Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Finding Peace in Times of Distress

One of my Myspace friends, Haitian Born, posted this. I found it very relevant to the spiritual warfare I have felt in the last few days. Warafe that has been directed at me, the Haitian adoption process, and to a Dear Friend of mine who has nothing to hide...


Finding Peace in Times of Distress
by Kay Arthur

When the hour is dark, when the situation is desperate, when we are humbled and brought very low, we finally begin looking and longing for God's peace. Trembling, we grope through the darkness, longing to know that all will be well.When the angel of Jehovah appeared to Gideon (Judges 6), he was crouching in the dark confines of a winepress, threshing wheat in secret to protect it-and himself-from the Midianite invaders. This was not a new way to thresh grain, it was cowardice. Listen to how the angel of the Lord addresses Gideon.The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior." Then Gideon said to him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? ...the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian." The LORD looked at him and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?" (Judges 6:12-14)At first Gideon questioned this angel of the Lord and complained about his circumstances. How could God really love Israel? How could God really care about Gideon when they were all in such distress, danger, and poverty?Gideon did not yet know to Whom he was speaking. This angel spoke as Jehovah Himself, and when Gideon finally realized he'd been discussing politics and religion with God-face to face-he was rightfully terrified:"Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face." The LORD said to him, "Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die." Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it The LORD is Peace. (Judges 6:22-24)When do we first encounter the name Jehovah-shalom? Where does God first reveal His name as The Lord is Peace?In the presence of a man who is desperately afraid....a man who is literally walled in by circumstances...a man who is worried and discouraged and has no peace in his heart.When Gideon's eyes were at last opened to see that the Lord had taken a personal interest in his situation, that God was present with him in the midst of all this darkness and fear, he worshiped the Lord by a new name-Jehovah-shalom, The Lord is Peace.In the days to come, the Lord was going to put Gideon in some very unpeaceful situations. In some ways Gideon would face more stresses and challenges than he had ever faced in his young life. Learning this business of being a "valiant warrior" wasn't going to be easy.But no matter what happened from this point on, Gideon could look back to an altar. He could look back at a moment in time when Jehovah-shalom said to him, "Peace to you, do not fear."Beloved, do you ever feel as if you're trying to thresh wheat in a winepress? Surrounded by an enemy who presses in on you and tries to steal every grain of peace and gladness out of your life? Do you ever begin to wonder where your God is in the midst of your hurt and worry?How rightly Gideon named that altar, The Lord is Peace. True peace cannot be found in any other place than in a right relationship with God.We cannot base our peace in the circumstances and situations of life. We must not let our peace be centered in another man or woman-no matter how dear they are to us.We dare not allow peace to depend on sunny skies, a full stomach, a balanced checkbook, a healthy body, or a harmonious home. I believe the Lord sometimes allows situations that strip away the shallow, surface peace on which we have come to depend. He allows us to be distressed and in turmoil and unable to find the answers we need from our husbands, wives, friends, or counselors.In those times, as with Gideon, we need to discover that God is Jehovah-shalom.As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "He Himself is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14). Once you really understand this and worship God as Jehovah-shalom, you can have peace no matter what storms sweep over the horizon.Jesus told His disciples this very thing in the last few hours before the Cross. These men were in terrible turmoil, and things were about to get much worse. Here is Jesus' promise:"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27)"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)Where do you run when you need peace? Is your first response to go looking for a person or to pick up the phone?Before you do, Beloved, run into the shelter of His name. When you find Him, you will find peace because...He is Peace.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Full Time Student

Kai is soooo excited. Tomorrow he will start school full time!!! He qualified to be in the E.L.L. program (English Language Learners). This will help him with English, since it was not his first language spoken or heard, and will help him in the things he needs to know for school such as the ABC's, math, etc.
I think I am as excited as he is...he is boundless energy that needs something constructive to do during the day other than drive me crazy...I am glad it will be spent learning!!!

Sunday, August 26, 2007

They were doing what???

Last night was my night to sit ring side medic for the local fights. I was excited to arrive and see that they were taking place not in a ring, but a cage...like on UFC. Very cool to watch in person!!
Night was fairly quiet with banged up eyes, bloody noses and a few cuts, but nothing major...Praise God for that.
It was Harley Davidson night...Harley's everywhere....man, those are NICE bikes. They would start those things up and run them around the building and throw shirts from them, fighters would come in to the cage following behind the chopper with their posse of people.....very 'gangsta' hehe

The fighters have seen me enough, and if they haven't then their posse usually have and they all tell their fighters "you give this chick mad respect...she will fix your broken ass"...hehe..nice to know so many have my back. :-P

A local Police officer came over to me during the intermission. He said he and his other officer buddy had a bet going. When they saw the size of the fighters (most are AT LEAST 6 foot and 200lbs and up and usually very crazy with adrenaline and feeling bulletproof) they did not see how someone my size would be respected by the fighters if I called their fight to a stop or got in the ring with them to check them out....I am a 4'10" woman....not to scary. Well, I am used to dealing with a large world around me...they may be bigger, but not necessarily meaner. :-D
I had one fighter in particular who lost his fight and did not want to be checked out afterwards. He wanted to go back to his locker room and cuss, scream, spit and have a beer (not that he wasn't beginning to do these things already anyway). I called him several times to come back...nothing. Finally I walk into his posse of guys, grab his arm (which was as big as my thigh) and turn him around forcefully....I then reach up on my tiptoes and grab his head and pull his face to my level and explain that he would see me BEFORE and AFTER he stepped out of that ring or cage or he would NEVER go back in it EVER again....I swear I smiled when I said it...I promise. He calmed down quickly and apologized for his rudeness...he just needed my loving touch to remind him of his manners you see! ;-D
The cop then explained that after that...he had won the bet...they were both assured that I truly would have "kicked that felons ass"! hehe

It is a fun run of work and now have a gig that will pay me to go. I get fights about 1 time a month, 1 time every other month....not to bad. Fun, time away from the kids, grownups to talk to, and money to boot...not a bad deal.

I had a fighter came up to me last night and said "hey, I just wanted to give you a kiss because you fixed my cut eye and the hospital said you did an awesome job and I will have little scarring." He then kissed my cheek....very sweet. Another guy came over and said "yeah man, you remember me?" I am sorry to say I didn't....I smiled and told him I couldn't but if he laid down on the mat and bled a little it might actually come back to me! hehehehe

Goodnight!!!!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

School Time Again

Well the last few days have been busy as the kids reenter school. I am excited to see them go, knowing that they love it and their teachers are wonderful. Hunter entered 5th grade...EEKK...where did the time go; Demi entered 2nd, and Kai entered Kindergarten. Now, to the older kids, school is old hat...to Kia, it was NEW. He went to school a the Orphanage in Haiti, but this is U.S. school, the first time away from mommy school, first time away from family school....He had been so excited, talking about it for weeks. The fact that HE was going to school, Nikaya and I would LEAVE and he would STAY. Well, the first day came and I tell ya, the look on his face when I waved goodbye after getting him settled in, was one of fear, excitment and disbelief that I was actaullty leaving. I mean, we had TALKED about it, but actually doing it was a different story. :-D
Needless to say, he LOVED school, his teacher and his fun activities. He was so excited that he wanted to go back after dinner, not waiting for the next day to arrive. hehe
He has been back, and Monday will mark the first day of him getting on the school bus to go to school (the first 3 days have been parent pick up and drop off until the kids are oriented). He is so stinking excited about riding the school bus that he can hardly stand himself. I will take and post pictures of him leaving on the bus...much to Kai's request you know! He wants to show Dr. B that he rides a BIG bus to school!!! :-D

Nikaya seemed lost without any siblings around, and got sick with some virus going around. She spent the last 2 days throwing up and sleeping on our couch in the bedroom just so I could make sure she was ok. Poor thing is whining about not being able to go to school, that he tummy hurts and that everyone has left her all by herself (I don't count you know!)

Also, Kai's first days of KDG. were marked by losing his top 2 front teeth....one yesterday, one today...the tooth fairy will be broke if he keeps it up. I will post pic's of his gap in the next day or so!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Real E-Bay Ad....Funny

A couple of friends of mine have past this around...sounds like a day at the grocery store for me...I only have 4!!!
I'm selling a bunch of Pokemon cards. Why? Because my kids sneakedthem into my shopping cart while at the grocery store and I ended upbuying them because I didn't notice they were there until we got home.How could I have possibly not noticed they were in my cart, you ask? Letme explain.You haven’t lived until you’ve gone grocery shopping with six kids intow. I would rather swim, covered in bait, through the English Channel,be a contestant on Fear Factor when they’re having pig brains for lunch,or do fourth grade math than to take my six kids to the grocery store.Because I absolutely detest grocery shopping, I tend to put it off aslong as possible. There comes a time, however, when you’re peering intoyour fridge and thinking, ‘Hmmm, what can I make with ketchup, Italiandressing, and half an onion,’ that you decide you cannot avoid going tothe grocery store any longer. Before beginning this most treacherous mission, I gather all the kids together and give them “The Lecture“.“The Lecture“ goes like this…MOM: “We have to go to the grocery store.”KIDS: “Whine whine whine whine whine.“MOM: “Hey, I don’t want to go either, but it’s either that or we’reeating cream of onion-ketchup soup and drinking Italian dressing fordinner tonight.”KIDS: “Whine whine whine whine whine.“MOM: “Now here are the rules: do not ask me for anything, do not poke thepackages of meat in the butcher section, do not test the laws of physicsand try to take out the bottom can in the pyramid shaped display, do notplay baseball with oranges in the produce section, and most importantly,do not try to leave your brother at the store. Again.”OK, the kids have been briefed. Time to go.Once at the store, we grab not one, but two shopping carts. I wear thebaby in a sling and the two little children sit in the carts while I pushone cart and my oldest son pushes the other one. My oldest daughter isnot allowed to push a cart. Ever. Why? Because the last time I let herpush the cart, she smashed into my ankles so many times, my feet had tobe amputated by the end of our shopping trip. This is not a good thing.You try running after a toddler with no feet sometime.At this point, a woman looks at our two carts and asks me, “Are they allyours?” I answer good naturedly, “Yep!“Oh my, you have your hands full.”“Yes, I do, but it‘s fun!” I say smiling. I’ve heard all this before. Infact, I hear it every time I go anywhere with my brood.We begin in the produce section where all these wonderfully, artisticallyarranged pyramids of fruit stand. There is something so irresistiblyappealing about the apple on the bottom of the pile, that a child cannothelp but try to touch it. Much like a bug to a zapper, the child is drawnto this piece of fruit. I turn around to the sounds of apples cascadingdown the display and onto the floor. Like Indiana Jones, there stands myson holding the all-consuming treasure that he just HAD to get and gazingat me with this dumbfounded look as if to say, “Did you see that??? Wow!I never thought that would happen!”I give the offending child an exasperated sigh and say, “Didn’t I tellyou, before we left, that I didn’t want you taking stuff from the bottomof the pile???”“No. You said that you didn’t want us to take a can from the bottom ofthe pile. You didn’t say anything about apples.”With superhuman effort, I resist the urge to send my child to the moonand instead focus on the positive - my child actually listened to me andremembered what I said!!! I make a mental note to be a little morespecific the next time I give the kids The Grocery Store Lecture.A little old man looks at all of us and says, “Are all of those yourkids?”Thinking about the apple incident, I reply, “Nope. They just startedfollowing me. I’ve never seen them before in my life.”OK, now onto the bakery section where everything smells so good, I’mtempted to fill my cart with cookies and call it a day. Being on aperpetual diet, I try to hurry past the assortment of pies, cakes,breads, and pastries that have my children drooling. At this point thechorus of “Can we gets” begins.“Can we get donuts?”“No.”“Can we get cupcakes?”“No.”“Can we get muffins?”“No.”“Can we get pie?”“No.”You’d think they’d catch on by this point, but no, they’re just gettingstarted.In the bakery, they’re giving away free samples of coffee cake and ofcourse, my kids all take one. The toddler decides he doesn’t like it andproceeds to spit it out in my hand. (That’s what moms do. We put ourhands in front of our children’s mouths so they can spit stuff into them.We’d rather carry around a handful of chewed up coffee cake, than to havethe child spit it out onto the floor. I’m not sure why this is, but askany mom and she’ll tell you the same.) Of course, there’s no garbage canaround, so I continue shopping one-handed while searching for someplaceto dispose of the regurgitated mess in my hand.In the meat department, a mother with one small baby asks me, “Wow! Areall six yours?”I answer her, “Yes, but I’m thinking of selling a couple of them.”(Still searching for a garbage can at this point.)Ok, after the meat department, my kids’ attention spans are spent.They’re done shopping at this point, but we aren’t even halfway throughthe store. This is about the time they like to start having shopping cartraces. And who may I thank for teaching them this fun pastime? My seventh“child”, also known as my husband. While I’m picking out loaves of bread,the kids are running down the aisle behind the carts in an effort to getus kicked out of the store. I put to stop to that just as my son is aboutto crash head on into a giant cardboard cut-out of a Keebler elf stackedwith packages of cookies.Ah! Yes! I find a small trash can by the coffee machine in the cerealaisle and finally dump out the squishy contents of my hand. Afterstanding in the cereal aisle for an hour and a half while the kidsperused the various cereals, comparing the marshmallow and cheap, plastictoy content of each box, I broke down and let them each pick out a box.At any given time, we have twenty open boxes of cereal in my house.As this is going on, my toddler is playing Houdini and maneuvering hislittle body out of the seat belt in an attempt to stand up in the cart.I’m amazed the kid made it to his second birthday without suffering abrain damaging head injury. In between trying to flip himself out of thecart, he sucks on the metal bars of the shopping cart. Mmmm, can you say“influenza”?The shopping trip continues much like this. I break up fights between thekids now and then and stoop down to pick up items that the toddler hasflung out of the cart. I desperately try to get everything on my listwithout adding too many other goodies to the carts.Somehow I manage to complete my shopping in under four hours and head forthe check-outs where my kids start in on a chorus of, “Can we havecandy?” What evil minded person decided it would be a good idea to put adisplay of candy in the check-out lanes, right at a child’s eye level?Obviously someone who has never been shopping with children.As I unload the carts, I notice many extra items that my kids havesneaked in the carts unbeknownst to me. I remove a box of Twinkies, apackage of cupcakes, a bag of candy, and a can of cat food (we don’t evenhave a cat!). I somehow missed the box of Pokemon cards however and endedup purchasing them unbeknownst to me. As I pay for my purchases, theclerk looks at me, indicates my kids, and asks, “Are they all yours?”Frustrated, exhausted from my trip, sick to my stomach from writing out acheck for $289.53, dreading unloading all the groceries and putting themaway and tired of hearing that question, I look at the clerk and answerher in my most sarcastic voice, “No. They’re not mine. I just go aroundthe neighborhood gathering up kids to take to the grocery store becauseit’s so much more fun that way.”So, up for auction is an opened (they ripped open the box on the way homefrom the store) package of Pokemon cards. There are 44 cards total.They're in perfect condition, as I took them away from the kiddos as soonas we got home from the store. Many of them say "Energy". I triedcarrying them around with me, but they didn't work. I definitely didn'thave any more energy than usual. One of them is shiny. There are a fewcreature-like things on many of them. One is called Pupitar. Hee heehee Pupitar! (Oh no! My kids' sense of humor is rubbing off on me!)Anyway, I don't there's anything special about any of these cards, butI'm very much not an authority on Pokemon cards. I just know that I'mnot letting my kids keep these as a reward for their sneakiness.Shipping is FREE on this item. Insurance is optional, but once I dropthe package at the post office, it is no longer my responsibility. Forexample, if my son decides to pour a bottle of glue into the envelope, ormy daughter spills a glass of juice on the package, that’s myresponsibility and I will fully refund your money. If, however, I takethe envelope to the post office and a disgruntled mail carrier sets fireto it, a pack of wild dogs rip into it, or a mail sorting machine shredsit, it’s out of my hands, so you may want to add insurance. I will leavefeedback for you as soon as I’ve received your payment. I will be happyto combine shipping on multiple items won within three days. This comesfrom a smoke-free, pet-free, child-filled home. Please ask me anyquestions before placing your bid. Happy bidding! :)On Aug-17-07 at 14:10:11 PDT, seller added the following information:Check out my other items!On Aug-21-07 at 13:37:48 PDT, seller added the following information:14,000 hits!!! Who would've thought? I just wanted to take a minuteand say "thank you" to all the people who have taken the time to write mea comment! I certainly appreciate it! It sure is a nice treat waking upto a full box of compliments! I'm trying to answer each comment, butthey're honestly coming in faster than I can type!Many of you have asked if I have a blog. I do. It'smom2my6pack.blogspot.comMany of you have suggested I write a book. I think I may just have togive that a try. If it ever comes to fruition, I'll post about it on myblog.And $40.00??? What are you guys nuts? There's nothing special aboutthese cards. Are you bidding on them thinking I'll be a famous authorsomeday? :::laughing like a crazy lady over that one::: I'll givewriting a shot, but from what I hear it isn't easy to get a bookpublished. I probably have a better chance of losing ten pounds (andthat ain't likely to happen!)Anyway, again I want to say thank you for reading and passing this on.You've all just made my week! :)On Aug-21-07 at 14:07:29 PDT, seller added the following information:Oh yes - I forgot (big surprise there!) to say that apparently I can onlypost 101 comments. There are a lot of witty, interesting comments I'dlike to put out there for everyone to read, but Ebay won't let me. :(On Aug-21-07 at 23:03:41 PDT, seller added the following information:I've had several people ask me how many watchers this auction has. As of1:00am, it has 865.

Monday, August 13, 2007

My New Plan

I thought I would pass on a fun thing I have been doing lately. Each night after Curtis gets home, I make dinner and then I go for my walk. I began a couple of weeks ago with a 1 mile walk....I thought my legs would turn to jelly and I would pass out....I am fat and out of shape you know. hehe

Now, I walk about 2.5-3 miles a night. I enjoy the time to myself with Hunter's Mp3 player and Linkin Park (my obsession..hehehe). I walk, think, don't think, pray and just zone for a while without interruption. It is nice and the time seems to go by quickly. I am physically tired but mentally rejuvenated when I come home. It does give me more energy, but also cleanses my thoughts after all day with 4 kids. hehe

Since April I have lost 12lbs....Not a record, but a start. I have given up hope that I will ever be THIN....but I would like to be more active. I have found that I have ZERO self control when it comes to chocolate, so I allow myself some each day and walk it off along with eating less etc...I think I can get my bod in some sort of shape, even if it a ROUND shape.hehe

Wish me luck!

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

BIG THINGS!!!

Big things have been happening here at our house.

I officially began my job at Kentucky Adoption Services today!!! We have one family in process, one filling out the application, and two others looking at us! I am so excited. There was a chance of a Haiti trip coming up, but it appears that it may be put off for a few more months. I am anxious to get out and show KAS what I can do...the number of kids we can bring home, and to tell families that KAS is where it is at!!

We are also in the midst of potty training! Nikaya has decided that she is ready to use the potty like the big kids. Of course, what $ we save in diapers will be spent on toilet paper since she has to go to the potty every 10 minutes or so. hehe

I have included in this email a little emot-icon that shows my inner self.....a head banger rockin' out to life in general...ENJOY!!!