You Will WANT to Read This

I HAVE to share this amazing story of how great God is and how He used my cousin's story to save another baby's life.

***Please keep in mind that this is not a political post, it is to testify to God's goodness and grace.***

SO, my Uncle Joel posted this sweet blip about his daughter Paulina on Facebook and I thought it was pretty cool so I decided to share it on my page. This is what it said:


"Today, my heart feels broken for young women who are dealing with unplanned pregnancies - wondering what they should do.

Around this time of year, six years ago, a young Mexican teenager found out she was pregnant. Too young to care for her baby; especially a baby with special challenges - she could have aborted her precious gift.

Instead, she chose life. She courageously and painfully chose life.

That burden she carried for nine months - and still carries with her in her heart today, became one of our most incredible blessings.

To the nameless, valiant young woman in Mexico - thank you for bringing Paulina into the world. May you experience God's fullness and loving embrace through those who are following Him!"

Well, the next day when I got up I had a comment on my status that still gives me goosebumps and makes me tear up when I read it from my friend Jeni from college. Check it out:

"Krista please pass this on to your uncle, I volunteer at the Republican Party of Milwaukee County’s office, and a women came in yelling about what a terrible person Mitt Romney is how dare he medal in women’s choices. And can I as a self respecting women ever vote for him. I had just finished reading this on facebook, so I read it to her and showed her this beautiful picture. Instantly she burst into tears she couldn't even talk, after she calmed down she gave me a huge hug and proceeded to tell me that she just came from planned parenthood right up the road and found out she was pregnant. She had made an appointment to have an abortion, (it was at planned parenthood she read a poster about how Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan are against abortion and want to outlaw it) But after seeing this beautiful girl's picture she put a face on her unborn baby and realized it truly was a living thing. After sitting, talking and praying with her. I gave her my phone number and the number to a crisis pregnancy organization in Milwaukee. But she assured me that she couldn't abort this baby, and she wanted me to thank the person who posted this and give an extra big hug to this beautiful little girl, because you all saved a child’s life.

Please keep Ashandi & her unborn baby in your prayers, that she truly can make the hard choice of giving this baby life. I just had to share this amazing story with you & your family. I will definitely keep you all posted if I hear anything more."

Isn't that AMAZING???? Only God could have orchestrated those chain of events. I was so excited that I couldn't help but share it with you!!!

6 AM

For 2 weeks now, I have been waking up at 6. Surprised? I certainly am. I know I have mentioned it before, but I am NOT a morning person. So when God started convicting me of the attitude and heart that I have throughout the day from my lack of time not only with Him, but also for myself, I was shocked that a 6am wake-up call popped into my head.

Nap time used to be my me time, but recently Kaylee has only been napping about 1 day a week and so this time is no longer relaxing for me. So I was spending the entire day stressed by the girls and whatever moods they are in that day.

Needless to say, the last 2 weeks have been wonderful. They have definitely still had their moments where I want to scream and pull my heart out, but I have found that in those moments I have been able to exhibit much more self-control over my mood and my response than in the few weeks leading up to these. I do not think it is by my own power, but by God through me. He has filled me with His Spirit and helped me overcome whatever obstacle the girls throw at me.

I do not know if this 6am wake-up call is forever or just for this stage of life, but I am grateful for these 2 hours. They refresh me. Even though I may be sleepy. They give me rejuvenation and make me feel better about myself. They may not be at the time that I would prefer them, but they are exactly what I need to get through my day.

Vennard T-shirt Blanket

IT'S DONE!!!!!

And I LOVE it! It's soft and cuddly.

Here's how I did it.

First, I cut out a pattern with newspaper and used it to cut out my t-shirts.

Then, I pinned it to interfacing and followed the interfacing instructions. (Iron the interfacing on, peel paper off, iron again using a damp press cloth to seal the interfacing.) This was the longest part of the process. It seemed to take forever.

When I finished the interfacing, I spread my shirts out on the floor to figure out the order that I wanted them in.

It was finally time to start sewing. I sewed each individual shirt to the one next to it, completing each individual row. Ironing when the row was complete


Next, I sewed all of my rows together.

Then, I pinned it front sides together to my purple back fabric and sewed around leaving a large enough hole to pull the blanket through. After pulling the blanket through, I hand-stitched the hole closed.


After that I sewed a top stitch a quarter of an inch in all the way around the blanket. The last thing I did was sewed "in the ditch" across my rows to make the blanket nice and snug.

Voila! It is complete!

That One Person

Several years ago I hurt someone else's feelings. Made them mad at me. Never to trust or talk to me again.

Now before you start calling me terrible names, all of the stuff I was accused of was half truths, lies from others, and just a huge misunderstanding.

However, I hate conflict.

So I told them I was sorry. And for months after it happened I prayed about it and worked on making it right with this person. I finally got to a point where I realized that there was nothing I could do to rectify the situation. God gave me peace that I had done all that I could.

While I felt God's peace, this situation still comes to my mind all these years later. Sometimes I have a hope that this person has finally forgiven me. It truly hurts my heart that the situation has still not been resolved.

Yesterday at church, our Pastor talked about the process of dealing with a major conflict within the body and this person came to mind. Once again I was given peace and understanding that I have done all that I can.

Have you ever been in this type of situation? Were you able to just forget about it and let it go?

I just keep wondering why I continue to think about it even though I have had a clear peace about it from God. Maybe it is God's constant reminder to me to forgive as He has forgave and to remind me of the pain that one carries when they have not been forgiven. Maybe it is His way of asking me to pray for this person.

Priorities

Going into college I expected to meet some nice people, have some fun, and get my degree.

I did not expect to make life long friends.

My brother and I have this conversation all the time. You make your priorities. You choose what goes before what. You find out quickly where you are as a priority in the lives of those around you.

My best friend Meggan and her husband came down for the weekend. 12.5 hours. With two children under two. So Trevor and Adam can cheer for opposing teams at the Vikings vs Colts game on Sunday. And so we can all just hang out together because we enjoy each other's company. (They even played Galaxy Trucker with me, which is my favorite game. And they don't really like boardgames.)

I am so grateful for them. They bring out the best in Adam and I. I love seeing how happy Adam is and how much fun he and Trevor have together. Meggan is a great listener and gives great advice, so conversation is always something I look forward to. They make us laugh and help us remember our dating life and the things we fell in love with each other in the beginning. Our kids are all around the same age so they stumble, whine, and slobber all over each other.

If you have friends that you feel are super important to you, you should tell them. You should show them. Make them a priority. It is totally worth it.

Kaylee's Kidbits

Miss Independent.She loves to do things by herself. If you start helping her, she will quickly say, "I would like to do it by myself please." If something is sitting out she will help herself to whatever it is without asking, not because she is being naughty, but because she thinks she is a big girl and does not need permission. (I am so glad our fridge is too hard for her to open.)

Her favorite band right now is For King and Country. If you have not heard of them, you should check them out because they are pretty fabulous. When we get into the van she wants to listen to her favorite songs in a special order. Fine Fine Life. Let it go. People Change. Right now. (Note - these might not be their official names. This is just how Kaylee would say them.)

Tangled has finally moved to the back burner, while Lion King has taken over as favorite movie. The music is great in both movies, so no complaints here.

Curious George is her favorite show.

She lives for routine. She wants to know everything we are doing during the day and she asks over and over if she forgets.

Can you believe she is old enough to be in Cubbies already? Cubbies just started up and she is learning Bible verses and the Cubbies motto. So grown up.

Blue is still at the top for favorite color.

Kaylee loves her sister. They play really well together and she is always trying to get Ella to come to her room with her to play.

She loves to facetime, skype, and talk on the phone.

I still think her love language is words of affirmation. She loves getting told that she is doing a great job. (Who doesn't - Right?!)

She does not wear diapers anymore. She still has accidents at night occasionally. We are working on that. So proud of her.

Shopping buddy. She loves going anywhere and is pretty good for the most part.

Naptimes are getting fewer and far between, but I still make her stay in her room and be quiet for some down time.

Kaylee is growing up too fast most days and not fast enough on others.

She makes me laugh a lot. She is silly and just full of energy.

I love that girl.

Recommendations?

So a while back I posted about my motivational dress. In June I was finally able to put it on and not feel fat and frumpy. Here I am in it during my prime work-out time. Felt fabulous about myself and was so glad to see my hard work pay off!

Sadly, I traveled a lot over the summer and the work-out regime went down the drain with the healthy eating and while I have not put much weight back on, I am feeling quite jiggly again. I want to feel good about myself again and now is as good of time as any. RIGHT?!? All of that to say, Adam and I started our competition/challenge back up on Tuesday of this week. We have added our own personal goals to be met at the end or we cannot receive the yet to be determined super awesome motivating prize.

With that being said, do you guys have any recommendations of good scales that our moderately cheap? I don't need one to tell me that I am 97% fat or anything. Just a simple, you weigh ###. By cheap I mean like in the $30 or less range.