Baby Kaleb

Little baby Kaleb is a child that has surpassed everyone’s expectations. You’ll remember last spring the case of the baby shaken by his sitter in Tampa. He was in ICU for months, with no hope of recovery as far as the doctors were concerned. His mom, a woman of strong faith, has shared her belief that God would heal her son from day one. Kaleb’s amazing recovery has proved every doctor wrong from his original prognosis. He’s improving leaps and bounds, and I’m so thankful that God has used this amazing families journey, although sad, to show the world that He still provides miracles.

See Kaleb’s mommy’s blogs here that walk you through his progress. As your read through please remember to keep Kaleb and his family in your prayers. His parents are amazing individuals, who have looked to the Lord through their trial to bring them through. Their faith is a wonderful testimony for all of us to look to.

Pics I took

Hey for those of you who want to see a few pics I took on my last photoshoot, click HERE. Today I ask for prayers from all of you who feel led to do so. Thank you.

Faithful Friday

I wasn’t near a computer much yesterday to post for Faithful Friday, so a late post will have to do. Yesterday, I rode along with a colleague of mine. One of his appointments was an assisted living center outside Oklahoma City. As my colleague finished up with the office manager, I wandered out to the lobby. It was full of residents visiting with each other, but one was sitting off to herself. There was an empty chair across from her. I asked if she was expecting anyone and she invited me to sit.

We had the most touching conversation. I never found out her name, but I know that one of her three daughters died two years ago. I know that she’s suffering from some memory loss due to her grieving, as it’s taking it’s toll. I know she’s 86 and a believer. I know that she has a lot of loving family members and friends that visit her often. She was a very strong and sweet lady, who is trying to get past her loss. I shared a story with her about me, and told her something that is just between she and I…but I will tell you that it made her and I both feel blessed to have made each other’s acquaintance.

The best thing was I got a huge hug before I left and it made my day…all day. My heart says her name is Mary…and although I don’t know her real name, I know Mary blessed my day and am thankful to God for her.

If any of you have ever just thought about visiting an assisted living center or nursing home, take a hard look at the joy you’d be bringing someone. If you find yourself driving while during errands or on your way home…if you’ve got a few minutes…and it crosses your heart, please listen to the holy spirit’s request and stop in. If only for 30 minutes, you could not only make someone’s day but get a huge blessing in just meeting someone new.

These men and women have so much history to share…so much love to give. Some are blessed to be in safe and comfortable centers, some are not. Some are in deplorable conditions. Thankfully my Mary was in a wonderfully safe and nurturing environment, but I’ve seen some that aren’t very pleasant. I’ve been in some that smell of urine and sound of cries for help when you walk in. These are signs of neglect…and if you do happen upon one of these it’s your duty to report it.

This is just something that was on my heart today and I felt led to share it. I hope at least a small handful of you will consider stopping in to make someone’s day….and your own.

A Mission Worthwhile

A friend of mine runs a very worthy cause to help young boys in the state of Oklahoma. Pepper’s Ranch is an amazing place, where they strive every day to break the cycle of abuse in Oklahoma, and provide young boys with the basic needs of love, support, and overall care.

I know most of you give to where you feel is right for you, but if you would just take a second to click on the below link I would appreciate it. If you feel led to donate $5.00….great. If not, at least you’ve been made aware of how wonderful Pepper’s Ranch is. Any donation given goes straight to helping the needs of the children at the organization.

Here is what he sent me via email and I just wanted to pass it on:

 

There are three very simple reasons I am contacting you…

 

1. You care…and will invest a small amount of time to view the link below
2. You care…and will commit to make a difference in the life of a child
3. You care…and have at least 5 more friends who care

Acting together, we are all just one click away from making an unbelievable difference!

 

http://www.peppersranch.com/videodonate.asp

Heath Ledger gone at 28

I’m sitting here in shock after reading story on Heath Ledger’s death. Only 28 and in his prime, he was found dead at his Manhattan apartment. My husband heard he’d had trouble sleeping, which is why he’d maybe overdosed on sleeping pills. This story I’ve linked to above says they’re not sure if it’s a suicide.

I am not one of those who get starstruck or follow Hollywood. BUT I do respect some actors’ work and contributions to film. Heath Ledger is among one of my favorites, because he didn’t take the easy way in film. He didn’t just accept hunky hollywood roles that would have set him for life. He chose roles that would expand him as a character…as a person.I think he was very talented and amazing…and I’m sad. Any death at an early age is pitiful. What will really turn my sad into mad is if it comes to light that it was a suicide. They’re saying it’s not…that he was having severe sleep problems and simply overdosed himself on accident. What a loss for his daughter, his family, and his community.

One year here…

I’ve been blogging here for one year now. I started at the first of Jan of 2007. So in celebration I’m re-posting my first blog.

One thing that always gets me is when people call me ‘lucky’ or when something good happens in their own life-they wonder at their own good luck. I think too often in our society we overlook our blessings! I know firsthand how many miracles have been preformed in my life, and luck had nothing to do with them. I know non-believers can’t give credit where credit is due because they don’t believe God is at work in their own lives….especially when it comes to the small stuff.

Trust me people–God’s miracles aren’t just in the Bible! From the moment we’re born we’re blessed with relationships, jobs, safe travels, a comforting shoulder when we’re upset, a smile from a stranger. We never know what God is delivering right in our own lap if we don’t pay attention. Someone asked me lately how I stay in tune with God even when life gets so bad. That’s when I try to stay more in tune than ever by counting my blessings.

I have made subtle little comments in previous blogs on difficult times in my life, but have never given any insight to my friends, who have asked, what thoses are. My real friends know these things, but you—reading this— probably don’t. I won’t bog you down with life’s trauma, but I will try to uplift you by telling you about God’s inspiration in my life.

My husband a few years back had a severe case of adult on set allergies that we were unaware of. He was allergic to many foods that he unknowingly kept eating until one night it was too late. We were heading home after a night of food and beverage, and my better half started acting irate and irritable due to the supply of oxygen slowly being cut off. Being a newly wed, I just thought I was seeing a new side to my husband and was clueless. We started home and was about a mile from our house when he pulled over claiming he was not feeling well enough to make it that last mile.

By the time it took for he and I to switch places and fasten our seatbelts…he was passed out with his neck swollen past his chin and clavicle. His face was so swollen that his eyes were sunk in and he wasn’t breathing. Thank the Lord for LARGE miracles, we had pulled over in a parking lot across from a hospital. So I took off running red lights, stop signs and driving into oncoming traffic….all the while beating his chest with one fist and trying to steer with the other.

Our life flashed before my eyes…the years we would never have, the children we’d never conceive….and all I could yell was, “God No, Please NO! Help me!” I pulled into the ER after driving around it twice trying to find the ER entrance….it wasn’t clearly marked back then like it is now. I rolled down my window and started screaming to get a doctor. It felt like an episode of ER. The doctor’s would not let me back to see him once I parked and came inside. From what I learned later … if I had gotten him there 20 seconds later, he wouldn’t have made it. His air way was so constricted that they couldn’t even bag him to get a tube down his throat. Afterwards, a nurse told me they weren’t having any success tubing him and didn’t think he would make it. She told me I was lucky. It wasn’t luck that my husband made it, & with 20 seconds to spare!

That night, God provided 1 of countless miracles in my life and I’ll never forget the panic and fear I felt. He kept me sane enough to drive with out crashing into oncoming traffic and around cars at stop signs. He got me to the hospital in the nick of time, and he saved the love of my life.

I just wanted to share with you that He loves all of you.

You all have miracles in your life as well. You just have to stop and pay attention.

7 things that you may or may not want to know…about me

Chicken Fried Therapy tagged me with a meme that lists 7 things about me. I’ve done this one before, so I won’t bore you with repeat info or a long and drawn out list of what I’ve done or who I’ve been. I’m going to switch it up and list 7 things I still have to accomplish or 7 things I have on my ‘to do before I die’ list.

1) I intent on taking guitar lessons to learn a new craft, and use the new guitar sitting in my guest room. It was a birthday present 5 years ago from my husband, before we knew we were pregnant. Baby days took priority over anything just for me. I will start lessons before the end of the year…that’s a promise to me.

2) I have 1/2 a chapter left in my manuscript, and I WILL get it finalized this month. I WILL submit query letters starting next week and will revel in each rejection letter, until I get my acceptance letter.

3) I want to show my son where I grew up in Oahu. I want to show him my favorite places on earth so that he may come to understand the magic of the islands, and why I love them so much.

4) I want to come to a conclusion this year on whether or not to have another child. It’s now or never, and my husband & I need to sit in quiet prayer to ask God for guidance on this question.

5) I plan on doubling my revenue/income from my career in the next two years. This will allow me to save enough back to afford us financial peace. We’ve stopped using plastic, and only utilize cash. With the plan we’re on, if I’m able to increase my income…we can be debt free in 2 years. This will allow us enough freedom to move to a better neighborhood. A neighborhood without pesky vandalists messing up our streets.

6) I want to reach out in God’s name. I want to do something worthy of being called His child. Each day I want to be in place to truly listen to His call for me, so that I may follow. This will increase my quality of life, knowing I’m giving back in His name to someone else.

7) I will get in shape physically. Although a tall slender frame, I need to firm up and eat healthy. This will be a good example for my son and husband, who works hard at doing the same. With my support, it will make it easier for him to keep in constant shape rather than on again — off again. This will help my mental, physical, and emotional health to strive for balance.

Okay 7 things I want for me…they may have struck a chord with you…or they may not have. Either way, it’s important to write them down so that I’m accountable to me and to all of you. I hope you’ll do the same thing today. Write down your 7 things you need or want to do for you. I think it’s important to learn 7 things about people and their past, but I think it’s so much more important to learn who they’re striving to be…how they’re going to make their world a better place.

Let’s try to leave the past where it is, and focus on taking today one step at a time…or 7 steps at a time. 😉

Just postin’ an AMEN

To all of you who prayed for my mom…thank you! Praise God for His love and faithfulness.

She had a stubborn sinus infection that wasn’t going away which was dangerously close to major artery.  It needed to be scraped away.  She also had seven polyps removed from her sinus cavities, and had her deviated septum fixed. Needless to say the surgeon had a lot to dig out from every crack and crevice in her sinuses. He also had to chisel and pound away on her nose to straighten and lift it up so that she could breathe. She’s only been breathing with less than 20% capacity since she could remember.

To date, she’s had no pain from the procedure. She’s had abnormally little external swelling, and NO bruising. It took about 5 days for her to completely come out from the effects of the anesthetics. She wasn’t remembering anything for days, which her family members found funny…but it got old for her. We’re just praising God that she came out from underneath it at all, so that she awoke from surgery.

It is what we call a “GOD” thing, to have no pain or bruising. She has less swelling around her eyes, than she did before the surgery. The polyps that were growing were putting pressure on her eyes, and temples. This caused her more pain and swelling than the surgery did…AMEN! And thank you GOD!

Faithful Friday 11-18-08

I’ve been so busy lately (notice a pattern here in the last 6 months), that I’ve not spent to much time in devotions. I don’t think God gets mad at me. I don’t think He loves me any less. I know He’s always there waiting for my return, knowing that I WILL return. My heart is always in His hands no matter how busy my mind gets…

Today I was driving to an appointment, and I began to pray.
“Lord bless this appointment. Help me to uncover this potential client’s pain, and my they see that my company and my representation will be exactly what they not only need but want! Thank you for blessing my with their business. And thank for keeping their heart in the center of your will Lord.”

I got there, and the person that was introducing me to this client was 20 minutes late. The client didn’t know who I was or what I represented, but he asked me to sit and have a cup of coffee with him. He graciously asked what I did and how I fit into the meeting he was having with the other gentlemen, who was late. I answered quick and simple, and then started asking him questions about him and his business plan. I wanted to know everything there was about him and his plan to sustain and grow his program. This man’s eyes lit up when he talked about his business. You could tell his business was his passion.

By the time my contact arrived to make our introductions, my potential client and I were fast friends. In his body language he already told me that he was comfortable with me. I left that meeting with some clear pains with his current supplier, and have a meeting with him next Friday to sign him up with my company.

Every time I turn around God has blessed me with some pretty tremendous opportunities. I am blessed and humbled by His constant support in my career. He knows that I have to do a certain amount to support my family, and He’s blessed me in many ways. Not just by allowing me to gain clients, but by meeting some pretty amazing people. My life is richer each day with the people I meet, and how they effect my work.

New DYI Project

I finally got the paint from my sister’s house. She had a gallon of mocha paint left over from her bedroom paint job, and it was the exact color I wanted to paint my brick fireplace. This weekend I stripped my wall of any decor or curtains, and my son and I started taping it off. Tonight I found an old roller in my garage, from the last paint job we did (5 years ago). Talk about designing on a dime…or less.

I still have to buy the new fabric that I’m going to make my curtains from, so those will go up in the next few weeks. BUT here are some photos for your before and after pleasure.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

That same eggshell color was about to drive me crazy, and I needed a splash of something in my living room. The fireplace is the first thing you see when you walk in my house, so it needed to make a statement. I think it looks a whole lot more rich now. I can’t wait to get the touch ups done near the wall and the woodwork. Then I’ll take the newspaper off the mantle, and decide if I want to paint the bricks at the base…or not. I kinda like the bottom left alone…What do you all think? Paint the bottom or not?

Once my pictures go back up on the wall, and the curtains are hung…it’ll be a whole new room.

Next project? The kitchen needs stripping and a paint job (apple green). Then I need to replace my master bath faucets. I’ll wait for my birthday though, until I get more Lowe’s gift certificates to buy the supplies. As for now: I plan on going in my living room and enjoying my new color! I love to make my house a more livable space, and my son loves helping me too. He’s such a little handy man. Have a great night!