Thanksgiving is just another day in our house this year as my husband will be working a 12+ hour shift. He hopes to come home for a brief snack at some point, but who knows if that will actually happen. So, we'll just eat our Thanksgiving dinner when he gets home near dinnertime.....
Meanwhile, here are some things we are thankful for this year!
Troops that are stationed overseas, as well as their families that are at home without them...
Helpful parents, especially when I was sick this month and my husband was working...
Adoption! What a perfect picture of what God has done through His redemption of those who are His children... We've been able to see this up close and personal this year...
New friends... I've had the privilege of making several new friends this year and it has been great getting to know them better...
Kids! Mine are pretty cool, as are their friends!
Special times with family.... We are blessed with the time we are able to spend together....
Great husband of mine! He's definitely not perfect, but he's exactly what I need!
Internet... Just as with most things, it can be a good thing or a bad thing... But to consider the resources at your fingertips in only a few seconds, it sure can help in certain situations...
Verse by verse preaching in our church! They are NOT afraid to speak God's Truth...
It's our great country, America! Yes, we have faults, challenges and problems, but we still live in the BEST country in the world, with freedoms that others can only dream of!
Next year... I know I probably shouldn't look ahead just yet, but we've got a LOT of fun stuff coming up in 2013 as well as several changes that will take place...
God's grace, mercy, forgiveness and redemption... What more can I say than that?
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Second to the Job?
I follow a page for wives of law enforcement on Facebook. It's helpful to get updates and support in a line of work that very few outside this life understand.
I saw a comment recently that made me stop and think. A wife said that LEOW's (Law Enforcement Officer Wife) need to stop complaining about not getting to see their husband and that an LEOW will always be second to her husband behind his job. She pointed out that her husband thinks he needs to check in at his department, even on his days off, and that means that he's passionate about his oath...
That comment made me stop and think....
Is it right for a husband to put his job above his wife?
My husband is a hard worker and when he is on shift, he is there 100%. He trusts me to take care of things at home in a way that I don't have to "bother" him with things that I can take care of on my own.
But when he's off duty, he's OFF DUTY.... Sure, he works extra jobs when they are available to him.... Yes, he takes phone calls from work when he's not on shift.... Of course if someone with rank higher than him asks him to do something on his days off, he does it...
While he has a great reputation at work and does his job with excellence, he doesn't for one minute think that the rest of them can't function without him.
When he is on duty, he is there to get the job done. But if I need him, he does his best to be there for me. It's not always possible to even get in touch with him while he's working, so many times I have to take care of something because he's simply not available. If I'm sick, or one of the kids has an important event, or we are wanting to go on vacation, he has no problem with trying to take the time off to be there for his family.
I'm hoping I misunderstood this woman's comment.... Hopefully she meant that her husband is into his job 150% and not that she is content with always being second to the job. I don't think I could ever be content with being 2nd to anything in my husband's life other than God.
I'm thankful to have a husband who loves his job, does it well, is thought of highly by his co-workers, but who also loves his wife and children MORE than he loves his job!
I saw a comment recently that made me stop and think. A wife said that LEOW's (Law Enforcement Officer Wife) need to stop complaining about not getting to see their husband and that an LEOW will always be second to her husband behind his job. She pointed out that her husband thinks he needs to check in at his department, even on his days off, and that means that he's passionate about his oath...
That comment made me stop and think....
Is it right for a husband to put his job above his wife?
My husband is a hard worker and when he is on shift, he is there 100%. He trusts me to take care of things at home in a way that I don't have to "bother" him with things that I can take care of on my own.
But when he's off duty, he's OFF DUTY.... Sure, he works extra jobs when they are available to him.... Yes, he takes phone calls from work when he's not on shift.... Of course if someone with rank higher than him asks him to do something on his days off, he does it...
While he has a great reputation at work and does his job with excellence, he doesn't for one minute think that the rest of them can't function without him.
When he is on duty, he is there to get the job done. But if I need him, he does his best to be there for me. It's not always possible to even get in touch with him while he's working, so many times I have to take care of something because he's simply not available. If I'm sick, or one of the kids has an important event, or we are wanting to go on vacation, he has no problem with trying to take the time off to be there for his family.
I'm hoping I misunderstood this woman's comment.... Hopefully she meant that her husband is into his job 150% and not that she is content with always being second to the job. I don't think I could ever be content with being 2nd to anything in my husband's life other than God.
I'm thankful to have a husband who loves his job, does it well, is thought of highly by his co-workers, but who also loves his wife and children MORE than he loves his job!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
5 Things I've Learned or Confirmed From the Election
You'd have to live under a rock to not know the results of the Presidential Election this past week.
It seemed to me that this election season was extremely bitter. I learned and/or was reminded of a few things during this time...
I am thankful that this election is over and we can move on with our lives. While the results of the election are not what I would've liked, it is reality and we have to work with what we have. If we don't like the election results, we need to pray even harder for God to change the hearts of our leaders!
It seemed to me that this election season was extremely bitter. I learned and/or was reminded of a few things during this time...
- The mainstream media IS in fact biased against conservative candidates... When you have misspoken words on the conservative side taken out of context and given days upon days of coverage, but you have misspoken words on the liberal side barely being given a day's worth of coverage.... That's called BIAS! BOTH sides misspeak! BOTH sides lie! The only fair thing to do would be for the mainstream media to hold BOTH sides accountable for those words in the same way!
- Our country is VERY divided... I think I remember President Obama in his first Presidential campaign talking about bringing people together? I understand that this takes BOTH sides, but I have felt very little from President Obama in this regard. I pray this changes in his next term as America so desperately NEEDS to work together for the good of this country! BOTH sides need to compromise to make the changes this country needs!
- Millions upon millions of people in America STILL don't understand what an incredible right and freedom we have in this country to VOTE! There are countries in this world where you CAN'T vote! There are countries in this world where you can "vote", which just means that you can check the box of the ONE person running because you have no choice or say! I don't know what it will take for Americans to wake up and realize this and exercise their right to VOTE!
- It still makes me sad that so many in this country care more about their paycheck, vacation, new car, pets than the fact that MILLIONS of innocent human babies have being slaughtered in the name of choice. What potential world leader, cancer curing researcher, doctor, teacher, parent was not given the chance to LIVE because of "choice"? It just makes me sad...
- People can be MEAN! This happens on BOTH sides of the political spectrum and it makes me sad. It has gotten so bad this election season that I didn't even want to post about the issues because I didn't want to receive any more rude comments about the opinions I have. We can NOT make generalities about people we've never met based on their opinion! And yet I saw name calling from both sides of an issue. I was called and idiot, ignorant and.... this one is my favorite.... "rich or married to a rich man"! THAT one made me laugh! Just because you disagree with me doesn't mean I have the right to call you names. I have many friends with opposite political opinions from me and yet we show each other respect. We CAN all get along, but we DO have to be tolerant of people with opinions different from ours!
I am thankful that this election is over and we can move on with our lives. While the results of the election are not what I would've liked, it is reality and we have to work with what we have. If we don't like the election results, we need to pray even harder for God to change the hearts of our leaders!
Monday, November 12, 2012
How NOT To Spend Your Week!
We made it through October fairly well, considering the CRAZY schedule we had... Why did I assume November would be uneventful?
I was happy to spend some time last Monday afternoon with a good friend who was helping me redecorate my dining room. We had lots of fun shopping and then sewing and decorating and the rest of our families joined us at our house for dinner that night. The dining room, foyer and living room look GREAT and we have some more plans for a few things that are left in the dining room as well as work on the master bedroom.
Tuesday my husband took off work. We at first had thought of heading downtown for a little field trip but we were all slow moving that morning so we decided instead to get milkshakes at Chick Fil A (Peppermint Chocolate Chip- YUM!) and run a bunch of errands.
I woke up that morning with a little tickle in my throat but didn't think anything of it. Sometime in the afternoon I started feeling rundown and by the time we got home near dinner, I had a fever.
I stayed in bed for days feeling absolutely ROTTEN! My fever got as high as 103.3 and along with that came the aches and chills. I felt just absolutely terrible.
I had a meeting regarding foster care and adoption in my home Thursday afternoon that could NOT be rescheduled, so I managed to shower and get ready (in some sweats and the entire process took hours) and sat in my chair to get the meeting done.
We tried to get some medical care Thursday night. One nearby Urgent Care had a 2 hour wait. At the second Urgent Care, we learned that apparently where I live, you do NOT need an ID to vote, but you need one to receive medical care! Who knew! They wouldn't even let my husband show his id and insurance card and sign something accepting responsibility. No, instead they rudely told me they couldn't see me and we left. Apparently the lady we spoke to is often rude, as the security guard told us when we left. We are following up with a complaint. I can understand the rule, but I can NOT understand treating someone in such a rude and nasty way!
So, we tried again on Friday morning. The CVS Minute Clinic had a 1 hour wait so we went back to the first Urgent Care we tried the night before (NOT the rude place, we will NEVER go back there!). We walked in, filled out paperwork and were in a room very quickly. After an examination and chest xray, we had a diagnosis of Pneumonia!
You wouldn't think someone would be happy about having Pneumonia, but with how badly I had felt the previous 3 days, I was "happy" to learn that there was in fact something wrong and a way to fix it!
I had some side effects from the antibiotic the first day- a horrible pounding headache for hours and trouble sleeping. Thankfully, I also had a cough medicine with codeine for the nighttime so I was able to sleep. I spent the weekend on the couch and in the bed, resting up for the coming week. I surely need to get caught up on some things and prepare for a Fun Family Weekend coming up!
My older kids took very good care of me on Wednesday while my husband had to work. They kept the house in order and gave me some peace and quiet. My daughter helped the youngest before and after school, which was a HUGE help. My neighbor, who usually does the afternoon carpool was able to take the boys to school in the morning so I didn't have to get out of bed. My parents watched the kids during our failed attempt at medical care on Thursday night, took the kids out on Saturday while my husband worked so that I could rest AND brought us dinner that night. My husband was also a BIG help in cooking, cleaning and running errands. I know he did NOT enjoy doing all of that, but it was all worth it when I ventured out of my room Saturday morning to a CLEAN kitchen! :)
I was not able to exercise at all this past week but I did lose a few pounds from not eating. I'm sure those will come back along with my appetite as I start to feel better.
I am so looking forward to feeling 100% and getting things done and spending time with my family. I'm trying hard to NOT feel like I am behind on things. Even though all I did from Tuesday night until Saturday was write the grocery list, attend the meeting in my house, go to the doctor and watch tv, I am confident that I can catch up next week and I'm thankful I don't have to put the house back together because my family took such great care of it while I was sick!
I was happy to spend some time last Monday afternoon with a good friend who was helping me redecorate my dining room. We had lots of fun shopping and then sewing and decorating and the rest of our families joined us at our house for dinner that night. The dining room, foyer and living room look GREAT and we have some more plans for a few things that are left in the dining room as well as work on the master bedroom.
Tuesday my husband took off work. We at first had thought of heading downtown for a little field trip but we were all slow moving that morning so we decided instead to get milkshakes at Chick Fil A (Peppermint Chocolate Chip- YUM!) and run a bunch of errands.
I woke up that morning with a little tickle in my throat but didn't think anything of it. Sometime in the afternoon I started feeling rundown and by the time we got home near dinner, I had a fever.
I stayed in bed for days feeling absolutely ROTTEN! My fever got as high as 103.3 and along with that came the aches and chills. I felt just absolutely terrible.
I had a meeting regarding foster care and adoption in my home Thursday afternoon that could NOT be rescheduled, so I managed to shower and get ready (in some sweats and the entire process took hours) and sat in my chair to get the meeting done.
We tried to get some medical care Thursday night. One nearby Urgent Care had a 2 hour wait. At the second Urgent Care, we learned that apparently where I live, you do NOT need an ID to vote, but you need one to receive medical care! Who knew! They wouldn't even let my husband show his id and insurance card and sign something accepting responsibility. No, instead they rudely told me they couldn't see me and we left. Apparently the lady we spoke to is often rude, as the security guard told us when we left. We are following up with a complaint. I can understand the rule, but I can NOT understand treating someone in such a rude and nasty way!
So, we tried again on Friday morning. The CVS Minute Clinic had a 1 hour wait so we went back to the first Urgent Care we tried the night before (NOT the rude place, we will NEVER go back there!). We walked in, filled out paperwork and were in a room very quickly. After an examination and chest xray, we had a diagnosis of Pneumonia!
You wouldn't think someone would be happy about having Pneumonia, but with how badly I had felt the previous 3 days, I was "happy" to learn that there was in fact something wrong and a way to fix it!
I had some side effects from the antibiotic the first day- a horrible pounding headache for hours and trouble sleeping. Thankfully, I also had a cough medicine with codeine for the nighttime so I was able to sleep. I spent the weekend on the couch and in the bed, resting up for the coming week. I surely need to get caught up on some things and prepare for a Fun Family Weekend coming up!
My older kids took very good care of me on Wednesday while my husband had to work. They kept the house in order and gave me some peace and quiet. My daughter helped the youngest before and after school, which was a HUGE help. My neighbor, who usually does the afternoon carpool was able to take the boys to school in the morning so I didn't have to get out of bed. My parents watched the kids during our failed attempt at medical care on Thursday night, took the kids out on Saturday while my husband worked so that I could rest AND brought us dinner that night. My husband was also a BIG help in cooking, cleaning and running errands. I know he did NOT enjoy doing all of that, but it was all worth it when I ventured out of my room Saturday morning to a CLEAN kitchen! :)
I was not able to exercise at all this past week but I did lose a few pounds from not eating. I'm sure those will come back along with my appetite as I start to feel better.
I am so looking forward to feeling 100% and getting things done and spending time with my family. I'm trying hard to NOT feel like I am behind on things. Even though all I did from Tuesday night until Saturday was write the grocery list, attend the meeting in my house, go to the doctor and watch tv, I am confident that I can catch up next week and I'm thankful I don't have to put the house back together because my family took such great care of it while I was sick!
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