Public Service Announcement(s) =)

#1: I had totally forgotten about Cabbage!!! I stopped pumping a few weeks ago; however, my boobs didn't adhere... THEN, after a couple of weeks, I remembered Cabbage! Threw a couple pieces in my bra for a few days, and VOILA! My boobs got the message! (If you decide to try this, be sure to change it out somewhat regularly, lest you leave a horrific odor in your wake and people either talk about you or don't want to be around you! ;)

#2: Check out the expiration date of your sunscreen BEFORE you use it. BJ and I made this error this weekend. Oh... it still worked, but it only worked in SPOTS! We are fried in some spots and white as a ghost in others. Quite humorous, but it sure does hurt - forgot just how much I hated being BURNED! We're still hoping the burn/tan will 'even itself out!' Needless to say, we are throwing out some of our sunscreen! The one we used said it expired in '02, so you know I had to have bought it a year or two before that! Oops... my bad!!!!

#3: On a different, more serious note... I find myself struggling since I have had Sam with fear - and it has compounded since I have had Jake. I tell myself these things regularly, but I thought writing them down would help me too!?

I find myself thinking about what great joy my children bring to my life. And I just CAN'T understand someone NOT wanting kids. Now. Before Sam, I didn't really want kids either. But now, I find myself feeling sad for those who have decided not to have children - and even more-so those who want them but cannot. You just don't know love until you experience your own flesh and blood children! That being said, that much love is bound to bring on heartache. Take Jake, for example. That poor little guy has been through SO MUCH, and my heart was breaking while we were going through it. And it still does just to have to think back. And the fear of the unknown can be even scarier if I/we let it consume us. I don't know what Jake's future holds, and that can scare a parent to death. Even a healthy child brings fears. You don't know if he will always be healthy or safe. Anything can happen.

I just read that a friend of a friend's 17-month-old drowned in their pool the other day. The dad was watching him, but he opened the door and walked out without him hearing. Accidents happen. But at least these people got to experience the love of their child.

I have nightmares about what can happen to my own children - and compound normal everyday accidents with congenital heart defects, and I just can't sleep sometimes! The baby pool, the lake, the farm, the creek, the four wheelers, the street, the stairs, the car, cleaning stuff, sharp objects... I could keep going for days!!!

You can go through life scared about what might happen. You can even choose to just not deal with these things by 'keeping life simple'. But you're missing it. Love with all you have. Try to forget about what might/could/may happen and just love the moment you are in. THESE moments won't be here tomorrow - regardless of what tomorrow brings!

I choose LOVE. I will love the blessings God has given me TODAY... and I will deal with what He hands me tomorrow... tomorrow! And I will pray that God holds my children close and protects them today AND in the future! Because He can do a much better job than I can!!!

This is a hym that reminds us to leave it all in God's hands:

It Is Well With My Soul
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,When sorrows like sea billows roll;Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain:It is well, with my soul,It is well, with my soul,It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,Let this blest assurance control,That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!My sin, not in part but the whole,Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,Even so, it is well with my soul.
Horatio Spafford