Trying Times....

Good Grief, it has been a rough few weeks around here. God is still Good and looks out for us but we have had some trials come our way lately!
(Some of this may make you laugh....so bear with me.....)

A few weeks ago, I decided NOT to share a "roundabout" with another car and ended up denting my precious "Denim"...my new to me Ford Flex....I WAS there first, after all, and I preferred using BOTH lanes!!

A week ago, Roger (a.k.a. precious Hubby...) decided to become sidetracked and disregard a red traffic light, thus rendering his little car and the unfortunate recipient of his accidental blunder, undrivable...(I don't think that's a word?? Spellcheck doesn't like it....) Roger's car is totaled.

That gave Roger a broken hand and a torn muscle in his hand and lots of discomfort. We spent most of Wednesday afternoon and evening in the ER.

Friday Roger became violently ill....he was shaking so hard that I thought he was having a seizure. We assumed it was just the horrible stomach flu going around....thus I avoided him like the plague as soon as I could.....(I know....that wasn't very nice and I DID bath his poor little head with a cold cloth and emptied what needed to be emptied...if you know what I mean....but then I escaped into another room......SO I'M NOT FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE!!!)

Saturday was much the same and since my dear older sister had asked me out for lunch for my big birthday (turning 30 is rough! I'm a liar, too....)....I happily took her up on the offer...a.k.a....fled the scene......I really thought it was the flu!! Stop being so judgmental, ok????

Sunday morning, very early, Dear One woke me up and told me that he thinks he needs to go to the E.R.....he has the symptoms of cellulitis which has afflicted him several times in the past, always making him go to the hospital. Sooo....as I felt incredibly guilty, I took him to the hospital and they prescribed meds and I took him home.

Today, Wednesday, he got feeling worse and I suggested I take him to the hospital right away...so we did.
He is now in the hospital and I have just come home.

I came home to an incredibly incredibly incredibly stinking house. (This is the funny part....)

We have never had baby chickens live in our kitchen before, so I thought that the somewhat nasty odor was just the little chicks and their "residue"....although I have been cleaning the cage out daily.
The girls have had two or three candles burning to make the place bearable and the chicks and the cage were outside!!
STILL....stinky stinky, stinky!!!!!
Something had to be wrong.
Then it dawned on me that while all this other crazy stuff was going on in our lives this week, I had needed to can some ground beef and onions that I had bought on superduper sale! I had no room in our freezer so I had to can it. I had 15 pounds of it....So I did that Sunday afternoon. All that was good except that one jar exploded when it was being processed. I washed all the jars and put them away and thought I had done a pretty good job! Someone else.....I have no idea which of the five other people in this house did this.....removed my canner from the stove, replaced the lid....and I thought that that nice wonderful person had cleaned the canner out!! OH BUT I WAS MISTAKEN.......

You can imagine the rest.
Are you laughing? I am, because laughing is better than crying...and we are all fine and comfortable, usually happy, and alive. We are blessed. As soon as my hubby gets home, we will be even better.

I am writing this because I spoke to my ex husband today...who has also been in the hospital .  I called him because I am kind of a nice person sometimes....and I told him I hoped he felt better, etc....he knew what had been happening with us and I said, "Oh, it's ok, it could be worse!"
He said, "But it could be alot better, too."
And I said, "But we are fine, we are blessed, we could have lots more problems than we do and I prefer to look at it in this way."
And HE SAID, "AAALLRIGHT............." in kind of a nasty tone....(yes, I know, I didn't need to say that but sometimes....................)

It DOES make a big difference how you look at things! I think having our little Israel in our lives opens our eyes to just exactly what our lives COULD be like! He was starving....and now God has blessed him AND us.

So, there you go. More information than you really wanted to know but somehow I just wanted to say it and to praise our Savior through it....even though I can be a catty, selfish person from time to time...our Savior still loves and provides for us!

Blessings....I hope your week goes better than ours has!!
Beth

Busy Days and Chickens!

Wow....central Indiana, particularly the county in which I live, received a tremendous amount of rain yesterday, last night and into this morning. The county road in front of us was completely flooded and our front yard, up to and surrounding our house, was also flooded. It was up to knee height in some areas. I'm not sure if the water got into the cars or not, the water was up to the hub cabs at about 2 a.m. when I remembered that we keep one of our doggies in the crate in the garage. I ran out there barefooted (because I couldn't find my rainboots at 2 a.m....) and rescued poor little Bella who was standing in about 2 inches of very cold water. She is a pug/beagle mix. She spent the night very happily tucked into her crate in our living room close to Annie puppy (who has never had a sleep over before!) and an irritated Precious (over 15 years old....and not in the mood for a sleep over....). OH....she's a dog, not a kid.

We didn't get any water in our house, thank the Lord, but we were really worried about the girls' bedroom that used to be the attached garage. Our neighbors got a few inches in their house/converted attached garage.

The rainwater is slowly subsiding but the public schools here have closed for the day. Unfortunately for Israel and Becca, no such luck for our homeschool academy....

Sooo....I am baking cupcakes for the "end of the homeschool co-op" school year celebration tonight (which I can't go to because I am hosting a wedding shower for my niece Heidi.) I'm also making cupcakes for the shower.

But first, before the shower and celebration night, we are going to go get our chickens!! They will be black and white....but I can't remember the exact name of them. I will have to write it down from the breeder so that I can tell you what they are.....Anyway, we are getting six, I think, to start with. We are keeping them for pets and for eggs! I can't wait!! All of my adult life (and it has been a fairly long time at this point....especially with a very big birthday coming up on Monday.......ahem......old age.....) and I just can't wait to get them! They are about 7 weeks old.

So, busy busy day today and I need to go get things done!

Blessings,
Beth Bower
p.s.....does anyone have an ark???? But perhaps the rain has stopped for the day???

A WONDERFUL SURPRISE!!!

Last night, 20 year old Jennie (who has recently returned from England from a 2 month visit with her boyfriend and his family...) supposedly took birthday girl Becca (whose 16th birthday is today!!) out to eat and for shopping. I called and asked if I could meet them in the next town for frozen yogurt. "YES!" they both agreed!

So...about 1/2 hour or so later, I walked in and over to them. We chatted for a moment when I realized that there was a little bit of commotion behind me........

THERE, WALKING TOWARD ME, WITH A GRIN FROM EAR TO EAR......WAS MY DAUGHTER, MARCI AND HER HUSBAND, BEN!! They moved to Seattle in early August. This whole thing had been planned for months and no one gave up the secret!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!! Jennie had even driven to the airport and through rush hour traffic around Indianapolis to pick them up. THAT in itself is a miracle or at the very least, a true act of love. Jennie hates to drive. She absolutely despises to drive,  especially in traffic!!

I was so surprised and excited!! I was also filmed....oh what a dork I looked like!! But it was ok...my kids were there and I was sooo happy!! The yogurt place will never be the same. It was really crowded and everyone was staring. But soon the whole room was filled with smiling faces as they figured out what was going on.

We are going to go together to look at wedding dresses for a wedding that will very likely occur in the fall/winter??? Jennie and her man Chris will most likely marry and she will eventually move to England.
I had JUST talked to Marci yesterday about how sad I felt that she could not go with us to look at dresses. She supposedly was in Target in Seattle but she was actually in the Chicago airport.

I HAVE RAISED A FAMILY OF LIARS.  VERY NICE LIARS, BUT LIARS ALL THE SAME! I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW THEY ALL GOT SO GOOD!!  Everyone in our family except the younger kids and Roger and I knew about the surprise. Even my parents knew.

A LIGHT BULB JUST TURNED ON IN MY HEAD. MY CHILDREN MUST HAVE GOTTEN THE LIAR GENE FROM MY PARENTS!

Blessings!
Beth

Adopting.....Again???

Saturday evening, Roger, Israel and I came home after our usual afternoon of  our Costco "Date."
Israel....and Roger.....think it is just the best thing to get to sample different food there...AND from a "recovering" orphan's point of view, after all those early years of starvation, anywhere they give you FREE samples of yummy food HAS to be good! I'm not sure what Roger and my excuse is....
ANYWAY, when I got home, I got on the computer to check my email. Most of the time, I don't open general email newsletters from the original adoption agency we had first started with. But this time I did.

After the usual requests for donations for their African Children's Homes, there was a list of waiting children.
In that list.....a year later.....remains the little girl we were referred at the same time was said YES to Israel's adoption. It was one of the hardest things ever to know that in accepting Israel, we were denying this little girl a chance to have a home with Christian parents who would love her. It would have been nearly impossible at the time to have taken her...as much as we wanted to. We still had that big house to sell that had that equally big mortgage and upkeep on it. We didn't have the money. We would also NOT have gotten Israel....one of the best little people in the world! (To his Mommy, anyway!) We knew it was God's will...we had to pray that God would show us what to do. We are happy/thrilled that we have Israel but that little girl has remained in my thoughts EVERY day for a year now. I kept telling myself that someone had adopted her...she was happily placed in a loving home...but sadly, that has not been the case.

She had been abandoned at the home of a Ugandan official and nothing is really known about her. She is approximately 4 years old now...and "chubby." JUST THINK OF IT!! ISRAEL WAS 4 WHEN HE CAME TO THE UNITED STATES AND ONLY WEIGHED 22 POUNDS! This little girl is being passed over now because she is 4 and CHUBBY! What a blessing that she is being cared for and has had plenty to eat! Her little brain has all the needed fats to develop properly! She is considered "too old" as well. I think a four year old little girl is just perfect. (I'm too old for a little baby. I like my sleep.........) Besides, I'M CHUBBY!!! I DO CHUBBY REALLY WELL!!

So anyway, we are in the process of figuring out just what needs to be done to get her. I have contacted the agency who is in charge of her and have called the agency who did our homestudy to adopt Israel. We do need to start from the beginning for parts of the paperwork.
OH....AND THEN THERE IS THE WHOLE ISSUE OF MONEY...YEAH, IT TAKES AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF MONEY.
I'm going to start working on grants and loans and looking into fundraisers. Israel's adoption was really fairly inexpensive since he was already in the United States by the time we "found" him.

We have absolutely no way of paying for this and we realize that IF God wants us to get her, it has to be done by Him. He is pretty "weird" sometimes, by our perspective. (And I say that in the utmost respect...but really, He works things out in strange and weird ways sometimes, doesn't He?)
I think we are going to move forward on this. We have no guarantees that we can adopt her and it is possible that someone may adopt her before we do...which would still be wonderful for her, except that I want her to learn about Jesus from her family. If God wants this, He will make a way. We just have to have some faith. Oh.....did I tell you??? Her name is .... Faith.

Blessings,
Beth

I was so happy to be able to spend time with 4 of our 6 grandkids this past weekend. Aaron, my oldest child, and his gorgeous wife Holly, asked if our little guy, Israel, could spend the weekend with them! Israel was just thrilled! I did go to their house to babysit on Saturday night because they had a fund raiser/awareness event to go to about human trafficking. Anyway, then Israel stayed all night again and we went to their church to pick him up. I LOVED seeing the family! I get to see Holly and Brody a little bit more during the week since I babysit Brody on Tuesdays and that is always nice!

After church I drove a few more miles and visited policeman Dan and his adorable family, Erin, Liam, and Parker. I got a quick hug from Danny as he headed out for his shift as Mr. Policeman but could spend a little more time with his pretty wife and adorable boys!
I was, as always, so impressed at the cleanliness of my two daughters in law's homes! They are not big or fancy, but so comfortable and pleasant! Everything was just as tidy as it could be! It puts me to shame!

One thing I have noticed is that they are very good at eliminating clutter. Without lots of clutter around, it is much easier to maintain their homes! We are overwhelmed with clutter in our home!

Why must we have so much STUFF???? I really want to have a simpler lifestyle but it just seems like our STUFF gets in the way!

This is something we really want to work on this year...eliminating so much STUFF!!

Yesterday was a warm day here in central Indiana and my hubby Roger and I walked around our little "Homestead" planning out our gardens, a chicken coop, and a little goat shed and fence. (He STILL is under the impression that I am going to milk the goats....poor Roger........so naive.....I keep telling him that it is very unlikely that I am going to be milking the goats! Maybe we just shouldn't have goats????)
I'm going to call a landscape company and order some compost to be delivered SOON!! OH WOW I AM EXCITED!

I'll post some pictures as soon as I can figure out where they were stored on my computer. Sometimes I really hate being so dum.  I mean, dumb.

What do you do when one of your precious ones begins to doubt/wonder about Christianity? I am here with a heavy heart today.

I feel like such a failure yet I know that many young people need to "find their way" instead of just following the faith of their parents. It is a struggle for me right now...wondering what I did wrong, what could I have done differently, how much of this is my fault, did I push too hard??

Don't get me wrong, this person is still just as wonderful and obedient as ever...just being honest about struggling with faith and it makes me sad and worried.

I remember myself as a young person just wanting God to "leave me alone"....and I am so happy that He didn't. My life could have turned out differently though, if I had heeded His voice all along. I am grateful that He came after me and brought me back to Him.

I know that He has promised that He won't leave a lamb who strays alone. I just hope He holds my little lamb very close.

Blessings,
Beth

Money Saving Ideas!

As a Mom of nine kids....six of them mine and three of the step-children, I have a LOT of people to buy for at Christmas time. Four of those 9 are married, three have children. One has a VERY significant young man in her life. We are up to six grandkids now!
So, at Christmas time, it is REALLY difficult to actually buy for everyone on our list. That is something we both want to do...continue to give something fairly nice to each of our loved ones.

I always buy early for the next year, starting in January. This year, I have MOST of it done already and it is just February! What a blessing it is to me to know that I have nice gifts for everyone already! If I have to stop now and buy no more, it will be ok! I have been able to go to Kohl's Department store and buy things on clearance sale. They ALSO often have "Kohl's Cash" that they give when you spend a certain amount of money. I was able to buy clearance, I had a 30% off coupon AND I got Kohl's Cash to spend THIS week.
My receipt said that I saved nearly $1000 and I spend about $200...and got $40 in Kohls Cash.

I have come across another money saving idea though, last week. Target has promotions that if you buy a certain product, or sets of products, you get a gift card in return! I only buy the things that are really on sale...not just a gimmick sale... So far, I have six $5 gift cards just waiting for a time closer to Christmas to finish buying Christmas presents! I will continue to watch for those deals and then just save them until I can use them for toys for the grandkids, Israel, and things for our teenagers.
Last week, they had a promotion that if you buy 10 selected items from Mexican or Italian foods, you got a gift card.(Everything was on sale as well....) So I figured out which items I had coupons for (Ragu), and bought them. Then, I figured which items would be the least expensive (pasta) and bought ten of them. They also had taco shells at a really good price....bought some of those as well! THEN....over in the cereal department, they had certain General Mills cereals on sale for $2.50. I had to buy five of those and got the $5.00 gift card. (I had coupons...of course...) Our teenagers eat a LOT of cereal, pasta, etc....so it makes sense to go ahead and buy them to have on hand. If I don't get a really good deal, I then can go to Aldi's to make those purchases...
Having enough storage space DOES become a problem...we may have to have a few things sitting on counters for a little while...but we are used to that!

There are also ideas bouncing around in my head for home made Christmas presents. I'm trying to get a head start on them so that I don't feel overwhelmed in December. I know, I'm kind of strange...I think about Christmas 12 months of the year!

Anyway, I just wanted to give a few examples of ways to save money AND get a good deal in return.

Have a lovely day!
Beth