I first heard this song three years ago at our ladies' retreat.
For the last three years, the theme has revolved around "Captivating" which you will find referenced at the top of my left sidebar.
It is rare that I can listen to this song without crying.
I also love to listen to it pretty loudly in the car. It makes me feel better about my singing and also lends to the powerfulness of the song.
I have even introduced it to my kids and they love it too.
Last week, I also introduced it to the ladies' in our new bible study, "Esther- It's Tough Being A Woman.". I was a little nervous about that one, but I was told it went over well. But that is another story.
I put the lyrics below and changed some of the capitalization to make sure it indicates what it means to me. I know the song has been used for other things, but this is how I know it.
It is song #28 on my play list if you want to hear it as you read along. I encourage you to turn up and enjoy! It is pretty powerful if you let be.
I also have a link to YouTube if you need that as well.
After my last semi-rant post, I guess I just needed to reassure myself (and maybe anyone else too) that I really do know and understand what is most important.
Enjoy!
Stacey
Everything
by Lifehouse
Find me here
Speak to me
I want to feel You
I need to hear You
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place
Where I find peace
Again.
You are the strength,
that keeps me walking.
You are the hope,
that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose...You're everything.
How can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would You tell me how could it be any better than this?
You calm the storms,
and You give me rest.
You hold me in your hands,
You won't let me fall.
You steal my heart,
and You take my breath away.
Would You take me in?
Take me deeper now?
How can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would You tell me how could it be any better than this?
And how can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would You tell me how could it be any better than this?
Cause You're all I want,
You're all I need
You're everything, everything
You're all I want
You're all I need
You're everything, everything.
You're all I want
You're all I need.
You're everything, everything
You're all I want
You're all I need,
You're everything, everything
And how can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would You tell me how could it be any better than this?
How can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would You tell me how could it be any better than this?
How can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would You tell me how could it be any better than this
Would You tell me how could it be any better than this
Everything
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Can you stand anymore of my opinion?!
Welcome.
To the USA.
United Socialist America.
Most everything else I want to say is not suitable for print as my thoughts currently stand.
Except this.
The message of "hope" has quickly been revealed as the true message that it is and always was.
The message of envy.
A message that encourages the thinking of....
You have it and I want it.
Well, guess what?!
I worked for it and you probably don't deserve it.
Despite what you are being brainwashed to believe.
And just mentioning this doesn't even break the surface of all the other horrible socialist policies that are in the works.
I pray that we can end all this madness in 4 years.
Stacey
p.s. Natalie over at Politics4Moms does a much better job than me at articulating this insanity. In case I forgot to mention this, during the year leading up to the election, she never made it evident where she stood on all the issues. She did a beautiful job of being neutral in her presentation of all the politic information she could offer as a way for us to better educate ourselves. Now that all that is over, she has made it clear where she stands on things. PTL!
To the USA.
United Socialist America.
Most everything else I want to say is not suitable for print as my thoughts currently stand.
Except this.
The message of "hope" has quickly been revealed as the true message that it is and always was.
The message of envy.
A message that encourages the thinking of....
You have it and I want it.
Well, guess what?!
I worked for it and you probably don't deserve it.
Despite what you are being brainwashed to believe.
And just mentioning this doesn't even break the surface of all the other horrible socialist policies that are in the works.
I pray that we can end all this madness in 4 years.
Stacey
p.s. Natalie over at Politics4Moms does a much better job than me at articulating this insanity. In case I forgot to mention this, during the year leading up to the election, she never made it evident where she stood on all the issues. She did a beautiful job of being neutral in her presentation of all the politic information she could offer as a way for us to better educate ourselves. Now that all that is over, she has made it clear where she stands on things. PTL!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Pregnancy PSA
Ladies.
Do your Kegels!
I have been a poor student of Kegels over the years.
And now with pregnancy #3, there are simply days I think it is just in my best interest to be already sitting on the porcelain goddess prior to sneezing, coughing, or blowing my nose.
I will spare you the details!
Also, over the years as an Occupational Therapist, I have worked many times in nursing homes. As you can probably imagine, many of those women probably didn't do their Kegels faithfully either.
Isn't being a woman more fun than you can handle some days?!! :)
Just do it!
Stacey
Do your Kegels!
I have been a poor student of Kegels over the years.
And now with pregnancy #3, there are simply days I think it is just in my best interest to be already sitting on the porcelain goddess prior to sneezing, coughing, or blowing my nose.
I will spare you the details!
Also, over the years as an Occupational Therapist, I have worked many times in nursing homes. As you can probably imagine, many of those women probably didn't do their Kegels faithfully either.
Isn't being a woman more fun than you can handle some days?!! :)
Just do it!
Stacey
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
In my opinion
My bloggy friend, Megan over at Sorta Crunchy, just posted a great story about car seats. She included some wonderful links and there is good exchange going on in the comment section regarding car seats.
For what it is worth, here are my 2 cents.
PLEASE PLEASE, if at all possible, leave your children in harnessed car seats as long as possible!
I totally realize that it is not always easy or convenient in terms of space, time it takes to deal with buckling, or cost.
But it is much easier and convenient than the space, time, and cost of the other possible alternative that I don't even want to discuss.
Now I absolutely know that despite our best efforts as parents to keep our children safe that something could happen out of our control. I know that. But I am just saying that why not make sure we have done everything in our control.
Part of me hesitates to give my opinion about this out loud here. Some who read this may very well have their children in booster seats. And feel that this is their best choice for their family. I fear of insulting someone by possibly implying that they are not a good parent if that is their choice. I don't, I don't, I don't think that! It is dang hard being a parent. So many choices, decisions. We do our best. We ALL do our best!
My daughter is 7 and around 50#. We needed to make a new seating choice for her as I had even let her go too long in her last car seat. Not a safe choice either, but I felt it was safer than the regular seat belt with booster.
So last month, I finally forked over almost $300 for the Britax Frontier. I almost choke just typing it! It was both hard and easy at the same time. I knew that I wanted her in a harness situation for as long as possible and that I wanted her in a more secure seat with a seat belt after that.
My husband asked if our kids would be unbuckling their car seats as we dropped them off at high school.
Maybe!!
For our family, I just feel passionately that booster seats are not the safest way to go. I am pretty much a stickler about them riding in car seats in other people's cars as well.
I know. I am such a pain!
I could go on and talk about all the other crazy things that we have all observed in terms of other children riding unsafely in the car. Riding in the front way too young, no car seat, no seat belt, nothing. I bet we all have stories.
I am not going to talk about everything here. Megan did a great job already. Especially updating us about rear-facing limits! Be sure to head over there for great information!
I will get off my soap box now! :)
And duck in case anyone wants to throw rocks at me!
Stacey
For what it is worth, here are my 2 cents.
PLEASE PLEASE, if at all possible, leave your children in harnessed car seats as long as possible!
I totally realize that it is not always easy or convenient in terms of space, time it takes to deal with buckling, or cost.
But it is much easier and convenient than the space, time, and cost of the other possible alternative that I don't even want to discuss.
Now I absolutely know that despite our best efforts as parents to keep our children safe that something could happen out of our control. I know that. But I am just saying that why not make sure we have done everything in our control.
Part of me hesitates to give my opinion about this out loud here. Some who read this may very well have their children in booster seats. And feel that this is their best choice for their family. I fear of insulting someone by possibly implying that they are not a good parent if that is their choice. I don't, I don't, I don't think that! It is dang hard being a parent. So many choices, decisions. We do our best. We ALL do our best!
My daughter is 7 and around 50#. We needed to make a new seating choice for her as I had even let her go too long in her last car seat. Not a safe choice either, but I felt it was safer than the regular seat belt with booster.
So last month, I finally forked over almost $300 for the Britax Frontier. I almost choke just typing it! It was both hard and easy at the same time. I knew that I wanted her in a harness situation for as long as possible and that I wanted her in a more secure seat with a seat belt after that.
My husband asked if our kids would be unbuckling their car seats as we dropped them off at high school.
Maybe!!
For our family, I just feel passionately that booster seats are not the safest way to go. I am pretty much a stickler about them riding in car seats in other people's cars as well.
I know. I am such a pain!
I could go on and talk about all the other crazy things that we have all observed in terms of other children riding unsafely in the car. Riding in the front way too young, no car seat, no seat belt, nothing. I bet we all have stories.
I am not going to talk about everything here. Megan did a great job already. Especially updating us about rear-facing limits! Be sure to head over there for great information!
I will get off my soap box now! :)
And duck in case anyone wants to throw rocks at me!
Stacey
Friday, February 20, 2009
New to me
The other day, Jennifer was talking about their trip to the Goodwill store. She's been pondering thriftiness with a few of her posts, but I enjoyed this simple one because it reminded me of my own thrift store trips lately.
As you know, I am no stranger to thrift stores. A few examples here and here.
I am sure there are a few more where I talked about it, but it takes too long to find them!
I remember talking about my big Halloween/dress-up costume score at our Goodwill back in October.
I went back again in December because A and I thought it would be fun to look. I can't remember how much I spent exactly, but it was probably around $30. I just remember that A loved getting her "new" clothes and L loved his "new" surprise clothes as well. I think I picked up a few books too.
My husband made fun of me a bit. He wondered if maybe we shouldn't be saving those clothes, etc for the "poor" people. Personally, I think these places that resale stuff is for the "smart" people as well. Don't get me wrong-my kids get LOTS of new stuff during the course of the year and holidays. More than they deserve or need. There are just times that I can't really see paying full or even "sale" price for things like shoes or jeans or whatever if I can get mostly new-looking stuff for them.
Yesterday, while we gave the pharmacy time to fill her prescriptions, we head to the Goodwill again. Honestly, it is not one of my favorite resale shops that I have spent time in. It smells and they don't always have the greatest selections. We ended up with a few coloring books and a book for about $.20 each, some roller skates for $4 that I am going to use for work, a brand new Scrabble Jr. game for $5, and A got a pair of tall black boots for $3 that she LOVES and wore most of the afternoon with her sweatpants! I also SCORED with some new Method products for $2 each-minty shaving cream, minty body wash, and some floral body wash for her. I got two of each product!
Everyone was happy and I think I was a pretty smart shopper.
And I did leave some stuff for the "poor" people. With the way things are these days, that could mean any of us!
Unless that is, you are one of those people whose life is going to be restored by the latest "stimulus" package! {rolling eyes} Ahem!
Stacey
As you know, I am no stranger to thrift stores. A few examples here and here.
I am sure there are a few more where I talked about it, but it takes too long to find them!
I remember talking about my big Halloween/dress-up costume score at our Goodwill back in October.
I went back again in December because A and I thought it would be fun to look. I can't remember how much I spent exactly, but it was probably around $30. I just remember that A loved getting her "new" clothes and L loved his "new" surprise clothes as well. I think I picked up a few books too.
My husband made fun of me a bit. He wondered if maybe we shouldn't be saving those clothes, etc for the "poor" people. Personally, I think these places that resale stuff is for the "smart" people as well. Don't get me wrong-my kids get LOTS of new stuff during the course of the year and holidays. More than they deserve or need. There are just times that I can't really see paying full or even "sale" price for things like shoes or jeans or whatever if I can get mostly new-looking stuff for them.
Yesterday, while we gave the pharmacy time to fill her prescriptions, we head to the Goodwill again. Honestly, it is not one of my favorite resale shops that I have spent time in. It smells and they don't always have the greatest selections. We ended up with a few coloring books and a book for about $.20 each, some roller skates for $4 that I am going to use for work, a brand new Scrabble Jr. game for $5, and A got a pair of tall black boots for $3 that she LOVES and wore most of the afternoon with her sweatpants! I also SCORED with some new Method products for $2 each-minty shaving cream, minty body wash, and some floral body wash for her. I got two of each product!
Everyone was happy and I think I was a pretty smart shopper.
And I did leave some stuff for the "poor" people. With the way things are these days, that could mean any of us!
Unless that is, you are one of those people whose life is going to be restored by the latest "stimulus" package! {rolling eyes} Ahem!
Stacey
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Just one of my finest moments!
As mothers, most of us have experienced those moments!
You know the ones.
The ones where we wonder how we ever got our mother-card before we left the hospital!
Several weeks ago, L had a cold. The basic kind which was probably extended by allergies. And he developed his typical cold sore on his lip. We both get them from time to time. Him with colds. Me with colds or stress. I need to be better about dealing with them before they develop.
A seemed to get a bit congested and had a few days of nose-blowing, but nothing like him.
And then of course, I have been dealing with my crud.
It is much much better, but still crud. I love the shower soothers that were recommended and I went for Zicam as opposed to other meds. Along with my Neti, I am sure things will work themselves out soon.
Around last Friday, my dtr began developing this sore on her nose. At first, it just looked like irritation, then it looked mostly like a cold sore. Then it got UGLY! We do a good job of dealing with her eczema/seasonal allergies, but she has never had a cold sore like me and L. So, I just assumed that in her play with L, she probably picked up on some of his germs. I dealt with it.
Then earlier this week, the nose got really gross and her eye started looking a little yuck. I knew it wasn't pink eye, but figured she had just spread the germs by picking and rubbing.
Yesterday, the nose was looking better, but I just had this funny feeling like maybe I should be checking into it more. I had been reading so many sad stories of little ones dying from things that seemed to start out so innocently. I just needed to be reassured. So, I sent a note with her and told her to go see the school nurse yesterday.
I do not over-react medically and hate dealing with unnecessary doctor appointments. You know the ones, where they say to just wait it out and then ask to be paid! I am much more into the free consultations from the school nurse! :)
Yesterday morning by phone, we kinda concurred the same thing, especially since her nose was looking better.
Then she called me about 1:30, saying A was in her office with a 99 fever. No biggy, but I still had to pick her up. Once home, she took some Tylenol and chilled out. About an hour after being home, I noticed another sore on her face. And another developed last night! We made an appointment for first thing this morning!
Last night, my husband was a bit concerned and said to go look up some things at WebMD. Nothing seemed a great fit UNTIL I happened upon....
Impetigo!
It was a perfect match.
My poor girl had been suffering with this since late last week. She had been reinfecting herself AND she had been around other kids!
I was completely mortified with myself. I hate the idea that I let this go on without even thinking to do a little research. I really did think it was just a bad cold sore, but shocked that I didn't utilize my Internet love a bit earlier. I also really really hate that I allowed her around other kids. I just never want to be one of those moms! I had had daily conversations with her about not touching her sore, hand washing, etc., but still!
We started her oral antibiotic and topical treatments today. We are going to keep her home today and tomorrow just to give the antibiotics a chance to work.
She is disappointed that her friend can't sleepover tomorrow, but we have already planned on next Friday. She is NOT disappointed that she is missing school!
And I am trying to recover from my guilt by eating Thin Mints!
Stacey
You know the ones.
The ones where we wonder how we ever got our mother-card before we left the hospital!
Several weeks ago, L had a cold. The basic kind which was probably extended by allergies. And he developed his typical cold sore on his lip. We both get them from time to time. Him with colds. Me with colds or stress. I need to be better about dealing with them before they develop.
A seemed to get a bit congested and had a few days of nose-blowing, but nothing like him.
And then of course, I have been dealing with my crud.
It is much much better, but still crud. I love the shower soothers that were recommended and I went for Zicam as opposed to other meds. Along with my Neti, I am sure things will work themselves out soon.
Around last Friday, my dtr began developing this sore on her nose. At first, it just looked like irritation, then it looked mostly like a cold sore. Then it got UGLY! We do a good job of dealing with her eczema/seasonal allergies, but she has never had a cold sore like me and L. So, I just assumed that in her play with L, she probably picked up on some of his germs. I dealt with it.
Then earlier this week, the nose got really gross and her eye started looking a little yuck. I knew it wasn't pink eye, but figured she had just spread the germs by picking and rubbing.
Yesterday, the nose was looking better, but I just had this funny feeling like maybe I should be checking into it more. I had been reading so many sad stories of little ones dying from things that seemed to start out so innocently. I just needed to be reassured. So, I sent a note with her and told her to go see the school nurse yesterday.
I do not over-react medically and hate dealing with unnecessary doctor appointments. You know the ones, where they say to just wait it out and then ask to be paid! I am much more into the free consultations from the school nurse! :)
Yesterday morning by phone, we kinda concurred the same thing, especially since her nose was looking better.
Then she called me about 1:30, saying A was in her office with a 99 fever. No biggy, but I still had to pick her up. Once home, she took some Tylenol and chilled out. About an hour after being home, I noticed another sore on her face. And another developed last night! We made an appointment for first thing this morning!
Last night, my husband was a bit concerned and said to go look up some things at WebMD. Nothing seemed a great fit UNTIL I happened upon....
Impetigo!
It was a perfect match.
My poor girl had been suffering with this since late last week. She had been reinfecting herself AND she had been around other kids!
I was completely mortified with myself. I hate the idea that I let this go on without even thinking to do a little research. I really did think it was just a bad cold sore, but shocked that I didn't utilize my Internet love a bit earlier. I also really really hate that I allowed her around other kids. I just never want to be one of those moms! I had had daily conversations with her about not touching her sore, hand washing, etc., but still!
We started her oral antibiotic and topical treatments today. We are going to keep her home today and tomorrow just to give the antibiotics a chance to work.
She is disappointed that her friend can't sleepover tomorrow, but we have already planned on next Friday. She is NOT disappointed that she is missing school!
And I am trying to recover from my guilt by eating Thin Mints!
Stacey
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Notice anything new around here?
I was so giddy about ordering the new addition for my necklace!
And even more giddy knowing that it was going to arrive this week!
Revealing our baby's name makes me even happier than the icing-covered two-bite brownie I just ate!
And it was good!
Over a year ago (I think), I decided to stop using my kid's full names when I write about them. I thought about, but never went back to change all the posts before because it would have been a massive project.
I am not sure what I was afraid of. Long before, I had made sure that I had taken any indication of my last name off my blog.
I guess I was afraid that all my bloggy fame (HA! HA!) might lead the wrong people around and they would see my kid's names.
I haven't fully decided what I am going to do about it. Go back to first names or stick with initials.
But just for now, I thought it would be fun to explain my kids' names.
Anysa Jeanette~ Anysa is pronounced with a short "i" sound as in "sit". I would have to go back and find my list of our other choices because I can't remember right now. He still gives me a hard time because I spelled her name "wrong", but I totally disagree. Yes, you will often see it spelled other ways, but I actually don't think it is that common and I LOVE her name just as it is. Jeanette is in honor of my husband's sister. It was her middle name as well.
Luke Wyatt~ Luke is simply the one we finally agreed upon. I find it funny that of all my other cool boy name choices that we ended up with this one. One more common than any of the others on our list! However, at this point, I can't imagine him with any other name. It is a strong name. It is also short and easy to spell, which I believe our kids will thank us for later on because it will be less name to write on their papers! Wyatt is a name I just really liked, but I didn't want a "W" name as his first name since our last name starts with "W".
Brax Garrett~ There was MUCH discussion about this! My husband will tell you that he has a different and longer name, but I totally say that is not true! He likes this name but doesn't think it will fly as he is a man in the business world. Believe me, we will be dealing with this up to the very minute I sign his name for the birth certificate!! I love it because it is another strong name. I also think it is pretty cool. I mean can't you see him already as a cool baseball player or guitar player! :) As one friend commented, "He is going to be a rock star!" Well, of course, he is already my little rock star! We both agreed that Garrett had a nice sound as a middle name. The funny thing is that I never planned the double "tt" thing with the first two. I don't think I even ever noticed. At least not that I remember! But I planned it on purpose this time and love it!
So, what do you think?!
Kimmy asked me what girl names we were thinking about. I purposely did not plan a girl list until we knew what we were having. I didn't want the stress of worrying about both. My two top choices without doing any research were Harper or Emery. Harper was my husband's grandmother's maiden name and I always liked Emery. I had really thought about Harper Love. No, I am not a hippy! Love was my great-grandmother's maiden name and I thought it would be a neat way to honor them. But really, who knows what direction we would have taken!
I just have to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Jennifer for making my original necklace and helping me add my newest charm! You can find her stuff at Mommy Jewelry.
And look at the sweetest little outfit she sent him!
It is his first official outfit! He will have lots of well-preserved hand-me-downs from big brother, but I love that he has a new outfit to call all his own! Thank you Jennifer! So sweet!
Stacey
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