Embracing Equality

Recently I was listening to a Christian talk show on the radio and the sermon was on the "equality" of women in relation to men. My ears perked up and so I listened more closely. The pastor stated that equality is not synonymous with "the same as." Society would have us believe that we CAN be the same as men, but God shows us in His Word that He meant for us to be different. We are women, uniquely created for a specific purpose.
As I listened to this sermon, God started speaking to my heart. He spoke in mathematical terms (which I found highly ironic as math is my least favorite subject..LOL). In algebra, an equation means that both sides share the same value yet not necessarily the same function.
For example:
2 x 3 = 5 + 1, both sides are of equal value but there are very different functions to each. In God's eyes men and women share the same value, yet he created the sexes for different functions. Men were created to be the protectors and providers. Women were created to be the supporters and nurturers. We have a specific purpose that He created certain traits and talents for.
It is the height of "feminism" (meant in the Biblical sense, not the societal sense) to care for our families, create a sanctuary within our homes, support our husbands emotionally, spiritually and physically. We glorify God by doing that which we were created for. And I, for one, feel the most valuable and fulfilled as I care for my family--embracing my "equality."

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The Little Things

Feeling "Crumby"

JM and IE have been asking their aunt JR to go to the park since she is staying with us. She started to feel a little under the weather too. This morning, the dialogue went something like this...
JM: "Aunt JR, can we please go to the park?"
Aunt JR: "No, not today."
JM being the ever-so-inquisitive-one asks her why (he asks why about EVERYTHING!).
Aunt JR: "Because I'm feeling a little crummy today."
At this point my youngest son, IE, responds: "But I like crumbies!"

Ah, kids...

Thank You, Lord, For Family

Well yesterday was no fun at all...I finally succumbed to whatever heinous virus has been floating around. I had a temperature of 103.8...which REALLY scared me! My mom and step-dad came over and my step-dad prayed the sweetest and most powerful prayer over me. I attribute that prayer to my feeling 110% better today. That and the round the clock care my sister gave me. She took care of changing dirty diapers, feeding the kiddos, entertaining them and doing some household chores! WOW :) It is wonderful to have family that cares so much about you. My husband had to work so I was so GRATEFUL that she was here to care for me and my children.

I love you guys! :)

And then, today, my mom and step-dad came over bearing flowers for my naked flower bed! As if they hadn't done enough already yesterday! Also, my selfless sis is out there right now in the dead of February planting them ALL, AND making it beautiful! And last but certainly not the least, my hubby did three loads of laundry and the dishes... what a man!

THANK YOU TO MY MOM, STEP-DAD, SISTER AND QUERIDO FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE!

Beautiful Baby Girl

UPDATE: Please see my post "Ensuring Their Safety" for why photo(s) have been deleted from this post.

After posting photos of my boys, I couldn't leave out my baby girl, AJ. On Sunday, she will be six months old...wow! Time goes by so quickly...

She lights up any room with her ear-to-ear grin. You cannot help but smile back when she focuses her chubby little face on your's. She is truly one of the joys of my life..

I love you baby girl!

Happy 22nd Boys!

UPDATE: Please see my post "Ensuring Their Safety" for why photo(s) have been deleted from this post.


The 22nd is a significant day here at FITPH. My boys, JM and IE, were born on the 22nd day of their respective birth months. They are exactly 20 months apart to the very day (doesn't God have a sense of humor?)! Their sister, AJ, would have followed suit, but she wanted her own day (being a girl and all...lol)---she was born on the 24th of her birth month. Just two days shy of making it extremely easy for me to remember everyone's birthday. It still trips me up sometimes when I am asked her birthday :)So Happy 22nd my handsome guys...I love you!

Run Over By A Train

Today I woke up and felt like I had been run over by a train ( as if I knew what that should feel like...lol). My head felt like it was going to explode out through my eyeballs, my neck felt like I had fused all my vertebrae together, and every joint in my body aches.
The kiddos are still sick...except for my baby girl (I pray that she stays well)...so I am constantly on Snot Patrol. My boys are a little cranky and I don't blame them, I'm a little cranky too.
So if you, loyal readers, were expecting a deeply spiritual and meaningful post today, you will be disappointed!
It is hard to be sick when you have three kids all under the age of 5. Fortunately, my boys can do alot for themselves...like make peanut butter cereal...so I am just left caring for their almost six-month old sister. Praise the Lord that she is a mostly happy, joyful baby and today she is not teething as much! I am going to go take a shower and see if that makes my muscles loosen up and helps get rid of the body aches.
Maybe later on, I will be back to my witty and wise self...

Climbing Everest

While perusing other blogs today, I ran across this quote...(I'm not sure if it is a quote from the blog author or from someone else...so I will give credit to girl boxmaker)

EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE...THE IMPOSSIBLE JUST TAKES A LITTLE LONGER

It struck me as very profound, and I am not sure why...I think that the meaning behind the words is: You can do anything if you persevere and do not give up. Don't quit just because it looks too hard. Often we can look at a situation and decide that it is insurmountable, but even the highest mountain can be scaled one step at a time; it just might take a more time than we think it should.

This is true in my life. There are the days that I find myself staring up at a sheer cliff that I have to climb. My mind tells me that there is no way I am going to be able to do it. But the Holy Spirit tells me, "You can do it, I am going to be right here to catch you if you fall." And if I dare to take Him at His Word, I inevitably find that I can conquer the mountain, one step at a time.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13

"For with God nothing shall be impossible." Luke 1:37

"And He said, 'The things which are impossible with men, are possible with God." Luke 18:27

A Shot In My Arm

In another blog Milk & Cookies, the author was speaking of a thankfulness journal. She created one to write in, but since I cannot do that right now, I decided to create mine online.
She made a list of six things to write about in that journal:


I am thankful for...
I want to pray for...
Something I learned today...
What made me happy today...
Tomorrow I want to...
Something funny my kids did...

OK here goes..

I am thankful that I get to be a stay-at-home mom. While my job somedays is less than glamorous (for instance today, cleaning up smeared poop on my carpet..ick...pottytraining trials), it truly is my dream job.

I want to pray for my husband..
Lord, please bless him as he works so hard today. Give him strength and energize him. Holy Spirit, refresh him in little ways all throughout his day. Help him with solving problems that come his way, give him wisdom, Lord. Thank you Jesus for my husband.

Something I learned today, well actually yesterday, that scents truly create atmosphere in my home. On my most recent shopping trip, I decided that the baby's room (aka dirty diaper central) needed some help olfactorially. So picked up some Airwick scented oil night light
holders and refills. For AJ's room, Relaxation: Lavendar and Chamomile...ahhh, so refreshing. For Querido's and my boudior, Inspiration: Lotus Blossom and Blue Orchid. The rooms have a totally different feel!

What made me happy today...
Well the day isn't over yet. No seriously, today hasn't been all bad! I smile when I think of my boys "reading" to their baby sister. Right now, they are all huddled on the living room carpet and playing together. Such sweet moments!

Tomorrow I want to go through the bag of baby clothes that have been sitting around FOREVER!

Something funny my kids did..
Mmm, not much funniness going on here today. Just a bunch of slightly ill children. Maybe they will be funnier tomorrow.

Wow, posting this makes my day a little better. Thankfulness, the antidote to discontent!

Head Over Heels...

I went shopping with my sister JR Saturday. On that trip I found the most

GORGEOUS pair of RED SHOES! With just a little bit of heel as to be sexy but still comfortable, I fell in love at first sight. As the shoe clerk went to find my size, I prayed that the shoes would fit me properly and not rub. The moment came...I slipped them on...they slid on like butter...I admired my feet...who knew my feet could look so petite...strolled over to the mirror for the full effect...HOT MAMA! They look like the paint job on a sports car! I drool just thinking about my gorgeous, sexy, UNFRUMPY, non-utilitarian, NON-pragmatic, candy-apple red peep-toe pumps with the silver buckles for bling..sigh...who knew you could fall madly in love with a pair of shoes?

Terribly Trying Tuesday and Other Thoughts

Did I mention that my hubby is going to night school to acquire his GED? This is a tremendous sacrifice as he goes to work at 6:30 am and doesn't come through the door until 9:30 pm, two days a week. He came home tonight and told me that they studied writing today. Now for those of you who know him, Querido hates to write even the smallest of notes. So imagine my surprise when he said that he had to write an entire essay! He asked me if I wanted to see it...OF COURSE! :) So here I post my Querido's first essay... (the topic was: If I could have any job I wanted, what would it be and why?)

If I could have any job in the world I would want to be a preacher. I want this job for the following reasons:
First, I would be a spiritual leader to others. Secondly, I would help them solve their problems. Thirdly, I would like a large congregation.

As a leader my goal would be to learn how to pray, in order to lead a congregation. Also, I would like to learn how to communicate.
In order to help people in the congregation I would need to know what kind of problems they have. Also, I would need to have the time and money at my disposal.
A large congregation is always better, because you will meet people from different cultures that speak different languages.
In conclusion, this is the job that I wish to have some day. As a leader I would really enjoy leading people. (Here I snickered..couldn't help myself...when he asked me why, I told him that he was kind of repetitive and obvious with that sentence. I showed him how he could have written it and he said that the teacher never said anything about that sentence!) Also, I would have the satisfaction of helping other people with their problems. When I have a large congregation, I will be fulfilled in life.

Can I just state for the record that this is the first time he has EVER written anything longer than two sentences! He did so great! And he thought that he would never learn to write well... He even had a nice enveloping close at the end. Wow, he still amazes me after almost six years of marriage! :) I am so proud of my Querido!
This brought up the discussion of him wanting to be a pastor. He either wants to be a professional musician (get paid to play) or a pastor. Since he is still learning the bass guitar, I am guessing that he is striving toward becoming a pastor. Not so sure I want to be a pastor's wife, but it's a little late to change husbands...lol! Just kidding! If that is what God has called him to do, then He will give me the grace to be a pastor's wife. For now, I will be Querido's wife and JM, IE and AJ's mom.
It is amazing what you can discover about your spouse when they are given the chance to express themselves. I wonder if he feels safe discussing his dreams with me? How interesting that the eHarmony marriage exercise was about dreaming today... You have something You are trying to tell me, Lord? I have known that we don't tend to discuss really deep things at all, for quite a while. It is a part of my marriage I long to improve. Perhaps this night school will nudge him into thinking about his feelings more!

My oldest son, JM, is sick today. I had him and his brother, IE, cleaning their room and JM started to complain about not feeling good. Being the compassionate and caring mother that I am, I told him that he was faking to get out of cleaning and that he had better move it or else. Imagine my chagrin when I see him a little later and he is BURNING UP with fever. *here is the sound of me trying to crawl through a hole in the floor from utter SHAME* I pray with him and by now it is bedtime, so I read to the boys and send them off to sleep. JM is still awake at that point because I can hear him coughing quietly from his room. My poor baby! I hope it is not contagious...we already went through the flu a couple of weeks back.
Now he is finally sleeping peacefully. Thank God. His daddy prayed with him and that always makes you feel better :) No really, after Querido prayed, JM's fever broke within half an hour! Wish my prayers had that kind of instantaneous effect!
Another fun thing I had to deal with today was my teething AJ, almost six months. Poor girl! She (and I) was miserable today. I love those homeopathic teething tablets, but today they didn't seem to be doing much good. Praise the Lord for Orajel! Numbed up my baby's gums and all with the delightful berry taste! :) She was still SUPER FUSSY and I had to carry her everywhere. My arms are going to be toned come summer...LOL! I do an excessive amount of reps with a 20-lb weight that is my daughter...DAILY! LOL...who needs the gym!!
The pottytraining took a back seat and a step back today. My three year old IE seemed to lose all recollection of peeing in the toilet rather than his pants. We went through FOUR pairs of pants today! AAAGGGHHH! So much for smooth sailing, I am hoping tomorrow will be better.
These are the days that TRY my patience (was I even born with that?) and sanity...lol! At least I still have my sense of humor!

Delicious Boudoir :)

What a difference a change makes! I was so thrilled today because our tax return came in...finally! We paid off all of the medical debt we had incurred with the birth of our beautiful daughter. Now the only debt we have left is the van...yipee! Pretty soon we will be able to scream "We're debt free!" on The Dave Ramsey Show (http://www.daveramsey.com/). The boys have already been practicing...when they should be sleeping...lol!

Anyway, I digress. What I started to rave about was my gorgeous, sleek and very "hotel-ish" bedspread that I purchased at Linens'N'Things (http://www.lnt.com/) at their President's Day Sale. It is a lovely, rich chocolate... mmmmm...chocolate :) There is a picture above. (No that is not my bedroom, mine is a lovely soft ocean blue.)

Finally, after almost six years of marriage, we have a beautiful bedroom! It feels so restful and peaceful...

I realized that I need to purchase some more pillows because our spartan bedroom before only had the necessary ones to sleep on. There are FOUR extra pillows, just to make the bed beautiful. From afar I have drooled over bedrooms in magazines and online but now I can trot into my room and jump into my "chocolate bed" (as my oldest son calls it). Luxury, pure luxury at an affordable price!

And tomorrow, I get to go clothes shopping!!! My husband told me that I get a designated amount..very generous too :)...so I can update my look. The last time I bought new clothes was before I got pregnant with my daughter (who is five months, almost six). All three of my shirts are tired and worn out, I only have one pair of jeans and only two Sunday outfits. Don't misunderstand me, I am grateful to have any clothing at all, but I am especially grateful that I get to update my wardrobe tomorrow! Even better than that, my best friend, my sister, is coming with me! Yay! Girls day out at the mall!!

Nothing particularly interesting today, but gratitude for the things that make you feel beautiful;
like a new hairdo (that is next on my list), fresh flowers ( I turned the tables on hubby and bought HIM flowers), new clothes, new bedding and good friends!

"Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits..." Psalm 68:19

What makes you feel beautiful?

Effortless..Who Knew??

OK, I remember my mother giving me sage advice regarding pottytraining. What was that advice? Wait until they are ready. Easier said than done when you have friends whose little angels were pottytrained from age 2! My youngest son is 3 going on 4 and I despaired of him ever getting the knack of it. However, with my oldest son I followed her advice, and so with my youngest boy I have had to refrain from thinking that he is falling behind others his age. Not easy, but necessary!
We are going on day two of pottytraining and there have only been two accidents (all yesterday, I might add!) I feel like I am doing this on autopilot...Look no hands! LOL! We have successfully done three rounds of number one and number two in the tiny potty! Way too go! I almost cannot believe that it is true! I am so proud of my little guy! Two down and one to go...well it will be awhile for my princess as she is only five months old!

Speaking of my little princess, she is teething...yipee. Did that sound sarcastic? LOL! Today has been less than fun. My arms hurt from holding her (she weighs close to 20 lbs!) and I cannot walk around anymore. Hopefully we will be through this stage quicker rather than slower!

Happy Valentine's Day

What is love?

Love is...

An enthusiastic "Happy Valemtime's Day, Mommy!" shouted early in the morning by my two preschool sons... (no that is not a typo--it is how they pronounced it)

A hardworking husband, who averages over 65 hours a week AND goes to night school to make a better life for his family...

An ear-to-ear grin from my beautiful 5-month-old princess..

Love is sacrifice, commitment and consists of simple things.... love is what ties a pretty bow on life and holds us together.

Wishing you and your loved ones a "Happy Valemtime's Day" today!

Lovingly being fashioned in His hands...