Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Another lifetime ..........

There are times when I see my friend's creations that it causes a little stir in my heart over a time in my life when, I too, created pretty things for children. Even though it was just a couple of years ago that I set this aside, it seems like it's been forever. I took a moment today to look over a site that features some of my work and thought you might like to take a peek too.

http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=coppermop

I am grateful for the time I had to sew and create. It made me realize that I can do whatever I put my mind to. It'll be interesting to see if I'm lead to that place again in my future. If not, I'm okay with enjoying my friend's creativity.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Gotta link for ya

Here's the ad for the meal plan I mentioned before. I'm excited to get started since I'm now an official member and have seen the types of meals they have planned. So far, my family will be 90% impressed (there's always *something* they'll turn their nose up to, right?). You should be able to click on the banner if you want to sign up:

SAVE TIME AND MONEY WITH E-MEALZ MEAL PLANS

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Lots of changes for '09

Not only am I focused on getting my spiritual life where it needs, I'm making other changes this year that should improve other areas of my life.

Brad and I attended a preview of Dave Ramsey's program. It's our desire to get out of debt, pay off our house and start living without dragging that financial burden around anymore. We will start the classes on January 22nd (happy birthday to me!) and continue for 13 weeks. I'm hoping it's something that we can also share with our children so that they can learn from his wisdom as well.

Yesterday, while browsing Dave's website, I discovered something that caught my eye ... E-Mealz.com. Hmmm, they say for $1.25/week, they will provide my meal plans and shopping list from the store of my choice. Sounds pretty good to me! I signed up and am looking forward to getting my first list (this Thursday). If the meals are anything like the sample menu they have posted on their site, then I know we will all love this. If you happen to check them out and decide to sign up, I would appreciate the referral .... not sure if you need to tell them Stacey Patterson or Spatter sent you.

I already thought that 2009 was going to be a better year .... with all these new changes, I now KNOW it will be!! Hope you are discovering new things this year to brighten your life as well.

Friday, January 9, 2009

A must read ...

One of the best blogs to read daily. I LOVE this woman's sense of humor!!

The Country Doctor's Wife: My Day in Court by CDW

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Yes, I'm weak ....

Has it really been almost 4 MONTHS since I blogged? Wow. I truly thought I would do better at this. It has been a challenge with working again; however, I hate using "I'm busy" as the reason I don't accomplish what I want in this life.

I'm going to try to sum up the latter part of last year and what's happened in my life so far this year.

In September, I found myself loving my new job and getting used to the day to day routine that goes along with it. We also were able to attend the Texas State Fair as a family ... an annual event that the boys look forward to every year. Having the opportunity to be at private school, they are blessed with attending the first day the fair opens so it's nice and clean ... an extra bonus (mainly for mom).



Of course, one of the "musts" is eating a huge turkey leg!





October was super busy at the school! We had field trips, health screenings, fundraisers, school pictures and red ribbon week (pledging to stay drug free). The month seemed to go as quickly as it arrived.

November started a busy season for us ... many school activities and the break for Thanksgiving. Little did we know but Liam was going to born before the holiday came. The school let out for the holiday on the Friday before. Since I would be off for an entire week, I was really hopeful that Megyn would give birth during that time so I would be around to help her. That Sunday night at church, she mentioned that she wasn't feeling well and wanted to get her blood pressure checked after service. I went with her and sure enough, it was high. After putting a call into her doctor, it was decided that she should go to the hospital to get checked. Once there, they prepped her cerfix to help it along and had her rest overnight. The next day at noon, they started to induce her labor. She did great and after getting her epidural, we were all able to enjoy the delivery. Liam Jean was born at approx 8:30 p.m. on November 24th. He weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and we all fell in love instantly. I stayed at the hospital until she was released on Wednesday morning. The next day, we went to Ashlea & Nathan's house and dined on lots of good stuff and had a great time with the family.

I returned to work on December 3rd after taking an additional two days off to enjoy Liam (thanks, Christy!). However, it was time to get back to the routine and for Megyn to explore motherhood without a safety net. Her and Liam continued to thrive each day and to find their own routine. The month of December was another short month for us. We were only in session for 3 weeks before our big two week break .. hooray! I was looking forward to spending time with Liam, finishing my holiday shopping and sleeping in. We had a wonderful Christmas with all the kids coming over. Just getting all my children and grandchildren under one roof is a gift ... no need for actual presents! Kyle had flown in the 23rd and was due to go back home on the 28th. He had mentioned to me about a conference at IHOP called OneThing08 that he really felt strongly about me attending. After discussing the dynamics with the rest of the family, it was agreed that I would drive back with Kyle and leave everyone to fend for themselves for a few days. Now, up until that day and even the day of my departure, satan worked long and hard to keep me from going. I came so close to calling off the trip due to various reasons. I AM SO GLAD THAT I DIDN'T!!! The conference was life changing. It truly made me realize the urgency is getting prepared for the day Christ will return. The director of IHOP, Mike Bickle, shed light on the book of Revelation in a fresh way that brought it to life for me. Since then, I've been spending quality time with God each morning. I have a real hunger for KNOWING him and reading his Word each day. I was able to come home and share my heart with Brad and discuss the things I learned and he, too, has been stirred to action. I'm praying that God will give me the boldness I need to speak to everyone that I come in contact with. I love my friends and family too much to not share what I've learned. Jesus is coming back one day and I pray that everyone will be ready and not be caught off guard.

Here it is January already and a new year. Amazing. This year has brought new hope into my life. My heart is so full right now that most days, it spills over from my eyes. There's no way to express the gratitude I have to Kyle for his obedience in pushing me to that conference or for HIS boldness in the way he lives. I am richly blessed and want others to share the same joy I am feeling today. It is my prayer to be a light to everyone that I cross paths with. If this has pricked your heart and given you a desire to know more about God, please ask me ... I would love to share His love with you and tell you my full testimony.

That's my life in a nutshell ... I do hope to do better at blogging more consistently and I will have pictures of Liam to share at a later time ... he's a doll and a keeper! :)