quiet in the morning

Well, I am awake and everyone else is still sleeping. I got up, put the dog out, did my prescriptions, put a load of blankets in the washer, and my devotions. All my pets fell back to sleep after playing a little bit after I got up. This house is so quiet, that I actually enjoy it. Pretty soon, Cameron will be getting up to go to work, Devin will be getting up to start school, and the familiar noises will be around again.

I enjoy this time that I'm surprised that I don't do it more often. Sometimes its just too hard to get out of bed.

It has been a while

I know that it has been a while since I wrote last. I have had to get the school year started early so that we could finish early so Devin can enjoy some time before going to the Army. We are on our second week.

We are doing fine. Cameron has been painting windows. I'm still spring cleaning the house. Well, you could call it summer cleaning now. Our pets are fine. Devin, well Devin has been enjoying facebook just a little much. I'm doing fine.

This is a little personal, but I am suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. It is not fun. It hits at the most inconvenient moment. I have had to leave church early once because of it. There is a medication that tries to control it, but mostly it is by watching what I eat. I can't eat spicy or stuff like that. I wanted to share that for prayer and to let you know if you see me leave church early that is why.

vacation

We are on vacation be back next Sunday

Today was a busy day

Today was busy. First we had Devin's evaluation with Melissa McCracken, which he is now a senior in high school. Then I had a doctor's appointment, which he took me off my diabetic medicine to once a day and I am now on prilosec (prescription). Then we had shopping to do for our vacation, which starts on Sunday (2 days).

I am home

Thursday night I went into the emergency room and they kept me overnight. I had chest pains and stomach problems, and they couldn't get my stomach to calm down. I came home Friday afternoon. My parents brought me home. I have been using the last two days to recuperate.

happy anniversary, Cameron

I know this is a day late, but happy 11th anniversary

a few days

I know that it has been a few days, but we are trying to end the school year here. Right now Cameron and Devin are changing our gas tank. We have had a leak and have only been able to put a few dollars in it at a time. Well, we finally got a new one, and they are replacing it.

I wanted to share something. The reason I have not been bloggin is that I have let myself listen to lies and I have allowed them to bring me down. I have let a few days where I did not read my Bible and it lead to a few more days, which led to the lie that God was not pleased with me, so I continued to not read my Bible. On Sunday a few prophetic messages touched me and our intern pastor Stephen Altrogge spoke on reading the Bible and I have confessed this issue and I am not feeling so down about it. I have gotten back into reading my Bible.

Catching Up

I'm back. Sorry that it has been so long. I'll try to keep this brief, but there is so much I want to share. First, I went to my sleep disorders appointment on Wednesday, which keeps track of my sleep apnea, and I found out that I lost 17 lbs. I was so excited that I think the PA and I jumped around for a while. Second, I'm entering a new season in my life. Devin is enlisting in the U.S. Army tomorrow. He is staying over night in Pittsburgh on an Air Force Base and then tomorrow will go to the Federal Building. He is excited. He has gone through a lot these past few weeks. With all the paperwork then on Wednesday he had his physical. I know that I can cling to God on this situation. It's not him being in the Army that I'm concerned about, it's more of the empty nest. My little boy is growing up.

Also, tigger our little kitten is growing. We have been enjoying the spring though. We are getting my flower bed and garden ready. Wednesday we bought our tomatoe and pepper plants.

I also wanted to say that my e-mail is down for a little bit. I will continue to use comcast's web site to check my mail, so if I don't respond to anyone quickly, please understand.

HAPPY 17TH DEVIN

Today is Devin's 17th birthday. I can remember everything about this day like it was today.

enjoying the weather

Well, my husband has had the last three days off. The first he spent mostly in bed because of the flu, the rest well let's just say that we are anxiously waiting to plant. We had to go to Lowe's and stuff to get the things we needed, but he spent most of the day yesterday taking the storm windows down.

Today we spent time getting my flower bed ready. We are planning a small garden. We all love fresh vegetables so we hope that things grow well for us.

the flu

Well, the flu has made it to our house. Devin had it first Wednesday night until Thursday afternoon, I had it all day Saturday, and now Cameron has it. Please pray that we do not keep passing it around.

spring=flowers, gardens, and cleaning

Well everyone, spring is here. It looks like more than the calendar says so. With spring means spring cleaning. I started yesterday. I am trying to do the easier rooms first because the other rooms such as my kitchen will take a few days to do. We, Devin helped, did our steps and upstairs hallway. Like cleaning the walls, and shampooing the carpet. Unfortunately, I am unable to do to much today.

We took our mommy cat to get fixed this morning. She is home and has to rest. So we had to put her in a room to be separated from everyone else, including her babies. We were told to give her rest for two days. Everyone else will be taken care of in May.

We are also starting to plan our vacations. Hope everyone is enjoying spring.

Happy Easter

Hi Everyone:

I just wanted to say on this snowy day before Easter that I wish everyone a very happy Easter. We will be spending the day with both of our parents tomorrow, so I probably wouldn't have a change to blog.

First day of spring

Well, this is the first day of spring. Devin and I worked in the yard, like raking leaves and things like that. We are trying to get ready and patiently waiting to spring like activities, like plant flower bed, and garden, and mowing.

A Little News

Well, our kitties are growing. They are walking all over the house. It's weird that we have to watch where we walk. We are adopting one. It is the orange Tiger. We named it "Tigger". It is so cute. Well, they are all cute. They will be 4 weeks old tomorrow, so we will be looking for homes for them in about two weeks. We will be having Angel fixed at the end of the month so Kim this will be the last batch.

Now a little news about me. Some of you may know that I am now a diabetic. It runs in the family on both sides that I knew that getting it was pretty much the status quo. I trust in God and know that I am walking with him in this. I saw the heart doctor yesterday. She said that everything heart related look good, but with all the problems that I have been having lately, it seems that my congestive heart failure is progressing. If you read this, keep me in your prayers, please.

Trust in God

Today is one of those days that I have to look back on a remembrance stone and remember what happened 19 years ago. It doesn't seem that long. When I remember it, it is as if I'm there. I was 19 years old, pregnant for the first time. I was living with a boyfriend at the time, and I got pregnant January 1989. On March 12, 1989, I miscarried. It was the scariest time in the world for me, and the most upsetting. My grandmother told me at the time that God had a plan for this. At that time I wasn't a believer, and I didn't understand.

Today, it is different. God does have a plan, and I trust in that plan. Two years later, I had Devin. I also raised Devin on my own for 6 years, so God knew what was down the road. Now, I know that I was too young, would I have gone the road God knew that I was going to cry out to him. My life would have been different if I were to have a child then.

So, I look at today differently, and I go about it differently. I Trust in God.

contentment

Well, the last few weeks the teaching has been on contentment. Or maybe that is what I am struggling with that is what becomes the focus. I am sorry to say this, but there are days where I am not content. I think to myself that I remember the days of working and how I was out with people everyday. I was out of the house for eight hours, and then I wanted to go home. I enjoyed coming home.

Now, I am a stay-at-home mom and I want to get out of the house. Yes, I think that doing laundry and housework are menial and boring. I mean, how hard is it to clean a toilet. I have a degree.

Oh, how selfish I am. God put me in this position. He knows what is better for me than I do. He knows what is further down the road than I do. If I am not content in my life, then I am saying that God does not know what is good for me. I have to continually talk to myself and say that not only am I serving my husband and son, and showing Devin what to look for in a wife, but I am serving in the Lord. Not just serving, but joyfully serving.

Happy Birthday to me

Well, today is my 39th birthday. How do I feel about that? Well, I don't know. I don't feel 39. My husband and son keep me feeling young. I guess I could see it as gathering wisdom.

I can't believe I made it this far. You know when your eightteen and you think 30 is old, and then you face your 39th. Well, I did it. Did I ever see myself where I am now. No. I never thought that I would be happy to be a wife, a mother, a stay-at-home mom. When I was younger, I didn't want marriage or children. Its funny how God plays a role in your life.

I used to say that I would go back and change some things, but ther is a song by Rascal Flatts and Selah also sings it now, "God Bless the Broken Road that lead me straight to you." With everything that I did and went through, I can see how God used it.

Another snowy day

Hi: What to do on a snowy day:

1. shovel sidewalks and driveway 3 times (thanks Devin)
2. drink hot chocolate
3. get caught up on a book
4. read the Bible
5. take a nap
6. get caught up on bookkeeping
7. watch a movie
8. eat popcorn
9. do devotions
10. call a friend

a day at the fry's

Hi Everyone:

Just wanted to let you know that we had four kittens born yesterday. 2/15/08.

It's been a while

I know that it has been a while since I posted, but I think I got overwhelmed with putting Christmas away and getting back to school, and everything, I think that it wore me out mentally.

Friday classes have started up again. Devin is taking Bible Doctrine part ii, and statitsics. He really enjoys both of them.

We have been sick this past week, and we are just now getting back to being ourselves.

I will be posting more later

annual risk day

Well, yesterday was "annual risk day" at the McCracken's. This is our fourth year. The boys wanted to play a day of risk, so every Christmas break from Friday classes we pick a Friday and get together. We have a lot of laughs, have some of the great food that Melissa prepares, maybe do a haircut, and then settle down to strategize. I am not good at the game. Our world leaders have been: Melissa for the first two years, Devin, and this year's world leader is Levi.

Also, yesterday I received my Dallas Cowboys jerseys. Yes, I will be wearing them to church.

Happy, Blessed New Year

I am so sorry that it has been a few days for me to post on the blog. Believe me I wanted to, but with the business of the holidays and the new year, I was either too tired or too busy. That I apologize for. I am not one for New Year's Resolutions. In the past, I have never stuck to them. They were just something I wrote down, and I either lost it, forgot where I put it, or just threw it away the first time I failed.



I am thankful that God is forgiving when I fail. I am thankful for the work that Jesus did on the cross.



This year I have a plan to do something good this year. Other than planning to read my Bible, and pray, and evangelize more, I am planning to be more kind to my husband. What? I have to plan to do that. Yes. I will explain. My friend, Jen, wrote on her blog about kindness to her husband. It really made me think and pray about it. What can I do to be kind to my husband. Some I have directly asked him. Others, I have used a website to find out. Some of you know that I get a daily e-mail from the generous wife. This is a Christian web site that gives you daily ideas on how to be kind to your husband. Yes, there is a generous husband. One day in her e-mail she wrote about keeping a journal and writing down everyday what it is that your thankful for your husband for. I am doing this this year, and I am planning to give it to him for Christmas. So far, it has been easy. Cameron does so much for me that it is easy to be thankful for. I know that there will be days where I will have to pray about it. There will be days where I will be selfish or prideful, and I won't know what I am thankful for.



There is something else. I am planning to create a binder.

Household BinderLori <><

back to article pageI love organizing things and binders just work well for me, so the idea of a household binder is right up my alley. If you are not a binder person, not to worry, because the idea behind this is just to gather household information in one place so that you don't need to go on a search everytime you need a bit of info. I have friends who use files and others who keep that info on their computers. Experiment to find what works for you.

Here are some ideas for sections in a household binder.

WORK SECTIONS:

Calendar: this helps me keep track of all the goings on of my family and friends. I write in birthdays (with the birth year for kids so that I can figure out how old they are).

Important Things: This is a planning area where I write down the different things that are important to me. I make sure that these things show up when I am planning my time.

Ordinary things like housework show up there, but so do different projects and areas of interest. I review and revamp this from time to time so that I am investing in the things that are really important to me. Housework: At times it has been helpful for me to create a schedule for doing housework. At this season in my life, I have a morning and evening mini cleanup routine and then work through the house doing a heavier cleaning as I have time.

Project Sheets: I write down the steps of any project that I am working on and then work through the steps. If I wander and need to get back to a project I have an easier time of getting back to it and breaking the project down into little steps makes it possible to work through a project even during busy times.

Holiday Section: I keep notes on things that work well. I might put in a picture of a Christmas decoration that I like or I might jot down an idea or two.Meal Planning Section: I hate it when I'm halfway through the afternoon and I don't have a clue what's for dinner. Planning ahead saves my sanity and helps with the budget.

INFORMATION SECTIONS: Emergency Info: In the craziness of an emergency it's nice to have numbers at your fingertips. Keep numbers of people you might want to contact here too (family friends, pastor, etc.). If you have a babysitter, you could create a page of contact info for him/her as well.Family Info: school schedules, a copy of shot records, etc. ~ any info that you need to regularly access on behalf of your family.Contact info for utilities, bills, etc. Basically when I need to contact someone I want it to be easy. If I don't have what I need in my binder, I add the info so that I don't have the struggle the next time around. My only caution on this section is not to write down account numbers or passwords (you don't want info here that could be used by someone else to access your accounts).

Your own "yellow pages." I keep the phone numbers and business hours of the stores we frequent. There are sheets for binders that hold business cards ~ another quick way to get the info into your binder. Punch holes in the take out sheets of your favorite restaurants to add to this section.Section for info on people (this is great for gift ideas, what sizes do they wear, likes and dislikes, etc.) It's also not a bad idea to write down what you have given them for gifts, so you don't duplicate.Receipts: slip your receipts in a pocket so that returns are easier.I tend to use my binder for planning and for information that I need at my fingertips. Basically you want to create something that works for you and that will be unique to you. As you have any kind of difficulty (being disorganized in an area, struggling to find info, etc.) ask yourself how you can create a section in your binder to reduce the difficulty next time.I keep my binder at my computer desk, but often I curl up somewhere with it to do a little planning.back to article page
Copyright © 2007 Lori J. ByerlyAll Rights Reservedhttp://www.the-generous-wife.com

I hope that this may help you. I know that it will help me.