The Purpose...

I have been praying, well for almost a year now, that God would reveal to me what His plan is for me.

I'm in that season of life where nothing "fits."

I'm not talking about clothes either. Not that I wouldn't like to be a size or two smaller...maybe fit into those "skinny" pants again...but that's another rant for another day...that's not the kind of "fit" I'm talking about here.

I went back to work this year and I don't "fit" with my friends anymore, who are, for the most part, stay at home moms who homeschool. I still hang out with them. I still love them. I just don't have much in common with them these days. I miss being home with my kids, and while I like my job and find it rewarding, I just don't have a "career" mindset so I don't really "fit" at work either (although I have made a couple of special friends there). I'm so tired from working all day that my house is a disaster during the week so I'm not comfortable there, my car is lived in way too much so I'm not comfortable there, and my church is in "transition" so I'm really not comfortable there most of the time.

Has God ever stripped away all of your comfortable places, all at once? Did I mention my in-laws are moving to Oregon (their home was definitely one of my comfortable places...) <<>>

So for a year I have been pleading with God to explain to me what his plan is in all of this? Because I know he has one...and I know I'm dense enough to miss it for a really long time unless I pray about it a lot.

I got a glimpse this weekend.

I attended a Women of Virtue conference this morning. The keynote speaker was Tammy Maltby and can I just say, if you ever have the chance to hear her speak, to read her book, to see her television show...you should. She was awesome.

She talked about lifegiving. She spoke of pushing into other people's pain and bearing their burdens for them. That, and a few words of personal encouragement from a friend I attended with, popped on the light for me.

I have known from the beginning that God gave me my job. He handed it to me in a way that I could only know it was from Him. I just didn't know why.

Now I know. Feebly, with God working through me despite me, I have been able to give life at this school.

I am a parent of a child with ADHD, and a second child who is Bipolar. Because I am a teacher, I have been able to speak into the lives of countless parents who have children with these diagnoses, or symptoms. I have given them names of doctors, books to read, and practical ways to find solutions to the difficulties they face. I have also given them hope.

I think I may have been given a glimpse of my mission, my purpose, my calling.

I'm going to keep praying...will you join me?

Rain, Rain, won't you stay??

My friend, Heather, just posted on her blog (http://davesredhead.blogspot.com/) about the rain we got here last Tuesday...Needless to say rain in the month of May in Phoenix is a pretty rare occurrance. So what did I do? I took pictures of course!!!

Enjoy!!!

Rain, Rain, won't you stay??

 
 
  

Wordless Wednesday

  

Super Sunday

My favorite guest author appears once again:

We cannot reach dreams by ourselves
but together we will glow
like beautiful yellow stars
growing in the sky
who light up even the darkest of nights
with love

by Bethany Datria (age 10)

P.S. She dedicated this to her mom....awwwwwww....

Thirteen Things I LOVE about vacation! 1. I get to sleep in! 2. I don't have to be ANYWHERE at a specific time!! 3. I get to clean my house (I know, this is a sick thing, but if you've seen my house on a regular basis when I'm working you'll understand!) 4. I get to spend time playing and swimming and reading with my kids! 5. I get to spend time with friends I don't usually get to spend time with when I'm working. 6. I don't have to work. 7. Disciplining children is limited to my OWN children (and maybe some belonging to friends at times) and I don't have to worry about THEIR parents!! 8. I don't have to grade papers. (this is very close to the same thing as not having to work but grading is my least favorite part of my job). 9. Did I mention I get to sleep in? 10. I'm almost caught up on my laundry (which, with four children, only happens once or twice a year)! 11. It's not quite to the horrendously hot time of year so I can still enjoy being outside! 12. My husband took me on a date this past weekend (I'm not sure that has anything to do with my being on vacation but it was cool!!) 13. I'm going out with friends on a Thursday night...which never happens when I'm working because I'm WAY TOO tired to go out during the week!!

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Wordless Wednesday (a day late!)

My Beloved

This is a guest writer...proud Mama just HAD to share!! This was an assignment she was given in her reading and she really made me proud!!

I am my Beloved's and He is Mine…
By Bethany Datria

My betrothed….hmmm…If I were to describe my true betrothed he would be a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes, skinny, and light skinned. He’s friendly and kind. He’s outgoing and because of this he stands out in a crowd. He’s smart and he’s a deep thinker.
He and I have several things in common. We both have great grades in science and math and we love it, too! We both have degrees in Science. Neither of us likes dressing up fancy. We also both have glasses as well.
When we get married we’ll live in a big light house next to the ocean on the island of Hawaii. We’ll have a big family, say seven or eight children. It’ll be a happy family that spends as much time as we can together. We’ll work together to give back to God and our community.
My betrothed will be a scientist. He’ll improve life everyday with technology. He tinkers with electronics to improve them. He sometimes completely re-designs them.
Sometimes I wonder if I want to meet my betrothed right now. My answer is no, not really. I think that the longer you wait the better they seem, smarter and more handsome. If you find them at a young age you might never think they’re the one.

I just had.....

the most amazing experience.

I helped someone become a superhero!

I have attended several births as a labor coach/doula. It's one of my favorite hobbies. I never get tired of watching the miracle of birth! Most of the births I've attended have been second or third babies (or fourth for that matter)...and most of the moms have known what they were doing and didn't need a lot of guidance from me. This time was different.

This was a third birth for this mom. I attended her last birth but she let them induce her before I got there and they gel packed her, broke her water, and gave her pitocin all at the same time!! Needless to say she had an epidural before I even made it to the hospital and I don't blame her one bit!! But to some degree she felt she had somehow failed because she had the epidural. She had really wanted to have the baby without meds.

This time around I made sure she didn't let them induce her without me there. We were able to convince the nurse to let her have a heplock instead of an IV so that she could move around. They broke her water and gave her two hours to progress before they would determine if further action was needed. She went into labor immediately. She worked through the next two hours amazingly. She got the baby out in four pushes. I was so proud of her! I knew she could do it! She kept saying to me over and over, "I really didn't think I'd be able to do it and I did it!!"

Now she knows she can do anything she sets her mind to...she knows that nothing is too hard for her...she's a mom so she's always been a superhero...but now she knows it too!

Where does the time go?

I'm ever amazed when I show up to blog and realize how long it has been!

I wanted to share about the amazing vacation that we recently took.

We were very blessed to have my dh's parents offer us three day passes to Disneyland. We packed up the car and the kids and drove West for 6 hours to LaLa land once again. We've done this trip to LA many times and my kids are pro's at it. But this time we were going to DISNEYLAND...there was just a little more excitement in the air than usual.

It is a little odd for me to go to Disneyland...almost like going home after a long absence. One summer as a teenager I visited Disneyland 17 times (and that was before annual passes!) Heck, I remember using TICKETS to get on rides!! Needless to say I don't need a map to get around the place.

There are differences though. Like the fact that there is now an offramp from the freeway that dumps you straight into the Disney parking structure. This parking structure is rumored to be the largest in the United States. Where we used to park is now a whole new theme park, California Adventure.

The Swiss Family Robinson tree house is now Tarzan's treehouse. And I have a feeling it may soon become the Pixie Dust Tree of Pixie Hollow. Did you know that Tinkerbell has friends? There are other fairies that live in Never Never Land...they have merely been hiding for years!! (visit www.disneyfairies.com if you want to learn more!) Tinkerbell is my youngest daughter's current obsession and favorite character (in close running with Dora, who she was very sad to find out, does NOT live in Disneyland) My youngest daughter exudes the personality of Tinkerbell so it's a fitting obsession. Her greatest thrill on this trip was that she SAW Tinkerbell fly over Disneyland during the firework show (now there's a Pixie who ought to get hazard pay!) My greatest thrill was watching her. Several times people asked me what was my favorite thing about Disneyland and I had to reply over and over...watching my three year old experience the wonder.

I have gotten old.

Maybe I need a little pixie dust.

I saw crowds and high prices and long lines. I did silly things like time the fact that we waited for an hour to go on a 45 second roller coaster!

Then I saw that little blond head as she took it all in. She didn't like the scary fast rides (but went on them over and over again!) She LOVED the Pooh Bear ride, especially when the gal running it let us just stay in the car and go again, and again, and again...(I think those heffalumps and woozles are still after me in my dreams!) She didn't conveniently forget that her daddy promised her cotton candy. Watching a child visit Disneyland for the first time has got to be up there on the list of things everyone should do at least once.

It's enough to make you not really care about the crowds and the lines. I guess that's what makes it the "Happiest Place on Earth."