One of the neatest things about working lately has been the amazing cuisine at my house! Louis has this amazing talent for cooking. Anything he touches is amazing.
One morning this past week, when Louis came in from work, he couldn’t sleep so he made the most amazing breakfast… I chatted with him as I nursed Thea and he rolled out dough. We could already smell the amazing cinnamon and butter.
The warm aroma wafting from a giant pan of cinnamon rolls woke everyone!
Louis’ alarm went off as the girls started hopping into the kitchen. (His alarm is epic, it’s Mandisa’s “Good Morning!”)
Warm, yummy food, laughing, smiling company, and fun, encouraging music made an excellent start to an amazing day!
I live in Florida, so “Spring” as we see it means beach weather – at least for those of us who don’t consider 70 degrees too cold for sand, surf, and sun.
The flower bulbs are coming back. The songbirds are singing and making nests. The woodpeckers in the Maple tree are arguing about who gets the best insect hole. My baby Thea is a month old (on the first day of spring & two of her aunts’ birthdays). I’m shifting from part time to full time at my office job.
This job is a God-sent blessing anyway (read that story here); increase of hours = increase of income and that is super sweet!
Anyone seen White Christmas? Bing Crosby sings “Counting My Blessings” and that became a theme song in my head. Songs will pop into my head when I think certain things… I’m just musically wired… auto-correct tried to put in “weird;” maybe weird is the right word!
So, I’m “counting my blessings” this spring:
Job with a growing company where I get to take my Baby Thea to work with me! (Thank you, Jesus!)
Dream job where I get to teach and encourage young athletes while working out and having fun. (Thank you, Jesus!)
Health, (finally!) as I’ve found a technique that works to keep my black mold allergy from turning to throat-constricting asthma. (I can keep it at just a post-nasal drip, which is irritating, but not debilitating.)
Family. I live for family. (Why I haven’t been writing for a bit… busy with jobs, helping sisters, and spending time investing in family.)
Finding a church we hope to be able to call “home” as our church closed. (Louis’ cousin and several friends attend there.) We’ve been three times and most of the kids like it so far.
Spiritual growth in my girls. Watching that bloom is the best!
Provision. We have a house to rent, food to eat, and gas to get us to and from work. Paying back debt and then shifting focus to our long-term goal of saving for our own house.
Thank you, Jesus, for the blessings in my life! Thank you for healing, love, family, and life!
I’m enjoying a jolt of energy from counting my blessings, what about you?
Have you ever wondered if your kid was the only one who chose kitchen tools over toys?
March 4, 2019
Toys Versus Kitchen Tools
Have you ever thought it was just your kid?
…You know, when you have hundreds of dollars worth of toys for them to play with yet they would rather grab every plastic container, metal pot, and baking tin and beat it like a drum set with two plastic implements of some kind. (Spatula and cake server anyone?)
Nope.
It’s not just your kid.
Seriously, I promise. I’ve actually studied it.
In my very scientific study, conducted over almost two full decades, with dozens of children unknowingly participating, I have come to the conclusion that a mismatched set of plasticware, baking tins, and cooking pots serves as a more desirable toy than the newest Duplo set – to everyone under the age of five… maybe take that limit up to eight or nine if they are entertaining a younger cousin, sibling, or playmate.
Ready for some proof happening as I type?
…here is the playroom.
…and here is the front room (my kitchen and front room are divided by the couch Becky is sitting on – my photographer didn’t get the kitchen scene).
Do you see the children?
Just where are the children? Certainly NOT in the playroom with the actual toys.
So Becky is watching her algebra lecture videos while keeping an eye on Thea (in the bassinet), and Jillian, Mandy, Isaac, and JJ are bringing her “food” they “cooked” in the various kitchen tools. (The “food” is actually represented by alphabet refrigerator magnets – notice in the plastic containers.) Lucas, the other toddler in the house, is still “cooking” magnets in a cupcake tin just behind the bassinet.
In this one, my photographer thought he was going to play in the playroom, but no; JJ is taking three “hot wheels” back to the kitchen… he then served them to Becky while Mandy explained that they were “chicken nuggets.”
So, just to satisfy your curiosity: no, your kid isn’t the only one to spend hours playing with kitchen tools instead of his or her toys. Your kid is just being normal.
What kind of “deep thoughts” about life and love come from a bitten cookie?
February 28, 2019
Behind the Picture! Bitten Heart
It was Valentine’s Day.
I was at work (Playroom not coaching this evening). Christina and Kimberly had come with me because my workplace is about 12 minutes from my sister’s house versus my house being about 35 minutes distant and Christina wasa going over to babysit her cousins. (Kimberly is a year older than Livy, her closest cousin, and they LOVE to do anything together, so she jumped at the chance to spend time with her.)
Louis and I never really do anything special on Valentine’s Day as we are usually working it! Christina considers Valentine’s Day a married-adult-only holiday and the chocolate on sale the 15th as the holiday for her.
We celebrate our love daily. At least, I feel like we do. At this time, I was dealing with a pretty bad allergic reaction to the inhaler medication and trying to keep normalcy while managing that and figuring out a new method to help when the black mold in our house messed with my breathing. Louis was home (supposed to be resting his back) keeping everything in line there. He’s an amazing chef and always had an awesome lunch /dinner when I came home between jobs. There’d be a fresh hot dinner, usually just for him and me, when I got home from gym (between 8:30 and 9:30pm so the kids had already eaten).
When my sweet sister picked Christina and Kimberly up, she gave me a yummy, organic, cookie she and her youngest daughter had made. (It looked so beautiful I almost didn’t want to eat it!) She is a fitness instructor, nutritionist, and thoughtful, loving sister!
I was at that moment, a very hungry pregnant lady.
While watching the youngest in the playroom, I was studying and working on my journal for Christina (More about that in a later post), and I don’t like to eat around those who don’t have something to eat. So the heart sat there, calling me, until the boys brought in their own candy and the baby went home.
When I took a bite, instantly my mind thought of how when we give true love (our world uses a heart to symbolize love), it is without expecting anything back. We expect the recipient of our love to consume that love and we are thrilled if they enjoyed our offering. My sister and niece happily created a labor of love (the cookies) to selflessly, happily give away without expectation of anything in return.
Of course, in true loving relationships, both parties give love continually to each other. In the varying seasons of life, one may seem to be giving more than the other, but true love gives without considering reward. We expect our “hearts” to be “eaten” by those we give them to. If we truly love, we are happy, even excited, that our love accepted and enjoyed our labor of love.
Jesus gave his love (no greater love has a man than when he gives his life for another) to us knowing that many would not even accept his gift. They would live their lives, partake of all the gifts Jesus gave (air to breathe, beauty of creation, life itself, etc…), consuming His labors of love one by one, yet never returning anything. Some would come to enjoy relationship with Jesus, but He knew some wouldn’t and yet He still poured out His love.
All this ran through my mind at the sight of one bite taken from a cookie. (So, yes, I took a food picture.) A little deep, maybe, but that’s my writer’s brain.
I plan to continually shower those around me with as much love as I can give, and this picture will remind me to not think of getting anything back – to rejoice always when they accept and consume the love I give.
Behind the Picture: Thea and the Apple – Becky and her photography & funny snippets.
February 25, 2019
Behind the Picture! Thea and the Apple
Becky likes photography.
Becky has an interesting sense of humor. When she takes pictures on the play phone and sends it to me, I get this: (Thea is about an hour old)
Kimberly and Christina changed Thea, bundled her up, and as Kimberly is bringing her to me, I hear a singing voice: “We’re taking the baby to Isengard!” (I have no clue how I have the honor of being “Isengard,” but this was the look I got: )
In the first picture, Becky was trying to get good pictures of newborn Thea. Becky was making faces to get her attention, Lucas ran up with an apple in hand to “help,” and Becky ended up with a picture that had just the “wrong” angle – but it made a funny meme picture.
The girls are totally enjoying having a new baby sister – and Lucas loves being her “protector.” He told Louis he was “protecting Baby Thea from dog kisses, bad dinosaurs, and big sisters when they don’t listen.” (The last was likely because Jillian kept touching Thea’s head when we said not to touch her soft spot.)
I’m so blessed by their joy and love towards their new sister! Christina, who was worried about being “too much older” than the baby, can’t get enough time holding her! I am twelve years and eleven months older than my baby sister (she was also my parents’ seventh) – so I told Christina and Becky they both were older “big sisters” than I was. (15 yrs 4 mos & 13 yrs 4 mos, respectively) At this, Becky sends me a “wow” emoji though we are sitting at the same table! (She was supposed to be using the phone as a calculator.)
A birth story of our little angel (and a slideshow of proud siblings & family!)
February 22, 2019
The Story of Baby Thea
If you’ve been following my blog, you know I was growing my seventh little angel.
Today, I get to write the story of her arrival!
On February 19th, a beautiful Tuesday morning, my day started normally. During my 32 minute drive to work, the Baby started thinking there was not enough room and my body did the stretching contractions (Braxton-Hicks) that is very normal for me in the last month or two before birth. I didn’t think much of it, really. After my boss left for appointments, one of my office companions, Lily, a beautiful brown and white pittie belonging to my boss, started laying at my feet and wouldn’t let me go anywhere without her! This was a bit of a warning to me because Sheba (my Aussie mix) always does this to me when I’m in active labor. I left at one (normal time) to get to Christina and then my midwife appointment.
Christina had been babysitting, finished some errands at the college so she would be ready for the summer semester, caught the bus to 207 (the road I take into town), and was waiting for me. Along the way, my midwife texted to reschedule the appointment to Thursday and I laughed during my voice-text because I was very tired and that worked great for me. I added, “or when Baby is ready,” as a joke because my babies have all come on or after the due date. Everyone had been rooting for a February birth since the official “due date” was February 24th, and except for Lucas, my wee ones were between 9 and 13 days “overdue” so I usually ignored the due date and just gave a general month (in this case, I’d been saying March).
I got Christina, teased her about driving (she’s recently received her learner’s permit), and we headed home. Sheba was acting odd, I was starving; Louis had made lasagna Monday so I ate a huge plate and took a short nap.
When I got to gym with Becky (her class is on Tuesday, the others are all Wednesday), the contractions were still there, but, like I said, that is normal for me. It had been happening off and on already for about a week and a half, so I just went about work because they were easy to ignore. Some friends and I chatted about babies as I was leaving, and someone said, “you know about your body by now, right?” I laughed, “each is different, but I’m still thinking March.”
Wow, was I wrong.
As Becky texted Christina and Louis to tell them we were off & headed to pick up Christina at CAP, Becky said, “Mom, I can’t drive us home, but if the baby keeps contracting like that, maybe Christina can.”
We laughed. Part of the driving restrictions on a learner’s permit forbid night driving for the first few months; but we always teased Christina that she’d have to drive home in the dark if I was in labor.
Home, I was starved, but my belly felt full after four strawberries. I took a shower and crashed. I kept waking up every couple hours, but I’m a light sleeper so that’s also normal. Each time, though, I noticed contractions. I’d check my phone just to see what time it was. Midnight. 1:40. 2:30. 3:50. At almost 4, I realized I was sweating and I decided to wait for fifteen minutes (so the water softener cycle was finished) and take a shower. The next glance at my watch showed 4:19. I took a shower and the first contraction after the water hit was very strong. I felt movement inside me. “Wow, you sure you’re ready?” I asked. I was sure that was just a fluke and usually the warm water calms contractions down. When the next two made my legs feel like jelly, I got out of the shower and crawled back into bed. The phone said 4:35. I wasn’t about to wake anyone or call Misti for three oddly strong contractions.
I tried to sleep. I had about two hours before I had to get ready for work.
At somewhere before 6am, I tried getting ready for work. I had to stop and breathe through contractions that were easy to time and I felt the baby moving slowly down inside of me. I was about to wake Louis but ended up stretching through a contraction. We have a mind link, I think. Louis woke up as I was stretching. He goes into mega cleaning and question mode. This is his serious mode. He has been through it enough to know we were going to have a baby this morning – or at least today. He told me to call Misti, he woke the kids up to help clean (normally, we clean before bed, but they had been in a non-cleaning mood the previous night), and directed the house with efficiency. I was restless, so kept walking around in between. Christina and Becky didn’t want to get out of bed. I went into the barracks to find out why not.
“Mom! You can’t have the baby in here!” Christina shrieked, covering her head.
“So, get up please and help Daddy with cleaning. Y’all should have done that last night. Once you finish, you can go back to bed, but he’s really stressing about the house and people coming so please help.”
No answer. I could feel another contraction creeping up. “Okay, you have about 20 seconds before I get another contraction and…”
Christina bolted, “MOM! I’m up! I’ll help Dad! GET CONTRACTIONS OUT OF MY ROOM!”
Becky was up too. Kimberly was definitely awake. Mission accomplished. I went back to the kitchen table. My “leave” alarm reminded me to text or call my boss. 6am though, I figured I should just text – plus I didn’t want to talk to anyone at the moment.
Misti showed up (can’t remember if the house was clean, but based on the voices and giggling and a movie being on, I’d guess it was straightened). Mom was on the way, she told us she had to be at one of my brother’s promotions at 8am. The girls had turned on “The Two Towers” and as Louis walked by during the Uruk-hai production scene and he ordered, “Turn that off, you can see a real birth soon enough.” I can’t remember if the result was “Wild Kratts” or “Dumbo” but there was something far less messy on the tv a minute later. (I did hear one of the teenagers or preteens quip, “Mom will sound like an orc.” Louis and I laughed. We’re nerds.)
By 8:30, I was immune to the world. I heard Misti’s voice, smelled Louis (I was leaning on him), and faintly heard background voices. I was focused on this job.
8:42am and our little one came into the world, veiled. Misti took the bag off and the Baby screamed to test the limit of her lungs! (We didn’t know Baby was a “she” just yet!) Baby opened her eyes fully and stared up at me. Then she screamed to rattle the roof again. The dogs were barking. We discovered our Baby was Thea!
Welcome to our crazy world, Theadora Taliesyn Tart. You are loved and cherished!
Theadora (after her great-grandfather Melvin Theodore Pearson) means “gifted by God” and Taliesyn (feminine form of your grandfather’s favorite character from a Celtic legend) means, “one with the shining brow, one who sings wisdom.” And Daddy chose the nickname “Thea” because he likes it. (Your uncle texted that he’d call you “3T” – yes, Daddy searched for two “T” names we both liked!) I kept both names the same length, since that’s what we’ve done – all of the children’s names have the same number of letters in the first name and middle name. Theadora 8 letters, Taliesyn 8 letters – told you we are nerds.
Mom (Grandma Joanne in the pictures) came back with a shower of baby girl goodies! (And, yes, this is why she’s in such cute clothes once we managed to get them on her!)
Theadora, I pray you always feel the love of your family as you wiggle your way up to adulthood. I pray you feel the warmth and see the light of God’s love reflected in the faces of your sisters and brother, mother and father, aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. We have accepted the honor of being your guides to lead you to Jesus, to raise you in love, and to give you room to find, develop, and follow the passion of life God has rooted within you. You are a daughter of God, a precious gift to us, and chosen to bring light through your smile.
Becky said I can’t post a baby story without her pictures! So here is a little slideshow:
Lucas kept trying to “pet” and “kiss” Baby TheaChristina & Thea (oldest & youngest)Lucas said “you are my love, Baby Thea!”Grandma Joanne & TheaChristina and Becky are already vying for who gets the babyKimberly and TheaJillian and TheaTheadora Taliesyn TartThis is Christina’s favorite from Thea’s birthdayJaquline and TheaBecky and TheaDaddy and TheaAunt Becca and TheaThea and Mommy
From my teenager’s claim of the “real holiday” to Becky’s video silliness… a fun post with links.
February 14, 2019
Valentines Silliness
It’s Valentine’s Day.
My girls are busy playing and giggling in the playroom (well, we could technically call it “studying videography,” “creating scripts,” and “video editing,” but that’s homeschool thoughts lol).
What would they be making a video about?
Becky comes out as I finish an amazing lunch (Louis made baby back ribs, corn on the cob, and French fries… and his food is so good! We did save the busy girls a few ribs… maybe) wearing a huge grin and holding the “play phone” (it has the best video editing software but is one of Louis’ old phones from his work).
They have spent an hour, maybe more, creating a 24 second video with dolls and candy hearts… and the “surprise ending” – which, if you know Becky’s sense of humor, it is not really a surprise. It is funny. See it here… (They are “Toy Acts” on YouTube).
“Mom, it took us like 30 minutes to figure out how to work the hearts!”
“Engineering,” Kimberly laughed.
At this, Louis and I laughed too… they are just as crazy as we are. “Not exactly,” I take a breath, “did you do paperwork as well?”
“Oh yeah,” Becky grins, “we did real school on this holiday.”
“This holiday is only for married people so kids should do school period,” voices Christina (the teenager… go figure).
“All schools, everywhere?” Jaquline sighs, “I did math and language but I thought I could take a break from history.”
So Louis decides we are going to learn about the American adoption of Valentine’s Day as a holiday… (typical home school decision)
Christina, who is going to babysit, hitches a ride with me to work (my gym is closer to her client than our house). We have Kimberly (she’s going to spend the night with a cousin) with us and the car conversation circles around the baby Guinea Pigs and how Valentine’s Day is seriously only for married couples. (Christina is still debating this to no one else, as no one else is arguing otherwise.)
“Seriously,” Christina says, “the real holiday is February 15th, when all the candy is half-off.”
Teaching the girls to research to make educated food choices at the grocery store.
January 14, 2019
The Off-Brands
What is in a brand?
Kimberly and Jaquline were discussing how they liked a certain Aldi off-brand snack better than the name brand one. Christina commented that she didn’t remember how much better she liked said off-brand snack over the original until she’d tasted the original again that day.
Honestly, I love the new Aldi store because most of their off-brand stuff is healthier than the name brand it is replacing; one of their colored cereals actually is colored with natural pigments, has less sugar, and contains more vitamins and minerals per ounce than the name brand we could buy elsewhere.
Because of the arrival of this Aldi store, our healthy options seriously improved without demanding more on our budget. In most cases, we were leaving with more groceries, healthier choices, and a smaller food bill. A full cart with more than half of it filled with bargain fruits and vegetables? Oh yes.
We studied some about brands. In some cases, the girls discovered that only the outside label is changed! This was surprising. For several items they researched, the only change between certain off-brands and their competitive name-brand item was seriously a label.
Jaquline heard an ad on the radio station and said, “there’s another name-brand making us think they are better than the store kind because they pay for advertising.”
She’s nine.
They are convinced there is nothing as good as Oreos brand cookies, but then I think there is nothing as good as Christina’s chocolate chip cookies and Louis’ oatmeal cake cookies.
Picture overload! My family’s Christmas party 2018.
December 22, 2018
Pearson Christmas Party
Imagine twelve adults and thirteen children racing around a beautifully decorated house and every single one of them is acting like they are somewhere in that magic child age around 5 to 8. That was our Christmas party this year. It was the best!
My amazing sister and brother hosted.
Katy is always ready for a picture!
Livy painting faces! Anastasia is concentrating on being very still. She was rewarded with a beautiful butterfly!
Jaquline got snowflakes to match her dress!
Mrs. Claus and helpers! Tina, Christina (Christy the elf), and Mandy (Elsa-elf!)
Liam was here, but jumped out of the way! Brother-cousin time L-to-R JJ, Lucas, Isaac
This video shows our baby sister’s personality – it matches the hat!
Group Selfie! Tina, Ray, Becca, Charles, Allison
The teenage grandchildren (Becky, 13, and Christina, 15)
Bouncy Hat plus Sherlock Pipe (both with accents…)
The pro (Aunt Becca) teaching JJ how to take a selfie… (He knows he’s adorable!)
Mom and the boys (silly faces): L-to-R Nathan, Ray, Tina, Charles, Louis, and Andy
Mom and the girls: L-to-R Mary, Kayla, Katy, Allison, Tina, Becca, and me.
We did not get a group picture, or a full cousin picture, because everyone was just having too much fun! The girls (my pictures come from Christina, Becky, and Kimberly) managed to get many active shots.
This was our first year without my Daddy. Katy and Andy had set up the layout so that he would have a comfy chair, a central view, close to food, close to everything in what Kimberly called “Santa Boompa’s throne.” (The chair with the footstool, Mom’s seat was supposed to be the matching one next to his.) From this view you could see Livy’s facepainting station (she is so talented), the Selfie station (which was hilarious), the “dance floor” (right in front – so much fun!), the food and beverage buffet area was to the left (easy access to refills and the silly shenanigans going on in there), and the covered porch area was just behind it (where not just the boys were showing off their strength… or trying to).
Even though he wasn’t there, I didn’t feel like Daddy was missing. I heard him in my brothers, Mom, and several of the children. I heard his laugh when the boys were showing off. I could hear him cheering each one on. I felt his smile as Anastasia passed out gifts for each of the sister- and brother-cousins. The little ones ran around giving drawings, toys, and hugs to each other and I felt him smile because he loved to give. I felt his heart as Kimberly reminded me she needed my phone to “take pictures and movies for Grandma,” because “Granddaddy always likes to get pictures for Grandma!”
My Daddy’s legacy lives as the humor and fun he always had rubbed off on us kids and our children. We love to see each other smile and laugh. We encourage each other. We share with each other. We love.
This makes me so happy I cried on the way home.
Daddy isn’t really gone. I miss him so bad; I miss being able to talk with him. No one listens to me chatter away about the story ideas I have like he did. Daddy didn’t seem to mind if it was the fifth – or fiftieth – time I told a cute something the kids did or a neat thing I learned; he never said “I’ve already heard that.” I miss that, yes.
But he’s here. I keep hearing the sing-song voice from the Disney cartoon: “he lives in you.”
Daddy lives in all 25 of us that were there (and the 4 who weren’t) in some way. His legacy is us.
Ever feel like everything in the world is raining down on your shoulders and you can’t keep anything up? That was today…
December 20, 2018
Wimpy Atlas
Am I the only one who feels like Atlas with wimpy shoulders sometimes?
Yesterday was a good example:
I got up at 5:30am to work, the guy cancels as I’m just on the road. Bummer.
Get back home, waste of a half-hour prep and 20 minutes gas and time, but I try to stay positive. My breathing flared up; can’t lay down to go back to sleep. Grrrrr… hot tea and honey while I work on my character cards for the 6th in The Devonians – 26 characters in this one because it is set during a community planting season.
I write a program for translating ages – this will make future work easier. I had my tea. I hoped I would avoid having to take the allergy pill (discovered a natural antihistamine as I’m allergic to both Benadryl and the emergency inhaler I was supposed to be taking 4 times a day, but I still prefer not to take anything). I pick up the second ride. I’ve now made $20.
I chose not to dwell on sad things pinging around the back of my brain.
But when I got home about 11, I was starved. I made my Shakeology because Louis wasn’t hungry (the kids had already eaten, and I wasn’t going to make a whole breakfast just for me). Louis took the next call so I could finish eating. I gathered all my stuff into neat little piles so I could use my tools to guide my story. Christina needed help on an Algebra problem so I set my Shakeology cup down.
But… (that word NOT in the positive this time!)
As I finished with Christina’s problem *BAM* I turned and knocked the full Shakeology cup over ($3.50 meal – I hate waste)! *SPLASH* the broken blinds, the window, the lamp, the wall, EVERY ONE of my 26 cards, my hand-written “cheat sheet” I’d created almost a year ago for the Devonians families, and the floor are covered in goo. Imagine slightly soupy pudding – that’s the consistency of Shakeology + coffee.
Immediately, as quickly as the drops of fluid, everything negative that I was trying to hold back rained down on my brain.
The evening before, Mom got Daddy’s ashes… all that’s left of his body is in two boxes on her table.
Didn’t get to stop by Mom’s on the way home (*thoughts*you are a horrible daughter.)
Didn’t get to snuggle on the couch with Lucas because I was cleaning while he fell asleep (horrible mom.)
Didn’t get to fix my pie or anything to take to the party (horrible guest.)
I had to drive in the morning but only had two calls & the would-be big one canceled (horrible provider.)
Lucas wanted me to play trains… I was busy teaching (again, you never play with him!)
…and on and on and on… my brain just rained down things I wished I could have done differently, things I wanted to do but hadn’t, and things I should have done.
I felt like the world was falling on my shoulders and squishing me flat.
Now I was hungry, it was noon, and the very next call was “make some rice for lunch” because we had one pound of beef in the freezer and “stir-fry would be good.” All I wanted was to type my frustrations out and make another Shakeology to actually eat. I wanted to get to my vitamin shake before I went to work at 2. (I was leaving early to stop by my mom’s today!)
I read somewhere that a mother is the Chief Mood Officer in her home. When I start getting lost in emotion, I remind myself of that. I turned on Christmas music, started cleaning so I could start rice, and prayed I’d be able to pull my own mood up (and keep the house from growing dark). My siblings’ party is tomorrow. I can choose to shift my focus on the positive. Hopefully it works!
*By the way* I didn’t get my shake until I was on the way to work, my mom wasn’t home when I got to her house, and on… BUT I was working playroom so had brought my Devonians folder and was able to use the 40 “lost” minutes to recreate some of the destroyed cards. I forced myself to focus on the positive again… this week has been a constant challenge for me. God. God is totally in control. (I just need to lean on Him – His shoulders are not weak.)
