New Creation

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Giving and not expecting anything in return?

Giving BECAUSE of the blessings you have received, not to be blessed?

Why do so many fall into the prosperity gospel trap?

Can you go home again? Yes. Will be without easy and carefree? No. Will you survive? Yes.

Last week we made the decision to return to our old church, today we went back for the first time. Overall it went well... lots of hugs... some expected news and a few awkward moments. There will be some adjustments to go through, but overall it was nice to be among friends, to be needed and know you will have prayerful support, something that I think we have been missing.

Besides the awkward moments, there were some funny ones too: A classic double take from some one we know and of course a conversation that went something like this.

Person: Hey guys great to see you!

(hugs, hugs, hugs)

Us: Hi! How are you?

Person: Great, how about you?

Us: Doing well.

Person: Well it is great to see you

(they leave)

DH: (whisper) Who was that?

Me: (whisper) No idea.

Where has the time gone? How can it have been four years? It seems just like yesterday I getting all dressed up and walking down to that smiling face that just makes my heart melt. And now here we are, four years later and still feeling like newlyweds. Yes, it has been full of ups and downs, but I would never trade in one single day. I finally was reconnected with the other half of my soul that day and I don't ever want to go back to being only half again. I guess when you are whole again, time just flies... I think I understand why my mom always said.... it does not matter how long it is... it is never long enough.

To my dearest husband... I love you more and more each day. Thank you for the last four years and I look forward to many more, even though in the end I know it will never be long enough.

I was in a creative mood so I had to redesign my blog. I made the header in Photoshop with some digital scrapbooking elements and I changed the background with some digital "paper". So enjoy the new look (until my creative mood strikes again).

OK, I admit I am stealing this from my friend Jen, but I thought I would introduce our kids. We are the proud parents of two of the most loving cats I have ever owned: Hobbes our big fat orange tabby and Boo our tiny little black kitty.

Hobbes is our shelter kitty. We got him about a month after we got married. He was two years old when we adopted him, so he is/will be six years old. From the moment they pulled him from the cage and put him in Kevin's arms, we knew that he was the kitty we were taking home. (Tough luck to the woman who came to see him just after we got to meet him, since we were there first, we got first dibs). He is our (not so) little purr bucket. Pick him up and he purrs, pet him and he purrs, let him sit on your lap and well you get the idea. His name at the pound was Winston, but we had a hard time getting right (we always started to say Watson), so we had to change the name. Since Kevin growing up was a "Calvin" naturally we had to change his name to Hobbes.

Boo is our stray. He was found stuck in the bushes at my work. Trapped and scared I knew the minute I saw him that I had to take him home. We pulled him out and I took him back to my office were he stayed in a box part of the time and on me most of the time. He was one pound and most of that was flies. The vet estimated he was about a month old. He is named Boo because we found him a few days before Halloween. He did give us a scare the first weekend we had him: he got unsteady on his feet. We took him back to the vet and it turns out he was literally being eaten alive by the fleas. The doctor got the proper dosage of Advantage for his age/size and he was a brand new kitty. For a cat that was feral, he has become a very loving and attached cat. While he does exhibit some wild cat traits, he is very attached to us and always wants to be near us (or on our laps). His purrs are much quieter than Hobbes', but you can feel them when he is on your lap.

To know everything and look down at all those foolish morons who are blind and not doing things your way (oh the sarcasm).

If there is one thing to be thankful about being infertile it is this: you don't have to deal with the mommy guilt trips. So what if someone decides to use disposable diapers, bottle feed, vaccinate or horrors decides to have a c-section? What is it to the women who have decided otherwise? It isn't their kid and none of those things are causing harm. I just don't get why these women feel the need to lay guilt on a woman who has done the same thing they did: do what is best for her and her baby. So you are going for a VBAC.... great..... good luck, but please stop coming down on the ladies who have decided to do another C-Section. They have their reasons for decision so lay off. Breastfeeding is great.... but not every woman is able to, so let them be. As for vaccinations, why not look at the ones who decided to fully vaccinate as the ones that are helping to protect your child from a rising epdemic of old diseases (and if you think any are dead... guess again.... because of people like you, we are seeing a rise again of things like Rubella).

(Wow two posts in one night - told you I was struggling with reading Harry Potter)