have this habit of making non-paper lists for everything from chores to groceries. What happens to these well thought out paperless lists? Well the ink fades and the items never existed, therefore the item on said list can never be accomplished or purchased. Then in turn I'm unable to be that "super mom". LOL

So this early am, I awoke and put my smart phone to use, by typing out all this things I need to accomplish (not just todays stuff but long term stuff). As I typed out this list I can see that many of these items have been on the "list" for a while and just kept on the back burner. So ahead of me I have a big chore list.
Now that I've made the list I have to remind myself to check the list and do the things on the list.
Can I do it?
Can I get those things done?
I think I can, but as I made that list of family related chores, I realized that I need a second list of things to accomplish around the house.
So should these be separated or one big list?
Do I make a list with sublists?
Oh so many questions, do I make a list of questions on list making? As I'm ending this post I am going to put together my grocery list for this weekend, know full well that I shop at three different stores, all with it's own list! Ugh!

Over the past few months I have found that my phone lists have been very helpful, especially as I balance doctor appointments, teacher assignments, two cub scout dens, a pack and a household.

Care to share how you make lists or accomplish those listed items? I am also open to new ideas especially when it comes to keeping organized.

http://youtu.be/EfUlm9r4Ic0

Wanna start a fight?

2012-01-04T09:01:00.003-05:00

Moms of boys know that boys are tough. These little babies are so sweet and lovable, and yet they are still boys. There is just something in them that makes them natural fighters, right? If you are a mom of a boy or multiple boys , I am sure there has been a point in your parenting where you (as a woman) have stood there wondering "where the heck did that come from?"

I was standing right in that place scratching my head wondering the same thing, not just for a moment but pretty much the whole last week. However my words (in my head) were a bit more on the harsh side. And for those who know me, I've been wondering these things; not of our 10 year old (even though I have before), but of the 6 almost 7 year old.

This past week has been a week of stubbornness, head butting, defiance, threats, and all around poor behavior. In general this sweet child has reminded me of the early 90's movie 'Problem Child' with out the red hair and John Ritter in my life. Sure there have been great moments of kindness and gratitude, but those have been out weighted by moments of begging, crying, fist swinging, crankiness and anger.

But I guess the moments that push me as a parent are the physical moments. The ones where someone gets hurt on purpose, because of our sons anger. As parents we have tried for a year plus to work with him on using his words and not his limbs. But this boy is a natural fighter and always has been. This offers us a huge challenge because our oldest is a natural lover/fixer. So what do we do?

I am at a loss. I need to figure out how to handle this little guy. I know killing with kindness and love is where I need to start, but I need more. As a parenting team we are trying our best, we back one another up and we both see the issues that we are facing with our son. So today I called the school social worker and have set up a plan of action to work with him on controlling his anger and controlling his physical aggression. I will continue to blog on what the plan is and how it is going. Thought and suggestions are welcome.

A New Year...

2012-01-01T16:34:00.000-05:00

With the New Year here so many people are talking about making a change.

Do I want to make a change?
Sure, who doesn't?
But what kind of change?
Personal or for others in my life?
How about my community or even world wide? Or Both?
Physical or Emotional? Both?

So many changes to make, which leads into long term or short term?
Then I have to think about how those changes might effect others in my life. If I make a change for myself, will it make changes for others, that they do not want in their lives. All these questions with so many different outcomes made me want to keep doing what I am doing, and not make any changes in fear of what those changes might do to others in my life.

Oh it just made my head spin. So what was I going to do?
How was I going to make changes without making everyone around me change too?

NO CLUE HOW THIS WILL WORK?

So for now I am looking at changing how I eat and focus on loosing the weight I have found i the past year and by making that change, I hope to increase my exercise as well. By me feeling better about myself - will change my attitude and there for rub off on those around me.

Maybe by being more active physically, I can be more active emotionally and give ore of myself to my community those in my community. As many of you might already know I love to donate my time and I love to serve others, but when a body is at rest it tends to stay at rest and there for I can not give if I am not active. Ahhhh the circle again!

So here goes my start to a new year changes and no changes for me.

Oh yeah....HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU....thanks for reading.

Ten Years after 9/11

2011-09-11T17:18:00.000-04:00

We all remember where we where on 9/11/01,I wrote about it in a log post two years ago (read it here http://robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com/2009/09/eight-years-later.html ). But what did you do this year? We as a family decided to sit and watch the history channel and talk about what happened that day, as a family. It was hard to watch the real time coverage especially since our oldest was not born yet on the day of these attacks. I was 6.5 months pregnant, due December 9th 2001. As we sat and watch, we all saw things we've never thought we would see, but parts were not edited out, to candy coat it. I think the hardest part to see was that of people jumping to their deaths from 1 World Trade Center, the first building to be attacked on 9/11/01. But harder to explain was who would do this to the US and that just because we killed the man who ordered these attacks, does not mean that this threat is over, or that the next person in charge is any better than him. These people are a part of a large group of people who really dislike everything our country stands for. Sure it was hard to explain, to our 9.5 year old, but in his life he has known nothing but war against these people and others throughout the world. That thought alone really grabbed me, to be born during a time of war and at this point ten years later, there really does'nt seem like they will know anything else. Today I pray to the Lord, to protect our country, our military, and all people who provide a service of protection on or off our soil. To protect their families and to watch over all our public officials as they make choices that affect us all. But Lord most of all I ask for love and protection of the children of our world, that their eyes & minds are opened up to an idea of peace. Remember today and remember those died 10 years ago and since to protect our country.

Storm Irene

2011-09-05T09:42:00.000-04:00

So it's been over 65hrs since we lost power from tropical storm Irene. And as I am writing this I am pretty much done with not having full power, yes full power, meaning I have some power. We own a generator and we have been running it for 3hrs and then off for 3hrs. Just enough to keep the freezer cold, refrigerator running, a shower once a day and today some laundry.
Sure it seems nice to have a generator but at $3.89+ a gallon for gas it is costing us lots of cash to keep the house running. It also comes with some issues of noise and having to wake up to either it on or off and pretty much knowing your pissing off the neighbors. It has not stopped us from using the gas guzzling machine and well at this point I'm happy we bought this a few yearsback. But this storm has offered up many other challenges for all of us in 2011 the last of computers, cable and some are even without their cell phones. But what does all this inconvenience mean to us? To some it is their lifeline to the outside world, to a world that they don't live bout feel they do live. Many lost their homes to flood water, downed trees or fires. We were lucky to have just lost power and To us it meant personal interaction and family time. Limited television and limited computer time. It was a quite five daysdays in total. Im glad it took our power but not glad this storm did so much damage through out the east coast. By taking the power our boys were given a chance to see how lucky they are to have all that they do. Im hoping this natural disaster made a long lasting impression on the boys, as Gloria did on my husband (in 1985).

Summer

2011-08-06T15:41:00.000-04:00

So we are more than half done with summer. And as a family we've done so many things, but I'm feeling like it has gone by too fast. I'm sure all the moms out there agree with me, there is never enough time in the summer and yet there is way too much time!
But as the summer whines down, I'd like to reflect on what has been seen and done with our family. We've been to upstate NY and to Maine and few state parks along the way. Crayfishing and a little night fishing too! Working on things like the house and learning to ride a bike and my tan!. Hanging out with friends for a simple bbq is one of my favorite things to do! Same with our Visits to the ocean and a lake or two, are always a nice site. Many trips for ice cream and places in between. First time at cub scout day camp for the 6yo and our oldest is a repeat offender at overnight camp, his time will be served next week!
But as I write this the biggest thing we've done would be exchanging children for two weeks! Yeah two weeks! Last weekend I drove to upstate NY to bring our youngest closer to his first trip to Ohio. His first trip pretty much anywhere without us! After meeting my brother at my parents house in the finger lakes region we swapped children! He took our 6yo and we took our 9yo nephew. A fun adventure for all.
But As this week goes on (we're on day 3.5) I see how much our little man is missed and how much work two nine year old boys can be. We know that our baby is in good hands and having fun, as is our nephew, but you cant replace a child with another. I plain old miss him.
So as the week draws to an end I remind myself...it's only for another week. I've got to be strong!

Another Day of Winning

2011-07-13T18:54:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I won a Free weeks of parking at a local airport parking place, off of Facebook and thanks to a local radio station that I liked on FB. I was surprised, and I am glad because it will come in handy when we take our next trip to Florida. Thanks to WCCC (http://www.wccc.com) and Executive Valet Parking (http://www.executivevaletparking.com/)

But this weeks WIN was BIG (Y)! Well more like from BIG Y, a grocery store that I shop at on a weekly basis if not more than once a week. I love shopping there, and I love that I liked their page on facebook. Because I like their facebook page, I noticed one morning a contest....

"oooo I like contests!!"

They asked for photos of peoples Silver Savings Card Summary to date...and I just happen to be able to find a receipt and took a fast photo. I am not sure if my photo was first to be posted on their facebook page, but a few weeks later, it was chosen.

Which I thought was pretty cool! I had no idea what I was about to win, and was asked to pick up a packet from my local store. So one afternoon I traveled down with my youngest, and started the process of becoming one of the Finalists for drawing of $75,000 at the end of September. But on top of that, I won a $75 gift card to Big Y and two tickets to the Big E! (http://www.thebige.com/fair/) ALL from BIG Y! While at the store filling out all the paper work and getting a metal that I must wear during a parade at the BIG E...my little guy told me "mommy - this is the best day of our lives!" and for the minute it was for him. For me I was excited with the prizes at hand and a chance at $75,000 or $7,500 or $750! It would be cool.

Being the social media junkie that I am -I posted a photo of myself to the Big Y page, because they asked! How fun was all of this? It was great and so was the $75 worth of groceries we bought this past weekend.

Thank you Big Y....and no they did not ask me to blog about this, it is all my doing!

Our First Backpacking / Camping Trip...was a TRIP!

2011-07-03T05:04:00.002-04:00

Our adventure started over a month before we even left the house, with two coworkers talking about camping. This all started because I had just spent two night in the woods for a Cub / Boy Scout training, and Troy and his coworker thought an over night with the kids etc, would be fun. So I said I was game, and they did the research on when and where.

SO the date was set for June 25th, both were off from work and it seemed to be a good time weather wise, not tooo hot or to wet either. With the plans in place Chris (co-worker) found a site on state property that we needed to hike to. It is a 2.9 mile hike, nothing our boys (9 & 6) have not done. But here is the catch I have never hiked into my site before (ie bring everything we need on our backs w/ no car in sight)! This was going to be a new one for me and the boys.

Our destination: Bigelow Hollow State Park, in Union, Connecticut is a Connecticut state park surrounded by Nipmuck State Forest, and bordering Mashapaug Lake. There are picnic benches, beaches, and a boat launch, plus miles of hiking trails. Most visitors spend their time at 300-acre Mashapaug Lake near the end of the main road. The park's 600 acres is surrounded by some 40,000 acres of forest. The park features over 30 miles of trails, including several that go around Breakneck Pond, a secluded lake only accessible by foot. Fishing, picnicking and hiking are all popular here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigelow_Hollow_State_Park

Never packing in all our gear before I had to do some research on what to pack and how, but I have to say there is little info on line that would help the occasional camper. So I winged it when it came to preparing meals. I had decided to prepare and freeze in advance taco meat for soft tacos, I froze the cheese and meat three days earlier, to ensure it would stay that way. To go with the tacos, I brought a can of corn and chopped onion which was also used the next morning for breakfast in the omelets. For the omelets we used frozen egg beaters, cheese and onion from the night before and a large can of hash. It all worked out well. We also had the occasional snack and what is a camping trip without smores?

We did however prepare in advance with a new cooking set, two new packs and two new light weight sleeping bags. Which I am glad we did, because all three were savers.

THe day of departure comes closer and closer and we happen to have a child who is spiking a fever! UGH! that was Tuesday we are leaving on saturday. OH My Gosh, what are we going to do? The little guy got better and we went on our hike.

The hike in was great, the boys did amazing for never carrying backpacks before, while hiking. It was however, a bit of a challenge fore the rest of us, as it had been years since we did something like this. We hiked to the site and it was amazing. This was one of only two sites for overnight camping in the whole park.. By noon we ate lunch, set up tents, found fire wood and had settled in to our site. We all stopped for a break from the work, and asked Troy what time it was...he response almost 5 pm. What seemed like 30 minutes later we asked for the time again and got the same reply. So Chris checked his phone and it was only 2:30pm. Long time off from dinner. At that point we gathered more wood and started the fire or the night.

Soon we made dinner, soft tacos with all the fixin's. This worked out great because I precooked all the meat and then froze it to stay cold until we used it. After dinner we sat around the fire and watched some real bad weather roll in, and when I say bad I mean down pours that took out our tents for the night and lighting that lite up the sky around us.. I have to thank God for the shelter as it was our last resort, before having to walk (hike) in the dark back to the cars.

Thankfully all our gear was in the covered shelter, so we stayed dry through the storm. Once the rain stopped we got the boys down for bed in the shelter. As much as they might have slept, Troy and I did not sleep a wink, and instead tended to the fire all night. By 5 am all were awake and ready for breakfast. Another meal cooked over a propane stove, it was a great breakfast of eggs and hash.

After breakfast we packed up and cleaned up our site and started the hike out. This time we were all tired and everyone's feet were WET! It was pretty cool to see some wild life, or at least signs of wild life, by passing by beaver dams and many trees that they have cut. We also saw a few deer run past up on the path out. As much as we wanted to make it out of the woods, the hike seemed to take twice as long. But it was a great trip and we are really looking forward to another trip soon.

Summer Reading Programs...

2011-06-28T09:46:00.001-04:00

I have to tell you that Library Summer Reading Programs have lots to teach the school reading programs.

Since school ended last Friday, we have visited the library twice and we are going again this am. My boys have three reading log books and have taken out over 25 books and 4 DVD's from two different libraries. The school also sent home a reading log with a bonus free book for each child to keep. We have never been so interested in reading, well since last summer started.

So far our 9 year old son has read three books and flipped through the pages of three other books that had topics of interest like nuclear power! Our 6 year old has read out loud two books and loved them, he wants more in the series and we read a book about animals together. I must say that this is a great way to get him interested in books and keeping him reading over the summer.

But the library programs are really a great way to keep them reading, because God knows listening to your mother say all the time "go read a book", does not inspire. The fact that kids get rewarded on a weekly basis is goal enough for my boys. So we will see if this program or two keeps the boys reading, and the lack of pushing from me might help.

Do you know if your library does a program to keep kids reading during the summer?
If so have you signed up your children?
If not what are you waiting for?

Sickness....

2011-06-23T20:47:00.001-04:00

In our home there is very little childhood sickness....most of the year. Our boys are fairly healthy and as I look at report cards there have been less than a handful of absent days due to being ill. But there is something I am starting to see a pattern with, and that is our youngest son being sick right when school starts and when school ends. This has been the same for the past three years, and he seems to be playing by the same rules again this year.

Just three days out of school and he is running a fever that I can not control, vomited, and seems to have conjunctivitis that went away for 12 hours and is now back! WTH? Why does this little guy seems to catch things at the start and end of the school year? And why is it always vomit? Ugh, summer is supposed to be fun and a time to play and run around, go places and hang out with friends....ugh! I guess I am being a selfish mommy, but this is not how I invisioned our first week off from school.

I feel bad for the little guy who ha not seemed to get off the couch since tuesday afternoon, after a great playdate with a friend. He has not eatten very well, or been able to truely taste things that he normally loves to eat. It has been a bummer for him and for his brother too! Beyond the two library trips and four doctor appointments (four different drs for different people in the house), we have done very little. Plus the rain has not helped us either.

So to this I say let the sickness end and the summer begin....again, PLEASE!!!!!

Child Quote of the day...

2011-06-23T13:13:00.000-04:00

Me "hey Trevor can I tell you that you're adorable?"

Trevor 9 year old "No I'm good!"

Children's Quote's of the Day's‎

2011-06-14T16:26:00.000-04:00

‎9yo Boy : "mom with all this turkey we're eatting, there wont be any left for everyone else...soon there wont be turkey left for thanksgiving! !"

6/6/11

I'm I a Mother's Day Chicken?

2011-05-05T01:00:00.005-04:00

A mother is a person who seeing there

are only 4 pieces of pie for 5 people,

promptly announces she never did care for pie.

-Tenneva Jordan

I read this quote on a twitter post of a friend. I liked it so much I wanted to use it for mothers day, so here I am doing just that. I also wanted to write something prolific for Mother's Day, but could not gather my thoughts beyond what I know as a mother. Then I posted on my facebook status the other night the following. ( ....if my hubby even thinks of bringing home KFC on mothers day (as they suggested) he is doomed). I wrote that after watching TV alone on a Tuesday night, and I really thought, man how could KFC suggest that they are a great alternative to a home cooked meal or a nice dinner out? I got a few suggestions from friends via facebook, about places that they could take me like Taco Bell or a really nice place I would NEVER take my children in fear on major embarrassment (it's a nice place). Then suggestions on how KFC has "bangin biscuits" or "what if it's the extra crispy?"! I had to laugh!

Then there was a comment from a gal from high school that hit me like a twobyfour "this may sound harsh Jenny for that I apologize. I would take the KFC from a husband and children because I don't have eiither.", she was right, why should I be soo choosy? Why should I care where we go for Mother's Day, when I have a family to go out with? I did let that gal know that she was right and that should be grateful for what I do have!

So I moved forward and was looking up the advertisement for KFC, where they mentioned bring mom in for Mother's Day, which I could not find. I did however stumble upon the following contest on the KFC website that ran in 2009. My jaw dropped.

http://www.kfc.com/mothersday/

Everyone celebrates Mom on Mother's Day. This year, KFC wants to salute those showcasing their love for their mothers 365 days a year by sporting a mom-themed tattoo. If you're communicating your love for mom in a permanent and visible way, KFC wants to reward you and your mom! Show Us Your Mom Tattoo. You Can Win Free Chicken for a Year!

WOW - I was thinking KFC could be an option for mother's day, but sporting a mom-themed tattoo to win FREE chicken? What the heck? Who are they trying to grab? What are they thinking? I am not sure many moms would be super thrilled about a tattoo on their child, let alone ahring it for all to see for $10 in chicken coupons for a year? I have a tattoo and I know my mother was not thrilled, nor was my husbands mom, I am sure they would be less then thrilled to hear about it being on the Internet!!

Again another Holiday ruined by commericalism. I am thrilled with a handmade card from my boys, the same thing I did for my MOM for many years. Silly treasures I made with her in mind, I am sure where the end all of her Mother's Day. A simple breakfast and time with my family on Mother's Day the best gift ever. It is not about where, but more importantly with whom. So I reflect on the up coming day and try and remind myself, that is more about who I am to others. And not what others give me on that one day but what they give me everyday.

But before I say HAPPY MOTHER'S Day to you all, I would like to quote one of my husbands favorite movies "Oh I hated the Colonel, with 'is wee beady eyes! And the smug look on his face, "oh, you're gonna buy my chicken!" ohhhh!...because he puts an addictive chemical in his chicken that makes ya crave it fortnightly, smartarse!" Stuart MacKenzie ~ I married an Axe Murderer

So I married an Axe Murderer - Check out this clip for a good laugh!

Have a Great Mother's Day, no matter where you go to celebrate!

Planting a Garden

2011-05-04T16:28:00.001-04:00

As a home owner I always wanted to plant a garden and three years ago we finally did!

Ever since then I have been hooked on making it the best gardens ever, well at least the best one for our family. The last three years we have had someone come in and rototiller the land, and last year we expanded the size of the garden to twice its original size, next year I plan of doubling it again. However this year I did choose to keep it at the size we have, with future plans of putting in a new fence and maybe a few raised beds.

The Roberts Rock Farm garden has had a few good years of growth with growing from seeds only in the ground, but last year I was kind of disappointed. What to do I asked myself? Well I decided to start the seeds in the house with the help of two little boys. I hired someone to come in the rototill the land, and then I purchased a seed packets, soil, planters and set time aside to start the garden. I had the help of both boys, one who did the minimum asked of him, and the littlest who wanted to plant more but I ran out of containers. With their help we started over 300+ seeds.This year we started the following veggies ~ corn, pumpkins, cucumbers, broccoli, lettuce, radishes, green beans, green peppers and carrots. We are also doing watermelon too! Ambitious? Maybe! But many of these we have had lots of luck with in the past, just from seed, so I am hoping this year will bring more!

Below are some photos of the process so far. In just three days we started to see growth, which is super excitig not only for the boys but myself as well. I will continue to post photos as the seeds grow and as we plant them in the ground, which I hope will be next week.

Would you ever grow a garden?

Has your family ever grown a garden?

If so what have your grown?

How did you do with what your grew?

Any gardening tips you would like to share? I could use all the help I can get! Plus I would love to hear your success stories!

Sunday Hike

2011-05-02T16:04:00.000-04:00

Here is my latest post on our sunday Hike:

http://jennymac1974.blogspot.com/2011/05/glacial-boulders-shenipsit-central-blue.html

Child's Quote's of the Day's

2011-04-29T16:30:00.000-04:00

‎6 yo " mom when I go to Goodwin college I'm going to be a security guy"!

Easter Season or Candy Season?

2011-04-23T13:07:00.000-04:00

Over the past week I have been reading many of my facebook friends statuses and tweets about Easter and Passover, and spending time with family. Listing their plans, dinner ideas and many many many shopping trips to get basket fillers. It all got me thinking about the true meaning of this season and how it is more important that Christmas, but is so much more about the "sale"! Easter is a time to see the sacrifice that the Lord made for all of us, He gave us His one and only Son, His own flesh and blood, not in birth like Christmas but in death. What a sacrifice, one I am sure not a parent today would ever be able to fathom. But God did this for all his children, so we will be washed of sin each and everyday we wake up.

Has this not become a "Hallmark" or "walmart" holiday? Commericalism at it's best? Very few places that sell "Easter" candy mention Christ, many places are still open on Easter, but I was thrilled to see that a regional grocery store has LARGE signs that they will be closed on Easter so their Employees can spend the Easter Holiday with their families! WOW shocker...I was pleasantly surprised, because this am I went to a local mom and pop store, and they will be open. Ugh!

So be it commercialism or silly spring traditions of German and Catholic combined, the Easter Bunny is here to stay. What do we do as Christan parents? Do we buy into it? My husband does not like the "lies" we have told our children about Santa or the Easter bunny, he prefers otherwise, but lets me live out my childhood though the boys. I do not want to rob these precious memories from the boys, but I am sure the next few years will bring questions and doubt. My best efforts will be to keep the idea of Christ in the forefront of these two important holidays.

On Good Friday I asked our boys what happened and to my delight they were about to tell me about the Crucifixion of Christ, and how on Easter he rose from the dead. Wow - I am not sure I knew that at their young age, even growing up in a catholic church, but I was quizzed either. I know that these are the basic stories from the Bible, and I am thrilled that they boys are absorbing so much from church and from what we teach in our home.

Yes I have bought into the commericalism of Easter, for now! I loved it as a child and now I love seeing the delight in our boys eyes when they get their baskets on Easter morning. When I was a child my parents always hid jelly beans around the house and my brother and I could hear them hiding them the night before, but on Easter morning we would hunt for them...and we did this till he moved out. Well into college! Did we know they were not left by a bunny? YES, but it was all in good fun! I guess the best we can do is to talk about the reason for the season, and the importance of all the events that surround Easter and Christ, but also all our boys to have a childhood with innocence too!

What do you do with your children?
What did you do as a child?
What traditions do you carry through on Easter?

Interesting reading on the orgins of Easter - http://landscaping.about.com/cs/pests/a/easter_rabbit.htm
http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/origin-of-easter.htm

Child Quote of the Day...

2011-04-11T13:09:00.000-04:00

Asks what's up with my 6yo doing his hair like justin beaber ? I know he's never seen him...I asked and his reply was..

"I want Hannah to see me like this!" Oh and so it starts......

Not working anymore...

2011-04-02T12:16:00.000-04:00

Over a month ago I left my position as Director of Development at a local crisis pregnancy center in northeastern Connecticut. It was a decision that my husband and I made together, allowing me to stay at home with the family.

Though I loved what I did and what the pregnancy center was doing in the communities it served, I was bring home my work mentally. Not always a good thing for anyone, but especially me. I suffer from anxiety and the work I had and the work I wanted to accomplish (and could not due to time) did not help keep the anxiety at bay. With the winter we had here in Connecticut over 100 inches, did not help with accomplishing my work either, because every snow day was a day away from work, and my anxiety built because I worried about the work rather than enjoy the snow day with my boys.

So home I am and the anxiety is reducing day by day. I am able to get lots of things accomplished for our family without the time restriction and stress. Working out is now a daily task, and no longer put on the back burnner. I have dropped 7 lbs since I left work, and I have a goal of 25 total over the next year.

I have been a stay at home mom before but now it is different. My boys are both in school and I am home. So now that the month is over and I am adjusting to it, I am making my lists of things to accomplish in the next 2 1/2 months before school is over. So this weekend I make my list of thing to do and what I want to get done over the next year.

sunday hike

2011-03-21T09:43:00.002-04:00

http://jennymac1974.blogspot.com/2011/03/mashamoquet-brook-state-park.html

Child quote of the day....

2011-03-17T13:10:00.000-04:00

as the boys were leaving for school they walked down our front path made of stone, one of the stones was loose.

6yo turns and says to me "hey mom, mother nature has a wiggly tooth"!

child quote of the day....

2011-02-19T13:13:00.000-05:00

From backseat of car 5Yo playing video games states "these baby ducks, SUCK"

Maple Soy Glazed Salmon

2011-02-19T10:56:00.000-05:00

My latest from my food Blog - wuz4dinnerbeach

http://wuz4dinnerbeach.blogspot.com/2011/02/maple-soy-glazed-salmon.html

Tough Week

2011-01-28T12:08:00.000-05:00

It has been a tough week and I am deeply seeking spiritual uplifting.

“For whatsoever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” – Romans 15:4

Between not working out, being sick and many delays, early dismissals or a snow day, I have had a crappy week. I have blown the diet, because eating makes me feel better when I am sick, but I have get to gain any weight, but loosing was not an option this week. I have read my bible reading each morning and feel as though I need more, but where does a working mother find more time to jump into the bible?

Maybe tomorrow (Saturday) I can sit and read for a while or I can head to the gym, while the kids and hubby clear snow from our roof, and other areas of our yard, before the nest storm hits Tuesday. I am getting pretty good a reading my verses while on the treadmill. With earphones in listening to relaxing music and reading HIS word, I feel refreshed. Here is to hoping I can get there!

I know I am not alone when it come to wanting to see spring arrive early, with the almost 3 feet of snow in less than 4 weeks I am pretty much finished. Next week is groundhogs day and we in the NE are praying that he will predict an early spring. SO here is to less snow and early spring, may the storms keep at bay as we get through two more months of winter.

Weight loss day two

2011-01-18T10:32:00.002-05:00

Weight Loss....

2011-01-17T15:32:00.002-05:00

Read more on my second year adventure --
-last year started out ok but fizzled - I am hoping for more support in this second year....

http://jromammafitness.blogspot.com/

Cookies and Sweets are the downfall of Society

2010-12-19T19:56:00.002-05:00

Cookies and Sweets are the downfall of Society
That is all I have to say today!

Beauty? and Change?

2010-12-18T19:32:00.000-05:00

As I sit here waiting for my nails to dry, on my left hand only, I think what am I doing?

Why am I taking up time waiting for them to dry just to do the right hand next?

But beyond waiting, why am I going through all the effort to paint my nails, knowing it won't last! They never last more than 24 hours painted, and then what?

So I think aome more, why do I even bother, I don't wear make-up more than once a month, not sure of the last time I had a pedicure or real manicure or the last time I even wanted one. I blow dry my hair once a week and pretty much come to the realization that I am a pretty simple woman.

I have been with my husband for over 15 years and this is who I was then, and if he loves they way I look, SO why change? Well maybe because society has forced me to? Made me see that my 36 year old face is showing it's age and that I "Must change that"!

But do I? Should I? I love being low maintenance and pretty much age to wash and go! With an active family, it is a bonus to be ready fast! Plus I think that the Lord made me just like this, why should I over due what he has given me? So I sit waiting for my nails to dry only to see how long they last! And reminding myself that I do not have to change!

http://www.robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com/

I guess it is the season....right

2010-12-17T08:45:00.000-05:00

Sunday we heard a great message at church about Joy and how it is so hard to find JOY this time of year. This sure is true and the point was made that many loose sight of the "Joy" they still can have in their lives, even when everything else seems to have pushed the joy aside.

As Christians we must try hard to find JOY in a season that can cause us so much stress and bring on depression. We must stay focused on that one thing that can bring us JOY! Be it the Lord, our children, employment, or even simple memories of days past there is something to focus on.

I guess as I looked back at this week I have had a hard time finding JOY in my life, there was even a point where I wanted to fold up the Christmas tree (like the Grinch does in the movie) and throw it out the window! I had it with all the planning, parties to go, concerts, cooking cleaning, wrapping etc! I just want it to be simple! So this week I tried and really hard too, but finding joy was not as easy as I thought it might be. So again I head into the weekend (the one before Christmas) and I will be trying even harder to find JOY!

Childrens quote of the day....

2010-12-01T13:22:00.000-05:00

"hey mom when you send me to military school, I already know how to say hut two thre four!" 5yo

Giving Thanks again this year!

2010-11-25T19:54:00.001-05:00

As the day comes to an end I have not forgotten what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Here is the question!

Should I make a list? Or should I write it all out?

Another question is ~ Does anyone even care about this blog enough to read this entry? So I am doing this for me and so others can read about what I care about, so I will make a list of the things I am THANKFUL for this Thanksgiving.

I am THANKFUL FOR THE FOLLOWING....

1. Our Lord and Savior! - (Without Him nothing below would ever be)

2. My Family - (all parts from my parents, husband, children and all others extended!)

3. For my Health be it on again /off again (simple colds, are nothing beyond normal)

4. Our Country - (we are still living in a country where you can speak freely and practice religion freely)

5. Employment - (of both my spouse and self)

6. Friends (be them new or old, close or far they are still precious to me)

7. Mistakes (for without them I would be perfect and NOBODY IS PERFECT)

8. Second Chances (because without them I would not be where I am)

9. Love - Because without it life would be worthless

10. Creativity - I would be lost and boring if I did not have this in my heart!

http://heartheircries.blogspot.com EUGENICS: NEW ABORTION LAW IN THAILAND WILL REDUCE LOW QUALITY POPULATION

2010-11-21T20:34:00.000-05:00

EUGENICS: NEW ABORTION LAW IN THAILAND WILL REDUCE LOW QUALITY POPULATION

PRO ABORTION FORCES USE ABORTION AS A WAY TO PURIFY THE WORLD OF UNDESIRABLES...HERE IT IS IN THAILAND FOLLOWING THE DISCOVERY OF 2000 DEAD BABIES IN A BUDDHIST TEMPLE.

FROM:THAI NEWS AGENCY MCOT

MPs to submit draft abortion law; Poll shows 60% shocked about foetuses found at temple

BANGKOK, Nov 21 -- A member of Thailand's ruling Democrat Party said Sunday that he and members of the House of Representatives will submit a draft law on legal abortion after 2,002 foetuses were found in a Buddhist temple’s morgue in Bangkok last week.
READ MORE BELOW AT http://HEARTHEIRCRIES.BLOGSPOT.COM

http://heartheircries.blogspot.com/2010/11/eugenics-new-abortion-law-in-thailand.html?spref=fb

Stressing out MOM....

2010-11-18T20:31:00.000-05:00

Yeah - we as mothers stress out! We see the world though the eyes of a planner. A daily planner of each child and each person in the household. We look at things as if we are trying to figure out how it will fit on the calendar, how much time will it take to get there, stay and return, and what else could I / we be doing at the same time. Then it is a matter of whether or not the new item on the planner is really needed or if we can put it off for a week, or pass on it completely.

Yesterday I had to make the choice on when to schedule a doctors appointment for the 8 year old based on the actions of the 5 year old during the current appointment. So now in my head I have to rearrange my day, to accommodate the 8 year old (who did nothing wrong) and so the 5 year old could stay at school, during the appointment! UGH

I thought my personal handheld daily planner (crackberry) would be helping me with thing, but I can not seem to find a program on my crackberry that works for my work schedule, home (2 kids and Hubby as well) along with reminders and well anything else I would like it to do for me. Anyone know of a program?
While on FB the other day one gal wrote how she would like to have Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons in her home, but I am sure even Rosies Robot head would spin with the amount of technology that we are all encountering these day.

As a mom, wife and holder of a more than part-time position (in two different locations) i have tried the paper planner (lost it more than once), I have tried sticky notes, my phone planner, an online planner I could access from any computer and my phone, the wall calendar, so much more....nothing works!

For now I will stick with the crackberry (unless someone has a better planner) and the use of my own mind, which at this point is failing me more and more each day. I already lost the piece of paper with the appointment date and time for my sons next Dr. visit, so I guess I will have to call them in the morning and wait three days for a call back!

Oh the joys of parenting.

Looking forward

2010-11-16T08:46:00.004-05:00

As of this morning I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and to all the amazing things that will arrive before the first of the year. As a mom I am looking forward to some fun decorating time with our boys.

I am a big crafter and they still have not out grown the idea that crafts are fun, and till they do I will continue to come up with idea. Either last year or the one before that we made these great place mats, one for everyone who would be at Thanksgiving dinner. It was a big undertaking, but the boys loved doing it.

I am not sure what we will do this year, maybe napkin rings, place cards, a few centerpieces. Who knows, but when I do I will share. But before that, I am interested in writing down our traditions so each boy can reflect when he has a family. Writing down what foods are unique to our feast, prayers we say, who attends, who had attended before passing away. Who's house did we celebrate at, and where we would visit during the holidays.

These are important memories to write down, keep so other members of our family can see how or even if things changed from now to many years from how.

So over the next few months I will try and highlight many of our traditions and would love to hear from you about your family routines!
~ jennifer

www.robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com

Monday WHY MONDAY?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Girls Scouts and Planned Parenthood?

2010-11-15T10:42:00.000-05:00

The article below comes from the following:

CATHOLIC FAMILY & HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTE

Volume 13, Number 14

March 18, 2010

Girl Scouts Ties with Planned Parenthood Extensive and Long-Standing

By Terrence McKeegan, J.D.

(NEW YORK – C-FAM) The scandal surrounding the Girl Scout’s distribution of an International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) sex guide at the UN Beijing +15 Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) continues to grow. Some Scout mothers in St. Louis intend to ask the St. Louis Girl Scouts to pull out of the national organization.

(READ MORE )
http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.1594/pub_detail.asp

What I think:

I know that I will not buy another box of girl scout cookies and this comes from a woman who was a Girl Scout since 1st Grade through High School, hold the Highest Honor The Gold Award, was a leader and still is a Lifetime Member. I am saddened by the idea that Girl Scouts would allow any organization to talk to and influence the girls in any way. This is NOT the job of this Non-Profit, it is the job or the parent to talk to their children about Sex, their bodies and what rights they have with their bodies!

I know my 6 boxes every year will not effect the Girl Scouts, but if more people make a pledge to not buy or support Girl Scout Someone up in those Corporate Offices, might listen! Maybe!

Peace Offering -

2010-11-10T12:34:00.000-05:00

To read more about these cookies click on the link below for my photo blog.....

http://jromamma365.blogspot.com/2010/11/365-314-cookies-as-peace-offering.html

The Truth about giving to one organization .... Truthful tuesday

2010-11-09T10:16:00.000-05:00

As of late - I have seen an increased number of people looking into the organizations that they give to financially. Looking into where their funds are really being spent, and researching where the funds are also being sent. You as a donor would love to think that your dollars are being spent directly on what you have given to IE. Feeding the Hungry in Cuba, and not being spent on abortions in NYC.

Well the United Way, American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen, March of Dimes, American Diabetes Association (and I am sure many more) are moving their funds to other organizations through donations. This means...write a check to them and you are writing a check to another organization that you do no or did not want to support like Planned Parenthood.

If you are Pro Life I have a suggestion that you look into where your money is going before you donate. And you are very concerned in where your money is going, write to the organization and restrict the funds, because I f you DO not restrict the funds they can and will be spent in anyway that the organization wants them to. Be aware that the UNITED WAY also gives away funds to other organizations, unless you ask for them to go directly to one charity. The United way can give to Girl Scouts, Planned Parenthood or to local hospitals who do or refer for abortions, UNLESS YOU SAY OTHERWISE.

Be a good steward of the Lords gift to you, because it is NOT our money, it is a gift from the Lord so please do service to Him and His Gifts.
http://www.truth-it.net/united_way_planned_parenthood.html

http://www.bdfund.org/breastcancer.asp

http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14100&PRID=993

I am a director of Development for a Local Non-Profit Pro Life organization that is faith based and affiliated with a national Pro Life Organization. We are not supported by one faith alone, and we do not and will not except funding from any government organization. We also do not send our funds to other organizations. We do however allow restricted funds and are good stewards for the funds that are given to our organization. If you would like more information please contact me.

Pro Lifer

2010-11-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

To me it seems strange to label those who believe in the sanctity of human life or those who are followers of Christs teachings. As a Christian is there any other way that the Lord wants us to live? NO! He wants us to preserve and protect all life from start (conception) to end (natural death)!

As a Christian we are taught to think there is no other way to view human life, but society tells us otherwise. Society tells us that it is unnatural to NOT have a choice to take the life of a unborn child just formed in the womb. Many make the call that it is not yet LIFE, but science say otherwise. Science tells us that when two cells join they create life! Right?

So back to what society has been telling us about the start and end of life! Society tells us that it is natural to have choice and to make choices based on facts. Yet those who are all about choice are not telling every one the "facts" about LIFE! They are starting protests with out all the Facts about us PROLIFERS!

All I care about (as a PROLIFER) is that babies are born, and that women and the men in their lives are given the most up to date information about their lives and the life of their unborn child. I love seeing babies come into my place of employment and the joy that that they bring to the mommies! I care about the truth about the choices a woman can make when it come to abortions. So as a Christian woman I care about being a ProLifer because this is what the LORD has called us all to be, especially if we call our selves his children.

www.robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com

Respect Life Conference In CT!

2010-10-30T21:15:00.001-04:00

Today I attended Respect Life Conference -MERIDEN – Holy Angels Parish Center their Pro-Life Outreach Ministry sponsored its 11th annual Conference. Special speakers were Dr. Judith M. Mascolo, a West Hartford family physician; Bill O'Brien, president of the Connecticut Right to Life Corp.; Dr. Marie T. Hilliard, director of bioethics and public policy for the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia; Dominican Father Brian Mullady of Portland, Ore.; and Leticia Velasquez, a Culture of Life speaker and writer.

All were wonderful in their own right, but one that I enjoyed listening to was Leticia Velasquez. She spoke on how to reach the youth of our nation and draw them into the excitement of being and proclaiming their right to be ProLife! A huge challenge in its self, getting the youth of America up off their feet, and out from behind their computers, and stand up for the rights of others, as well as their own reproductive rights. It was a beautiful encouragement to me to see so many youth groups willing to travel to the March for Life (http://marchforlife.org/) held on the anniversary date of Roe v. Wade, January 22nd of each year, on the mall in Washington DC. Leticia Velasquez, so many photos and read quotes of youth who where there and are starting a whole new culture of ProLife warriors. It was also wonderful to hear the shock and awe of reporters who wrote about the March for Life, held every year since October 1974, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_for_Life - I loved how they talked about the March and the people who attended, no longer being Older Women or Housewives, but how the demographics are changing and young women and men are standing up and being heard.

So below is a Video Clip of Leticia Velasquez from a Show called Face of ProLife - She is an amazing face of ProLife and I look forward to working with her, and the youth of Northeast Connecticut.

http://airmaria.com/2010/01/10/video-face-of-pro-life-82-leticia-velasquez-k-i-d-s/

ACT - Being called to act

2010-10-24T21:31:00.000-04:00

Today I was invited through work to be a part of a ministry fair at a church that considers my work one of their many missions. Which it can claim us as a mission to go to and serve the Lord and to serve His people, through us. What a gift I was given to be able to attend this church and to be able to attend while my husband so kindly stayed at home with our boys, whom I was planning on having them attend with me. But in all it was a great day filled with energy and education on missions both in our community and in our world.

Though my church I had learned about Care Net and therefore started to volunteer there once or twice a week, with my 3.5 year old in tow. We loved serving the Lord in such a simple way (for us) but to others it would have been a stretch to volunteer four plus hours a week, especially with a little one with you the whole time. But we did and I am glad I did because almost two years later I am working for an amazing mission and I am able to share with others what the Lord is asking us to do, SPREAD THE GOSPEL to those who do not have Him in their lives,and to help save the unborn in that process.

Today's Missions Fair was great and the sermon was as well. Pastor Mike Moran, drove it home with humor and examples of how we can ask God to lead us where He wants us to go. Be in locally or globally, there is a calling for us all, and that hit home with me, I was there almost two years ago hearing the same thing. I hope today, the Lord called more to come and help at our two centers, and I pray that the Lord opened the eyes of those who already know us, and that they call us and ask how they can help. I await the day where people are knocking down our doors to help, break down the walls and excuses and join our ministry / mission as we try and save unborn babies!

Care to join me!?

Wake Up Wednesday

2010-10-13T13:45:00.000-04:00

We did so much this past weekend, and made much progress around the house.
Started by making Pizza Friday night and watching a kids flick. after that we watched Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp and I have to say that it was well over rated, infact I do not think I will let me kids ever watch it!

Saturday we took out the airconditioners, screens, picked up a ton of pellets, and then put them away.
We cleaned up the yard, and all the recycling, and through it all the boys were great! Which is rare in it's self.
We went for a hike, had ice cream, visited UConn Cornucopia Fest, cleaned up my craft room, and found a beautiful room was hiding under all the crap. By Tuesday am the room was amazing and clean, after filling a recycling bin the size of a small car, and same with a garbage can, we made some progress.

But after a four day weekend home with the family, I think I am done.

Being sick does not help either. I am spent! I have been sick for three weeks now and finally I have a somewhat answer from the doctor, Pneumonia! Really?
So here I am still working and still up and about, but most people ask why? or say "Go home and rest!" Ha! I say HA to them in their faces, because when can a mother of two boys, with a job, REST? WHEN?
Never! Even though my husband is great, there is little time to truly rest!

So to them I say I will rest when the Lord asks me to rest, and until then, I will get the work of the day done.

Saturday

2010-10-09T16:41:00.002-04:00

This morning was a blessing!
I was not woken up by a little boy or an alarm clock of another, I was woken up by the heavy sounds of dishes being put away by our 8year old.
Don't get me wrong this might seem like a weird thing to wake you, but our bed room is still on the first floor ad next to the kitchen, so kitchen noise is normal for us.
But what is not normal is the sound of doing chores without the sounds of fighting. This is very abnormal! There is normally fighting and drama when it comes to doing a simple chore,but not this am! Wow!
I guess I'll have to take tips from my husband on getting the boys to do chores! So I started my weekend off right, let's see how the rest can go from here!
http://www.robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com/

Focused on Friday - Fall has arrived

2010-10-08T16:45:00.001-04:00

Fall has arrived and with it I have started my annual need to bake and cook warm comfort food. Last night was no different. I made a nice apple, onion and maple baked pork tenderloin. WOW was it yummy. Even the boys did not add honey mustard to it! Amazing in it's self.

But with fall comes all the ugh work. The work that makes us say UGH when we talk about having to do it. From yard work, toy clean up and picking up leaves to putting the air conditioners away and breaking out the heaters. It is a whole weekend worth of chore and all the UGH work that come along with it.

As I mentioned I love fall, I love sweaters, and hiking boots, tall socks and hoodies. I love the crunch of the leaves on the ground and I love the smell of a nice meal cooking in the oven. Warm days and cool nights, sitting by the fire and enjoying the falling leaves. There are just So many things make us love the fall as much as we love the change of most of the seasons. Not everyone LOVES the arrival of Fall as much as I do, but I know there are plenty of folks who can not wait to go out for a nice hike this weekend in New England, and I am hoping we are one of the many families outside this weekend.

What do you like about fall?

If Fall is not you favorite season which one is and why?

More to come......as we adventure into the Northeastern part of CT this weekend.

Friends and the Fall - Thinking Thursday

2010-09-23T00:10:00.002-04:00

Well more time has past and I am writing again!

Be it just for today or for more days to come! Who knows?

School started!

Kids schedules are filling up and events for work got crazy!

Dare I say that the fall and winter holidays are right around the corner? Ugh yeah I went there.

The house here is all decorated for Halloween, pumpkins gourds, gooles and ghosts, that's all on the inside.

I have yet to decorate the outside (which is one of my favorite thing to do) but I am waiting on a friend! She and I are planning a trip to the farm to pick out pumpkins & mums with the kids, then have a whole harvest fest with our two families.
From carving and sweets to simmering cider and seasonal beer, we are planning on some fun! I can not wait! But in the mean time I have to work on homework with 4th grader, clean house, sort clothes, plan the holidays and all the events that come with them, then pretty much work and maintain a home.

But as the boys get older it seems harder to do the juggling act. Can anyone tell me if there is a tie when it gets better? Is there an end point to the craziness with kids?
If so feel free to email me! If not I guess I will iron out all the pieces and figure out what works best for my family!
For now I am looking forward to time spent with friends, who have become like family!

www.robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com

Monday WHY Monday?

2010-08-30T01:19:00.003-04:00

Wow its been weeks since I last blogged, and for some strange reason, I am not remembering why I stopped!

Oh that's right, I have been focusing on enjoying the last few weeks of the boys summer vacation! WOW it goes by so fast! It seems like just yesterday, I was holding a little one in my arms, while waving to my first born, through a window of the school bus, as he left my grasp and went off to kindergarten. That was 2006, just four years ago!

Four short years and now I'm going to wave good bye to another kindergartner, but this one will be different! This guy rode the bus all last year to preschool at the same school. Our oldest never rode a bus to school before!

This year is different because he knows most of his classmates & he is one of the oldest. While our first born was the youngest in his class and knew no one going into kindergarten.

It's just so different from oldest to the youngest, even for me! I am not scared, nervous or plain old protective of my little man getting to school on the first day. This time we know the drill, we know the players, we just have this down to a science. Things are different but with that there are things that are nice to have done the same from year too year!

Each school year we've had the same driver, and she calls me when she is leaving (cuz she's my neighbor) this way they are outside waiting for the bus! Each year I know how much lunch costs, who the teachers are, I know what to pack on the first day, I know where to make them stand under the tree in our front yard for the cheesy first day photo.

I know how long it takes to get to school, so I (and every parent in town) can meet them at school for the opening day ceremony. Ringing of the bell, flag raising, pledge and welcome. It is all so much fun!

I am nervous, excited, scared and over joyed that the school year has started!

So today I ask, Monday Why Monday? As in why do you have to start school on a Monday?
:-)
I will post photos tomorrow!

childrens quote of the day...

2010-08-20T13:26:00.000-04:00

‎8 yo son told 5yo son

"hey get a mohawk, girls love a tough guy!"

Truthful Tuesday - Bad Parenting

2010-08-03T05:36:00.001-04:00

Is it Bad parenting when you know you are failing to teach your child to ride a bike?

A few weeks ago our 5 year old said "When I am big like Trevor (his brother) I want to ride a bike like him!"

DAGGERS shot through our hearts, we were those bad parents! Not bad because we are abusive but because we have failed to teach our child to ride a bike. Excueces galore...."we have a rock drive way!" "he's not ready!" " The bike we have for him is too small, too big etc" there were a ton, but they were all wrong! We were covering our butts, and not admitting we were bad parents.

So last night after dinner, the air was cool and we asked our oldest if he would try out the smaller bike we had, and to our amazement, he wanted to learn. He had shown NO interest before last night! He was getting it, but the bike was way tooo small. So at 8:00 pm we took a family trip to WallyWorld to pick our our sons first bike that was just for him. And let me tell you, once we got home (almost 9:15pm) he wanted on the bike!

Then again this morning he could not wait to show his grandmother his new bike and how he could ride. Would you believe that by the time I got home from work he was RIDING HIS BIKE! 24 hours and this boys had it down, all but breaking! WOW

Day One on the bike!

Wont Give up even with the night coming!

Guest Post on Nurse's Notes:

2010-08-01T18:40:00.000-04:00

Today I was able to guest Post for another Bloggy Mom!
http://www.bloggymoms.com/

Thanks Tammy for letting me write a post for you this month! - You all can read it by clicking here....

http://nursesnotestp.blogspot.com/2010/08/light-vs-darkness.html

Chinatown - Food and Street Walkers. - Thinking THursday

2010-07-29T12:37:00.000-04:00

This week our family took a short (2 day) trip to NYC! We were excited to show our boys (8&5) the CITY! All the fun sites, attractions, sounds, smells and history of the Big Apple. For me this was going to offer many new experiences as well, like my first trip to The Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge and Battery Park. Plus the opportunity to pay our respects at The World Trade Centers and "Ground Zero". This is a trip I will never forget and I hope our boys will always remember their first trip to NYC.

But todays post is not about the city or even about Ground Zero, maybe tomorrow! I want to write about what I saw in Chinatown and how I felt walking in Chinatown. But let me preface this post, by telling you that over the past year I have felt in my heart to read and do more about Human Trafficking and the Human Slave Trade. Two events set this off in me, one was the preview of the movie "Taken" while at a work seminar and the other was hearing from local city police that there was trafficing happening in the small new england city that our new crisis pregnancy center was opening. These two allowed the Lord to open my eyes and start doing more research and focus on this tragedy.

So back to NYC, and the streets of Chinatown. As we were seeking a simple place to eat with a bit of an experience, we walked around Chinatown taking in all the culture and differences between our simple rural living verse the city life. I started to look deeper into the edges of the streets and noticed Asian women standing up against buildings clutching larger hand bags. They were wearing short tight skirts, short tops and lots on makeup, that made them look almost like porcelain dolls, including the total lack of expression. Then I was struck with the realization that there was a man and woman on the corner with mobil to mobil calling one of these doll like girls, out of the shadows to the corner where they were talking to a business man.

I thought to myself did I really just see that? We kept walking and finally sat down with our buffet dinner. As we were sitting eating a man and woman came in, he showed her the buffet and paid for her, said "I had a good time" then left while she stayed to eat. She was a Robust woman who looked beat tired and used, she just made wonder if she was a "street walker"?

This whole hour of time made me really stop and pray I was wrong, even though I fear, I'm not. This is a major issue in the world be it in big cities or smaller urban areas, this idea of human trafficking and slave trade being right in our back door, is not so unreal I am asking the Lord to place on my heart what I need to do to inform others, to change what is happening and how to educate myself so I can educate others on this massive issue.

check out these sites

http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/united_states_of_america

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1596778&page=1

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/15/opinion/main6586310.shtml

This is REAL and Scary stuff!

WORDLESS / WAKE UP WEDNESDAY

2010-07-28T07:52:00.000-04:00

AMAZING PHOTOS FOR TODAY'S POST

Ground Zero By Day

Ground Zero By Night

http://jromamma365.blogspot.com/2010/07/365-210-wordless-wake-up-wednesday.html

truthful tuesday!

2010-07-27T01:29:00.002-04:00

“What you perceive, your observations, feelings, interpretations, are all your truth. Your truth is important. Yet it is not The Truth.” Linda Ellinor

A quote that hit me hard! We all can read this and truly except it, for it is so true! We all live our lives some to the fullest and others day to day, but no matter what we all live with our own Truth and that is not always the truth that others seek.

So living our life to seek out others truth is not a healthy way to live, we should continue to live seeking out the truth that the Bible and the Lord has placed before us, for his word is Truth.

As a Christian, a very young Christian, I seek the truth that is in the Bible, I seek the truth in my own life and in my world. But as a Pro life advocate I also seek others to tell them of my truth, to tell them what I am lead to believe is the truth from the Lord. To tell others that Life is Life from the second it is formed. I will not continue on with my opions on abortion and life, at least not in this post.

So I would encourage you to seek your Truth and live by your Truth, live to the fullest and be honest with you heart, follow your truth, no matter how you are guided by it.

Monday, WHY Monday?

2010-07-26T01:22:00.000-04:00

Now starts another week!
But I must comment on the weekend past, and how amazingly fun it was! Friday night dinner and cards with friends, saturday the sale of our 1954 Dodge and a night out. Heavy Metal multi Band outdoor concert in 90 degree heat and 100± humidity!
Then sunday - visiting an outdoor service under the trees! It was so awesome! Not that the Church was welcoming, cause the only person who greeted us was our former pastor and Friend. He was the Main reason we attended, and that fact that our own service time would conflict with fun thing #??
So the service music was good, atmosphere A+ and the sermon was refreshing. There were so many times I wanted to shout out AMEN!! Ben was hitting the points about serving (Matthew 25) and serving not just your home community and THEN (cause there is NO then in the verse), but serving all corners of the world the way we were commanded to do so! The poor, thirsty, needed, hungry and imprisoned, all need to be served by the Lords people and served equally without reward!
I am thanking Ben for this reminder, I know I serve in many ways, but need to serve in more ways!! Not only that but our children also need to understand the idea of serving and really getting dirty doing the work of the Lord all while getting NOTHING in return except Gods continued and never ending Love!!! Pretty hard stuff for adults to learn let alone a 5 and 8 year old! But as a parent and a child of God myself, I must try and instill these values into our Boys!
So this week, once our fun has ended, our boys will serve along side me at a festival for underprivileged urban children, that will encourage them to get excited for school! What will you do to get your family to Serve others without rewards?

http://www.robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com/

Monday WHY Monday?

2010-07-19T21:18:00.000-04:00

Why Monday!
I ask this pretty much every week, but never really get an answer. I guess it will arrive when I really need it too!

Monday is a tough day, a day off the weekend. A day where I clean and clean, pick up from the weekend and basiclly press the RESET Button on our home. But wouldn't it be great if life had a RESET button for many things, besides the computer? This type of button would be awesome. But It would be dangerous as well. I could use it to start over each day all new and clean in the house, and in my life. Then I think of how my boys would use such a button, and I kringe!

As a Christian I know we have a button of sorts, it is the Word of God and the blood of Christ. This blood has been shed for us so each day we are washed away of our sins and start anew. So in many ways I have a reset button I just have to look to it!

So each Monday I clean the house, and each day I look to my reset button to guide me in my week ahead!

Being a mom - It's pretty hard!

2010-07-08T10:07:00.000-04:00

Being a mom is a hard job!

Being a mom of two boys harder!

Now let's add a great part time job on top of that, that's right even harder. In today's world we as moms have so much to accomplish and so much to live up to, that we forget the basics of life. Things like raising our children with a faith base that they will use later in life!

I am trying and sometimes I think I have failed, but then there are situations that allow me to see that what I do has an impact on our boys both now and in the future. You might ask, "How can that be? " How can I see into the future?

Well I see that my husband was brought up with good Christian values and because of it, this week he made a choice not to sell a car to someone because when he drove it again there was an issue that was not there last week. He took one of his vacation days to fix this and might have for fitted the deal of selling a car, that needs to be sold. He shows me that in the future what we teach our kids now will have an impact on life choices later on. So what I do now as a mother, wife and child of God will have long lasting effects on our boys!

This weeks lesson was two fold, one it was about using game cheats to win more coins on a computer game and the second lesson was being able to tame our tongues. Two very important lessons for them to learn early on. One lesson was handed down from us and the other from my mother in law, who does not tolerate swearing, and neither do we. So this is going to be a challanging couple of years, as we try to raise these boys with values and make them men of God!

Wake Up Wednesday #B90Days

2010-07-07T01:00:00.001-04:00

Reading the Bible in 90- days - This is a huge challange for me, as reading and committing to reading anything is hard for me. But as Monday I've committed both to myself and to an awesome group of people online through twitter and blogs. I see the accountability as the key to accomplishing this.

So my wake up call has arrived and I've already read day one and day two on the schedule. Much of what I've already read is new to me and this is exciting and encouraging. So as I read through the Bible in 90 days, I will be keeping you all updated and share with you my insights that I've encountered. It is not too late to join me and all those who are up for this awesome challange.

http://www.momstoolbox.com/blog/bible-in-90-days-reading-schedule/

Thinking Tuesday - Man it's Hot outside!

2010-07-06T12:53:00.000-04:00

Really the title has nothing to do with Truthful Tuesday; I just wanted to say that!

This past week has been a busy one with the heat, prep for a mini vacation and travel to upstate to see my parents and brother's family. In all the week is now over and we are in the third full week of summer vacation. The boys are having a blast, and I am very glad that they are! To be honest I am also very happy that we are able to have my mother in law watch the kids. She is awesome and they are enjoying the time they have.

Honestly this time together will never be made up in any form through out their lives. Children need their grandparents! As a child I remember the few times we traveled to see my grandparents or my grandmother. We always had a great time and I still cherish those memories to this day. As I got older we saw my Grandmother (my Mom's Mother) more often and I learned so much from her, knitting and crocheting were two things I know now because of her! My Grandfather (my Dad's Father) visited us often once I was in junior high school. When he came to visit we always had adventures and new experiences, ones I will never forget.

This past week alone our boys had new experiences like hiking at Fillmore Glen in upstate New York, watching fireworks from a boat on one of the Finger Lakes and got to ride in a kayak. All things they have never done before!

Each visit and each day with their grandparents is a new memory, and to be honest, memories they will never forget and want their own children to have with us!

Wednesday - Wake up Wednesday - Photo Blog

2010-06-30T01:00:00.001-04:00

Here is a link to my photo blog - monday I posted about making crayons by using old bits and peices.
This is a great project to do with the kids and then they get to use the "new" crayons later!

http://jromamma365.blogspot.com/2010/06/365-179-crayons.html

Step 1: save bits and peices of broken crayons
Step 2: remove paper wrappers
Step 3: Prepare a sauce pan of water shallow enough to put a glass container with opening bigger than the bottom (i used pyrex cups)
Step 4: have child place many different peices in the bottom of the glass
Step 5: boil water and place the glass container in the pan, makeing sure water does not go over the sides
Step 6: wait for wax to melt and remove the glass from the pan, and place on counter for 5 minutes till cool enough to touch
Step 7: Place in fridge for 15 minutes
Step 8: once cooled place towel on counter, tap glass bottom up until wax comes out of container
Step 9: Color on paper!!!!

If you do not want to boil water, an old ice cube tray works well in the mircowave but take a bit more time and at 45 sec intervals.

Monday, Why MONDAY? New Start

2010-06-28T10:52:00.002-04:00

I think I like to ask myself this question each week!
I like to see what I can come up with in my head.
Monday, Why Monday?

Monday is a great start and also a dreaded start to the week.
We all are slower on monday mornings, even without having to rush the kids off to school or self off to work. Mondays are here to remind us what the weekends offered us and how much fun we had over the weekend past. Mondays are days to start a new week and offer so much for the week ahead. Mondays are always fowned upon and labeled as the worset day of the week.

But todays Monday, I want to write about starting a new life.
Not my own, but that of a young couple from our church who just got married yesterday.
Reading all the post from friends on facebook, you could see how loved they are as a couple and how much in Love they are with eachother! They are starting the next step of their lives today. Waking up as a married couple! How cool is that?

What a feeling to start off on a monday morning, headed to the airport as a married couple! Going on vacation for the first time together. So many firsts in their lives will come over the next few years and I am excited for them as they start their new life together.

Over the next few months two more young couples from our church home will be getting married, and I feel the same excitement for each of them. Young beautiful Christian couples starting their lives together, it is an amazing sight. Oh to be young and waking up on a monday morning married and so in Love, it is a wonderful thing.

BTW Congrats Ashley and Nate! May God Continue to Bless you in the years ahead!

Focus on Friday - One week down!

2010-06-24T17:41:00.000-04:00

One full week of summer vacation down and we have survived so far. But I remind myself to stay focused on the Prize! Prize of a great summer with the Boys! Things took a turn this week but at the same time they were great! This week we did the following:

Friday = Friends house for swimming and BBQ

(NO PHOTO)

Saturday = Vomit and Fever

Sunday = Fathers Day Breakfat at VFW, start setting up second pool of the year, more fever

Monday = Beach day and time with school friends, library time mommy and 5yo

Tuesday =Time with Mommy again because the sitter did not show!

Wednesday = Time with their grandmother Picnic, library and pool time

Thursday = Pool time and a trip to store, little bit of learning how to use chopsticks!

Back to friday! Who know what we will do this week!

All I know is that we are going to make the best of the summer and have as much fun as we can all while being FOCUSED!

Thinking Thursday - two years ago vs today

2010-06-24T06:42:00.002-04:00

This morning I was thinking of what to write and thinking of what has happened this past week, then thinking how I might have responded to this had it happened to us two years ago!

(read story of what happened here first http://robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com/2010/06/wake-up-wednesday-drama.html)

Here is how I look at one vs the other:
Yesterday I prayed that the ex-sitter would be able to see what went wrong and fix issues in her life!
Two years ago I would have wanted to hunt her down and yell at her, among other things.

Yesterday I was completly over joyed that my mother in law was able to step in and take care of the boys for the summer.
Two years ago I would have never even thought about her as being an option, because I would be to worried about what she thought of our home.

Yesterday I went to work and was able to focus on the work and not the issue past.
Two years ago I would still be dwelling on this, and would not be able to get my work done.

Yesterday I moved on.
Two years ago I would not be able to say the same thing...

So what makes it so different? I have learned to let it go! Let things drop. Walk away from it and hope for a new day to arrive and start over. This issue with the sitter is little in the whole bucket of life. I have done this with all issues in my life? Nope, because I am not perfect. But this issue was something I was not about to let get to me.
Do I have to work on other issues? YES! Will I ? Only God and I know for sure. I have started to try and work on other issues that should just be let go, and others need more work then that.

So today I was thinking....this issue is small compared to all the other things going on in my life. We have moved on and the boys had a great day with their Grammy.

WAKE UP WEDNESDAY - DRAMA....

2010-06-23T00:01:00.004-04:00

I had jumped the gun this summer to hire a sitter to watch the boys three days a week. I was ahead of the game! We interviewed, We had a few come over a watch them while we went out, and in all we thought we pretty much made the right choice.

Mary, was our pick. A young college student who lived locally.
I was all set and ready for her to come over today. I got up early, did the dishes, made the bed, picked up all the toys and was ready for work at 8am. Mary was scheduled to arrive at 9 am as we confirmed on thursday night when she was over our house.

I should have seen it then. Thursday afternoon Mary calls at 3:45 saying she was leaving in a 1/2 hour and will be to our house at 5, from a city that was over 45 minutes away! So 5 pm arrived and she did not, she was 22 minutes late! There for I was late to work! Ok once I can forgive and not say anything.....

But today totally different, today 9 am arrived and she did not!
9:15 arrived and she did not - nor did a phone call!
9:30 arrived and nothing from her!
I called work and called out for the day stressing out about what I was going to do for the rest of the summer! B R E A T H!!!!!!!!

I called my mother in law who was and is more than willing to watch the boys till they sell their home! This is a great thing for us both! We both are getting something out of this and the boys are as well.

Did God have a plan? I think so!

11:30 rolls around and I get a call from Mary the sitter! Pretty thick excuse, I ask if she is ok? She is! I then let her know that this will not work for the summer. We need to have a reliable person to care for our children, and I can not in good faith use her services long term. She apoligized and I accepted. I just hope she learns that just one phone call could have solved so much of this hassle!

Gods plan might be deeper than I know, he might have even saved my children. But these are things He does and only He knows and I will never know. But for now I remain a working mother, with a mother in law who gets to see her grandchildren before she moves. Yet another day of Drama in the Life of This Working Mother!

As my husband put it "God does not close a door without first opening a window!" I held onto those words all day, and it helped!

Truthful Tuesday - Lyme Disease?

2010-06-22T00:00:00.003-04:00

To be honest I am a bit scared! Because I am thinking (maybe too much)! Over the weekend that out youngest kidlet might have Lyme disease~ Now here’s the thing I AM NOT one of those moms who runs to the computer every time my child has a sniffle or booboo, but I have seen so many friends and family members suffer long term with Lyme disease that I did not want to wait to read about it! I know that Lyme can have long term effects on people and I do not want my son to be one of those PEOPLE!

What clued me into what might be Lyme? Well over the weekend he spiked a fever it read 104.4 on the ear thermometer. He was not his normal active child, cranky and took a 3 hour nap mid day on Saturday! He has not napped at home since he was 18 months old. Later that evening he vomited, mainly because his fever. Then there was the tell tale sign, a tick was pulled off him about three weeks ago off his inner elbow. It was not on long, but long enough to have to remove it with tweezers and a pin.

So do all these things line up to be Lyme disease? Not sure so I looked it up!

WebM.D. told me the following: What is Lyme disease? Lyme disease is an infection that is spread by ticks. You can get Lyme disease if you are bitten by an infected tick. But most people who have had a tick bite do not get Lyme disease. It’s still important to see your doctor if you have a tick attached to you that you can't remove. What causes Lyme disease? Lyme disease is caused by bacteria. Infected ticks spread the bacteria by biting people or animals.

So today the second day of summer vacation I will be taking my kidlets to the doctor! Oh joy! If anyone has any advice about Lyme or experience with a child having this please leave comment, I would like to hear what you saw or went through!

The photos you see are from yesterday’s adventure to a local watering hole! The boys had a blast and I got burnt! Ugh

Monday WHY Monday? Summer starting....

2010-06-21T09:21:00.000-04:00

The summer has started.
THe boys last day of school was friday and we already have over stimulated them. Friday after school we went to a friends house for pool and BBQ, smores and fun! But by saturday morning I had two children who were over tired, one lost their voice and the other was running a fever!

What a way to start the summer!

We had made the best of the weekend and now we will make the best of the summer. With mondays and fridays off I will be able to spend time with the boys and still work, which is a great thing for me. Allowing me time away from them there for enjoying my time with them. As the summer moves forward we will have many adventures together and I will share them here.

Monday Why Monday? Because it is a great start and a way to start the week off. Not always dreded and feared!

WAKE UP WEDNESDAY - June 9, 2010 HUMAN TRAFFICKING

2010-06-09T22:13:00.000-04:00

Last night was the first night of a new small group though church. My intention was not to join a small group this summer but things change when you listen to the Lord and let go of your own convictions!
As I have mentioned many times in the past six months I have been drawn into doing more research on human trafficking. I am feeling compelled to read about it, talk about it, do research about it and pretty much make others aware of what is going on locally to globally.

We statred to read the Book "Not For Sale - The return of the Global Slave Trade and How We Can Fight it" by David Batstone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2XgmQZ-c8M

I can not detail the book yet, but as we read each section, I will share with you. But from this point I can share with you some of the many orginizations fighting for those who cant!

http://www.unodc.org/blueheart/en/about-us.html

My state Facts: http://www.cga.ct.gov/pcsw/Trafficking/07%20final%20trafficking%20report.pdf

Day Three - Creativity Boot Camp - Multilayered

2010-06-08T21:51:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to my Day Three Assignment of the word "Multilayered"

http://jromamma365.blogspot.com/2010/06/creativity-boot-camp-day-3-multilayered.html

Care to Join me on this adventure?

Need to break out of the box?

Click here for more info on this Challenge!

Truthful Tuesday - Giving Up? Or Shielding my Heart?

2010-06-08T00:12:00.001-04:00

WOW - what a title!

So I ask how do I give up and How do I move forward for the good of my family? Or do I continue to shield my heart?

Hard questions and I am so sure I do not have any answers on how to GIVE UP! But what I am looking for is how do I give up caring about the relationship I have with someone, because I seem to try and try to make it work, but in the end my efforts are what bites me back? (fyi I am NOT talking about my married relationship) I can not and will not say what relationship I feel that I put in so much and get next to nothing back, but I can say that it hurts over and over again and I need to find a way to put up a large shield.

A shield that will help protect my heart from so much heart break so much mental pain that it is causing friction in my home. It is causing fights! It is causing me to be a woman I do not like to be. It is hurting the long term relationships I want to have with my boys, but most of all it is hurting ME. SOunds a bit self focused, right? Well if you can not protect yourself and your own heart, whose will you protect?

Be be honest I need to protect my HEART before it endures more damage!
Before the effects of what harm has been done already, set in and take hold of my life, I need to start to give up on this person(s) and move on. But how?

I will write more on how I choose to give up and how I'm getting though this~

Day Two Creativity Boot Camp...

2010-06-07T09:04:00.002-04:00

Click here for the link to my day two of creativity boot camp ~

http://jromamma365.blogspot.com/2010/06/day-two-of-creativity-boot-camp-picnic.html

Wake Up Wednesday - BOYS

2010-06-02T16:35:00.001-04:00

Today I'm the one in need of a wake up call!

I need to chill out a bit when it comes to the boys. As they get older I'm seeing that they need time to vent they need time to fight then they need time to be boys!

This summer is going to be a challenge for me! I'm going to have to let them figure it out. Figure out how to work together, figure out how to form brotherly bonds between each other. They need to have this bond because in a few short years they will be teenagers, and will no longer come to us with their problems every time.

I pray and pray more that they will turn each other before they turn to others! But before that happens, I as a mother (their Mother) need to guide them in the process of cooperating with one another now so they can trust one another later in life. I am also looking to guide them in being Godly Men, Men who love the Lord, Men who love one another. I am thankful for our church because their children's ministry is awesome and both the boys seem to get something out of it. But for now I need the wake up call. I need to take this as a call to action, a call to do the right thing for our Sons, sons of the Lord, children of God. We have been intrusted with these souls by the heavely father now we need to make sure we mold them properly.

So today is my "Wake Up Wednesday" today is my day to wake up and take care of my boys, to make sure we are raising them in the name of the Lord. They are great boys, they are energitic boys....they are BOYS!

For Great insight try http://www.themobsociety.com/

Truthful tuesday - The MOB Society

2010-06-01T08:41:00.000-04:00

Last Night I took part in a great twitter party! (dont know what a twitter party is? Well ~ A twitter party is a fast and fun virtual party, using the twitter platform. Usually held in the evening, twitter parties typically last 1-2 hours and are a wonderful way for people to connect and discuss a topic of choice. Most twitter parties have an expert panelist and party host to keep the party on topic.)

This twitter party was based around the new web site The MOB Society (Moms Of Boys) http://www.themobsociety.com/

A beautiful net work of Moms who blog (some men too) and who are trying to raise a boy or two in this tough world. The women who are a part of this also want to make sure we raise strong, confident boys who know the Lord! What could be better? Not much.

There were great questions in which you could win great prizes. Did I win? Nope Did I care? Nope! I met a few great people and gained an understanding that "I am not alone" in this raising of boys thing.

So if I learnedd anything last night about boys, it was that my boys are NORMAL and the rest of the world has a messed up way of looking at children. These creatures (boys) are different they are a challange and I look forward to having a beautiful network of Christ followers who are also raising young men of the Lord.

THANK YOU FOR Bringing the MOB Society to light!

Memorial Day Monday

2010-05-31T20:54:00.001-04:00

If I could say I know a military hero I would!

If I could say I have a family member who died serving their country, I would!

But I don't have anyone in my family who served over seas, I do however know that my Grandfather served state side. There are people I knew from high school who served, one David Collard died in Iraq! He died serving and protecting His /OUR country. He died too young!

Just like many of these men and women who are dying too young.

I wanted to write a thank you to all the men and women who are serving overseas and state side. I wanted to write to all who have served in decades past. I wanted to remind everyone on this memorial day 2010 to sit in silence for a few minutes or more and pray for those who continue to serve their country. But for now here is my thank you note to all who serve this country.

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the USA ~
Thank you so very much for continue protecting our country.
Thank you to all of you who wear a military uniform day to day or just once a year!
Thank you to those who have served in battle or served a meal, each job is vital to protecting the US.
Thank you to the millions of soldiers who have sacrificed so much for so many they do not know.

I want to thank the Mothers and Fathers who helped raised such remarkable soldiers! Thank you to the husbands and wives who knew going in to their relationships that they were taking risks even here at home. Thank you to the children who said their nightly prayers that their father or mother might return unharmed from war.

But most of all I want to thank those who can not hear me - those who have served to protect this country since before 1776. Thank you for giving us the right to believe in a God. Thank you for keeping the political process alive. But most of all thank you for giving the biggest thing you could, YOURSELF!

GOD Blessed this country with brave men and women who knew what could and would happen if they inlisted.

THANK YOU!

thinking thursday

2010-05-27T17:28:00.000-04:00

Thinking Thursday - This kept slapping me across the face this week! The thoughts and major "don't ignore this" moments have been way up on the issue of sex trafficking, human sex trade and how I am supposed to help. It was about a month ago when I was on the woman's retreat with my church, when I started to talk with another woman about her desire to learn more about what we can do in regard to this major international issue.

So I started to look up sites and read about human trafficking this is what I have been reading through:

http://www.catwinternational.org/index.php

http://www.makewaypartners.org/who_we_are.html

http://www.mtvexit.org/index.php?lang=1

http://www.mtvexit.org/protect.php?lang=1&content=12&back=2

But I like the following: WHAT IS TRAFFICKING

"Human trafficking is the trade of human beings and their use by criminals to make money. That could mean forcing or tricking people into prostitution, begging, or manual labour.

Victims do not agree to be trafficked – they are tricked - lured by false promises - or forced.

The trafficker takes away the basic human rights of the victim: the freedom to move, to choose, to control her body and mind, and to control her future.

Do not confuse trafficking with smuggling. A smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is free; the trafficking victim is enslaved.

Human trafficking is a global phenomenon that is driven by demand and fuelled by poverty and unemployment. It continues to exact a significant toll in the multitude of countries around the world. A victim is often subjected to the use of force, fraud, or coercion for labor exploitation, sexual exploitation, or domestic servitude. " From MTV EXIT

This is real and this is NOW - over the next few months I will be writting about Trafficking and what each one of us can do about this!

Truthful Tuesday - should be let me whine some more tuesday.....

2010-05-25T02:00:00.004-04:00

JUST Let ME WHINE A BIT MORE THIS WEEK!!!!!

Really I just wanna whine some more!
I wanna spill it all and really tell you all how I feel!
I want to rant and rave about people!
I wanna just blurt it all out ~how I feel and who I am mad at!
I want to tell the world all about who pissed me off and made me cry this past week.

I want to ask this person what makes them a better Christian then me?
What gives them the right to treat me like that, and not others.
I want to ask "what did I do for YOU to have such feelings toward me, when you've never gone out on a limb and tried to be kind to me?"
I want to ask "Why can't you even try and "look me in the eyes"? Or just TRY to respect me as another human being in this world?"

That is alot of "I WANTS!!"
I think what I Need is to do the following:

I need to forgive!
I need to move on!
I need to stop talking about it!
I need to move forward!
I need to remember not all christians are like this!
I need to be the better person.
I need to ask for help.
I need to change from this.
I need to ask for forgiveness.
I need to look for the positive in this.
I need to realize I am not the only one who was hurt.

This past week I was so blessed to have a few good friends there to help me through this and for that I am ever so grateful. To tell you all the truth I am sure without the faith that I have in the Lord, I am not sure I would have made it through the week. In the past I would have fallen into a depression or funk, but not now, now I have the knowledge that I am NOT alone in all of this.

Monday WHY Monday? Tough week behind me

2010-05-24T17:20:00.000-04:00

Last week was atough week! Not at home and not work wise - but on a personal level!

It was tough knowing that I had to comfront someone at work and it was tough to have my executive director have to deal with this as well. There are and were so many issues there that I will not go in to detail at all, but in general the few things I saw last week really made me think long and hard about the path that I have been on the past two years.
From your basic God Fearing woman, mother and wife to what and where I am today.
I feel as though I am a daughter of the Lord. I feel as though I am a sister in Christ ~ I have learned I have stepped out of the comfort zone that I was in for so many years.
Am I ONE with the Lord? NO! I most likely will never be that close to the Lord, until the day I enter Heaven.

Am I aware that each day I awake I walk one more step in the path layed out before me? Sure Thing.

I am so blessed to know that Jesus died on the Cross so that each day we are washed of our sins and must start anew. Start over. Retry and move forward. I am glad the Lord has placed the stones down for me and guided me down the path. I am also glad he has allowed me to stray and learn from my misguided turns. Where would I be with out some sort of learning experiences? NO WHERE???

So this week was placed before me by the Lord, and I see that Christians of all sorts are out there, however not all are perfect, nore did I believe they were. Maybe those people who believe that they are perfect are mis-guided in their paths? Maybe the Lord is testing them and letting them grow as well.

Was this a tough week left behind me? SURE!
Was I able to learn? YES
Did I blame anyone? Nope - how could I? If it really comes down to it, I will offer up forgiveness and ask how I am able to change myself so that I can move on and so can my sister in Christ.

Most importantly I learned that the Lord has asked to LOVE one another no matter what, and what this means is that I must LOVE a person no matter how they act toward me. Love is in the Bible and all that branches from Love is in there too! Love has so many meanings...it is hard NOT to define! So I learned about LOVE and I learned about RESPECT, Understanding and Growth this week.

I ask today and each day after today, that the Lord move me forward on my path and allow me to learn great things from this week past. Especially that each day is better than the day before.

Thanks for reading my Rant!

Thinking Thursday....

2010-05-13T11:15:00.000-04:00

I got to thinking about politics yesterday after a really good conversation with two women at work. Let me say that I am not a huge political person, but I am one to stick to my convictions and vote for the best candidate who will support the issues that are important to me. Sure over the years I have changed my convictions and passions but deep within my political views have been pretty level!

After talking with these women I was thinking, people who are Pro Life (or any major conviction) should do their homework! Find out about the current senators, congressmen, reps, town officials, and other government workers who serve them and their communities! Find out basics like religions, personal convictions of each of the candidates.

I have never personally done this, but working at the PRC I have learned about these politicians and their views on abortion and the right of the unborn vs rights of the woman! Just recently we held our annual fund raising banquet and a senate candidate and his wife made the choice to come to hear Jill Stanek and they were moved! Their support of our centers and the Pro Life movement is crucial to our doors staying open! Then if our doors stay open we are able to serve his communities in a different way but still very important! (image care of http://prolifeimages.blogspot.com/ ).

If you want more info on pro life canidates look up the following sites :

http://www.sba-list.org/site/c.ddJBKJNsFqG/b.4009925/k.BE63/Home.htm

http://www.prolife.org/

WAKE UP! Home Genetic Test Kits

2010-05-12T09:34:00.000-04:00

So here is my wake up call for today!

Walgreens Drug Stores to start selling Home Genetic Test Kits! Really what is happening in our society??

Yet another way our society is saying to teens "It's ok to have sex before marriage and have as many partners as you want! We will put you on birthcontrol, give you medications for STD's, we will pay for your abortions and now we will even make a home Genetic Test kit!"

Sure these kits are to help determine predisposition to certian chronic diseases, but are we going to far? Would this kit help women choose a spouse? Or who she wants to father her baby? What are we doing playing God? There are just so many things wrong with this idea I am unable to wrap my thoughts around it!

WAKE UP AMERICA - these are not just my children, they are yours and they are our future! We need to stop trying to play God, and start following Him and listening to his words!

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-05-11/business/ct-biz-0512-genetic-tests-20100511_1_genetic-test-kits-walgreens

http://www.kait8.com/Global/story.asp?s=12467729&clienttype=printable

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-genetic-testing-20100512,0,2337479.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fbusiness+%28L.A.+Times+-+Business%29

By the way these tests are NOT approved by the FDA because they do not have to be???????????

Truthful Tuesday ~ Bites

2010-05-11T21:13:00.000-04:00

Can I be honest with you?

All right I know you have no say in the matter.
I'm going to be forward no matter what!
So beyond really disliking mondays, lately Tuesdays bite as well.
Currently I'm driving on child to a regular Doctors appointment while making the youngest tag along.
Fair? Who cares if its fair? I go we ALL go! (yes while driving)~

So we GO! I'm sure we will be late because lately WE are always late.
As we leave the house not one mile away I had to pull over, because spilled JUICE!

Oh my it has started already, only a mile from home!!! The drama has started and we still have 25 minutes to get to the doctors office. To my surprise that was the only issue we had the whole ride, there was not even an ounce of fighting. The boys were good for me! WOW and we were on time!

Even with this somewhat good trip, honestly sometimes I feel as though I am the ref, mom, taxi driver, nurse, cook, teacher, waitress all around slave, but there are days like this when it is over and the boys were good for me I see that it is all worth it.

Even though tonight before bed, I got a head to my pelvic bone, a burp in my face and extra slimy kisses at bed time, it is all worth it!

Monday - Why Monday! Post Mother's Day!

2010-05-10T17:11:00.002-04:00

Great day yesterday besides being woken up at 5:45 (i think it was earlier) by our two boys wanting to share their creations with me! I got some of the cutest little dust collectors (see photos). I also was taken out to breakfast to the VFW in Manchester CT - One of the best breakfasts around (to bad they only do it every 2nd sunday of the month)! At the VFW I got a rose and an omlet made to order, and the boys got blueberry pancakes and a mae to oder waffle! It was great and I love what these man and women did for our country, and still do to serve it today.

While there I was struck by the scene of a War Vet using a walker and with help holding a baby girl, who was no more that a few months old.. It was amazing to see him supporting her tiny little head, and her father close at hand supporting her body under this elderly man. It was a photo op, but I choose not to take one because I wanted to remember the moment in my mind. It was a beautiful sight especially on mother's day.

Happy Belated Mother's Day to you all!

Mother's Day! Everyday!

2010-05-09T01:00:00.000-04:00

Today is mothers day and I really don't focus on this day mainly because I am a Mother everyday! So I get hugs, kisses and I love yous everyday from my boys! That got me thinking about mothers day and what does it mean to me?

The meaning of mothers day is first defined by my own birth and adoption and being able to share every Mothers day with my Mom for the past 35 years! I was adopted May 29th 1974 just a few weeks past Mothers Day (that year)! I am sure the Joy of tiny hands making cute cards and some of the cheesest gifts ever, was the yearly highlight for my Mom, especially since she still has some of these after all these years!

Growing up I knew that a mother is not just the woman who gave birth to you, but a mother is the woman who would die for you, the woman who nurses you back to health in the middle of the night, the woman who holds you during a thunder storm. She is your everything, she heals you and teaches all at the same time, without you ever realizing it.

For all these things and more I love my Mom! Because of the love I received as a child from my mother, I too wanted to become a mother! and sometime in april 2001 we found out we would be parents in mid december.

So the day Came later than expected but it did happen, our first son arrived. That day I became a mother! That is my first Mothers day Then again three years later we were blessed with another little boy. Another Mother's Day for me!

Even though Mother's Day is fun, I think the celebration and appreciation of your mom should happen everyday in some small way be it a note, hug, email or phone call - make mothers day everyday in a small way.

What an Honor!

2010-05-08T16:05:00.001-04:00

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=LRkXBYv6rTTVpiU6tRWRPzEwMjAzNDQ-&referred_by=17776349-MtXyAJx

Did he really have to say that?

2010-05-06T16:34:00.000-04:00

Over the past few years I have been dying my hair. Alright more like the past 15 years of my life!
I love changing my color and I love being able to express myself through the color.
But last night I shared my idea of letting my hair go back to it's natural color with my darling husband. Over the past few years my hair has started to include grey hair! I am not bothered by the grey nor am I trying to hide it! So I stated to my darling husband, I am going to let me hair go natural and see what my grey hair does...
His reply....
"maybe it will get you a free cofffee at MacDonalds or 10% off Khols on wednesdays?"

Ugh! Well even with those sweet and very up lifting words I am going to let me hair GO GREY! As with any thing else I write about I am sure I will update you all on this.

Is today Wednesday?

2010-05-05T17:49:00.002-04:00

WOW - wednesday already??
I can not believe how fast this month has flow by! Just a few weeks back I was stressing out about my first banquet, planned from start to finish on my own! What do I mean by "on my own"? Well I am the person telling me what to do when and how, setting and accomplishing deadlines, making follow up calls, and deligating work and doing the tables assignments, AV and well...anything else that needs to be accomplished! Sure we have volunteers and a staff, but I have never been the ONE! I have always worked for someONE! Never running an event from start to finish that was THIS BIG!

Really

BIG!

This is amazing stuff going on where I work! Stuff like women keeping their babies after hearing about the truths behind abortion. Women choosing Christ to be in their lives and in the lives of their unborn child and sometimes even in close family members! Post Abortion Recovery! Adoption, parenting, empowerment! This Stuff is HUGE! Re-Starting our mens ministry! There is so much going on at the two centers I work with that I need to step back and wrap my mind around it all.

But this Banquet is over and I am feeling good about the year to come! I am feeling good about what the Lord has instore for us. Everyday is a new day and every day is a challange, but if we are guided by the Lord then each challange is AWESOME!

The volunteers and friends of our center are great people and without them this would have never happened. God is great and so are the children he has chose to help at this CPC!

Thinking Thursday! Dreaming

2010-04-29T06:25:00.000-04:00

I was thinking....really I was! I was thinking about Dreams.

Not just the dreams we have while we are sleeping, but the dreams we have for ourselves and for others around us. We all have dreams, and we all start pretty early in our lives dreaming about things. Children dream to be famous, or to be a hero, dancers, Parents or pretty!

I used to dream I would be an art teacher and live in a big city like NYC. That I would teach children all about the masters in Painting and take trips to the grand museums around the country. But my dreams changed, and for many reasons, not just because I gave up the dream, but because my life branched off so many times, that is was next to impossible to come full circle to that orginal dream I had as a child. Does this mean I gave up? NO! I still want to be that art teacher, but maybe in a different way to a different audience.

As a young girl I always dreamed about the house I would live in, how my children would look, how many pets and cars I would own, etc. We are just born to dream about what we can have, but do we ever really dream about what we can DO! And now we can do it?

Do children dream about how they can change the world?

Do adults ever look back and dream about the impact they still can make in the life of others?

Maybe it is time to stop dreaming about stuff and start dreaming about being the best we can be by giving to others. Give of our time, prayers, efforts and talents. Dream a big Dream, dream of a world where all are equal, dream that one day children will not go to bed hungry. Dream of a world where people are not aborting babies to make sure their dreams are not ruined. We all have to change dreams because of one bump in the road or another, but that should not change the dream, just alter it a bit till we can achive it.

WAKE UP WEDNESDAY - Rambling addition....

2010-04-28T21:36:00.001-04:00

Alright - I have already stated that I suck at Blogging!
Now I have to say that I really SUCK at blogging! Well at least for the past few weeks. But I have an excuse! Really I do! I have been thinking of all the great things I could write about, I have even started many of them But my excuse is valid, I am not sick, I am not working too much, I am not trying to clean my house every second of the day (even though I should), the laundry is done and dinner is pretty much made everyday on time, and not too late for the kidlets! So what is my excuse?
~ I just do not feel like writting!
Plain and Simple (thanks Honda)

Really I do have so many ideas in my head, but when it comes to writting them down I just feel blah about it and decide not to! But today I am making an effort to write, to truly sit here and write about my WAKE UP moment this week, but it was hard to choose which one to use. So I will use the most recent one -

Tonight our youngest Lost his first tooth - it was awesome, because we have been eyeing that tooth for well over a week now and I have tried to pull it numerous times, only causing pain and one really pissed off child. So we let it go, well all but big brother, he just wont let something drop! Asking over and over again about the tooth...driving us all mad!

But tonight was one of those jump on the couch nights, and wham - out came the tooth! YES!!

So tonight he gets Cash! That is what he asked for so that is what the tooth fairy will leave!

As much as I need a wake up call - this one is a great one that tells me that my boys are growing up and soon they will not be having new experiences like this ever again! It will all be old hat for them and for me!

its like CRACK!

2010-04-23T03:58:00.001-04:00

These silly games on MYFACE are killing me!
Really they are Like CRACK!!
I am not really one to have more then a few drinks in a month, I do not smoke and I live a pretty low key life in general, but there is one thing I am addicted to and it is those games on MYFACE (facebook/myspace combined). I was playing Farmville for the longest time, till I could no longer log onto it, so I found another one called Country Life!

I find myself gardening till the wee hours of the night! I start to feel bad if my crops go unattended for more than 24hours. I wake up at night worring that my farm animals are fed! Ok not really but sometimes I really think that I have a problem. The problem is like all these adult men who play video games at all hours, but the games I play are less then reality! I am never going to own a farm, cow or ketsup maker! In general there is not much about this game that is close to real for me, it has just become a way to escape for a while, and do some mindless computing!

But like I said it does become like a drug that you can not quit, and you are always waiting for the next fix! if you do not play I suggest you DONT!

Truthful Tuesday - I suck at this....

2010-04-20T14:35:00.001-04:00

Alright I admit it - I suck at blogging!!!
I have so many great ideas and I love to write, but in general I suck at blogging! I had this great plan to write every day and I even named each day except saturday and sunday....but as it stands I can not even write five days in a row let alone seven.
How do they do it, how do these women juggle it all?

I have a hard time keeping the house clean (cause clutter is just who I am)...I have a though time making sure everyone is clothed and sent to school with what they need each day! So here I am trying to write another entry and bounce bounce bounce in comes the five year old kidlet....

so maybe later I will write the rest of my entry about my Path with the Lord!.....

till then I have to serve the children!

ALSO if you read to this point could you leave a comment or check of of those silly boxes so I know you were here? Thanks! :(

Monday WHY Monday?

2010-04-19T17:43:00.000-04:00

Sitting here watching our 5 year old move about the playground as we wait for his brother to arrive back from his first day of vacation arts camp, I reflect!

I want to look back at the past four years since I worked in Corporate Non-Profit! It is amazing how much has changed since Mothers Day weekend 2006, and good (I mean GREAT) changes!

As with anything we look back and ask what would I change, if anything? Well I would have changed very little, because as I reflect I see how each stone of the path was placed before me by God! I can even retrace every step! Well at least I think I can.

-it mainly started a year after I suddenly became a stay at home mom, alone all day with a 16 month old, not knowing anyone in my town at was about 30 miles from where I worked and grew up! I needed some sort of support system or I was going to loose it. The library was getting pretty old pretty quick!! But the library is where I met Sonya, well it was the playground! She told me about a Moms Club and how it was a group of stay at home mothers who gathered for play groups, nights out, and what not! Well she did not have to tell me twice, I wanted in!

So the next business meeting I made sure I was there to sign up and get to know some of these mothers!

And I was amazed! What a great group of women and fun children, I really enjoyed being a part of this group and loved that they also gave to the community, it was fun. So for about two years I was apart of this club and really got to make some great friends! Tomorrow the next step of my path!

Birthday number 36!

2010-04-13T09:04:00.002-04:00

Yes I turned a year older, we all do! But this year I turned 36 - to some of you that is older and to some that is youngerm but the great thing is to me - there is no change. I still feel like I am 30 years old, and love life to the fullest.

My day started with a great hand written note from 8yo and a colored box by 5yo (all on their own)

(mom chill out on your speshel day. Happy birthday!!! from Trevor)

Then - some shopping without kids and a cup of coffee in hand! Those of you with children totally understand this! It was great. Then we came home unloaded the goods, and took a long walk around our property. We were making plans for the next few months of what to do with the yard.

Then a quick clean up and off to Home Depot and Lunch.
Later then planned but it was all good. Lunch was great! it was at our favorite place The Willimantic Brew Pub / Main Street Cafe http://www.willibrew.com/

A View of my favorite place from my office! It is like a big tease! But our lunch was Quite and tasty!

I got the Windham Village (06280)- Corned beef, onion, cole slaw and Swiss chese toasted to perfection with our mustard horseradish sauce. Served on Rye. It was awesome! Even got desert! Yummmm

Click this link for some great photos of my birthday - a day off with the hubby!

http://jromamma365.blogspot.com/2010/04/365-104-birthday.html

In all it was a great day filled with my boys and time to relax!

I AM BACK

2010-04-07T21:06:00.001-04:00

LICE - Need I say more?

Well sure I will say more!

I always do say more...last wednesday

I got to work and we were about to sit

and pray for the center, clients, and our

volunteers, and I get a voice mail. School Nurse?!

So I call her back and come to find out MY KIDS HAVE LICE?????????????? UGH - gives me the hebbie jebbies!

And makes me ich too!

The photos here are the boys a week before the whole head lice thing, and let me tell you I was NOT about to pick through their hair! So I went and picked them both up from school and drove home. As I did I explained that I would have to shave their heads! That is just what I DID!

I cut their hair right off! With no hair and $40 bottles of hair shampoo, it did the trick!

I did however get some in my hair!

UGH!

No I did not shave my head!

Even though the boys wanted me too! LOL

I did however have a pile of laundry from here to the moon! I am only used to laundry from here to Florida, but this was everything in the house that was not nailed to the floor! Beds, towels, pillows, rugs....and that which I could not wash or heat up in the dryer, went to large plastic bags for two weeks!!! Stuffed animails, pillows, sweaters.....All of it!

I do not recomend HEAD LICE unless you want to have a great deal of spring cleaning on your hands. I cleaned and cleaned for days....wiped down every surface and vacumed things I never thought I would vacume. Is it over? YES! Even though my kids keep getting checked at school, everything someone has an itch, they pull my kids out of class before anyone else.

This has opened my eyes to much, and I have much to rant about! But that will be another blog post!

WIPA'S Story - Thailand - Redeemed Series

2010-03-31T08:27:00.000-04:00

March 31st, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

Don’t miss out on the Pearls of Hope pendant/chain giveaway from Women at Risk!

Gillian Ferwerda of Women at Risk, International will be sharing amazing posts with us during the Redeemed series– I pray you will join us and be changed through it!

Wipa’s Story

Thailand

Wipa’s family: a deceased mother, a monk father, one older sister, and a young daughter. When her older sister was diagnosed with cancer, it was Wipa’s job to provide for her family’s food as well as her sister’s treatments. There were no jobs and no source of income in her home town.

She traveled to the city, looking for jobs. She found a job as a waitress but to her horror was soon forced to engage in prostitution. She hated it and despised herself—but compromised, desperate ... (story continues)
READ MORE HERE at Kristi Stephens Website http://www.krististephens.com/2010/03/buried-dreams.html

Making things Pretty - Naam's Story Part of REDEEMED

2010-03-30T12:28:00.000-04:00

Naam’s Story

Naam escaped from sexual slavery and came to the safe house—but she could not escape her past. She hated herself and her life. She believed she was not pretty and that she did not have a pretty life—nothing about her was pretty. Consequently, she cut herself. Yet, she remained at the safe house, holding on to what hope there was for a better life, employed at the safe house, sewing purses and iPod cases.

ESCAPE March 29th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

2010-03-29T12:28:00.000-04:00

Don’t miss out on the Pearls of Hope pendant/chain giveaway from Women at Risk!

Gillian Ferwerda of Women at Risk, International will be sharing amazing posts with us during the Redeemed series– I pray you will join us and be changed through it!

Outreach in Thailand

The safe house staff hit the street for another night of outreach. Walking into the bars, they purchase a drink with the women trapped there, buying time with her.

Time of peace, time with someone who actually listens to her instead of uses her. They tell the woman that there is a safe place for her with job training and education. She can escape to another life with hope and a future. Yet, many are too afraid to leave, trapped by fear and lies.

Traffickers have organized and purposeful techniques to keep their victims physically and mentally chained to beds of horror. Some victims are in debt bondage, demanded to pay back their ticket to the city where they supposedly were to find a good job.
READ MORE OF THE STORY.... http://www.krististephens.com/2010/03/escape.html

SAFE - Chirawan’s Story - More from Kristi Stephens series REDEEMED

2010-03-27T13:33:00.000-04:00

From Change.org
Maria Blume writes about Sex-tations in asia - sick sick stuff going on in this world.
Read her article here = http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/book_your_next_sex_tour_today

MORE FROM Kristi Stephens REDEEMED SERIES

Chirawan’s Story

Thailand

Future—it is a word that Chirawan does not take for granted. She won’t dwell on what could have been—she was brought to the orphanage by a kind relative and rescued from all kinds of potential horror stories.

She knows that many girls from Thailand’s northern hills, where she grew up, are sold into sexual slavery. Now, instead of being brought to the city as a slave, she is going with a promising future. A recent graduate from high school, she is excited to be a full time student at the University!

A safe home

In mountainous northern Thailand, 110 girls, ages 4-23, find a home, a shelter from potential exploitation and trafficking.

READ MORE of the article at http://www.krististephens.com/2010/03/safe.html

Deng’s Story - Thailand - REDEEMED SERIES

2010-03-25T11:41:00.000-04:00

Gillian Ferwerda of Women at Risk, International will be sharing amazing posts with us during the Redeemed series– I pray you will join us and be changed through it!

Deng’s Story

Thailand

Deng had lost it all—her business, her husband, everything. She only had her son left—and a deep debt from a failed business.

She was lost, unable to start a new business, with no other recourse. Desperate to care for her young son, she finally found a job in a bar in a large city in Thailand, which quickly spiraled into exploitation.

Life continued to cascade out of control as she lost hope. She despaired of life and prepared to lose even that by her own hand. A timely phone call from a safe house staff, telling her that God loved her, saved her life.

(READ THE REST AT.... http://www.krististephens.com/2010/03/pawns-of-the-push-and-pull.html )

THANK YOU KRISTI

FOR SHARING THIS WITH US ALL

WAKE UP PEOPLE - What Creeps Around ~ *America"

2010-03-24T16:13:00.000-04:00

What Creeps Around ~ March 24th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens
Slavery does not just happen overseas. Human trafficking creeps around in America—in broad daylight, as “nice” men, “friendly” strangers, and sometimes as parents. It increasingly affects girls from safe, middle class families; although runaway, throwaway, and homeless youth are most at risk.

Melanie

United States

Melanie now knows it’s a common technique used by traffickers at local malls to entice young girls. The man showered compliments on her, flaunted his money, and gave her his undivided attention. They eventually exchanged phone numbers, and Melanie and a friend met up with him and some of his buddies. Continued ... http://www.krististephens.com/2010/03/what-creeps-around.html

READ MORE BECAUSE THE STATS WILL WAKE YOU UP!

TRUTHFUL TUESDAY - REDEEMED

2010-03-23T17:10:00.000-04:00

LETS WAKE UP PEOPLE - PLEASE READ THIS POST on Kristi Stephen's Blog part of Ellie’s Story ~ Thailand by Gillian Ferwerda of Women at Risk, International

"..... Child Trafficking ~ Baby trafficking is the newest face of trafficking. Younger and younger children are being trafficked, robbing the cradle, as well as the joy and wonder of childhood. Today, the global age of entry into forced prostitution is 12. Infants are sold for organs or worse, and young, young girls are imprisoned in the dark hallways of the red light district. There is a myth that the younger the girl, the less likely it is that the buyer will get AIDS.[1]

Consider: 75,000 Filipino children were on the streets in 1998, forced into prostitution according to one report. 3,266 Filipino children become victims of exploitation each year.[2]

1.2 million children are trafficked internationally each year; as many as 2 million children are currently subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade.[3]"

......TO READ MORE PLEASE CLICK HERE as this article is continued at http://www.krististephens.com/2010/03/becoming-the-beloved.html

Monday Guest Post - EMPTY PROMISES

2010-03-22T08:12:00.000-04:00

March 22nd, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

Gillian Ferwerda of Women at Risk, International will be sharing amazing posts with us during the Redeemed series – I pray you will join us and be changed through it!

Aapti’s Story

Nepal : Aapti grew up in a small Nepali village. Life was hard, but they managed. She helped her mother make alu roti, the Nepalese bread and fetch water from the well.

She knew her family was poor, but then the drought struck. There were days when they had nothing to eat… She remembers the hollow of her stomach echoed the hollow in her mother’s eyes. Her baby brother was always crying, but then he became too weak to cry.

A woman came to their village, richly dressed in a yellow sari. She was the only colorful thing in their wind-blown village.

She told Aapti that she was beautiful, and Aapti blushed. She said that Aapti could find a job in a city, taking care of a rich person’s children. Then she could send money back home. “And my baby brother would not die?” Yes, her baby brother would not die. Aapti could even buy a colorful sari like hers, the woman said.

Also to read about our family Hike this past weekend http://jennymac1974.blogspot.com/2010/03/east-coast-greenway-andover-ct.html

I'm A Hot Mom are you? Week Three

2010-03-20T01:00:00.001-04:00

I vow to take my mom time everyday so I can take care of myself and become a better me — for myself, and my love ones.

Alright this week I am not as hot as I wanna be - I have been sick, the kids sick, and in general UGh!

But my week ended with a nice treat in the mail - MY "MAJOR AWARD" and no it was not a leg lamp!!

But I did win a great tee shirt from

http://www.imahotmom.com/

and http://www.flauntfiercely.com/

Two really great web sites. Not only did I win but I got a really nice end to my week, comon who does not like to get packages in the mail?

Yes this is me!!? Notice the laundry in the background??????

I love my shirt and will take photos of my in it where ever we travel!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

So this week do something for you because you are a hot mom!

FOCUS ON FRIDAY - IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE

2010-03-19T11:59:00.001-04:00

We all make list of what is important to do today - but do we ever sit down and write a list of the important things in life?

I was thinking on the way to work, of all the things I need to get done today at work, and do when i get home from work, someof those things I need to do between work and home, too many lists over lapping for me. So I started to really think about the big list and what was really important to accomplish before I pass away. Morbid sure, but think of all the things we could do with and teach our children before we die.

Here are three main ones I want my boys to learn from me:

1. Always respect your family (be it your brother, mother, wife or your own children) Respect them they way you want respect for yourself.

2. Learn to read the Bible. Something I did not learn early enough, but I am trying now.

3. Self Love not Self Loathing. It will get you far and further then anything else.

What would you tell your children? What do you want to accomplish before you can't?

Also another post by Kristi Stephens on her series check it out because it is important to know what is really going on in the world:

http://www.krististephens.com/2010/03/gods-tools-accomplishing-gods-work.html

THINKING THURSDAY #2 GUEST POST - Kristi Stephens

2010-03-18T14:12:00.001-04:00

-Kristi Stephens from http://www.krististephens.com will be jumping in on my blog for a few weeks and she will be bringing some stories, facts and testimony on a very unknown topic - read below for her introduction and please visit her site often during the next few weeks - Thank You for visiting my blog and THANK YOU Kristi for bringing this to all of us.

I have an odd defense mechanism with things that make me uncomfortable - I go to sleep!

When on long car trips through the mountains with no exits in sight, or stuck in a traffic jam in a tunnel, and we start to run low on gas, I lean my seat back and sleep (when NP is driving, of course!) I figure that if we are going to run out of gas, it will happen whether I am awake and anxious or asleep and blissfully unaware - most likely we'll be fine, so I might as well avoid the stress and sleep!

There are a lot of horrifying and evil things in this world that I would rather not think about. I find myself metaphorically sleeping in my seat to avoid anxiety.

Human trafficking is one of those issues I would rather not think about.

Chew on these stats - read them out loud if it will help them sink in.

100,000 girls, ages 9-19, are trafficked in commercial sexual exploitation in the U.S.
3,000 children are forced into commercial sexual exploitation at any given time, just in San Francisco.
1.2 million children are trafficked internationally each year
As many as 4 million women and girls are bought and sold worldwide every year.

Horrifying.

I'm guessing most of us are like me - we'd rather close our eyes, stay blissfully unaware. We figure it's going to happen whether we know about it or not, so we might as well ignore it.

It's time to wake up, friends. There are things we can do.

The more I learn about human trafficking, the more it vividly illustrates for me my state as a former slave, redeemed from the bondage of sin. Christ paid the price with His own blood to redeem my life from the pit - the least I can do in return is to tell others about the freedom available through my Savior. And as a former slave, redeemed by a God who loves justice and mercy, I feel compelled to do all I can to secure freedom for the millions of physical slaves in this sin-marred world.

I humbly ask you to join me on this journey. For the next two weeks- the weeks before we commemorate the blood-price paid for our freedom - it is my honor to host Gillian Ferdwerda from Women at Risk, International here on KristiStephens.com. Gillian will be sharing amazing stories, horrifying statistics... and hope. Women at Risk, also known as WAR, is on the front lines - helping to find, rescue, love women and children who have been sold, abused, betrayed, forgotten. There are so many ways we can help.

So please be sure to read this amazing series. Visit Women at Risk, International's website. Learn all you can about trafficking. Tell your friends. Post links on facebook, twitter, or your blog. Please help spread the word - wake us from our slumber.

If you are a blogger and would like to help, please grab this button for your blog - the more who hear, the better.

Code:

Let's proclaim freedom for the captives in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

PLEASE CONSIDER

Any support you can give through the 2-week series - linking from twitter, facebook, your blog, etc.

If you have personal experience dealing with the issue of human trafficking or if you simply want to share what you're learning/ thinking about, it would be awesome if you posted "response" posts on your blogs - I would love to link them to the main page of the redeemed series!

PRAYER. There have already been some things that have caused me to think that this series is really going to be spiritual warfare. Please pray for God's name to be glorified, for God's people to be moved to action, and that some might even understand the nature of our slavery to sin and the freedom offered in Christ for the first time.

Thinking Thurday Change?

2010-03-18T01:00:00.001-04:00

Once had someone tell me to be happy with others in your life you must be happy with your self first! Obvious right? Well with the way the world rolls these days it has become increasingly hard for people to stay happy with themselves! Between media influences and other parts of our society, our selves have gotten more self aware.

So how do we stay focused on being US if our society wants us to be someone else? It is not easy to do and even harder to teach our selves to focus on being "me". To be you YOU must change! WHAT? ? Change the way you think about yourself this is so important!

Over the past few weeks I have been considering the changes I need to make in myself to become a better person. By striving to be a better person, changes will happen both in me and in those around me. So how do I do this? Well I need to change what I think about myself and others, I need to be more open about how others are acting toward me or toward others. I need to be more aware of what is going on in my world as well as the world of others around me. To be a better person I need to be a better listener and less of a talker. There needs to be changes made to MAKE Changes in my life.

If I change things I do not like about myself, then I can be happier with myself and there for spread the joy of my self happiness. We always try to teach our children to treat others the way you want to be treated, and the same goes for adults, we need to make a change in the way we act toward others before we can expect changes in others. So my goal this week is to make changes in myself before expecting others to be a certain way.