Pre-Cell Phone Blues

Do you remember life before cell phones? How did we we get through our daily lives without these handy little devices? I recall a lot of frustrated drivers in those days. Allow me to share this story about a time when having a cell phone would have come in handy.

It was one of the most important days of my life thus far. My college graduation. It was a beautiful and very exciting day and I was thrilled that my entire family was there to help celebrate. After the wonderful ceremony and many tearful goodbyes to my wonderful friends, it was time to pack up the cars and head home. I had my own car and my parents had their car. So, we loaded both vehicles and Mom decided she would ride with me and Dad was by himself. So, we headed out for the 3+ hour drive from Pennsylvania to New York. Still basking in the glow of the day, I was ready to conquer the trip.

All was going well... Mom & I were following Dad...that was until he decided he had to make a pit-stop. We're driving along, and all of a sudden, Dad is signaling to get off the exit. So, I quickly got over to the exit ramp. By the time I got to the end of the ramp, Dad was no where to be seen. I didn't know if he went left or right. I figured, he most likely went right, so I turned right. I drove for a few minutes hoping to spot his car in a gas station or fast food restaurant lot so I'd know where he pulled over to use the facilities. But we didn't see him. So, I made a U-turn figuring he made a left at the ramp.

Just as I completed the U-turn and started heading back towards the highway, there goes my Dad zooming by me going the other direction. I was like, "No way!". So, I quickly pulled over at the next possible road, made another U-Turn and went to find him. I no sooner started off again and my Dad passed me AGAIN! This happened not once, not twice, but about four times! By this time, I was losing my cool...quickly. My mom, however, found this entire episode hilarious! She was bent over, tears rolling down her eyes, hysterical in laughter. The more she laughed, the angrier I was getting. Why didn't Dad just stay put??!?!?

So, at this point, the "ugly Sicilian" in me reared her head and I determined that I was not going to move again. I was staying put and that way, I would ensure that next time Dad drove by, we would reconnect. Well, we sat, and sat, and sat. Apparently, Dad had the same idea. So, it was a battle of the wills. In the end, Dad came by again and found us. We regrouped and made it back to NY without any further instances.

It definitely would have helped to have a cell phone that day, although I think the memory I have of that day is a treasure.

A Rememberance

She entered the kitchen not expecting the sight before her. Her mother was hunched over the kitchen sink with her face in her hands, sobbing. "What's the matter, Mommy? Are you OK? Why are you crying?" With tears streaming down her face, the mother turned to her daughter and said "I'm okay sweetie. I am just missing my Mom. Sometimes I cry because I just miss her so much and wish I could talk to her." The girl went to her mom's side and patted her back. "Don't worry, Mom. You'll see her again someday in heaven, right?" With a little smile, her mom wiped her eyes and said, "That's right honey. It's okay for us to be sad though and miss people that we loved."

This was no ordinary story. It's my story between my mom and I when I was about 7 years old. My mom knew what it was like to lose a mother. She knows the feelings I am feeling today. Today marks the 9th anniversary of my Mom's death. There are days when the emotion is so raw it feels like it just happened. I can't say that I miss her any less. I miss her more - with every milestone in my life that she's missed out on. My wedding.. the birth of my son.. his first steps.. the answers to prayer requests. Oh what I wouldn't do for another phone call with her or to hear her infectious laugh. I often think.. did I show her enough that I loved her? Did I tell her enough? Did I take her for granted? Was she proud of me? I'm not bitter that she's gone. God called her home..it was his perfect time for her. We serve an awesome God - who am I to question his timing. She was suffering with cancer here on earth - but is cancer-free and worshipping the Lord today. Everyday. That's much better than being here on earth...even though I selfishly wanted her to be here longer.

I know that I'm not alone in this. Many of you have lost your parents.. some more recently than others. Time really doesn't change things...except for the picture that I have of her in my mind. When I picture her, I don't see her sick body... I see the young, fun and energetic mom. That's a gift from the Lord, I believe.

What can I do to honor her and her memory? Simple - live my life with the same priorities that she had -- Faith, Family, Friends.

Thank you Lord, for a loving mother who, along with my Dad, showed me the way to live for Christ. I was blessed to have had her in my life for 30 years. Please let her know that her family loves her tremendously and that we look forward to seeing her again someday in heaven.

Cry Out To Jesus

This is always a somber week for me and I'll explain why tomorrow. I'm posting this video with lyrics today because like me, there are a lot of people hurting. I know some of my bloggy friends are going through "stuff" and I hope that this will encourage you. No need to comment or spill your heart... just know that I'm praying for you and love you and that when you feel you are lonely and you feel you have no where to turn.. you just Cry Out To Jesus!!!

Love you all!!

Believe

Chris came home with this craft from Sunday School yesterday. Such a simple thing that God has asked us to do... just believe in Him. Webster defines the word believe as "to accept as true, genuine, or real." I started thinking about what things did I believe at one time or another to be true or real. The strength of the economy, that America was a "safe" country, money in my 401k or social security so I could retire comfortably, that a particular set of circumstances would bring happiness, etc. But these things were of the world and not eternal. What eternal things should we believe in? That Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave. That Jesus is coming back again someday. I'm so thankful that by believing in God, I not only please him, but it is the pathway to salvation. Is God true, genuine and real in your life today?

Today Is The Day

Today is a gorgeous day in South Jersey. It's going to be in the high 80s today. By all indications, it's going to be an awesome day. Enjoy this song by Lincoln Brewster. Have a blessed weekend!!

Please Pray

We got a call in the middle of the night that Domingo was rushed to the hospital. He had 103 fever. Steve drove down to be with his family. The fever has come down a bit but Domingo has an infection in his right lung...they are admitting him to the hospital. Apparently they believe the infection is pneumonia.

Please join us in prayer that the infection will go away quickly and that he'll be able to continue his stroke rehab as soon as possible. Thanks to everyone for lifting us all up in prayer.

That's News To Me!

Am I the only person alive that didn't know that you should not put fabric softener in when washing your towels??? Honestly, I've always used it in the washing machine and I've used the dryer sheets too because I figured it would make the towels nice and fluffy..just the way I like them. I recently learned that the fabric softener actually makes the fabric lose absorbency. So what's a girl to do to get her towels nice and fluffy?? Apparently, using a cup of white vinegar during the rinse cycle works well. I'm trying it now. I guess I must have been day dreaming during that instructional lesson with mom.

Angel on the Wing

Even though I willed it not to happen, it inevitably did. I awoke in the middle of the night and prayed that it would go away. Lord, I can't take it anymore. Please help me. Words that I'd uttered a million times before, but spoken with more conviction this time. I was at the end of my rope... and I didn't want to go through the next 24 hours feeling this way. I didn't know how I would accomplish the task before me.. this thing that had my life turned upside down. What is the culprit, you ask? It is an all-consuming, terrifying, paralyzing fear of flying. And I was leaving for my vacation in 8 hours and didn't know how I was going to make it.

I'm sure several of you would just poo-poo me and say, oh please. Is that all you are scared of? It's not that I was scared, but I was gripped with a terror that something was going to happen to me and that I would not make it back. I wasn't always like this. I started flying as a child with my family and always loved the adventure..never once thought of the danger. It was only a few short years ago that my happy-go-lucky attitude towards flying changed. I don't know if it was Sept. 11 or if it was getting married and having a family that triggered it... but whatever it was, it paralyzed me.

I'm sure you've seen people like me on airplanes. I'm the one gripping my husband's arm for dear life, moving my lips in earnest praying during take-off, during the entire ascent and not releasing my death grip until we are in "smooth" air and the pilot assures me that it is now safe to unbuckle my seatbelt and to breathe again. My family jokes about it with me and anyone unfortunate enough to be traveling with me gets to see me in all my glory. My father-in-law once traveled with me and Chris and he saw a side of me that he didn't know existed. It's a side of me that I hate... a side that I had finally decided to give completely over to God because this fear...this terror.. is not of God and it needed to be handed over.

The night before I left for Florida, I knew I would have my panic attack. I expressed my concerns to my husband who lovingly assured me that all would be fine. I fell into a restless sleep only to awake at 2:30 am. The panic and fear returned with a vengeance and I just started praying for the next hour. I cried out to the Lord and told him that I wasn't going to let this dictate my life anymore. I proclaimed that I was a child of the Lord and that his protection would go with me and that there was nothing to fear. I had a breakthrough during that hour and I was able to go back to sleep after my long talk with God.

The next day, although I was physically exhausted from being up half the night, I was calm, cool and collected. I did not fear... I did not panic and I did not cling onto Christopher for dear life during take off or landing. It was as though I could almost see the long white gowns of the angels on the wing. That's how secure I felt. That's how it feels when you surrender your fears to God - you can almost see him walking beside you, helping you along the way.

Fears are real. Panic attacks are real. I've experienced them both but I'm thrilled to testify that God cares about our fears and can replace fear with peace. Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I will trust in you."

Jean Quest For Boys

So, I'm having an issue with my son's jeans. They are wearing out so quickly!! He now has 2 pairs with holes in the knees. It's been very hard to find some sturdy jeans that will endure the wrath of a 5 year old. So, for all you mom's out there with boys -- where do you get your jeans? One pair that wore out was from JC Penney, and the other from Children's Place. Any other ideas??? All thoughts welcome. And no, I am not considering putting a patch on the jeans. LOL

Clean Is Not What It Used to Be

We looked at a couple of rental properties these past few days and came to the conclusion that clean is not what it used to be. Oh my Word!! Maybe it's been a while since you had to look for a new home for you and your family. Let me assure you -- it's not a fun or easy task. You first have to do an exhaustive search through various websites to find homes in your price range and that have the features you want. If there's no picture, I automatically rule it out. You can usually get a good feel for the place based on pictures. Then comes the actual visit. Trust me.. just because it as advertised as "move in ready" does not mean any sane person would actually want to move into these homes. Yuck!! Here is some unsolicited advice from me to those people trying to entice me to rent their homes:

1) Two words --- Pool Cover! We saw one home that advertised that it had a pool. What is should have said was that it had a pool that was condemned by the board of health. No one wants to see brown water, leaves, dirt and questionable objects floating in your pool. One look and it didn't matter what the rest of the house looked like. No way

2) If you don't have time to do a thorough cleaning job, at least wipe down your counters and stove top. The burner's on one stove were so filthy that the whole kitchen became uninviting.

3) Outside appearance does matter. One house (the one with the pool) had so much crap in the back yard (tree clippings everywhere!!) there would be virtually no room for a kid to play.. unless they got into the aforementioned condemned pool.

Maybe I'm being too harsh...but I have a house on the market and I did my very best to have that house spotless. Maybe the people up here don't have time to watch HGTV and to get their tips from experts on how to display your house. Oh well. The quest continues... one dirty house at a time.

Here are some of my favorite websites for cleaning tips:
http://www.flylady.net/
http://www.heloise.com/

Five On Friday

You all know how I love change (can you hear the sarcasm?)... here are five changes happening in our lives:

1) Chris is starting a new preschool on Monday
2) We may have to move (yes, again!) this Fall (landlord wants to put our townhouse on the market)
3) I am starting a new diet and exercise plan again (goodbye my beloved ice cream.. you will be missed)
4) I am teaching the nursery class in church 2 Sundays a month
5) Domingo is entering a new facility today (they took his trach out yesterday which is a total answer to prayer!)

So, some good changes, some scary changes but, in the end, all is in the Lord's hands...which is where I intend to leave them.

xoxo

House of Style

I don't know about you...but most days it's all I can do to throw on some clothes, try to work my hair into some sort of order and dash out the door. I definitely have noticed a pattern since getting married. Do you remember your dating years? You know.. when you actually had time to take a shower with the door locked without anyone interrupting you. You could relax while carefully applying makeup and selecting nothing but your best outfit (and you had plenty of them to choose from!) You could wear heels back then because you weren't chasing after toddlers and you could use an "evening" bag because there was no need to throw wipes, crayons, cars, little toys, lollipops, a spare shirt, etc. into a huge "mommy" bag. You not only looked good, but you smelled good too. Your favorite fragrance was always close at hand.

After having Christopher, things changed again. My clothes were soiled with formula, spit up and other questionable substances, my hair was matted down with similar mysterious items, my makeup (if any was even applied in the morning) had worn off, rubbed off or was resting somewhere below my neck by the time Steve got home. My nails were brittle, short and in need of a major manicure. I smelled of who knows what.. hopefully Johnson's baby lotion if I was lucky enough to get some on me at all while bathing and dressing Chris.

Now that Christopher is a toddler, I'm once again embarking on a sense of style. One preferably that doesn't have "mommy" stamped all over it. It's hard some mornings to pull yourself together, get everyone fed, dressed and out the door, but it is doable. I'm striving to be more dressed and put together like when we were dating. Taking time with my hair, makeup, clothes, etc. Taking time again for myself. Who knows... maybe I'll splurge and lock the door and take a nice, long relaxing bath tonight. I think it changes your whole outlook on your day when you are put together instead of thrown together which is how I've felt over the last year or so.

I know my hubby loves me no matter the stage of life (or style) I happen to be in. That's the great thing and I'm truly blessed. I know God is more concerned with the inside and I'm working on that too. But I think it's important that I show my husband that I still care about him and that when he gets home from work he is not getting what's leftover but I am still somewhat put together. God's still working on me.. inside and out.

Have a great day everyone!

Happy Easter

A few days overdue, but I pray that you all had a blessed Easter. Happy Resurrection Day! He is Risen!!

Also, just a quick update on my father-in-law, Domingo. He is still at the rehab center and we hope to be moving him this weekend to another facility where he will continue to receive therapy. He has come a long way and I was so blessed to see him moving his right hand upon my return from Florida! God is so good and we continue to proclaim Domingo's complete healing!!

I'm Back !!

At long last, I am back. This is probably the longest blog break I have ever taken. We had a fantastic, relaxing visit with my sister and my father in Florida. If my husband had been with us, it would have been the "perfect" trip. There's something about the Gulf Coast of Florida that is so unlike the rest of the state. It's calming..relaxing..less crowded. Not as many tourists and extremely flat!! You see sunshine, beautiful clouds and not much else for miles and miles.

We accomplished everything we wanted except for swimming in my Dad's community pool because it was so windy and chilly the first 1 1/2 days I was there. Otherwise, we went mini golfing, swimming, bowling, shopping, eating, and just really enjoyed every minute together.

Here's a clip of Chris mini golfing (for the first time!)

Maybe he'll learn to use the club next time!

Chris was a great little traveler too. I gave him a Color Wonder for the trips on the airplane and, honestly, he spent the entire 2 hours doing it. It was peaceful. I could actually close my eyes, read a magazine and just relax on the plane... can't say that ever happened before. Must be a sign that he is growing up!! There's much more to share including an awesome testimony which I will be sharing over the next few days. Here are some pictures. You'll have to excuse me as I have a mountain-high load of laundry to tackle, among other errands.

Thanks to the many friends who called me on my birthaversary, sent me cards or reached out to me on Facebook (you know who you are!!) I love you and appreciate you all (even if you do remain anonymous on my blog). Maybe you'll sign up to be a follower one day soon.

Birthday, Annivesary and Vacation!!

Today is what I call my Birthaversary. My birthday and my wedding annivesary. Two awesome occassions on one day. Two Gifts; Two Cards...that was the deal. LOL.

It's going to be busy - today we are driving down to South Jersey to visit Domingo. (Please continue to pray that God works a miracle in his body so he is able to go home after rehab as opposed to a nursing home).

Steve, little guy and I will then go out for an early dinner to celebrate. It's the first time we are celebrating an anniversary with the little guy in tow, so I'm just hoping we can find a semi-formal place that is kid friendly as well. As long as it's not Wendy's or McDonald's we're good.

Sunday, l'm off to Florida to spend 6 days with my sister and my dad. Can't wait although I am going to miss my husband terribly. I don't like being away from him for long periods of time and I especially do not like travelling without him.

I'll probably be on break from blogging for a bit. Will touch base with loads of stories I'm sure when I'm back. In the meantime, thought I'd post some pix from our wedding day.

Five on Friday

Since tomorrow is our wedding anniversary, here are five tidbits from our wedding day:

1) My Oma Nettie (grandmother) was escorted to a seat in someone else's wedding that was taking place at the venue. Thank God she and the person who escorted her (I won't name the culprit) had the wisdom to look around and realize they didn't know anyone so she made it over to the right wedding in time.
2) My wedding cake was bare -- the florist forgot the flowers -- but at least I had flowers for the ceremony!!
3) We were married by Rev. Monica McKenzie --- she was my very first Sunday School teacher as an infant and close family friend. Years later, she met my husband's family while she was pastoring in Puerto Rico. It's a very small world. When we all realized the connection, we knew she would be the perfect person to marry us. It was such a blessing. (She has since gone home to be with the Lord). Steve & I often joke that she must be telling Steve's mom and my mom in heaven all about the wedding and how God brought us together.
4) My husband was served a kosher meal at the reception. (When we were selecting the menu with the owner, Steve had joked that he wanted the kosher meal. I guess he thought Steve was serious -- or was playing a prank back on us!)
5) I tore my slip towards the end of the evening -- at least it wasn't my dress (or the veil again!)

Someone Is Not A Happy Camper

I knew I was in trouble the moment the words came out of my mouth. My five year old is well aware that my birthday is this Saturday. We've also explained to him that Mommy and Daddy were married on that same day, so we will be celebrating my birthday and our wedding anniversary. Usually Steve & I try to get away for these celebrations, but this year we are playing it low key and Chris will be celebrating with us. So, the lightbulb moment for him was when he saw Mommy wrapping a gift for Daddy.

"Mommy, what am I getting on Saturday"
"There won't be a gift for you honey... this is Mommy and Daddy's special day"
With a horrified look on his face... "No gift for me??"
"Not this time.. just the honor of joining us for a special lunch that day"
Insert fake tears and a sob... "That's not nice Mommy. Everyone should get a gift."
"Look at this way. Mommy and Daddy celebrate their special day on Saturday and then the next day Mommy is taking you to Florida for a week. That's super special!"
The smile returned and he scampered off... I think I'm off the hook for now... until Saturday.

What date is on your calendar?

Today is February 9th in my world. It's not an April Fool's joke. You see, I have a daily devotional Bible that my Dad gave to me and today is February 9th. I'm not saying that I don't read my Bible everyday, I just don't always read this one every day. I have Bibles all over the house so wherever I land to have my quiet time I can pick up the closest Bible and continue. Upstairs I'm doing a study on the Book of Mark and down here is the daily devotional Bible. You would think I would be stressed out from being "behind" in my reading, but the funny thing is, whenever I read the daily Bible, regardless of what the actual day may be, it's always appropriate and timely for what I'm going through. Right now I'm journeying with the Israelites during their 40 years in the wilderness. Can you relate??? Sometimes it feels like we'll never get to the promised land. But I love the theme of God's faithfulness during this time... he met every need of these people (who complained so much!). I think it's teaching me to stop complaining and start praising more.