Spelling corrections

I received a phone call from my husband after he read my blog. He wanted to inform me that I made some spelling errors lol. He said I had to post these words on the computer for future reference : Pictures (not pitcures)
Cleaning (not cleanning) lol.

I never claimed to be a great speller and never will. Apparently my spell check on Blogger is not working.

The funny thing about the word picture is I never, ever, ever, ever spell it right and I think I pronounce it wrong too and my husband knows this :) lol. He also reminded me that when we moved and packed I even wrote pictures on the box. We sure do have laughs & fun with our weaknesses lol :).

I decided that this is my blog and this is who I am (like it or not) and I'm not changing the spelling. So as I have said many times before he will just have to deal with me and love me anyways lol :). Same goes for me too!

Laughing and giving each other a hard time really is one way John & I show love to each other and have fun with each other. I also think it is one way we have learned to accept each other's faults and differences. I think it's another reason why our marriage has lasted 11 years. I love you John, but I'm not changing the spelling :)!

Until Later, Betty

God "reorganizing" my heart

On my post yesterday I was telling how cleaning out and reorganizing my sink cabinet made me think and pray asking God to see if there was any cleaning out or reorganizing in me He needed to do, and sure enough did He find something. Last night we were putting the girls to bed and I started getting on them about their rooms not being clean and then we tried to go straight to prayer time and it didn't work. John & I started to get into an argument, which I don't like to do in front of the girls. Bethany ended up praying for us and John & I continued to argue in our room. I ended up leaving the our bedroom still frustrated while he was going to go to bed. As I was finishing the dishes, God spoke to my heart. Before that I was convinced that I was right and not liking how John was dealing with the situation. God softly spoke to my heart and showed me that John did have some good points and showed me where I was wrong. Therefore, I went back in and (in tears) apolized to John and told him that I should not have done a power play thing. We talked and I asked him why he saw certain things in me and I realized and confessed that there are certain things I need to work on, like not critizing the girls so much, being easily frustrated, and expecting perfection. A lot of the things that I said I would never do as a mom :). He also admitted that there are things he also needs to work on and things we both need to work on together. I am thankful that God is still working on me.

I am still on this journey and heading to victory, just not all the way there yet.

Until Later, Betty

Under the sink organization

Laura over at I'm an organizing junkie had a post about organizing an under the sink cabinet. As I was reading this it occured to me that my cabinet under my sink isn't very organized. Therefore, I took her suggestions and cleaned out and reorganized 2 of my cabinets. It is amazing how different you feel when you start cleanning [cleaning] out and organizing your house. It is also making me see other areas in my house that is not very organized. Amazing that before I started reading her blog and seeing her pitcures I never noticed all the clutter in my house, that is now starting to bother me. I'm now getting excited to start something else.

Here are my before pitcures:

And here are my after pitcures:

Thanks Laura! This will make my daily life a little easier.

As I was cleanning [cleaning] these cabinets, that very few people ever see (besides my family), it made me think that we have places in our hearts and lives that very few people see, that maybe God is trying to declutter, reorganized, and change to be more useful. I wonder what area God may be trying to clean up in my life to look better and would allow Him to "show off?"

Lord, search me and know my heart and change, clean out, and reorganize any area you see that needs to be changed. Amen.

Until Later, Betty

Menu Plan Monday

I am doing Menu Monday again this week from Laura's site. Here is my menu for this week.

Monday Hamburgers, Mac & cheese

Tuesday Chicken & Rice, Corn

Wednesday Popcorn Chicken, French Fries

Thursday Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Applesauce

Friday Leftovers or whatever because we have a meeting to be at church

I have been hearing about the different sites that are posting reciepes. I plan to check them out this week and try something different next week.

For more menus visit Organize Junkie's site.

Game Plan/ Van Blessing

Tonight we are planning to go to the Braves vs. Cubs baseball game and eat at the Varisty resturant in downtown Atlanta. My huband is a big baseball fan and a Chicigo Cubs fan and it is rubbing off on our girls. We have been planning this all season. You don't find to many Cubs fans in the area we now live in. This is a big day at our house. I'm excited that we can do something as a family and make memories.

Last year when we went to a cubs game I remember Bethany asking her dad questions and getting into the game. It was neat to see one of John's favorite passtimes being taught to our daughter and seeing her take an interest in the sport too. Last year the game had 2 rain delays and Bethany was determined to stay to the end. At one point I think John was ready to go, but couldn't convince Bethany to leave. I laughed and told John that he created that in her, because he is the same way of being determined to see a project to the very end. He couldn't say much because he knew it was true.

In other news, we had a blessing this week. Our van finally got fixed. We were so exicited. Tuesday night my friend Instant Messaged me and said Butch, the mecanic who has been working on our van and who we have been waiting on, and her were coming over on Wednesday morning to fix the van. I was thinking GREAT - if that really happens and if he doesn't find anything else wrong. Well it did happen and the van is up and running. We drove it to church on Wednesday night and several places since then. It passed the emissions test and we got the tags for it. So it's even legal to drive now - lol!
I asked Butch if he thought the van was dependable enough to make a long trip to Ohio in November, our annual trip to visit family and old friends, and he said yes without any hesitation. I am so ready to go see family and friends. I am enjoying our current life and living in Gerogia, but I sure do miss family and our old church family in Ohio. I was very dissapointed that because of our van and car problems we were not able to make a trip this past summer. Therfore, I am so ready and am making plans to go in November. "It does the heart good to see loved ones!"

I am going to go and get ready for the game!
Until Later,
Betty

Labor Day at my house

We were not planning on having any kind of party or going anywhere for Labor Day. Our plans were just to hang out at home, relax, watch some football, get some filing done, and blog. "Oh how things change." God has blessed me with a group of friends from church who has kids around the same age as mine. There are about five families in our little group and we get together outside of church periodically. Sunday after church Bethany ended up going home to spend the night with one of our friends in our group and two of another families girls came home with Jody and the other families mixed kids also. As John & I were talking about making arrangements of picking up Bethany and having the other girls picked up, we decided to just invite all the families over to our house to drop off and pick up kids and have a cookout. We knew it was last minute and some might have had plans, but everyone except one family said they could come. Therefore we went out to get propane for our grill and meat for everyone. After we did the inviting and everyone agreed to come we then realized a part on our grill was broke and not usable. However, thank the Lord for good friends who will step in and cover your back when you need it. Our friends Lisa & Rodney brought their small grill and another friend Caryl went out and got the part we needed for the grill. I am so blessed with the friends we have in our lives. We all seemed to have a good time.

This was the second time I have had everyone over to our place. I used to get so nervous about having people over. Everything had to be just right, everything had to be so clean, food had to be just right, and ect. I used to get myself so worked up that once everyone came I couldn't enjoy myself because I was so worried about what everyone was thinking and how it would go. However, with this group I have not been so worried about it (to a point). I mean I did clean and wanted everything to look nice, but I did not stress out about it. I was able to enjoy myself with everyone else here. I guess I am growing. Recently I heard an interview with an author (don't remember what book they were promoting) but she said that you start to fell more comfortable having people over the more you do it. I guess I just need to force myself to to it more often. I guess it's the same way I feel about people reading my blog. I feel a little nervous about people I've never met before and don't know what they think reading by blog and sharing my heart with them, but I know I need to do this. I think the more I post and leave coments on others, the more comfortable I will feel. Besides this is fun and I am enjoying this! I am surprized how God is using blogging to grow me in other areas of my life.

Until Later,
Betty

Menu Monday

I am joining Laura's group of Monday Menus, so here goes:

Monday Cookout w/ friends - hambugers or hotdogs, macaroni salad, fruit, chips & salsa

Tuesday Chicken Rice Casserole w/ corn, toss salad, baked apples

Wednesday Leftovers

Thursday Beef Stroganoff, Vegetable Medley, Applesauce

Friday Grilled Steak, French Fries, Baked Corn

Saturday We are going to Cubs vs. Braves game & will eat at The Varsity

Sunday We have a meeting after church and will eat there

This was easier than I thought. I have been wanting to do this for awhile, but have been putting it off and thought it would take too much work and effort. I think I like this :).

Mommy/Daughter Date

After a long and difficult week together of arguing with each other, I planned a mommy/daughter date with Bethany (my 9yr old). We went out to dinner and to watch a movie. While we were at the food court at the mall, I couldn’t help but to notice the different group of teenage girls hanging out. They were not doing anything wrong or inappropriate just acting their age and having a good time. Of course because of my current stage of motherhood, my first thought was “ok I see a group of girls, now where are the group of mommies?” Reality # 1 hit, at their age they don’t need their mommies’ right next to them. Then reality # 2 hit harder, there will come a time (in several years) when my daughter will be apart of those groups and will be coming to the mall without me or a trusted adult. I started to feel fear, uncertainty, and wondered if I am on target of teaching my children what they need to know to survive as an independent teenager/ adult when many, many, many situations could come up and they would have to deal with them.

On the way home when Bethany & I were alone in the car I asked her about some situations. I asked if she was a teenager at the mall with her friends (I named certain ones) & without me and her friends wanted her to do something that she knew was not right and God would not approve of, what would she do? She first asked if she would have a cell phone by then (her little plug for one). She said she would tell her friends not to do it and if they did not listen she would leave and go to the bathroom and call home. I reassured her that if she was ever in a situation where someone (guy or girl) wanted her to do something that she knew was wrong or threaten her that they may not give her a ride home or whatever – she can always call her father & me – even if we had other plans- and we would come and get her. I also reminded her of other close friends that she could call if for some reason she could not get a hold of us. I also reminded her that the Bible said that if we are ever in a situation or being tempted that God will provide a way out for us. It was a good discussion.

Although it’s scary thinking of my babies growing up and what could happen, I was proud of her response and will continue to pray for her to grow strong in the Lord and to be able to take a stand when she needs too. As a mom I will do my best to raise my girls strong and in the Lord, and leave the rest to Him, and trust “He is Still in Control.” This statement of hers made up for the situation we had earlier in the week, which is a story for another time, but what reminded me that I need these kind of moments with my girls now before they grow up. I was also reminded that I need to plan these times and not wait for them to just happen. In other words I need to continue to “parent on purpose”. I ended the day being a proud mom!

Until Later,
Betty

New Commitment to Blogging

Reading other blogs has been so much fun and encouraging! I love hearing about other people’s lives and how I can so relate to so many. I have learned new ideas about housekeeping, gardening, menus, organization, motherhood, …., and most importantly that I’m not alone, even when it feels like I am. Women have shared personal situations that I thought only I go through, because no one else I know shares those kinds of details in everyday life. I love this blog world.

However, I have had the hardest time keeping up with my blog. I have posted a few entries, but not on a regular basis. I have been challenged to follow through with my blog and make a commitment to it and not to make excuses of why I can’t enter posts.

As I am making this commitment to post at least 4 times a week, I want to share my thoughts of why I have hesitated and my insights on the struggle.
1. Time -
2. Not feeling good enough – like I said I have read so many and have been so encouraged, that I wonder what I would have to offer that’s not already being offered.
3. Not knowing what to say and how to say something creatively

As I have been thinking about these things here are my insights:
1. Time - I just have to make the commitment to do it and make the time, not just find it. I’m determined I’m going to do it.

2. Not Good Enough - God created me to be Betty, not someone else. We all have special gifts and talents. We are all different. God will use each of us (if we allow Him) in our own little world. Which means people may read my blog that are not reading the ones that I am and getting the same kind of encouragement. If people are reading the same blogs that I am it is only more encouragement to say we are not all in this alone. And besides this is a place that I can record my walk with the Lord and to share my life with whomever wants to read it. It is okay if someone doesn’t want to read it or comment on it. It will not change who I am or who I am becoming.

3. Not knowing what to say and how to say it creatively – I thought about my close friends I talk to on the phone and share my life and thoughts with. I don’t worry so much about saying something perfect or just right; I just share myself and my heart. That is how I am going to look at this blog world. I am hoping to meet some blog friends that will understand that I’m not perfect, will overlook some of my grammar and spelling mistakes and see my heart. I hope to be an encouragement as so many have encouraged my life.

So here is my post as my new commitment to the blog world. Please let me know if you are out there and reading this.

Until Later,
Betty