I'll be your honey bee.

We'll today was the day Brandon has waited for the past month and a half.  What started as a notion has turned into a month of saying, "Wow God is such an awesome creator" after learning so much about the honey bee- a creature that until a month ago I had looked at with fear when they were around and had little thought of the bug otherwise.  So the past month has been filled with Brandon talking (yelling) at elderly folks whose hearing is less than prime, but they are full of wisdom and the few and far between that call themselves beekeepers.  Honestly, it will be a dying practice- if some of us don't step in and learn from these folks. 

We have spent the last 2 saturdays taking a beekeeping class, the first class began with a 30 minute preview to a sermon from the Moody Institute and the film was from the 1950's.  We learned basic anatomy, characteristics, and life stages of the honey bee...this past saturday was filled with disease, pest, etc that make it so hard for the honey bee to thrive these days and the part we had waited for...Honey :)

So here are some of the things we have learned about the honey bee that is just amazing to us, and the beekeeping bug has well...bitten. haha.

•  The honeybee is responsible for producing one-third of the food that we consume yearly through pollination- if the honey bee goes extinct (which its populations decline annually- we will starve)

• When a full bottle of honey is turned upside-down an air bubble will go to the top. The faster that the air bubble rises the less pure the honey and the slower the more pure. Most if not all store bought honey when checked the air bubble will almost always go to the top without delay. If it takes only a second or two then you are the purchaser of a bottle containing 80% or more corn syrup and 20% or less honey! That equates to a plastic honey bear filled with a sweet soft drink.

• Fun food fact- An acre of Almonds trees without honeybees actively pollinating can produce 80 lbs of almonds. An acre of Almond trees that are deliberately pollinated with honeybees can produce over 3,000 lbs per acre.

Consider starting beekeeping yourself- You don't have to live in the country, or have tons of fields for  your bees to work-- and trust me I use to be scared of them, but the honey bee is really docile- the more folks there are take interest in the beekeeping, the better chance there is to keep this little dude around a little longer, and keep us fed as well. 

Sooey....sooey sooey sooey.

Does this sound familiar to anyone???  When I was little at a country themed church dinner, I won the hog calling contest- whether it was rigged or not, I will not say-- I mean c'mon a cute little blonde haired chick against adults- I was sure to win.  I think I won a pack of bacon maybe?? That was about my extent of dealing with pigs until college when part of my animal science concentration required a swine production class.  I have to say it was my favorite class of all my college classes- Here I learned to castrate piglets, ear notch, and unfortunately the ins and outs of commercial swine production.  Before this class I enjoyed every bite of sausage, bacon, pork chops-- after the class not so much. 

The truth and story of that pigs life isn't much to tell- if anything its a really sad story.  Piglets are born in a metal cage- with the mom only able to face one way- never to walk, never to turn around, with bars around her so she cannot lie down on her young-- it could lead to downfalls in production if she were to so happen to suffocate her young you know.  So they are on a lower lever where they can only drink her milk.  She has a watering unit and feeding unit that is programmed to turn on when she pushes the "button"  And of course for health and sanitation reasons- there is no mud to wallow in.  Nothing to root.  One of the things we had to do in lab was to cut off the piglets tail.  Out of boredom, they will start to knawl on each other.  The piglet will then be moved from the nursery to a finishing house where they will then live a few short months (like 6-8 if I remember correctly) to then simply gain weight until time to ride a transfer truck to slaughter.  Once there, they are to be unloaded into cubicals to calm their nerves- stressed out pigs tend to produce a hormone/chemical that makes meat tougher, they are then lead down a death march- if they are fortunate enough it is a gas chamber, they are in there a short amount of time and dumped out dead for then the butchering of their bodies.  Every part is used.  then shipped to a store near you.  In some slaughter plants they are electrocuted. The slaughter plant I toured moved 10,000 hogs each day...the plant a few miles down the road did 30,000 a day.  North Carolina is the 2nd leading  (or was then) producers of hogs in the US.  Since then I still eat meat from the store, but every now and then I think about all the animals that are just manufactered each day- when I get behind a turkey truck (who are grown to sizes so large they cannot walk--which doesn't everyone like a huge turkey breast at thanksgiving?) or a chicken truck- or any other truck hauling an animal. 

So here is our alternative, the past two years we have bought a pig.  My dad has a movable lot- the pigs can root, toot, and live a good life...a pigs life.  They eat scraps which they love and grain until their time has come.  Many people say- how could you eat that, something you have fed every day?  Well I don't feed them every day...my dad does haha.  Hogs are also not the most friendly or cuddly  either it came to our home with a purpose not a pet, but I easily eat and enjoy my meal that they have provided because it was humane.
 American agriculture is producing animals and vegetables at record speed- almost on the brink of impossible.  I am not a PETA person, this isn't a protest to be vegan by any means, this is an urge to  support your local farmer if at all possible, find someone who will sell you a portion of cow, pig, or even free range chickens to then be processed.   The animals have an animals life- not a manufactured commercial life, and you can tell it in the taste. 

We have fresh sausage for sale $2.50/ pack if anyone is interested.

Also take a look at this music video that sounds this out just beautifully.

Homestead

Alrighty folks, there is reformation in the Baker household.  We are going to attempt homesteading, by this we mean less and less dependent upon the supermarket, aka WALMART and more and more on items we can make for a healthier lifestyle.  We have wanted to do this for quite sometime, but I mean who has the time right?  When the women went into the workplace, men invented microwave ovens, Just add milk recipes, and Drive thru resturants.  So- we live a very crazy schedule, but we are determined to make this happen, we have begun to make baby steps in this direction. 

Baby step #1- I am making my own deoderant.  I was listening to the radio in the dentist office the other day- the room was full of women.  A fact screamed its words to me "1 out of every 8 women in the US will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime"  I looked around there room there were a ton of women, I started to count...1...2...3..then I thought it could end up being me.  What is it about our lifestyles that have us so prone to Cancer in America, my former co-worker from China said that Breast cancer is pretty much unheard of.  The products they use are primarily soy instead of dairy.  One thought that crossed my mind was deoderant- I had heard rumors that the aluminum and other ingredients in them may cause breast cancer and alzheimers.  While I doubt it is really conclusive- what if, what if I could make my own deoderant, which I know is safe, and save my money.  So I tried it and LOVE IT.  It was really easy to make, I even had a lot left over to share with my mom.  Here are the steps if you want to tell Secret, Dove, Degree, and whoever else to keep their aluminum, and you will keep your $4 a stick. 

5-6 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup cornstarch
* you can add a few drops of essential oils, however I didn't add any to mine and honestly I haven't needed anything extra to mask an odor, I also work a really manual sweaty job, so if it works for me it should work for you.  The Aluminum was the antiperspirant, which I don't do much of so if you sweat a lot- not sure what you should do. 

mix those ingredients up....and fill them into your old deoderant container, or in a container to get it out with your fingers. 

Cost Total:  with the common use of the ingredients it calls for, you can make this deoderant for practically nothing. 

Baby Step #2:  Washing Powders
We go through a lot of washing powders.  its rather expensive, I don't coupon so its about $25/month we spend to just wash our clothes.  This is another shot in the dark that has proved to be better than Tide.  Our clothes have smelled clean and not perfumed, and it has done a really great job of washing them too! 

here's how you can join in:
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup washing soda
1 cup of grated soap.  The first time I used what I had on hand which was a bar of Dial (it was really "moisturizing" and grated into curly q's which worked fine, but IVORY grated nicely into a fine powder)
mix and add 2 tablespoons to each load (before you put the clothes in) 
Done.
Cost:  There is enough borax and Washing soda in the boxes to last us MONTHS...so really its the bar of soap a week, we have a TON of dirty clothes each week (you wouldn't think right?)

Baby Steps #3
Garden and honey bees and worms.  I will let B elaborate later about the B's he is really excited about, but we are taking a beekeeping class the end of the month, with the bees coming in April.  We are getting a few garden spots ready at our house for quick meals and are planning on growing a huge one with my parents. I also want to do composting with worms, we will share my homemade worm mansion (which will eliminate scrap from going to the garbage and in my dogs  belly which causes a horrible time cleaning her lot for Brandon) and it will also produce some really good stuff that our plants will love, making more flowers, for the bees to pollinate, so we can have more fruit to can and eat.  I want to eat the fruit of my labor this summer, fall, winter, and maybe even into next spring :)  If I grow my own food- I know it has not been treated with pesticides, it has not had to travel 1000 miles across the country or even more across the world picked too early or treated with an anti ripening agent.  it will be fresh.  it will be 100% good for us.

Our interest in change has just came from a disgust in the way we are living.  I want to reduce the amount of trash we produce, but how can I when my veggies come wrapped in plastic, my bread in plastic, some are wrapped in plastic and in a box.  this is not how food was intended to be.  I am tired of cooking in the "just add milk" era, I want to make my pies and cakes and bread, mix the flour, sugar, and yeast myself and enjoy it, or try again tweaking the art of baking....not just relying on Betty Crocker. 

I wanted to share with you a few of our changes and possibly inspire others to do the same.  We are excited to create our own little homestead.

leaves

Here lately with my job at toms creek i have had to help with a little something called...leaf removal.  I use to love deciduous trees- I would take awe at the beauty and color that God would just paint the treetops with....unfortunately for the folks mainly at uwharrie pointe they don't see that same glory in brown crunchy leaves that are now hiding their green grass....so for a few days now I have made 3 new best friends...mr. rake...mr.backpack leafblower...and The Earplugs.  There have been a few days that I wish wish wish I had my camera with me.  One of the days I was in the midst of about waste high leaves and had 5 folks infront of me like soldiers on the frontlines charging toward me chasing these leaves in the air to join the rest that I was well...in midst of.  While in this pile of leaves it is like a whirlwind of leaves...as long as it isnt' too dusty it is really pretty.  Anyways where is this going you say?  My brain feels like these leaves as fast as an Idea comes into my mind...its dropped and has moved onto another one.  So while my brain is on blogging here comes a whole whirlwind of whats been going on and whats on my mind...for now...

We are moved in!  Not sure if I have blogged since then...WE absolutely love our home.  Just looking around our home just pleases me.  I am an imaginative person and I have cut out magazine clippings for years...I have in depth ideas of waht I have wanted in a home..and its an amazing feeling seeing it in person- what was in my mind- I am not sitting in midst of.  Everything isn't perfectly where I want it and how I want it.  for example...i am a photographer and have not a picture on my wall yet...(too afraid to put holes in the walls just yet)  and I am a landscaper and have not a flower or shrub one planted...although I will say my lawn looks pretty good.
Another thought that just brings me great joy is that everyone has just supported Laura and I on our photography venture.  Roots is definetly taking root, I am just amazed at how people who love our pictures pretty much "sell" our pictures.  Facebook has helped to expose us, but you guys are the ones spreading the word and to that I am forever greatful.  We are excited to continue this coming year and have a few new and fresh ideas brewing...
The amazing thing is this--God is the creator of all things...he has some amazing thoughts about me and you...and for me and you. life is beautiful and he is the creator of it all so all glory be to God!

fax your resume straight to the trash.

the past few days I have been pondering.  Thoughts of God and how he gives gifts.  when I worked in Windsor, my boss was my preacher's wife, and her dad was a pastor too, Hope would always say her daddy would tell her to pray Matthew 21:22..."If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer"  I don't know how many times I think of those words and when I just doubt that change will come, or that God will move mountains, I begin to pray this verse and peace comes and we wait for His timing.

The thought hit me, we ask for things we think we deserve, you know they are rightfully ours, when they are not- they are gifts from God.  Have you ever applied for a job, after your interview you just knew you had it.  I handed my resume to a principal one time and he told me I was "homegrown" and didn't get the job.  WHAT? Didn't get the job I was homegrown- you couldn't find a resume more diversified and exciting as mine....look I deserve this job-I have the degree, the license, the background-- give it to me.   I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I want to show God my religion resume and say now give me want I want.  Look God, I have blessed my meals, gone to church, I have went to the bible study, I have volunteered to help the poor and needy, don't you see its right here under "education" and "volunteer experience" what more can I do?  But just as I get whiny, God says he can care less about my resume, he wants me to take a look at his....because he is the one who will do the work, He is the One. 

God has moved so much over the past few years.  Just when I begin to doubt I take a look over my journals and see where he has moved.  I see the prayers that I have believed and he has been faithful to answer, I see my other prayers and burdens answered in heaven that are not yet seen here on earth and give praise that He will move in them too! 
oh my i really need to get in the bed.  Good night!

life.

life is a funny thing.  we wish it away, then look back to wonder where the days went.  never content in where we are, who we are, but always wishing we can be who we aren't because of who we were yesterday.  I was clearning my memory cards of pictures I had taken....the past year well documented.  days and moments of time wishing we would be where we are today, yet today is here and we are wanting tomorrow- but all we have is today. Think of all the life we could live if we just lived it for today, not dragging yesterday into it, and not pushing it into tomorrow.  Imagine the love we could share if we actually took the time to look into their eyes, imagine the lives we could impact if we actually did something for others and not just talk about it. 

this is one aspect of my life I have been convicted in, the internet has been one major hindrance for me.  Yes it is a great tool, but too much of my time is spent checking email-keeping up with a facebook account- blogging when I get an opportunity.  It robs me of time I could just spend loving my husband who is in front of me, reading my bible instead of a newsfeed, doing a craft instead of reading about them.  I have no trouble fasting food-  I can go without eating, but take my internet away and I start to fidget.  So with that being said, I am withdrawing myself from the world wide web except for time of work and time at school.  We are cancelling our home internet :) 

our life is but a vapor.
later folks!

Well I have some reflections about the word Do...I will admit that sometimes I struggle with this word.  My earthly flesh says, I have a 4 year degree I should be doing something more with my life than changing baby diapers for almost minimal wage.  I have always loved babies and still do, but I guess when I graduated high school I never aspired to go to college and get a job at a daycare.  What I did aspire to do was to be where God would have me be doing what He would have me do, i just never thought it would be that.  But twice in my life I have prayed for a job to be sent to me, and bada bing bada boom...daycare infant room both times.  As much as my flesh beats me up over it at times, my spirit is at peace.  God provided every job I have had- the bank, the biotechnology lab, substitute teaching, daycare, church, and everytime I learn something more of Him.  I would say that daycare has been the most humbling, afterall just the pay alone will humble you, infact I made more money per hour at 2 different jobs with a high school diploma than I do today with a degree. 

but i lack no good thing. 

There are 2 verses that have kept me over the past 2 1/2 years:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will recieive an inheritance form the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  Colossians 3:23-24.

Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14

So over the past 2 1/2 years I have rocked, prayed for,  fed, burped, changed diapers and clothes, played with, tickled, laughed with and on somedays could have really cried with just over 30 babies and toddlers and this only includes daycare- not children's minstry at foster street.  there have been a lot of days I have to keep reminding myself that I am serving Christ not man, especially on days they keep piling things on my "to do list" and "make sure you"....list.  So where and what does the future hold, I cannot say, but I can say that God is Good and one day when I have babies of my own- I will know what products are good to use haha.   
   Brandon shared this song with me this evening...click on the link and take a listen to it.  It helped to remind me of this verse :)

http://stevencurtischapman.com/

if i were confident enough.

I have always thought if I were confident..or brave...or got a wild hair...i really don't know how to word this...other than If I could I  would be a hippie.  full fledge...okay i would shave my legs and armpits...wear my deoderant...and brush my teeth...so possile be a half fledge  hippie.  o and I wouldn't do drugs.  The things I would want is the dreads and the nose ring...and maybe a small tatoo behind my ear on my neck..the music...and the van.  I would be a beach surfer hippie- yes I would know how to surf. I think I would make little necklaces and other random artwork and sell it at a little stand on the beach.. I could open a little shop for families to get their family portraits made on the beach and in an hour come by to pick up the narly CD and I can just hear the parents tell their kids oneday they better not turn out looking like me.... this would be in the summer...in the winter I would drive my van to the mountains and spend my time teaching newbies how to ski- yes I would know to snow ski and snow board like no mans business...my dreads would keep my head warm wrapped tightly in my handmade knit tobaggin with socks mismatched to match.  I would be quiet and think alot and have a cause to protect...maybe its because I am anti-consumerism but surviving in a commerical market, or maybe its just to say peace out man. 

anywho...I have always wondered if I am the only one who has these thought through my head.  Brandon said he would like to see inside my head to see my thoughts.  but I love myself- me.  and even if I tried I would never be a hippie even if I tried my hardest to pull the look off. the real lynn- could possibly do the dreads- but I hear they stink so I would probably gag if they did, the nose ring and tatoo just sound too painful, and I don't like physical pain, music is a definite...the van is a possiblity- I saw one at a yard sale not so long ago.  but what bank wants to do a carloan on a 30 year old vehicle?  Surf/Ski- I am afraid of the waves and possible rip currents, and I don't veer to far from the bunny slope.  I fell down going upwards on teh conveyer belt..cmon. I would buy all the supplies to make my "artwork" to sell and then get bored with the first 3 and never sell them I would probably give them away as gifts.  but hey I can stand for a cause and its the only cause I know- that God made me, He loves me, and Jesus loved me so much he died for me, he rose again and now I can live a life better than one I could ever dream of.  so I love me too.  and it makes me want to love you.  So blogspot readers in case you didn't know.  I love you.

what to blog....what to blog

well here lately our life has been in the fast lane.  The past year has went by extremely fast.  so  here it is our 3rd wedding anniversary, and thus a vacation.  Each year we have taken this week off to chill out and enjoy each others company without rushing here or there.  Today was awesome- with a sewing gift from my B and flowers, we headed to raleigh in the jeep to my favorite store- Peace Camera.  then we took grady to the pond while I ate herseys chocolate icecream and played with my new lens. the rest of the week will be time at the lake and time spent working on the house.  Days of rest with each other are the best!  now for popcorn and tv!  I have been looking at my wedding album here lately because of a few weddings I have been asked to photograph.  I remember how much fun it was to plan and to experience.  I was not a bridezilla and as long as I left that beach lynn king baker I was okay if it poured rain, the cake melted, and the seagulls pooped on my head. 

regrets.

Okay folks, I try to live my life with as little regret as possible- although I don't think we know what we will regret until we have to regret it if that makes any sense.  But I do have one regret....that I didn't go see THE LION KING when it was in Durham.  I looked at tickets and they were going to be like expensive and well I am tight.  Just take a preview of this movie-- this would have been something to see- the people moving and in costume with the animals.  This is also my FAVORITE SONG and FAVORITE part of the whole movie.

If I do recall correctly- I sang this part for my Spanish class back in high school.  Even the teacher Sr. Cowan would request for me to do it again.  Hey what can I say...i'm that good haha.

When I was a kid my favorite movie was the Lion King and the Little Mermaid...I had the t-shirts anyways.  But in both of them I loved the vivid colors and moving music.   and pumba and timon were of course hilarious!  I still laugh at them.  I would always fast foward it through Mufassah's death and the fighting scene at the end....I just liked the good moments of the movie.  I didn't like watching Ursula either- when she first gets Ariel into her sea cave and all those people look like worms trying to get out.....

I think this is where my first love of Seagulls came about. 

I think now of people I know today that are just like these poor souls but instead of Ursula having them in bondage, they are held captive by Satan. 

both of these movies...and Milo and Otis were 3 movies that shaped my childhood.  The ongoing battle of good and evil and the Good always ended with the Victory. I am so glad that God has already won the victory for me and you.  

the lyrics of The circle of life...

just think about how much this means...

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
Sometimes when I am bored, or just think i've got life all figured out this song will come across my mind...and God made this world, this earthly world so awesome and in detail that if I were to try to expose myself to every wonderful part until the day I die- there would still be more left uncovered. 

slight confession

I have a confession to make about an addiction....well thats a really strong word...eh....more of a fetish.  yes a fetish that is what we will call it- with something.  well not just anything...but something I have grown to like and like a weed has overtaken.  and that thing is...is well...fabric.  I know...I know its not shoes....its not clothes...or something productive like cleaning. ha. but its a little something in this life that makes me smile. 

B always makes fun of me, because its not just any fabric but its fabric on sale....scraplings i call them from hobby lobby...I LOVE to look through the fabric that was cut away and just isn't enough to make much.  I am super in love with it if its a pattern out front...and then go to my little 4 shelves and find a piece of it there...on sale...and like 1.97 

What do I do with the fabric...eh make baby bibs in my not so often spare time...and I dream big plans for the fabric, but just haven't yet put it to use haha, other than collecting them.  

I would really like to go through a lot of OLD fabric.  I bought this piece of fabric @ the liberty antiques festival...paid a pretty penny for it, but my plans are to make pillow slipcovers....or a simple small curtain...or something else out of it.  But the fabric use to be old feed/seed bags, or flour sacks.  I fell in love with the cover and pattern...

I have a project plan to sew together an apron to hold my clothes pins when I can finally hang clothes out on a line outside when our house is ever done.  I like aprons for some reason, I have bought 2 and never used them...rarely use them...but I think they are cool.  

afraid of falling

I was watching my kids at work play this past week.  I work with infants and toddlers and the one thing they do really well is falling.  Sometimes when they fall they get hurt- a scrape on their arm, or a bump on their forehead but most of the time all it takes is picking them up and dusting them off.  It made me think of a time that I remember as a child wondering when I would stop falling and when I became afraid of falling. 

Most likey it was late elementary school when I though, hm...I haven't fell down in a while I am getting pretty good at this walking thing...and it wasn't long after that the fear of falling began.

 I remember around my middle school years walking on a railroad truss over a river with my dad.  We made it to the middle and I remember having a fear of falling, or my foot slipping between the large gaps in the ties that shown the river below.  I held on to my dads arm like I hadn't done in years, but the feeling was euphoric when we made it back to the solid ground.

I remember riding horses and never having a fear of falling off.  I had such a trust of the horse and a love for riding that no matter if I did fall I would have gotten right back on.  In fact, I remember when we were breaking my horse Hope to ride she had started out so good.  We decided to take a quick ride I had my shorts on my parents were walking behind.  We made it almost to the barn with a horsefly bite me on the leg.  I went to get it off when it spooked Hope and she bucked.  Before I knew it I had hit the ground.  My dad asked if I was okay, went and got the horse and had me get right back on.  "For the horse" so she would know that wasn't going to happend everytime we came back to the barn, but in hindsight it was really for me.  As I have gotten older I havent' had the time to devote to riding who knows maybe the fear of falling that keep me grounded. 

What is it about falling that adults don't like.  For elderly there is a major fear of falling- falling results in broken bones away from phones to call for help.  But for us who are prime, why do we have such a fear of falling, maybe not literally falling, but showing our weakness. 

I will admit I do not like to show my weakness'.  I find when I am in the Word daily and in prayer daily- falling isn't on my mind.  My arms are wrapped tightly around my father's arm, daddy's nearby to dust me off and help me back up again.  He takes my weakness and shows how strong he really is and that his strength is now mine. 

However life gets crazy busy right- I mean who takes time to read their bible everyday, much less keep the words written on our hearts, who has time to pray besides the one fastly and visually seen at McDonalds so all will know our food is blessed.  Your burger is just a burger...my burger and fries are blessed.  This is where fear sets in its mildest form.  

A lot of my fears now are of  being still and letting God do the movement.  2 years ago when we moved back home, we said we wanted to continue our  peaceful lives of enjoying the day, enjoying God, and enjoying each other- I only kept a planner to keep up with B's days off when we lived in Windsor.  We decided we wanted this to continue and our lives would not be scheduled to death.  just 2 short years later I have my planner slap full.  I have friends I schedule months in advance to hang out with and even then cannot "commit" to that date.  Our falling fear is now a fear of being still and the silence is deafening.  But I think the definition of "living" in asheboro is much different than it was for "living" in Windsor for us.  When I wake up in the morning, I just lie in bed as still as I can be, and listen to the silence.  I know its the last 5 minutes of my day that are a solace, a time to be still, the rest of the day stays in motion. 

1. Living- Verb Most commonly used in larger cities/towns where living is defined by "doing" or "going". 
2. Living- Verb  Most commonly used in slower paced towns in which living is defined by "being"

--so thankful my God is there to pick me up dust me off and just let me Be who he is molding me to Be, to be still before him and know that He is in ever motion even when I cannot see it. 

"O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the people.  Sing until Him, sing psalms unto Him; talk ye of all His wondrous works.  Glory ye in His holy name; let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord." Ps. 105:1-3

dog turds

today I shovelled out poop from Grady's lot (rarely do I ever do this).  the turds were huge and there were a lot of them, just so you know.  Grady gets really upset...well excited...i really don't know what emotions he has, but he doesn't like it when you take the poop out.  he would be happy to hoard all his poop.  the stress of the past few weeks and the upcoming few weeks had just gotten to me and you know what it felt good to take that shovel and load it full of all that crap and throw it out. I tried to load the shovel full, you know so I could take that one good hard toss and they all would be gone, but I couldn't get all of them on the shovel at the same time.  As soon as I would get one turd on there another one would roll off...then I would try it again...i eventually had to use brandons boot.  anyways, the lot is clean for now...but this is just so true to my life.

I like to hoard my "crap" as well.  I carry around to many worries and stresses that Jesus says I don't have to, His yolk is easy and his burden is light.
It is sorta distressing when I do have to give them up, but peaceful at the same time. 
And also I tend to pile more on my "shovel" than I can hold....when I add one thing to my plate something else falls off. 
Also its a continual process- My heart and mind will continue to cloud back up with dates, events, errands, worries, and I will have to constantly remember to let go of them Just as the lot needs to be cleaned out

 peace and pork chop grease.
lb

mother MAY I?

Alright...I am sitting here looking at my calendar and just wonder how fast May is going to fly  by.  Already it is pencilled in with severeal events, appointments, pictures, and other fun stuff.  Our vacation is the first week in June, so I think if I can survive the next few weeks I know there will be solace near.  haha. 

here is an update on our house....

We have a a walk in shower and a tub in....and hopefully the plumbers and electricians will come shortly to finish there rough work.  Windows and doors are to come in the end of the week.

I go for an eye appointment friday I am eating carrots all week haha.

Thursday is Lynn Appreciation Day...which is a holiday that B created the first year we dated and it has been an official holiday ever since. 

I register for photography classes this month which I am really excited about.  I have had and have some future photo sessions here lately....I am ready for school so I can learn the technical part of photography.  Here is a few from a session I had this past week. 

this past weekend I went to the Liberty Antiques Festival...i found some pretty cool finds and cannot wait to get them in the new house....I did have a porta John run in (didn't want to touch the door latch which I didn't think would be a problem since there was a long line of people behind me so I thought they would know it was occupied--nope a man opened the door in which I screamed...) I had a bandana to keep my hair back...so i made it to cover my nose too which caught peoples eye as I ran out of the porta john.  The lady in front of me said she sanitized the seat and I may want to too- I am not touching anything in that thing...much less spend my day sanitizing a porta john cmon what a lost cause....and I got a really REALLY bad sunburn from the day too that I could have went without (one little girl in childrens church asked how my hair and my skin was turned pink She thought the pink streaks in my hair were sunburn haha) but it was fun spending the day with my B and our friends we have to schedule out months in advace to see....Carrie and Randy.


Mothers Day is fastly approaching....I am very fortunate to have a wonderful mommy and mother in law!  Happy Mothers Week ladies!

A Lynn kinda day....

today was a GREAT DAY...an awesome day compared to yesterday which didn't bring me what I want...but thats okay because today was full of Lynn-ness :)

• slept in....
• Me and B were both off 
• Held the most darling newborn ( I LOVE babies...especially newborns)
• Went to Greensboro shopping with B and his parents.....
• Held the most darling puppy (I LOVE PUPPIES)
• Went to my favorite Thrift store and racked up on some bargains (Thanks to Dillis forfeiting Gander Mtn)
• Ate the most delicious ribs I have ever had.
• Worshipped @ C4's "secret" service. (Thank you God for dying in the cross for me!) 
• Had a chocolate milkshake
• Spent the evening with my parents
• photo's I have been trying to upload for days finally were submitted to be printed
• Hot shower and good music to end the night with B snoring in the background. 

BEST DAY EVER!

Sing it Stones.....

First off...hit play on this joker and chillax to the music while you read....

I don't know what all the verses are about...if there is any unappropriate language or meanings I am not aware of please forgive me....but my main point is this....You can't always get what you want.

Or atleast thats what I am learning.  you would think I would have this down pat by now....this seems to be the story of my life at daycare.  In my real life it seems to be that too...I may not get exactly what I want (more preferably when I want it)...but I definetly get what I need. Maybe I want too much. 

in my room the babies...they want-- and have different ways of showing it...much like we adults do :)   some want something and just go snatch it from their neighbor...some stand back and scream and cry waiting for you to give it to them.....some just forget it and move on to something else.  the more and more I am around babies and one year olds I find that we adults are not much more mature about not getting our way...we have just found different ways of showing it.  

The baby who wants a toy that a neighbor has and snatches it....or runs up to grab it as the neighbor was bending over to pick it up...yep adults you do it too.  You know that little bit of jealousy of Ha...I got  this before you did and I know you want it but you can't because its now MINE Bahahaha. ....special edition items...money items like new cars..."gotta do it first events" like weddings...having babies...and getting a better job. 

Then there are the babies who want something....and they can very welll walk over and pick it up themselves...but they will just stand back 5 feet from it and scream...I have never figured this out as to why they don't just go to it and enjoy playing with it....These folks are known to cause the scene....they have felt there has been an injustice and the others in the room should listen and obey to their command.  The injustice is more often than not that other people are not giving them what they want.

Then there is the baby who wants the toy...the others are playing with it...and  its like Oh well....let me see whatelse I can find....These peeps are content wherever they go and make do with what they have.  They let the other people enjoy their own life....and they live their own with contentment.

I know my 1:11 am ramblings are making no good sense....but today has been a day of remembering that I don't always get what I want ....but the Lord has definetly blessed me with more than I need.  

I am going to bed now...

Wrong side of the BED.

We'll let me share with you some drama we have had going on in our house.

 When me and b were first married I never will forget we come home from our honeymoon and our house was a thousand degrees (AC broken the entire time we were in jamaica) we had been awake no lie for over 24 hours from flight times and layovers...and driving back home we got home right at 3 am.  We ROASTED in that upstairs apartment....at 4 in the morning I get the brainy Idea to DUH GO TO WALMART AND BUY A CIRCULATING FAN.  Well we get up and head to walmart to atleast run the AC in the truck and cool off...to realize to my un-truely-we- are-wanna-be small towners in Asheboro to realize Walmart is not open 24 hours...they are closed....until 6 am.  So we sleep in teh parking lot till time to open...I am so out of it I ask the lady where the fans are that do "this number"...and wave my hand back and forth like an Occilating fan does.  She of course didn't know what I was talking about so I described in my tired words and showed her again.  She then showed us some box fans and I found the one that moves right to left. 

Not sure what this guy is thinking videoing his fans...but I sure would have loved to have had them at 4 am.

Anyways...when we get home and turn the fans on Brandon gives his first husbandly protocol....pick one side of the bed....which ever side I wanted but I needed to pick it and stick with it.  Okay I say and take the left side.  Primarily because it was closest to the bathroom haha....

Well over the past few months we have really needed to get a new mattress...even when we flip it it sleeps horribly...on my side :) I feel springs jab me on my hip bone...rib cage...its wallered out where I toss and turn...and it feels like I am sleeping downhill.  I was just to the point the couch was much better....until one night B had his knee in my back and I couldn't sleep.  I moved to Brandon's side( he was smushing me and the knee in the back or ribs is just well difficult to go to sleep with)...turned on the lamp to read which normally for me is like a warm baby's bottle to an infant....I then after a few pages got REALLY sleepy....B's side was well much better...it felt like there was still cushioning on his springs...it wasn't wallered out I lay flat on my back....and I was on the right side to hang my "cooling foot" out when I get hot.  So I have broken Brandons one rule...pick one side and stick with it...so until we get a new mattress when our house is done...He has lost his side.    then hopefully I will reclaim my side on a new mattress that is closest to the bathroom :)  

I think I have ADD...

Okay...I am going to self diagnose myself...I think I have a mild form of ADD... I never remember my brain being like this when I was younger- or when I didn't have much going on.  The crazy busy life and demands  I think have made my brain go into this mode haha.  Or atleast thats my excuse....I looked up the symptoms online (which I do a lot and rarely have what I think I have) but here are the symptoms that I think I have...Brandon will agree to them...you may to...

•  Easily Distracted-Lets just have a 15 minute converstation and see if I finish anything statement I started)
• Frequently misplaces things (All the time)
• skips around while reading (I highly doubt I ever read the bible from cover to cover...i have tried...but end up page flippin)
• Poor listening skills (please do not tell me your name, or something important if I am in thought)
• constant motion (legs moving, fidgetiness)
• impatient- working on this one.  I am patient with the kids but with daily life I am impatient.  I have always got to be in a hurry to get somewhere
• often has piles of stuff- take a look at my desk
• Difficulty falling asleep and coming awake- My most productive time is between 10:00pm-1:00am...just don't wake me before 8:30 in the morning
• Periods of low energy (early in the am and in the afternoon)  My brain goes into what i like to call zombie mode
• Startles Easily- Just ask anyone who has said "hey" to me while I am deep in thought....it normally ends in jumping and screaming like you came out from behind a door.

does anyone else think they have this?

Anyways....here's the deal I know I didn't have this a few years ago.. or atleast maybe I wasn't aware of it.  I honestly think it has been my brains way of surviving with the more that I put on my plate and the more I have people calling my name.  I remember the days of silence...and I will return to that....one "No" at a time.  I remember the days of not having to "Go" all the time. 

anyways over the next few months I am going to do some brain spring cleaning and go on a brain Spring break....I hope I haven't weirded anyone out with my diagnoses.  the same way it onset....iwill be the same way it will leave.     

one word I do not like...alarm.

Okay my last post was on my lovely seagulls....now onto somethings I cannot stand.  well....someTHING I cannot stand.  that is an alarm clock...or alarm of anykind.   My dear and lovely husband though LOVES alarms/alarm clocks.  When we were first married he overslept for work one morning...from then on it was 3 alarms all set to go off at the same time.  His alarm clock...his watch...and his cellphone. 

Early on (he does much better now and most days wakes up prior to them going off) but early on he would be in such a dead sleep that he would sleep through them...so I would have to kick him like a mule to wake him up....then he would hit snooze on yes all 3 alarms....9 minutes later it was the same torture again...the sound of horribleness.  Yes I am so thankful that the Lord provided another day for me...but this is how I prefer to wake up in the mornings...

I love to sleep in until I wake up....most of the time to the birds singing and chirping happily to the tune of "Ode to Joy"  I then stretch....smile....enjoy the comfort of the bed...then get up. 

Days that begin with the sound of the screeching alarm clock rendition of "Ode to Joy" begin like this....UGH...SNOOZE....just as I finally get over my bad attitude of the alarm clock interrupting my sleep it does it again.  I then unplug it from the wall in which it sounds like the alarm clock was bunched in the gut...and then stumble grumbily to the shower to start my day.

This is one thing I love about my hours at daycare...most days I am afforded the ability to sleep in...but I also stay up late working on stuff too...but I would rather be up late...than up early ;) 

Good Deal Lucille...

Hey one thing that really made me smile today was this......

The microwave sounds like its popping popcorn and the phone works....it came with all the parts :)

I have been looking for gently used play items like this for the PreK kids @ Foster Street....when I left staff meeting and just so happened to ride past Consigns and Finds I couldn't leave this item behind....

By the way if anyone would like to donate a gently used item like this or an outside play item (Step 1/2 slide/or outdoor play item) I would love it for the kids at church to have something new and different to play with!