Praying for those in Tornado Alley

I just read this post by Sarah Maxwell over at the Maxwell Family Blog and I knew I couldn't put it into more exact words. Please pray for the families in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Missouri, and think about how quickly life can change. God bless you.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today, May 24, 2011...

Outside my window...it's another bright and sunny South Florida morning. There's no humidity out there; I know because my hair isn't curling up. There's a breeze right now, but I suspect it'll get really hot as the day goes on.

I am thinking...about Molly, and some issues she's still having. When we took her to the vet we found out she'd recently had puppies - she still had milk. The milk has dried up but she has some occasional bleeding which the antibiotics should have taken care of. The meds will be done by Saturday; if the bleeding hasn't completely stopped we'll have to take her in again.

I am thankful for...God's word, and how it identifies false prophets. I pray those who are being misled by Harold Camping will look at Scripture for true answers.

I am going...to do some vacuuming again, then some outdoor cleaning.

I am wearing...an olive green shirt I got at Wal-mart for $5 (on sale), cream/olive/brown skirt (geometric design), and brown flip-flops.

I am praying...for all the people that have been hit by tornadoes in the last month.

I am currently...enjoying the peace and quiet in my home. The boys are in school, hubby's at work, daughter's still in bed, and Molly is outside. It's just the hum of the fridge and me.

From the learning rooms...school will be ending in about 2 1/2 weeks. Still working on Number The Stars. Really interesting story.

From the kitchen...fried chicken. I was going to make chicken and stuffing in the crock pot, but then I realized I forgot to buy cream of chicken soup. Oops.

I am reading...Psalms. I read chapter 7 today. King David was so open with the Lord in his songs and prayers.

On my mind...my hubby's health. He's had a pain in his side for some time now. I don't think it's a pulled muscle, though it may be and he just keeps aggravating it.

Around the house...I have to vacuum everyday now, thanks to Molly. I can build a new dog with all the hair I pick up :P

One of my favorite things...a good hair day.

A few plans for the rest of the week...tomorrow is the last day of Awana, and awards will be given out. It has been such a blessing serving with this group of leaders, and I'll miss them on Wednesday nights. The kids are wonderful too. I love them so much!

Wanna join in the fun? Visit Peggy at the Simple Woman's Daybook. Have a blessed week.

Meet Me On Mondays

I haven't done this in a while, and I missed it. Glad to be back!

1. What is your favorite bagel flavor?
Onion flavor. Mmmm...

2. If you had an extra $100 right now, what would you spend it on?
Some ministry that needs it more than I do.

3. What is the last thing that you felt guilt about doing?
Ooh, I try to stay away from things that drive me to guilt! I think it was seeing someone on the road asking for financial help and not giving it.

4. Soft serve ice cream or hand dipped?
Any ice cream works for me!

5. Are you allergic to anything?
Berries. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, all berries. They make me break out in hives. Boo-hoo.

Why don't you get together with Java and meet some new people today? Visit Never Growing Old. Have a blessed week.

Move It Mondays

Good Monday morning to all! It's kind of cloudy here in South Florida, looks like we might get some much needed rain. It's been a really dry season here. Not good for spring flowers.

What's going on today? Well, let's see...

1) Laundry
2) Vacuuming (dog hair everywhere!)
3) London broil's been in the crockpot all night, so that's done (yay!)
4) Kitchen clean-up

Always plenty to do on a Monday!

Move it Mondays is hosted by Kristilea at In The Lord's Path. Have a blessed week.

Our Newest Addition

Almost 3 years ago we found ourselves in a very sad predicament. Our beloved soft-coated wheaten terrier Tobey was extremely ill. He couldn't relieve himself without great pain, could barely walk, and neither his vet nor the doctors at the animal hospital could figure out what was wrong with him despite multiple x-rays, blood tests, and even ultrasounds. We had to make the most painful decision any pet owner can make: we had to have him put down. I cried for weeks.

When my daughter asked if we could get another dog, I was adamantly against it. There was no way I was going to suffer like that ever again. I had a million reasons why we couldn't: time, finances, allergies, the list went on and on. Just this month, she was begging once again, "Mom, when are we gonna get another dog?" to which I answered, "Let's not start that up again." I didn't want to even consider it. God, however, had other plans.

May 9th, my hubby J came home for lunch and commented that I needed to be careful when I went out to pick up our son E from school because there was a strange dog outside. I figured it was one of our neighbor's cocker spaniels. The house across the street has 2 of them, and they love barking at everyone that goes by. But J said no, it was a big dog. I thought that was strange, but I didn't even look out the window. I got busy serving lunch and talking with J until it was time for him to leave. When I walked him to the door, J said, "Look, there he is." In our front yard, curled up against the house and looking terrified up at us, was a pretty large dog. She looked up at us but didn't even move. I could see the fear in her eyes and felt so sorry for her, but the first thought that came into my mind was, "Wait till A sees this." Sure enough, my daughter was walking by as J and I stood at the front door and came to see what was going on. Her eyes immediately lit up. Uh-oh, I thought, this could be a problem.

We could see the dog had no collar. She also looked like she'd been out for awhile. My daughter went into the kitchen and got her some water (in one of my good bowls no less!). When the dog got up to drink, we noticed 2 things: she was extremely thin, with her rib cage pretty noticeable and her mid-section looking sucked into the center, and she looked like she'd recently had puppies. At least that was my thought. J said no, she couldn't have just had puppies. She was too thin. My daughter went back into the kitchen and found some leftover meatballs from our Mother's day cook-out and a can of vienna sausages to serve her. The dog at this point had moved to our neighbor's side yard, but it was easy enough to coax her back with the food. She gobbled up the scraps we gave her, and it was clear she was ravenous. I got her some more vienna sausages, but it was clear by her size and how emaciated she was that this wouldn't be enough. I had to go pick up E from school, so I told A I'd pick up some dog food for her on my way home. In the meantime we opened the gate to try and get her into our yard where she'd be safe. I was surprised at the fact that she came right in, as though she trusted us completely.

As I drove to E's school and thought about the dog, I found myself crying. I didn't realize it, but I still hadn't gotten over Tobey's death. At the same time, I felt strongly this dog needed us, and in my mind I began thinking of a name for her.

When E came out of school I filled him in on the afternoon's events. He became so excited! He couldn't wait to get to the house and see the dog that had found us. We began talking about names, and came up with Molly. Don't ask me why, it just felt right. We stopped at Winn-Dixie, picked up a couple of cans of dog food and headed right home. Once there, we fed her a large can of dog food and watched her devour half the can in her first bite! We noted how gentle she was, not barking or threatening any of us in any way. I was unsure if this was her disposition or if she was too weak to be rough with anyone. As we looked at her, E told his sister we were thinking of what to name the dog, and she said she liked the name Maggie. We told her we'd thought of Molly, and she quickly said, "I like Molly!" So Molly it was.

Of course, J had already left for work again and didn't know what was going on. I decided to take a picture of E with Molly and text it to him. Here's the picture we sent daddy:

J quickly called and said, "Why'd you let her in the yard? I knew you were gonna do that!" (Why did he ask if he knew I was gonna do it?). I explained that we didn't want to leave her outside where she could get hurt, and we'd try to find out who she belonged to. He was not convinced. J had also suffered greatly when we lost Tobey, and he didn't want another dog. It was gonna take more than pity to convince him to keep the dog, at least till we decided what to do with her.

I don't think J expected E's reaction. When J came home, E got down on his knees, and with tears streaming down his face, begged his daddy to PLEASE let us keep Molly. J almost began crying himself. It was enough to break a heart in two. Seeing how much this dog meant to E, daddy decided we'd keep her for one week, then figure out what to do. In the meantime we'd see if we could find her owners. He made it clear we were not to start spending money on the dog other than food, and she had to stay outside because a) we didn't know if she was house broken, and b) we didn't know if she was a vicious dog. We agreed, and started caring for Molly.

My daughter looked up info in her doggie books and figured Molly was more than likely an American bulldog, with some labrador and saint bernard in her. What worried me most was whether she was healthy or not. She was a stray, after all; we had no idea how long she'd been outside, or where she'd come from. All we knew was, she was skinny and dirty. That much we could take care of. We started feeding her, and gave her a flea bath. We kept seeing her peaceful and loving disposition. She'd only bark to get our attention. She was extremely gentle with everyone, and instead of being a big mean dog, she turned out to be a big scaredy-dog. I didn't know if this was because she was sick, though. And I knew J wasn't about to pay a vet to find out if she was or not. We prayed and asked the Lord if we were meant to keep her, and if it was His will that we keep her to make it possible. True as His word, we asked and He answered.

My daughter found a local vet that would give a complimentary first exam with an online coupon, so we called and were able to take her in that Wednesday. I had to explain that we'd found her in our front yard, because she was so skinny I didn't want them to think we'd abused her. I was again amazed at her gentleness. The vet and her assistant did a full exam on her, including taking her temperature and fecal sample, and Molly didn't even flinch. She behaved perfectly! After checking her, we found out: a) Molly had indeed recently had puppies; as a matter of fact she still had milk and some bleeding, which led them to believe her puppies had been taken away from her too early, b) she is indeed an American bulldog mix, and the vet says she's about a year and 2 months old, c) they found no fleas, no parasites, nothing to be concerned about. As a matter of fact, the vet asked if we intended to keep her. I told her we weren't sure at this point, but if we decided not to keep her we'd take her to the humane society. The vet's face fell; she insisted if we didn't want to keep Molly we could bring her the dog and she'd take care of finding her a home. She fell in love with Molly immediately! She not only gave us the visit for free; the fecal exam was free, and the deworming was also free. Then, when we called her on Saturday because Molly still had some bleeding, the doctor called in a prescription for antibiotics FOR FREE!! The medication would have cost us $40. That vet saved us over $100 with all that she did for Molly. It was proof positive to me that God was providing for Molly because He wanted us to keep her.

We had the vet check to see if Molly had a microchip; she doesn't. With no collar and no identification, we think Molly had her puppies, the puppies were sold and Molly was abandoned. My daughter remembers seeing American bulldog puppies being sold near our home on the side of the road just a couple of weeks before, so it all seems to make sense. Molly was used to make money and gotten rid of once she was no longer useful. We're so thankful God brought her to us. She's now allowed inside the house; we found out not only is she house broken, she respects everything in the house, chews nothing that isn't given to her by us, and won't go into the bathrooms or my bedroom because we told her once not to. She's an obedient, sweet, loveable, gentle and faithful dog. What a blessing to have such a sweet new addition to our home!

Observing My Senses

For Today, May 21, 2011...

I am seeing...a bright and sunny kitchen that needs just a little cleanup.

I am feeling...a bit sad today, because false prophets have decided today is the day of the rapture (despite the fact that Jesus said no one knows the day nor the hour) and because of that the rapture has become a joke to many. These things anger me, as I'm sure they anger the Lord, but then again He did warn us people like this would pop up out of nowhere, so we shouldn't be surprised.

I am hearing...our sweet dog Molly bark at blue jays. I think she feels the need to keep the yard protected. What a good doggie!

I am tasting...scrambled eggs, hash browns, raisin toast and my morning coffee.

I am smelling...cinnamon from my raisin toast. Mmm!!

It just takes a moment to observe your surroundings. Won't you join me?

Five Question Friday

Once again, I'm late with my Friday post. Then again, I'm surprised I have any posts at all! I've been slacking alot this month, and I am sorry, but there's so much going on, and now with Molly we just are busy getting her healthy again. When our American bulldog showed up at our doorstep, you could see her ribs, and she had the narrowest waistline I've ever seen in a dog. She's eating very well and taking her meds now, and is looking much better, so for that we're thankful.

Okay, on to my Friday 5:

1. Do you and your spouse go to bed at the same time?
Sometimes. It depends on how long he's at the gym and how long it takes me to clean up the kitchen. I can say that most of the time we're in bed within half an hour of each other.

2. A question for the ladies...What kind of facial hair do you like on your man?
Hmm. Facial hair doesn't look good on every man. My hubby has had a slight beard, mustache only, a little hair on his chin, but I liked it best when he had a goatee. He has a round face, so the goatee made his face a little less round looking. It worked for him, but I know it doesn't work for everyone.

3. What's the worst vacation you've ever taken?
Um...I can't think of one? Our vacations have always worked out pretty well. Or maybe it's our attitude. Like going to DisneyWorld when it's cold and rainy, but we didn't care because we're in DisneyWorld and what can be bad about that?! We did go to DisneyWorld the day Hurricane Charlie blew through, and that could have been the worst vacation ever, except it went through very quickly overnight, and the next day the parks were open and there was hardly anyone there. We got on EVERYTHING and had no lines, no waiting. So what could have been the worst vacation ever turned out to be one of the best. God is so wonderful that way.

4. What's the first-ever blog you followed?
Wow, let me think...if I remember correctly, it was Mandymom.com. That was a few years ago so it's hard to be totally for sure.

5. Do you enjoy amusement parks?
Yes! Though I don't ride all the scary rides. I respect the law, and that includes the law of gravity. Anything that makes my feet dangle or separates my stomach from the rest of my body is off-limits. But I do enjoy watching the rides and the excitement of an amusement park.

Okay, now it's your turn. Visit Mama M at My Little Life and answer your Friday 5! Have a great weekend!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today, May 17, 2011...



Outside my window...the grass is getting taller thanks to some much needed rain on Saturday and Sunday. Now it's bright and sunny again, with no humidity. Just the way I like it.



I am thinking...of how quickly things can change from one moment to the next.



I am thankful...for a gift the Lord left on our doorstep last Monday. An American bulldog mix. She's the sweetest, most loving dog I have ever met. She was so skinny you could see her rib cage. She's getting healthier now, and has been a perfect lady. We've named her Molly.



I am going...to finish the laundry after this post, then have devotions with E.



I am wearing...a black top, black and white skirt, and white flip-flops.



I am noticing...how little time I've spent on the computer lately. The Lord is leading me to spend less time here and more time on my home and family. It's a good trade-off.



I am currently...caught up with pretty much everything I wanted to get done. Yay!



From the learning rooms...still reading Number the Stars (great book!) and also reading some Psalms for Awana.



I am praying for...the Lord to give me peace.



From the kitchen...ground beef and rice.



I am reading...Psalms - one per day. I read Psalm 1 this morning and hope to continue in that pattern till I've read them all.



On my mind...my son's school trip to a local zoo this Thursday. He's so excited about it.



Around the house...I'm trying to maintain order.



One of my favorite things...a sweet loving dog.



A few plans for the rest of the week...Awana tomorrow - there's ice cream for everyone! Then the normal stuff the rest of the week.



I wanted to upload a pic of Molly, but alas, Blogger isn't cooperating. Maybe later.



Wanna join in the fun? Visit Peggy at the Simple Woman's Daybook. God bless.

Observing My Senses

For Today, May 7, 2011...

I am seeing...a blue sky, white clouds, and trees moving in the breeze. Problem is, that breeze is really hot! The grass is happy, though. We got some rain the past 2 days and it's been refreshing.

I am feeling...thankful because my daughter is back and will be home tonight after working a concert for her friend.

I am hearing...my son playing with his 2 friends who came over today.

I am tasting...chocolate covered matzo. My son brought it home. It's tastier than I expected.

I am smelling...cakes. We're having a mother's day barbeque tomorrow and I was elected to bring cakes. That's my contribution to the moms in the family.

It just takes a moment to observe your surroundings. Won't you join me?

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today, May 4, 2011...

Outside my window...the humidity increases. We're supposed to get rain tomorrow and Friday. I sure hope so. We need more rain!

I am thinking...of my poor neglected blog.

I am thankful...for my daughter's short visit this past weekend, and the fact that her semester is done and she'll be home this coming weekend. Yay!

I am going...to Awana tonight.

I am wearing...a very nasty looking t-shirt, pink shorts and brown flip-flops.

I am currently...dyeing my hair (hence the ugly t-shirt).

From the learning rooms...E is reading Number the Stars, about a Danish girl and her family who help a Jewish family during the Nazi invasion. Very interesting so far.

I am praying for...our nation. Bin Laden is dead, but terrorism isn't. We can't be complacent. This man was not our only enemy. We need to be on our guard.

From the kitchen...ground beef and rice. My family's favorite.

I am reading...chapter 17 of John, and that's about it. I've been busy and haven't sat down to read too much this week.

On my mind...the end of the school year, which is just 6 weeks away.

Around the house...there are boxes everywhere.

One of my favorite things...being organized.

A few plans for the rest of the week...my daughter's best friend JB graduates from college this Friday, and will be home this weekend. I hope to bake her a cake! My son's friend will be visiting on Saturday, and of course Sunday is Mother's Day. "A father works from sun to sun, but a mother's work is never done." Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!

Wanna join in the fun? Visit Peggy at the Simple Woman's Daybook. God bless.