Entering the Next Chapter

When I was little and walking around the grocery store with my mom I ran into one of my school teachers. I remember feeling completely shocked and confused. I wondered what she was doing outside of school. That was the moment I realized that my teacher was a real person and had a real life.  As I have grown older my views of people have slowly shifted and changed. I went from having one dimensional view of people to having a more detailed understanding of them as individuals. I noticed this happening after having Abigaile. I went from being the babysitter of many families to becoming the friend of the parents. My view of my mom changed completely. When I was young she was just my mom but now I see her as my mom, a wife, a daughter, a woman, and a friend. This change in our relationship has bettered me as a person because I am able to learn so much more from her and from others.  In the last two years I have gotten to know two amazing women. I have known them all my life bu...

Let me start by saying that I don't consider my daughter to be black... I see them as biracial because that is what they are. They are half Irish and half African American. But what I have learned is that, in general, society considers them to be black. For example, President Obama is considered the first black president.. not the first biracial president. Shortly after having Abigaile my husband told me that his family considered her to be black... "one drop of black in you makes you black." I didn't understand that logic because it is based off of old racist slavery thinking. I will raise my daughters to find pride in both sides of their background and I will raise them to be educated on the history of their complete background.  I am a white mother of three beautiful black daughters. This is an account of some of the things I never considered before becoming a parent and some of the concerns I never knew I had. Having never faced many of the issues I was complete...

Again it has been a while since I have written and a lot has happened. So what's new? My hubby has a new job... thank the Lord. It is a day job that is closer to home. I really enjoy getting to spend some time with him after the girls go to bed and it is much easier to not have to keep the girls quiet during the daytime.  Eb turned two years old... and she is acting it. We began the fits and pushing the boundaries.  We now have a new addition to our family. Charlotte was born on August 9th and is our third daughter. She is a very good baby, not that any babies are bad babies. Abbie started 3rd grade. I miss writing but often when I am under a lot of stress and am feeling down I don't do well with writing. Between the two year old and waking up every two hours for the newborn I am exhausted and feel like a shell of myself.  After having Charlotte I weigh less than before I was pregnant and I am trying to keep it off. I am making sure I eat plenty of good nut...

I wanted to respond to the many "Christians" who say that they are going to heaven because they are "good" people. I heard the Pope mention that Athiests will go to heaven if they do good works. Instead of ranting about what I think, instead I am just going to put scriptures that go against it. The vatican did say that they did not back what the Pope had said, but I still think it is important to respond because so many people in general believe it to be true.   (*I am not Catholic but I still found it shocking.)  Ephesians 2:8-9  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—   not by works, so that no one can boast. Luke 18:18-29    A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you sh...

Warning: This is me getting on my soap box. As always I do not expect anyone who does not share my beliefs to follow my beliefs. I also do not apologize for honestly giving my thoughts and beliefs, but am more than happy to hear your views from you... so please share in the comments section.  Today my girls and I went to visit my parents church which is lead by Pastor Sharp. What he brought up was the way we conform to the world instead of rejecting the views of it. I think that often we end up conforming to the world's views through slowly compromising, most often through a process we call "Political Correctness".  This is a picture of the Grand Canyon. What amazes me is that they think the shape of the canyon is caused by wind and water (the river). It is said that a constant drip of water can shape and wear down a stone or rock. This reminds me of American Christians. We are built on such a strong foundation. We are built on the rock but through allowing just...

There are a ton of sites that have recipes that you can prepare ahead of time and freeze. Some of my favorite recipes can make enough for two meals (feeds 3-4 people), one to bake that day and one to freeze for later.  I love to spend a Saturday and make a bunch of meals ahead of time so when things are crazy during the week I can just throw them in the oven and go... the other good part is the time you save. By cooking ingredients together at the same time that work with multiple recipes. It took me about 3 hours to prepare 7 meals from 4 recipes. It also saves money because I use similar ingredients for some of the recipes.  Meal #1: Roasted Chicken Meal #2: Lasagna (My Hubby's Favorite) * Meal #3: Chicken Pot Pie (One of My Favorites)* Meal #4: Creamy Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells* *- Recipe can be split to make two separate meals or can feed 6-8 people I do not claim to have created any of these recipes, they are ones that I have found and my have ...

Have you ever had a moment where everything seemed to come crashing down around you? Where frustration turned into tears of distraught and no matter how hard you try to pull yourself out of that bad place you were stuck feeling stranded and alone?  Most of the time I would consider myself pretty easy going. So many things happen all the time that even though they might bother me I am able to just keep going. Most of the time I am Dory... I just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim.  But occasionally I find myself in a place where I can't swim anymore and I just need rescued.  Last Tuesday, I had one of those moments. Let me set the scene for you.  I had been battling a case of bronchitis for a week already and began to get worse. I hadn't been sleeping well due to being sick and due to the littlest one waking up every night at 1am and staying up for three to four hours. Both of my poor little girls were sick too. This day also seem...