Faithful Mommy

LBY - Week 5

There have been many times in my life that I was not at peace. Life threw it's punches and I had a black eye. Financial stresses, sick children, etc.it can bring you down. IF.YOU.LET IT. I was not experiencing peace and I guess I didn't even how how to have it. Sure, I was a christian, but, I was not a growing Christian. I was happy enough, just not really at peace (there IS a difference). I wanted more, more, more of the "things" this life offered. I was young okay!

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" . John 14:17

I was taking what the world gives and not accepting what my Lord had already given me. I.WAS.MISSING.OUT.  Wow, to have known then what I know now. I would have fewer stomach ulcers,for sure. I won't tell you that I am never afraid - that I never worry. I do.

I had a mammogram yesterday and when I walked out the door, I almost cried. I told my hubby that I felt like I was going for a death sentence. I know, how odd. It's just a screening mammogram. I have put it off for 'um, several years. I am afraid of what it might reveal! So, as you can see, I am still growing, still learning to trust, still struggling (at times) to accept the total peace that is mine through Christ.

However, I am so far from where I was. The peace I have in knowing that God is in charge is overwhelming - most of the time ( yesterday, I didn't do so good). My hubby and I pray together every night and as we cover our children and grandchildren in prayer, there is a peace that fills my soul.

"The mind of the sinful man is death,but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace". Roman 8:6

Well, ya gotta like that. As long as you are walking in the Spirit!!! If I am walking in the Spirit - I can have peace.

" Christ Jesus gives us His peace through the Holy Spirit. It is a quality of the fruit of the Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit releases the glorious power of His peace" (from the workbook).

I was not walking in the Spirit all those years ago. I now know the joy of walking in the Spirit and of accepting His peace in  my soul. I like this much better. I choose this and hope that the people I love will learn these things much sooner than I did.

I have peace like a river in my soul, I have peace like a river in my soul, in my soul....

Addie	Heather*	Carol
M	Rach	Jeana
Jenn	Amanda	MamaB
GiBee	Boomama	Maria
Blair	Heather	Nancy
Janna	Flipflop	Robin
Sherry	Patricia	Tara
Lauren	HolyMama!	Faith
Christy	Eph2810	Karin
Leann	Rachel	Janice
This is a list of the women participating in the study and the links to their blogs. New postings on the study will be published for the next ten weeks, between Friday 8pm - Saturday 8am. Please feel free to visit each of us and comment. Everyone is welcome to participate in this discussion as we seek to live beyond ourselves. May God bless you richly from the hearing of His word.

I better just say...

...I love my photography studio and my clients! My post yesterday left some thinking it was a terrible job!  Au contraire !!! I was just sharing with y'all some of the, um, interesting things that some parents do and say. Next week, I'll probably post about some of the cute things the kids say (just so y'all can see -it's all good)! We have a great time and I just have to laugh at some of those things the parents say. Yes! It can be true that the child never acts "this" way at home, however if it happens all the time, I get suspicious!

My clients are the best though. They remember my birthday,my children's names, my grandchildren's names,the last time I was sick, etc. However, the more clients you get the more weirdo's freaks offthewall interesting people you get from time to time. I love them all, even the "we're having lunch at your place" people.

I love what I do, and that is a major blessing. I own the place, so I get to call the shots (I like that part,I'm a little bossy). I love creating images that will be around long after I am gone! I love providing something that people treasure. How cool is it, that if their house caught on fire (Heaven forbid) my images would be the first thing they would grab (besides the kids).

Sadly, I have had a few of my little clients pass away. It makes me feel like I've somehow contributed to the memories the family has of that child. I've had Mom's diagnosed with cancer who are trying to catch some images of themselves with their children --"just in case".

Mine is basically a happy job - Mom's smile and/or cry through the slideshow they see of their session. We keep a box of tissues for those happy tears. Okay,sometimes they cry when they hear their total too, but that's a whole different post (called: How I am keeping this purchase from my Hubby).

We get very close with most of our clients (most are repeat) and we pray for them in sickness or need,as they do for us. Most of them are as sweet as can be and the few others - well, what can I say, Bless their little hearts!!

I have two employees that I love and I leave a lot of the non-creative stuff to them, so I can feel free-er to do what I do best. Read:  I am NOT a numbers person. Ask me how much something is and I will refer you to one of the girls, even though the prices were my doing. Go figure! I do not answer the phone, even if I'm sitting right there - just not my thing. The caller will probably ask a numbers question anyway, so why bother!

All of that to say this (my pastor says that all the time), I love what I do,love my peeps,loooooove the little peeps, I just get some good laughs throughout the day from stressed out Mom's who "just want some good (read beautiful) images of their "babies". So, if you see anymore posts like yesterday, just know it's all in fun. Now, I do have a few horror stories, which , if i decide to post about, I will inform you of the "true horror story status".

And! By the way - I.AM.MY.OWN.WORST.CLIENT.

Well, almost. Wait to you read the"truehorrorstories"!!!!!!

P.S. Spellcheck wanted me to change that last "word" to TERRORISTS!!! Okay, it fits!!  LOL!

Thursday Thirteen

                     

               

 

Thirteen Things I hear in my photography studio every week!

1. He/she never acts like this at home.

2. He/she is usually so happy.

3. He/she has a fever of 102, do you think we should reschedule?

4. I took him/her out shopping all day , maybe that's why he/she  looks so tired.

5. I thought for sure this outfit would fit perfectly.

6. Do you think I should have ironed this?

7. I think he/she is teething.

8. If you will just get your picture taken, I'll take you to target.

9. Stop running around - I mean it this time!

10. Please let go of your sister!

11. You don't mind if I bring in our lunch from McDonald's do you? I'll just let all 4 of them eat their lunch while I look at the previews.

12. Stop spilling your mcnugget sauce all over Mrs. Faith's studio.

13. Really, they never act like this!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday.  Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged!  If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments.  It’s easy, and fun!  Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well!  I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

It Works For Me!

Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer has a new little deal she started last week. It is called "Works-For-Me-Wednesday". Here is the description in her own words :

"You know how it is--we all have come up with dozens of little shortcuts or ideas around our homes to make managing our lives easier.  Maybe you came up with such an idea yourself in a moment of desperation, or you learned it from your mom or another friend...it doesn't matter how it came about.  What matters it that your life runs the tiniest bit more smoothly because of your clever idea."

I don't feel like I have any GREAT ideas.  I'll give you what I've got though.

I make up a ginormous amount of waffle batter and then make the waffles in my handy dandy waffle iron. It makes six at a time. Then I take small pieces of foil to separate the waffles and put them in freezer bags.  Then  I (you guessed it) put them in the freezer. You can take out one at a time and place in your toaster and voila you have homemade waffles in an instant.

I know what you're thinking. Why not just BUY frozen waffles to begin with? Well, I think mine taste better and it makes me feel like I'm doing something for my family. We put strawberries and/or blueberries on them along with syrup and a little dash of whipped topping. It is so pretty.

Oh, and we re-use the foil and the freezer bags for the next go'round.
It works for me!

Please hop over to Shannon's blog for other Works-for-me Wednesday posts!

Tuesday Treasure

Todays Treasure will just get prettier and prettier as the weeks go by, but I couldn't wait any longer to share it. These beautiful red roses are blooming in my garden at the studio. What makes them a treasure? So kind of you to ask! This rose bush came from a cutting off of one of my Daddy's climbing roses. My Mother gave me the cutting a short time after my Daddy passed away. It has grown like wildfire and has very prolific blooms. These buds are all over it, probably at least a hundred of them. I haven't done anything to it, other than plant it. I don't mess with it, for fear that I will ruin a good thing.

My Daddy passed away as I was moving into my commercial location ( I worked from a home studio before), so he never saw it. He never saw my studio name on the awning above the door, never saw my website, never saw that much of my work. I guess that is why I planted the rose bush at the studio instead of at my home, to just have a little bit of him there.  My love of photography was born from his own love of it and his willingness to allow me to explore and pursue it during my childhood.

It seems right to have the roses blooming and growing in the garden where I do all of my outdoor sessions. Where little girls in beautiful dresses  twirl around and  flitter around the flowers like little princesses and little boys in denim look for lizards and bugs. This garden is a special little place, hidden from the rest of the world, where boys and girls beg "to stay just a little longer". What a great place for these roses to be. Is it any wonder why that rose bush is so happy where it is?!

Let me know if you post a treasure and I will link you here ( or you can leave a trackback in the comment section).

1. eph2810

2. Debi

3. Kate

4. Mom Nancy

5. Sheri

6. Kim from Hiraeth

7. Leah

8. Chronicles of Mommyhood

9. Carol

10. Cheerio Butt

Your next!

I am from

I am from green grass and pine trees and hundred year old Oaks, from homemade biscuits and fresh sweet tea, from the strong scent of Vicks Vapor Rub and my mother rubbing it on my chest when I was sick.

I am from the brick house that my Mother and I convinced my Daddy to buy, where the thermostat was never touched and the belt hung on the refrigerator door (just as a reminder).

From the wonderful, outdoor smell of cedar when I opened up my Mother's cedar chest to rummage through her childhood memories and the pungent smell of tobacco as I dusted my Daddy's old pipes.

I am from the yard that had a vegetable garden out back and beautiful red roses that my daddy grew. Fresh cut grass that you could smell for days and pecans that needed to be picked up from the ground.

I am from Hydrangeas in my Great-grandmother's yard and climbing the apple tree next to her house, the screened front porch where her lady friends came to visit and talk about how cute my brother and I were.

I am from watching "Rudolph", "Frosty" and "Charlie Brown" every year at Christmas with my footy pajama's on. I am from Shirley and Earl and Evelyn and the sister of Joey.

I am from The Beauty Shop that my Granny owned and the money drawer where I got the 15 cents to get a coke from the coke machine (over and over).

I am from Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and stuffed animals that slept with me every night.

I am from First Baptist Church with it's big steps to the front door, church bells ringing on the hour and Vacation Bible School every summer.

I am from singing "Jesus Loves Me", "Jesus Loves The Little Children" and "Do Lord" and accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and Baptism in lukewarm water while holding my nose tight.

I am from Alabama and middle class living, peas and butter beans fresh from the garden and the best tomatoes in the world. I am from shelling peas and beans all summer long and "putting them up" for the winter.

From the years without my Daddy, because he was in Vietnam and learning to change our daily schedule and eating habits when he got home (no spaghetti,casseroles or macaroni and cheese),then the homemade ice cream (even though I had to crank it manually) and the best grilled hamburgers in the world, because he was an excellent cook.

I am from a tape recorder that we put on our table at night , so we could "talk" to our Daddy and then another time," listen" to his message back to us from so far away and sometimes just to hear the sound of his voice so we didn't forget it.

I am from " Reel to Reel" movie projectors that house our family history and Kodak Instamatic's with little flash tubes on top. From the slide film that my daddy loved to use and sitting for hours alone in my room looking through them on the slide carousel.

I am from Polaroid cameras and waiting until it was "ready" before you pulled it apart to see the image and from a history of people who loved photography and catching life on film as much as I do now.

This idea came to me from Mary at Owlhaven. You can find the cheat sheet  guidelines to write your own at Fragments of Floyd. I changed mine a little and I could write all day, so many memories are spilling over in my mind. It was amazing to me how the sights, smells and memories came flooding forth as I began to write this. I am a very sentimental person, so this was right up my alley (you are right Kate). Hope you will consider trying it. Let me know if you do so I can read yours too. Thanks Mary, for posting yours and sharing this idea.

p.s. Don't forget about Treasure Tuesday tomorrow!!

Schedule for the baby?

Julie, over at EverydayMommy has been brave enough to start a meme on the subject of whether to have your baby on a schedule or not. This post is coming from the extreme expertise of a mother of four, count them four grown children and now a new mommy once again (not to mention grandmother to two). NOT. Well all of it's true except for the expert part. I have gained a bit of wisdom through it all. Mostly due to mistakes and lessons learned. Okay, okay, I'll put my two cents in, for what it's worth.

When my older children were little, I was very young. I tried to do all of the "right" things to prove I was a good mother in spite of my age. We didn't really set a schedule for any of them (advise from parents), but they developed their own ,of course. As the older ones got involved with outside activities, the younger ones just got pulled along for the ride. We ate A LOT of fast food for awhile. Everyone adapted and did fine with a" fly by the seat of your pants" kind of schedule.

I do remember when the little bit of schedule that we had established started to fall apart though. It was when the oldest started school. Pick-up time was right in the middle of nap for the little ones. That was when I realized that any semblance of a schedule was over.

Skip forward 20 years (yes, you read that right). When our youngest was 20 1/2 and the oldest was 26, we adopted a baby. We started all over again! Things have changed. I'm older,slower,more relaxed (most of the time). I now realize that the mall will not shut down forever if I don't grace the entrance every day  week month. I did not set out to "put" little man on a schedule. He, however, had a plan of his own. He LOOOVES his schedule. We really try to adhere to it,just because it makes him happy,therefore, we are pretty happy. We do spend a lot of time at home. He loves to sleep and takes 2 long naps a day and goes to bed at 8:00 at night. It would really cramp your style if you could not be content to hang out at home alot.

I realize (in my great wisdom) that this time will pass soon enough. He will change to just one nap a day before I know it. I can wait until that happens to do the running around that I'd like to do. It won't be long at all. I probably could not have done this when I was younger. I had things to do and places to go. Now, I know those things can wait until Little Man gets ready.

I want to make sure that you realize that Little Man chose this schedule for himself, we did not force it. We are just really happy if he is really happy. So we stick to it. It drives my older children crazy ( see what I mean about youth,I was the same way). They think we should venture off the schedule and do more.

We are content to wait it out though. Baby boys turn into big boys way too fast. We are just sittin' here enjoying the moment. So, for now, we are on Little man's schedule.

Simple Pleasures!

This is a list of (gosh, I forgot how many I'm suppose to do). Wait, I'll be right back.

'K, I'm back. 10 - ten simple pleasures. I was tagged for this little meme by Susan and I think a few others too. I'm sorry y'all. It's been wild here. also, I've been tagged for another one by TNblogginmama and I will do it soon, very soon. I would feel bad, however, it took her a week to do hers too. ;D

Simple Pleasures

1. Playing with my little man and my little grandsons.

2. Spending time with my hubby.

3. Walking barefoot in the grass.

4. Hearing church bells ringing. I just love it. So beautiful!

5. When all of my children and grandchildren are all here together.

6. The smell of newborn babies.

7. Thunderstorms

8. Friends. That means you and you.

9. Music. I love me some music.

10. Comments on my blog. Hint. Hint.

11. Homemade Ice Cream. We make the best ever. Come try some this summer.

12. Wind chimes.

Oh, oops. I was stopping at ten. Oh well, there's a bonus for ya!

And! I just want y'all to know that I need to add to my blogroll. I know you are wondering why you are not there. Laziness, pure laziness. I'll work on it this week-end. I promise I will. I hope! ;D

Thursday Thirteen!

Thirteen Things about Working in My Secret Garden 1. Wearing gloves is important, otherwise I will nurse a nasty blister on my hand that I got in the FIRST five minutes in the garden! No lie! BTW- I have the cutest little PINK pair. 2. Chant : the worms hate me as much as I hate them.. the worms hate me as much as I hate them. Over and Over, until you leave the garden. 3. Full sun or Part sun, basically means full sun. It does not mean part shade. 4. Put your hair in a ponytail and wear a headband too. It does not matter how that looks. At least you can see. 5. Sweating is a part of it  - get over it.  big sigh! 6. Take bottled water to drink. A cup (my favorite cup) with no lid or top will get nasty and I'll have no choice but to drink it anyway. Sooooo hot and thirsty! 7. Annual beds rock! Just scoot the soil over, plop the little plant in, scoot the dirt back and voila - 'tis done! 8. Perinnials - a little harder. Actual digging in the actual soil. Can be difficult - although sometimes if you have a small rootball - it too is a breeze. 9. A breeze -- always pray for a breeze!!!!! 10. Wear shoes. See, this is what happens: you get claustrophobic (because you're hot), you take off your shoes (so you can breathe, ya know),then you start digging in the red Georgia clay. Do you know what happens to those feet? They get STAINED RED. Yes stained. I scrubbed them when I got home, really I did - yet, I went to get a little pedicure on Sat. the day before Easter ( I suddenly wanted cute feet for Easter) and as the chick (who spoke very little English) scrubbed the dead skin off -- I could see it was REDDISH-BROWNISH. I.Almost.Died. Right there, getting a pedicure!!  I told the lady that I had been working in the garden and she just shook her head like I was from outer space. I am embarrased to go back. I think she just thought I had D.I.R.T.Y feet. They were just stained - really they were. I've worn shoes in the garden ever since!! 11. Destroy the rabbit and the deer before they destroy the garden!! Okay, I'm no rabbit killer, however if that little bunny shows his little twitchy nose and his cute fluffy tail one more time - he's outta there! Well, or something. 12. Get your strong hubby to dig the big holes. It makes him feel important! It's what's best for him. Really. 13. Sneak some kisses and hugs in while you're out  there all alone with strong hubby. It really is wonderful and he's more likely to come help again when you need more big holes dug! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1.   (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday.  Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged!  If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments.  It’s easy, and fun!  Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well!  I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

By popular demand...

... my feet. This is embarrassing! I have never seen my feet from this angle. I never knew how weird they looked. people always comment on them . Now I know why!!!

When I was little, my dad took me to the barber shop with him and the barber asked my dad what happened to my toes. My Dad said "nothing, what do you mean"? The barber said " she doesn't have any toes, what happened to them"? My Dad laughed and told him that I did have toes, they were just curled up under my feet.

This looks painful and like I am trying to do it - but, this is my normal sitting position. I always sit with my feet like this and don't even know I'm doing it. It's just how I sit. It is very comfortable. Yes, I have calluses on those toe knuckles (is that the right term), not pretty.

I'm not sure what the deal is -- maybe double jointed. my assistant says (after taking these pics) that she thinks it's some weird muscle thing. Who knows.

You may be asking yourself "Why are these in black and white"? Well, if you think these look weird to you now - you should see them in color. S.c.a.r.y.

However, I wanted you to see my cute little pedicure I got the day before Easter. I've never done flowers or any graphics on my toes before. Cool, huh?  I never would have thought I'd post about  my feet. But, here ya go!  If you have no idea why I posted this see this.