I will be away for a couple of days. I was going to post where I was going, but since I splash my kid's faces all over my pages, I wouldn't want some internet troller meeting me there to try to kidnap one of my children. Paranoid, huh? Maybe.
Please keep us in prayer.
I think we may all have had it. The feeling that we shouldn't do something, but we do it anyway. This happened to me today. I had gone into the laundry room when Nathan came looking for me. He ran into the kitchen and straight into the corner of the kitchen cabinet. I rushed to scoop him up and cradle him in my arms. After calming him, I sat him on the countertop to inspect his injury. Thankfully, he only had a red mark on the side of his head. I opened to cabinet to find something to soothe him. This was mistake number one.
He had spied the forbidden. Hiding in the shadows was a can of hard "Christmas Candy" that should have been thrown out. It tastes yucky to everyone except Nathan. He is a hard candy,lollipop eating toddler, wanne be. I don't usually allow him to have this because of the choking hazard. Not to mention the sugar induced energy and tooth decay.
He began to point and whine for the candy. I had the *feeling* not to give it to him and hesitated momentarily, but he wasn't going to give up easily, and I knew it. I wanted to make him feel better, so I rationalized with *the feeling* with thoughts like "I'll keep my eyes on him" and "he's never had a problem before." This was mistake number two.
I gave him a small piece and took him off the counter. He sauntered happily into the livingroom, slurpping on his sugary treat. I turned around briefly to grab some clothes off a chair. When I turned back around I knew something was wrong. He was not making a sound and he had a look on his face that screamed fear to me. Immediately I ran to him and gave him the "mama wallop." I pounded him at least three times on his back causing the life threatening object to dislodge. He was fine. I wasn't. I was frantic and had to sit a few moments to stop shaking.
There are many children that have been in the same situation that Nathan encountered today. Not all have ended with the same results. I shudder to think of the little ones that never took another breath. I give all praise to my loving God for not allowing MY indiscretion to bring about devastating results. He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us if we will be obedient. He doesn't want us to "shake it off" or minimize it by liking it to just human nature of "fear."
Lord, I pray to always be sensitive to your Spirit and to obey.
I received the following in an email and liked the message so much, that I wanted to share.
A 92-year-old, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and shave perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.
"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied..
"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged....it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in..
I am using my Christmas pictures as my "before" since I didn't take any, but they are the same areas.
And of course, this is the after........
This is the corner "before"
And although I have rearranged a few things, this is the "after"
I am very pleased with my livingroom colors thus far. There are a few things I need to work out, like the trim, curtains, rods, and so forth, but I hope to get these taken care of as well. I know this sounds crazy, but I am thinking about repainting my diningroom! I like "cliffrock" so much better than the "pumpkin butter". Ya'll talk to me!
I am completely suprised! I am able to post pictures again!! This pic is one that I took a few days ago. I put the "Brownstone" curtain up again. The picture of the Magnolia that is on the stand, has been moved. I am not finished. I don't think the picture captures the "true" color. 
This is a closeup of my light fixture, like you couldn't figure that out, right? 
I have some more news. I have moved over to the livingroom! I decided while I had all the trays, rollers and brushes out, I may as well continue. It is looking like a different place around here! I dislike having to move everything around, but that is a small price to pay considering the return. And I look at it as a way to exercise. I know I have burned up some calories on this project.
Anita, I am so excited you are taking the plunge. Can't wait to see your results. Hopefully, I will post some more pictures later. Even though I have been busy, I am trying to keep up with everyone.
