Somebody Said

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby. Somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, "normal" is history. Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct. Somebody never took a three-year-old shopping. Somebody said being a mother is boring. Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit. Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your child will "turn out good." Somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee. Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices. Somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor's kitchen window. Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother. Somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math. Somebody said you can't love the second child as much as you love the first. Somebody doesn't have two children. Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child rearing questions in the books. Somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears. Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery. Somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the first day of Kindergarten or on a plane headed for military "boot camp." Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back. Somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell cookies. Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married. Somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings. Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home. Somebody never had grandchildren. Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her. Somebody isn't a mother. --Unknown And here is one of my own. Somebody said their kids would never be as bad as mine. Well somebody must not have any kids of their own yet!

Miracle on Easter

More to praise our Savior for. During church on Sunday morning I looked down at my hand and saw the diamond was missing from my engagement ring. I knew I had had it at church because it had bee slidding around and I thought "I need to get these things soldered". Well, I continued taking notes and yes, I did listen to the rest of the sermon. But as soon as the invitation began all I could think about was all the places I had been in our huge building. I left right away to look in the bathroom and dig through the paper towels in the trash. I was about to go to our Sunday school room when Matthew told me my Dad thought he had found the diamond. And sure enough, there it was. THANK YOU LORD! I was reminded of the woman in Luke who lost the coin and lit the lamp and swept to find it. I have heard before that it may have been like their wedding ornament-coins on a chain. (Which reminds me of those things belly dancers wear on their forehead! tee hee!) Anyway this verse is exactly how I feel:

Luke 15:9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus

I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus, since I've found in him a friend so strong and true. I would tell you how he's changed my life completely, He's done something that no other friend could do.
No one ever cared for me like Jesus, there's no other friend so kind as He. No one else could take this sin and darkness form me, O how much he cares for me.


Recently I have had impressed upon my heart how important to our spiritual well being the hymns we sing are. Around Christmas time our pastor asked us to pretend that we were in an underground church that had limited printing abilities. He encouraged us to choose one or two hymns and to really think about why those songs are important enough to preserve and how they would encourage an oppressed body. The next Wednesday evening was like a testimony time only each person would talk about the hymn they chose and why. There were very few dry eyes in the auditorium that night. It seems to me that our hardened hearts are often softened and pierced by the words that hymn writers have written sometimes hundreds of years ago.
If you have been keeping up with Ellie's condition on Sarah's blog you have seen many instances when the Lord has used hymns and praise songs to encourage Sarah and calm Ellie. I myself am so blessed when I sit down at the piano and begin to just flip pages and play. Often I am so overwhelmed by God's grace and love, that I have to stop playing and get a tissue to "wipe my weeping eyes".
As a teacher I have begun to notice that a lot of Christian young people are not familiar with many, many of the songs that I can sing form memory. I have also found though, that when we teach these same songs to them so that the words are familiar, they become favorites for the children as well. So I guess my thought for to day is... SING those hymns for your self as well as those around you. TEACH the hymns to your children or those you work with, and ENJOY the hymns as they draw you closer to your Savior in worship.

Sleep With the Sharks

The Diver Feeding the Rays

I just came back form the Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg, Tennessee where Matt's class did an overnight field trip. It was really neat. We got to see a diver feed the sting rays, dissect a squid, do a scavenger hunt and sleep on the floor in the tunnel with the shark tank overhead. The sleeping part was a bit rough as the girls would NOT SHUT UP! We went to bed at 12-12:30 but they kept talking pretty late, and with the floor being hard it was a bit tough to sleep. When I finally did get to sleep I did sleep quite well. Well, one time a loud snore from a neighbor woke me up! =) All in all it is a great experience. I was amazed at the expert design that God used when creating these ocean animals. How anyone can study nature and deny God is a mystery to me. He is truly awesome.

In the Mars exhibit.

Matty and Mommy (of course I'm saying something!)