My New Favorite Place

We are moved in and all settled in our sweet little town home. LOVING IT!! I love small and cozy and this is the perfect place. Lots of game playing and cuddling while watching movies (we have no cable but the kids informed me last night they are much happier without it. This mom was totally shocked but pleased) and eating meals around the table while laughing and sharing stories from our day. Meals are started with the three old reminding us to say the blessing but that we must hold hands first. It is teaching them that we do not start eating until mommy is seated and the prayer is said.

It is amazing the changes taking place in my kids and it so precious to me. They all chip in to help with chores, (sometimes there is complaining) and love helping me get dinner prepared and on the table. We have gone a year and a half without a dishwasher and now that we have one again, no one complains about having to help me with the dishes.

Our home has three bathrooms. The boys have one, the girls have one and there is one for everyone on the first floor. Every bathroom in this house is being used. I love this! Our previous home had 3 bathrooms and for the most part, everyone used the master bath. The boys now have their bath room fixed up for them, while us gals have all the things we need to look pretty set out and displayed in beautiful ways in our own bathroom. Each kitty cat shares a bathroom. Ms. Emma shares a bathroom with the boys and Ms. Bailey shares a bathroom with the girls. (Maggie has gone on to live with her grandparents in Virginia but has already been to visit since we've moved in to our new home.)

Needless to say, life is good and we're happy. The kids are already making friends and spend the afternoons outside playing basketball or riding skateboards or bicycles. Makenna's favorite thing has become riding her bike up to the community center, saying hi to the girls in the office and picking out a movie to rent. Ahh the simple things of life. God is good!

Being Real

Please be advised: This is hardcore honesty and straight from the heart. I am holding nothing back in this posting. Ok that might be a lie because truth be told, it is not in me to do to others what has been done to me so names have been omitted.

I spent the day cleaning out the house I used to reside in and as I worked, I knew that the "spy's next door" were reporting my every move to the man I have left behind. I have spent the past year being ridiculed, gossiped about, put down, spied on and basically kicked to the curb by a church and a group of people that I thought were friends. Needless to say, it has been a lonely year but I have grown tremendously because of the situation and for that I am thankful.

One of the greatest lessons learned would be this; people are people. They are going to disappoint and hurt. If we put all of our hope and trust in people, we'll never make it through this life.

You see some of these very people who have pointed fingers and gossiped about me, have done the very thing they have accused me of and it is almost comical. I feel like I could write a book about women and the tendencies thereof. Mainly that if they can point their finger at someone else in order to take the spot light off of their own sins, they will do it in a heart beat and stab you in the back in an instant. Let me just say that four women in my life have done the very things they have accused me of and pretty much gotten away with it. Well, all but one.

There have been moments over the past year that I have literally stood in awe of the deviousness of "my friends" and the lengths that they have been willing to go in order to hurt someone. It amazes me because each of these women claim to be Christians. I cannot say either way if this is truth but their actions, from a world view, would speak to the contrary.

Here's the kicker. Most of these women are either married to pastors or seminary students. Basically what I am saying is that several of my girlfriends have had emotional affairs and their husbands are "godly" men in the eyes of the christian community.

You may be wondering what has triggered this posting but this morning as I was returning home from taking my children to school, I heard a song on KLOVE called Lead Me by Sanctus Real. It spoke to me in such a way that I had to investigate the story behind it. Sure enough, one of the band members had been dealing with marriage issues. His wife confronted him and told him that he had to be the spiritual leader of their home or it would not work. For him, it was a moment of change and God moved in his life and began to heal their marriage. What a blessing and oh how I wish it was one I could have experienced.

I believe, to the core of my being, that we each are responsible for the choices we make. Granted there are those in this world who will use words to manipulate, emotions to manipulate, sex to manipulate, tears to manipulate, money and power to manipulate. I could go on and on because I have seen all of these things happen over the past year but truth be told, when you are dealing with manipulation as a form of control, you are going to lose.

This is world we live in. A world full of men, claiming to love the Lord and to serve Him above all else but one thing I have witnessed repeatedly over the past year, is the lack of humility in our men. The lack of leadership in the home as well as respect and it has literally turned my world upside down.

I have witnessed a pastor willing to testify under oath, to swear upon the bible, that his testimony is honest and forthright. I find this hard to comprehend when I know for a fact that this particular person has not even heard both sides of a story and only participated and listened to gossip. This same pastor then visited a home and totally disrespected his elders, behaving in the most un-christlike way and then made a mockery of Christ by comparing himself to Jesus. Did I mention that all of this took place in front of another pastor, who said nothing. I was and am still dumbfounded BUT I am learning.

I am not telling you any of these things in order for anyone to think bad about Christians, church or even pastors but instead to show that they are human. We all screw up. We all sin. Now this particular pastor I have mentioned would probably disagree because well, he did liken himself to Jesus which leads me to believe that he lacks a certain bit of humility but again, he is human whether he chooses to admit to it or not.

Back to the song I mentioned above and where I was originally headed with this posting. You see, our men, our pastors, our deacons, our husbands, sons, boyfriends, fathers, grandfathers, uncles and brothers are to be the spiritual leaders. They are to lead their families in the way they should go especially when they profess to be followers of Christ. God has given them this great role and responsibility and many are failing at their mission. The result, broken families. Broken homes. This is happening everywhere and it has happened to me.

I cried when I heard this song this morning because my heart is breaking for my children. I tried what this wife did and went to my husband, asking the same thing. All I ever wanted was a husband who loved the Lord more than me and more than himself. A husband that would lead and be someone that my children could follow. It didn't happen. At first I thought it might and was hopeful because at first, he did take responsibility but then the test came and he failed. Something was thrown in his path to test his faithfulness to God and instead of holding fast to Truth, he allowed Satan to take control and obsession and fear to take over. This is how my family fell apart. This is what Satan does and he is having one hay day over the whole thing and has used a church in the process.

When will the men of our church stand up and accept the responsibility that God has placed upon them? I don't understand the constant need to blame someone else for the choices we make. Over the past year, I have not made some of the smartest moves but I will admit to anyone that asks that I have made some stupid choices. I have not denied anything I have done and I do not admit to doing them because I was "caught" as one pastor has enjoyed sharing with so many. Instead I admit what I have done because the Holy Spirit has convicted me. That is what being a Christ follower involves. It is recognizing that we are not perfect and that we do need a Saviour because we are sinful. Praise God for His unfailing love, His mercy and His grace. It is only because of His great love for me that I can be where He wants me to be and continue down the path that He has set for me.

My life is moving forward and relationships are forming that I never planned and I do not quite understand but I am blessed to have those faithful few who have stood beside me and taken the time to seek out truth. I am at a place I have never been in my life. I am 35 years old and know a love like I have never known, finally getting to be the mom I always wanted to be, living in a place where I can love on people and not be judged for what I'm doing and doing that with my children. God truly does make all things new and He is making my life into something that I did not think I would ever know and it is truly amazing. It is truly beauty from ashes.

For those whom I have offended, I am truly sorry. Please feel free to share your comments.

Going Dark

Over a week with no Internet because of a unplanned move, is not fun in the world of today. Everything I do, requires some time each day on the computer. Between work, writing, bills and keeping up with what few friends I have, without the Internet, I'm lost.

I have never been so happy to see someone as I was today when the nice guy from Time Warner arrived to install my modem. It didn't take him any time at all to get it working. Cool thing is that now I have incredibly fast Internet. I thought the Road Runner stuff I had before was quick but holy cow, this is amazing. I am now able to download my reports for work in no time at all. Good stuff.

Well for those lonely few that follow this blog, thanks for checking in and now that I'm back online, I hope to catch you up on life.

Money for Nothing

Want to make money or earn prizes for doing nothing other than searching the Internet or opening an email. I have been a part of a couple of websites for a while now and have made a little extra money that is now known as my "mad money" Every time I get paid from these particular companies, I do something special with my kids. It won't make you rich BUT you basically get paid for doing nothing. And yes, you really do get paid. All three companies have made good on their promise to compensate.

First site: Swagbucks


This site does not pay out cash but instead you earn points for different things which you can then turn in for prizes, gift cards, clothes, toys, and the list goes on. It takes longer to earn the points but there are ways to earn extra points through codes hidden on websites so it can be entertaining. By adding them to your toolbar, you earn points for searching the web and you can earn more points for completing surveys, playing games and the list goes on.

Next on the list: Ebates This site would be for those who shop online. For ever purchase you make with a retailer online, you receive cash back. Sites that are included, Ebay, Kohls, QVC, Walmart, Staples, JCPenney, Sephora and the list goes on. In my first month, I made $25 which was sent to my PayPal account so it's legit.

Last on the list: InboxDollars





This site also pays you for searching the web as well as simply opening the emails that they send out. Just add them to your toolbar and when you search the internet, you earn money. I've made $15 with them so far. It is not a ton of money, but it's more than I had and all I had to do was search and open a few emails.

Social Network and the Secret Job

Recently my life has taken a turn in which I have had to find a way to earn a portion of that green material that cannot be found on any trees in the area in which I live. The particular job I have acquired happens to have some excellent benefits. Some of these benefits may in fact seem too good to be true.

Over the weekend, I had the privilege of seeing The Social Network, not once, not twice but three times at my local cinema. My day was spent watching the same movie, in the same theater just to do a head count. Sony paid me to count how many people attended their movie on opening weekend. Not only that, but reimbursed me for not only my ticket but anyone who went with me. As a mom of five, the budget is tight but thanks to my most recent endeavor, I am able to escape reality for a few hours on someone else’s dime. Hmm, maybe money does grow on trees?!

My assessment of the movie: exceptional. The casting and chemistry between the ensemble cast was captivating and I found myself mesmerized by the richly cultured dialogue that drew me deep into the story. There were moments of computer jargon that jumped leaps and bounds over my head but I found myself immersed even more into the story. Social Network exposes the edgy genius of determination with straightforward betrayal and the ruthless scheming of the take-over-the-world mentality of this generation’s cyberpreneurs.

In case you missed it, I would recommend this movie.

Clean Dirt

A mom of five kids along with two dogs and two cats cannot live without a few things. Many I have discovered in the first month of my new job. I have the opportunity to find new things to try and someone else pays for it. Not a bad deal and it has been totally worth it.

First on the list, that I have to suggest is Tide with Acti-lift detergent. Now Tide has been around a long time but its latest advancement in cleaning and stain removal is awesome!! I have a little girl who eats french fries with her ketchup and most of the time she ends up wearing the ketchup herself. Not too long ago, she spilled ketchup all down the front of her white blouse. Mommy forgot about it and threw it in the laundry with everything else. There it sat for a week. No pretreat was used. I threw it into the wash figuring it was a lost cause but to my surprise the stain came out on the first wash and my whites came out bright. Lifesaver! Tide

Next on the list, I found at Ace Hardware. I heard about this product over the radio but did not know where I could buy it. Imagine my surprise when I did a shop at Ace and saw it sitting on an end cap. This product is called Fresh Wave. There are many different products but I bought the Odor Neutralizing Carpet Shake. I have been a huge fan of Febreeze for a long time but with the dog in the house, it just was not cutting it. I could still smell dog on my rugs and carpet. This powder comes in a 6 oz size. Let me warn you, it is not cheap but it totally does what it claims which makes it worth it to me. You can visit their website to read more about it and to see what other products they offer. Fresh Wave

Earnest — Is this what you are when you earn the most?

I have put myself on a budget. Because of great technology, between my laptop and phone, my budget is never more than a click away. For me it is quite helpful to visualize where my money is going. Pie charts are excellent!! Imagine my surprise when the program that I used split up my spending and I saw where my money was going. Quite interesting but very helpful. I was able to put limits on how much I want to spend every month, how much I want to save and how much I want to invest. I am so crazy excited. I love stuff like this because it presents itself as a challenge and I LOVE a good challenge. Today starts my first official day on my budget. My hope is to share with you my successes and my failures. These are my goals for the first month.

• Set aside $100 in savings
  


• Keep fuel costs under $75
  


• Keep grocery costs under $600
  


• Keep entertainment (movies with the kids, trips to the museum, etc) under $100
  


• To add something to my CD (only a $1 in there at the moment)
  


• To add something to my high yield savings account (only a $1 in there at the moment)
  


• To start teaching my kids how to budget by paying them an allowance
  


• To tithe this month
  

Now it is possible that I have set a goal that may be hard to achieve but that is part of the challenge. I am determined to start saving money and determined to take advantage of the great ways to save money. Who knew?!?! I never understood that whole CD and high yield savings account stuff until now. Why wouldn't everyone have those things? Totally worth checking out. I will include some websites for you to check out yourself that might just help you on your quest to make, save or spend money.



Sallie Mae High Yield Savings

American Express High Yield Savings

Discover High Yield Savings

Sallie Mae CD

Ally CD