I found some new housework-type smilies. Here is some of what I do all day: *giggle*

:coffee8_ms: :bible_ms: :brushteeth_ms: :coffee_ms: :dust: :mop: :shop:

Little man’s new word for the day: chicken. I asked him if he wanted to go outside and see the chickens, and he replied by saying, “chicken.” It was too sweet. It sounds a little bit more like “ch-ka,” but he was really trying. It amazes me how much he tries to mimic us!

Lately in church our preacher has been challenging us to pray more consistently and more often. I made a commitment to a specific time each day. It has been amazing. Just in the past few weeks, it has been so neat to watch as the Lord is changing my life. I find I’m growing closer to Him than ever before.

I had been doing pretty well with my morning devotions and reading my Bible, but God convicted me that I was not spending nearly enough time in prayer. When people say they keep falling more in love with their Savior – they’re right. I see the changes my Lord is making in my life, and it makes me desire Him just that much more.

I get up early to have my quiet time. That time of the morning is so quiet and peaceful. No neighbors blaring music, the phone isn’t ringing, the tv is off. It is so beautiful to hear the noises of creation as it wakes up for the day. I don’t hear songbirds too often, but I do hear our roosters! But it’s such a peaceful time.

I find that the more I’m consistent at getting up early for my quiet time – the more I crave it. Mornings that don’t start with me in the Word usually end up being pretty crummy days.

Sometimes DH is up with me, reading his Bible too, but I try to be up before he is. But it just amazes me that he can be up reading his Bible and talking to our Savior at the same time as me – and the Lord can understand both of us!

We serve such an Awesome God, don’t we? How about you? Do you crave the time you spend with our Savior?

I had an interesting conversation with my grandmother yesterday. I called Mom to talk to her like I usually do, and she told me that Grandma wanted to talk to me (she lives with my parents now). When she got on the phone, Grandma told me that she felt so bad at the thought of Little man having to sit in a carseat for 14 hours for us to drive up for Christmas that she decided she was going to pay for our airfare there. Wow! I’m thrilled!

Since Stephen’s family is here in SC, and mine is up in MI, we alternate holidays. We spend Thanksgiving here, and Christmas up there, and then the next year we switch. This year is the year we’ll be going to MI for Christmas. We had begun to talk about the trip, but we hadn’t made any decisions about it yet. One big issue was the cost: with the price of gas we weren’t completely sure how we were going to get there.

She told me that I am to go online and find tickets. I’ve been looking, but we need to get dates firmed up a little first. I’m playing for a wedding the 23rd, and school starts back on January 2, so we need to go in that week there, but we still haven’t figured out the finer details yet.

Now we don’t have to worry about it. Yay! Is that a huge blessing or what? I just love how God provided before we even had a chance to pray about it!

I’m the newest Avon Independant Representative! I just got the email. I had gotten some unexpected money a couple of months ago, so I saved some of it so I could join Avon.

I just got the official email about 10 minutes ago. I’m so excited! :jump3_ms: I have my catalog dog-eared already from making my first “wish-list.” Now I just need to sit down and figure out what I’m actually going to order!

The ladies at Hannah’s Prayer have been discussing their blogs lately. I just love visiting everyone’s blogs! Some of the ladies had mentioned that they would only share their blogs with HP members, so I haven’t added those links to my list of blogs. I have added one blog there, simply because I know that one is not a private blog.

If you’re one of my Hannah girls, and you want me to add your blog to my list of blogs here, let me know. I’d love to add your blogs. If you don’t, I’ll just assume that you want your blogs private! Love you girls!

Today when we got home from morning service, Stephen and I were fixing lunch while Little man was playing in the living room. I usually keep an ear out for him, so if something happens I can be right there. Today, he was babbling as usual, and then I heard it.

“One, two, three, four…one,” etc.

I looked at Stephen. “DID YOU HEAR THAT?” He did. Little man counted to four! He’s only 16 months old, and he’s counting.

Is that too neat or what!

Lately Stephen and I have been dealing with a situation. Things have not gone the way we would have planned, but it is largely beyond our control. It is a pretty urgent prayer request, but one that I am not free to share the details of. I will say one thing, though, we need a miracle. And to be honest, we need it soon.

I was very stressed out about everything yesterday, to the point where it honestly ruined my day. Then yesterday evening I needed to call a lady from church about something. She’s a pretty good friend of mine, so even though I had called with a specific question, we ended up talking for a few minutes. She eventually shared a little of something that God has been laying on her heart for her to do. She doesn’t know it, but God began using that very thing to speak to me. She’s barely begun to act on it, but God used it to remind me that He is in control. It was so neat to see how God uses other people to accomplish His plan. I didn’t tell my friend anything about my rough day, but God knew. And He knew that I needed yet another reminder that He is in charge.

Then a bit later, I was browsing the Prairie Homemaker board. I came across this post. It was about being prepared (mostly in relation to Rita and Katrina) but the author was talking about being prepared vs. being stressed and worried. God used that to convict me about my attitude. Yes, things aren’t as I would plan, and yes, we do need a miracle, but my attitude was pretty bad about things. I talked with God about it, confessed my bad attitude, and determined to do my best to have a better attitude. Then, I fell asleep and slept great last night!

It’s amazing how different things look when you have a better attitude. My project for the day: to see how I can have a good attitude.

5 things I plan (Lord willing) to do before I die:
1. Give birth at least once, but hopefully many, many times
2. Adopt more children (and nurse them too if we adopt them as babies)
3. Live on a farm with lots of animals (especially horses, cows, and goats)
4. Have a big flower garden with lots of roses
5. Have my piano arrangements published

5 things I can do:
1. Cook almost anything from scratch and find recipes to do just that
2. Web design (I’m such a computer nerd)
3. Make my own clothes and jewelry
4. Play the piano, sing, and write music
5. Say I’ve nursed an adopted baby!

5 things I cannot do yet:
1. Garden outside. Stephen has to do it – I kill things
2. Use birth control (have not and will not)
3. Change the oil in our cars
4. Mow the lawn (not sure I want to – Stephen does it and I’m more than happy enough to let him)
5. Understand why some people seem to be insensitive

5 things that attract me to the opposite sex:
I’m married, so I don’t look. But to be honest, I never really have looked.

5 things I say most often:
1. Do you know what I mean?
2. You know? (I know it’s similar to #1, but I say them both equally)
3. Ummm…
4. Hey!
5. I want another baby.

5 people I want to do this:
Anyone that reads this and would like to do it. Just leave me a link to yours in the comments.

It’s all over the news. Texas is evacuating from the coast. Hurricane Rita is a category 5 hurricane. Every channel you flip to has something to say about the hurricane.

My heart just breaks for those in the path of the hurricane. I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have to evacuate, not knowing if your home will still be standing when you return. It’s a frightening thought. That thought alone has been enough to get me working on an emergency preparedness plan of my own (FlyLady has a good one that I use).

I have family down there in Houston. I just found this out this morning. I knew my aunt (well, she’s actually my great-aunt) had moved from NM, but I had totally forgotten where she had moved to. Mom reminded me this morning that she had moved to Houston to live with her daughter there. I hope she knows about the evacuation. She’s getting pretty old and feeble now, and I really hope she can get out of there easily.

Honestly, though, this hurricane business has me really thinking. Stephen and I were talking about it last night, and our preacher even mentioned it from the pulpit last night. I believe everything happens for a reason, and the fact that now two category 5 storms are hitting/have hit our country in the space of a month is hard to overlook. I saw a church marquee the other day that said it well, “9/11/01 and Katrina: America, can you hear me now? -God”

Is it judgement? Is it a wakeup call? I don’t know, and that’s not for me to decide. But I don’t think these two hurricanes are a coincidence at all. I think they’re both part of a Master Plan. I just wonder how God is going to use these two storms.