Scrap n stuff

I had a blast at scrap n stuff tonight. I met alot of new ladies, got to scrapbook with my sister. I am so glad things have turned out the way they have the past couple of weeks, it is all for the better. It got me out of my comfort zone and scrappin with some new ladies and I am making some new gal pals. Best of all was the fact that I got to scrapbook with my sister.

Scrap n stuff is a great place, really laid back and friendly. And it is smaller than the other store I had been scrapbooking at, so it is easy to get acquainted with most everyone. I now look forward to my saturday nights.

Shirley Goodnest

A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn't want his mother to walk with him. She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence, but yet know that he was safe.

So she had an idea of how to handle it. She asked a neighbor, Mrs. Goodnest, if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably wouldn't notice her.

Mrs. Goodnest said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed.

The next school day, Mrs. Goodnest and her little girl, Marcy, set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor boy he knew. She did this for the whole week.

As the boys walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week.

Finally he said to Timmy, "Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week?
Do you know her?"

Timmy nonchalantly replied, "Yeah, I know who she is."

The friend said, "Well, who is she"?

"That's just Shirley Goodnest", Timmy replied, "and her daughter Marcy".

"Shirley Goodnest? Who the heck is she and why is she following us"?

"Well", Timmy explained, "every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much. And in the Psalm, it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life', so I guess I'll just have to get used to it"!

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace. Numbers 6:22-26

May Shirley Goodnest and Marcy be with you today and always.

forgiveness

The Lord has really been speaking to my heart this past week. I have been dealing with resentment and unforgiveness of others that have hurt me. I realize that I am hurting no one but myself with these feelings, and I am strapping them to my back and carrying the weight of them around by harboring such feelings.

So all I have to do is forgive them, give myself permission to, and I have. Even though they have hurt me, I am not so sure they exactly meant to do so. I am going to show some grace and mercy, after all....I have been forgiven many, many times over, and I have not deserved a bit of it, but the Lord gave it to me.

Thank you Jesus for showing me grace and mercy, and reminding me of when I also need to share that grace and mercy.

Updates

Thanks to everyone praying for my neice, Noelle, the test results revealed two urinary tract systems connected to one kidney. They are running more tests, but she is ok, and at home for now.

I had my son, Christian tested for him to return to public school (I have been homeschooling him this year). I am so pleased, he tested above grade level in alot of areas. He is no longer behind in anything.
Here are his results:
(he is currently in 5th grade and 11yrs and 1month old)

Score Summary:

General Information Grade Equivalent was 5.4th grade level
age equivalent 11yrs old

Reading Recognition Grade Equivalent was 6th grade
age 11yrs and 4mos old

Reading comprehension Grade Equivalent was 8th grade
age equivalent was 13yrs and 3mos old

Mathematics Grade Equivalent was 6.7th grade
Age equivalent was 12yrs and 3mos old

Spelling Grade Equivalent was 6.9th grade
Age equivalent was 12yrs and 4mos old

I was worried that I was cutting it as his teacher, but apparently I was doing much better than I thought. Great Job Christian, we are so proud of you. :-) He should be starting public school next week, and I might get a job or take some courses at the community college.

I am sick again...darn cold, I hope it is gone by saturday, I don't want to miss the crop at scrap in stuff on saturday. Please keep me in your prayers, also my son Elijah, he is sick too and has missed two days of school this week.

New Scrapbooking place

I went tonight (saturday) to scrapbook at a new store. I love it, it is just the right size, the people are way laid back and friendly. Last weekends events may have been a blessing in disguise. I didn't get to crop with my sister, the doctor took her off her pain patch, and now her hands hurt so bad she can barely hold a phone (car accident). So, not sure if I am gonna be cropping with her for quite awhile. :-( I got lots of pages done tonight, and hope to get them uploaded here tomorrow...well, today, cause now it is sunday, lol. I also met some new ladies while scrapbooking, they were really nice. I hope to see them next saturday....I already have my reservation. :-)

Dead Mom Club

OK, I finally watched last nights episode of Grey's Anatomy...I was a blubbering fool through almost the whole episode. The whole cancer issue with Georges' dad really brought up some grief that I have been trying to cover up or at least thought I was through with for the most part. It was just too real for me, I was feeling what he felt (the character). The pit in the bottom of my stomach, the lump in my throat. You are walking around feeling like you are moving in slow motion, and the rest of the world is just speeding right past you. In the midst of your loss and your grief...life is continuing all around you. For me...time was standing still, the pain was agonizing. I still remember the feeling I felt sitting in the doctors office with my mother when the doctor told us she had cancer...seeing her cry, trying to hold back my own tears...not knowing we had less than two months left with her.

When George found out the doctors removed the cancer at his fathers request, he was so angry. He was now losing his father sooner. He could have had a few more weeks or months. I sometimes feel that way about my mother, wishing she hadn't had the chemo. Thinking that if we wouldn't have had her get it, she would have survived a little longer, had a little more time with her. But I have to remind myself that she would have suffered greater and probably longer.

You know the writers know the what they are writing about, they have been there, they must have been. Like Yang said on this episode...you are now a member of a club, one you didn't ask to be a member of. George is a member of the Dead dad club...I am a member of the Dead Mom club. And like him, I just dont' know how to live in a world where my mother does not exisit anymore. Even a little over a year later...sometimes, I forget how real it is. She is gone, and I have a membership to a club I never wanted.

Pulling myself up...

Well, after a bad weekend and mostly bad week, because of much drama and depression, I have finally pulled myself out of it. When something bad happens to me, it usually affects me for awhile. But, I have decided to pull my self up, kick off the dust and pull the knife out of my back and move on. Seriously. Too much drama for me to post what happened here. I have decided to move forward and make new local scrapbooking friends. I am keeping some of the old ones, they are just such sweet women, I am just unable to crop with them currently.
I am cropping this saturday at a local store, one I have never cropped at before, it looks nice, not as big as the old one, but that doesn't matter, they are nice just the same. And, my sister will be with me, so that is a plus, and great for her to get out too and fellowship with some women and make new friends.
I am going to go ahead and keep scrapbook fellowship, it is a group I initially started to help my sister meet some scrapbookers in her area, I did it with the best of intentions, but it caused problems for me personally and I almost deleted it. But after much sleep, wellbutrin and prayer, I have decided to make that group a worldwide group for croppers to chat, do online challenges and cybercrops, and then created a sub group locally. Kinda like I have done for Militarywives4christ, I created a main group over 7 yrs ago, we are now almost 200 membes strong, people come and go, but we still have members who have been with us for years. We also have smaller groups in states with large military bases. It is a big job, but I have great moderators who have helped me greatly.
I am feeling encouraged, and more up to the challenge. I dont' think I would have done this, had the other door been slammed in my face. Something I didnt' see coming. But like I have always heard, 'when a door closes, God opens another one.' He is working good for me in the midst of the bad. Things will get better. I had no intention of heading up another large group, but maybe that is what God wants for me right now...I hope He will reveal His will for me, things would be so much clearer then. But I have hope.