Liberty's Wagons

Are you interested in blessing another family? How about 1000's of families? My friend, Kelly, has a daughter in heaven. Liberty blessed this earth for 5 short months, but Kelly and her husband are keeping her memory alive through Liberty's Wagons. In honor of what would have been Libby's 3rd birthday they are trying to raise enough money to donate 10 wagons to a local children's hospital. The wagons will be used to transport kids to and from different appointments throughout the hospital. They also bring a lot of joy to kids who are in a place that isn't always very happy. Please visit Kelly's blog here where you can see pics of this beautiful family. Click here if you would like the help raise the last $257 for the wagons.

A Mom's Day Giveaway

Maggie Moo's Mom is doing a giveaway for Mother's Day. Head over here to register to win a "mom" shirt for you and a friend.

We have two shirts from Maggie Moo's Mom -- so cute!

Please pray for this family

Please pray for Sarah and her almost 7 year old son, Connor, and the rest of her family. Connor has CF. Tomorrow is his 7th birthday. It will be his last. Please go to Sarah's blog to read their story and give her some encouragement.

check it out...

I enjoy food. A LOT. I was recently sent the link to Annie's Eats. I made her Cheesy Chicken Benchiladas for lunch yesterday and I have been enjoying the leftovers. Check it out...

what's going on

So many things are going on right now, I just never take the time to sit down and blog anymore. Most of my spare time was being wasted on Facebook, so I have decided to give it up for Lent (if you are reading this on FB it is because my blog is automatically uploaded there). It was distracting me from much more important things in my life. I decided that I needed to stop wasting my time and refocus on the areas of my life God wants me to be working on -- mainly my relationship with Him and my relationships with Lily and Wyatt.

Winter has been difficult for me both mentally and emotionally. I have been stuck in a pit of sadness, loneliness, and self-pity. I need a change of pace! I have been looking for an opportunity to get away, to find some sunshine, and to create some new memories with Lily and Wyatt. So, we are getting ready for another vacation to Disney in just a couple of weeks. Our friend (and awesome babysitter), Erin, will be joining us because there was no way I was going to tackle flying and vacationing at Disney World with two three year olds by myself! We will spend three full days in the parks and I am super excited to be able to do even more with the kids than we did last year.

I am also really excited about the opportunity to raise awareness and funds for Cystic Fibrosis through Great Strides. I have officially restarted the "Sweeney Striders" team for this year's walk in Grand Rapids. I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support that I have already received from people joining me in the walk and from the donations given (if you are interested in joining me on the walk or in sponsoring me click here). I have plans in the works (well, just in my head right now) for t-shirts for the Sweeney Striders that will set us apart from other teams as well as honor Ryan's life!

Lily and Wyatt are doing fairly well, other than the colds, coughs, and fevers (Lily) they have been fighting. It is so hard to believe that in a few weeks they will be turning 4! I am ready to be done with "3" and all of its challenges, but I am not ready for them to be heading to school. If only there was a slow motion button on life!

And lastly, here is a video of one of my favorite songs right now, "Unredeemed" by Selah. I love the message that it sends, a message of hope in the promises God has made to redeem the things of this world that hurt so much. It is a great reminder to me that God sees and knows the pain in my heart, especially as Ryan's birthday approaches.

I am sitting here at the computer getting caught up on other blogs and really desiring to write a post of my own -- if only I knew what to write! Facebook seems to have taken over as my tech tool of choice right now. It is so fast and easy. Pictures upload faster and updates are quicker, so blogging has taken a back seat. The one thing I really miss about blogging is the ability to sit down and share my heart and connect with so many people. Facebook allows for keeping updated on the lives of others, but it does not often allow for a full explanation of my heart. Maybe I like Facebook because it allows to to "hide" or maybe I like it more because I can feel connected to others when I am at home during the lonely hours of the day while the kids are sleeping. Either way, I spend way too much time there! :)

There are things I would like to share, but for now they have to wait. I am excited for the things God is doing and I am praying that He will be glorified through different opportunities in my life right now. The desire of my heart is that God will use me and that He will receive the glory from "my" story!

all for a good cause

I have a blog friend named Kori (see above picture). She and I have chatted through emails, via Facebook, and even on the phone. Kori and I have a lot in common and a lot of the things we have in common are the difficulties of life. Her husband, Richard, has CF but is currently losing his battle against colon cancer. Kori is a godly woman facing the most difficult time in her life. She knows that her husband will soon be healed in heaven and that she will soon be facing life as a widow and a single mom to two children.

There is an auction being held tomorrow (August 11) over at Welcome to The Nut House! Be sure to head over there to check out all the different things being auctioned off. 100% of the money will be going to the McCulley Family Trust Fund to help with the expenses of life as Kori goes on medical leave to take care of her husband. Even if you cannot donate, please be praying for Kori, Richard, Calob, and Jacob as they face many difficult days ahead!

where does my encouragement come from?

a friend who is walking this path of grief with me
the smiles on the faces of my children
a listening ear when i need to cry
words of hope from the word of God
the words of the praise songs playing in the background
the knowledge that this life is short and that eternity is coming

Two Quick Things

Thing One: In my quiet time yesterday, I was struck by the words of Beth Moore in her book "John: 90 Days with the Beloved Disciple" (p. 213). I was in day 44 and there were words there that I just needed to hear and thus wanted to share with all of you

"Jesus Christ is everything we need....Remember, He is the self-sufficient One! He came to be what we need -- not just what we need but what we desire most in all of life. The "I Am" came to be with us.

We will never have a challenge He can't empower us to meet. We will never have a need He can't fill. We will never have an earthly desire He can't exceed. When we allow Christ to be all He is to us, we find wholeness. One piece at a time. Every time you discover the reality of Christ fulfilling another realm of your needs and longings, His name is written on a different part of you, and you are that much closer to wholeness."

Wow, she is so wise and I am continually growing in my walk as I study God's word with her guidance!

Thing Two: Very trivial, but fun none the less...the blog is less that 100 hits away from being at the 100,000 mark. I don't rival some of the "big" blogs, but fun for me anyway...

Dutch?

I am 100% Dutch. One of the things you learn while growing up and being Dutch is that you need to get things cheap and learn all ways to save money. :) I have not been very good at following this rule, but I do love a good bargain! My sister amazes me with her ability to cut coupons and save money....she has been known to use coupons so well she gets things for free!

A friend of mine from high school (also Dutch) has recently began a blog where she shares her secrets of cutting coupons and saving money. The money she is able to save is amazing. I thought that some of you might also want to save money (will apply most to those living in Western Michigan). Here is the link to her blog Give Me Neither. You can also find it listed in my blog list.

Happy Shopping and Saving!

Gotta Love a Giveaway!

Do you remember Maggie Moo's Mom~Alison Harris who made these adorable shirts for Lily and Wyatt?

Well she is doing a giveaway for spring...Who’s Ready for a Spring Giveaway!!!?!! She has started creating these fabulous new keyfob/keychains. Go check it out!

Christmas Spirit

In order to get into the Christmas spirit, I have added a Christmas music playlist to the blog. The Christmas music will automatically start playing when you arrive on the blog. If you prefer the regular music, pause the Christmas list and start the original playlist located just under the Christmas list on the right hand side of the blog.

Maggie Moo's Mom Giveaway

Maggie Moo's Mom...Alison Harris makes adorable homemade clothes for kids. I found her blog a while ago when she wrote to me to tell me she was following our story. She is doing a giveaway of a little girls skirt that she will custom make for the winner (12 months - 6 years). The contest goes through next week Saturday night at 9:00 pm C.S.T. Go check out her site and see all of the cute things that she makes.

Blog Award

I received this blog award from Susie at Here Only . I have known her and her family for about 7 years. Her brother, Scott, was Ryan's best friend. Thanks, Susie! As she put it, it is a Portuguese Blog Award for friendship. I am giving to to those who have become friends through Blogland!

"They all are charmed with the blogs, where in the majority of its aims are to show the marvels and to do friendship; there are persons who are not interested when we give them a prize and then they help to cut these bows; do we want that they are cut or that they propagate? Then let’s try to give more attention to them! So with this prize we must deliver it to 8 blogger's that in turn must make the same thing and put this text."

Kori at My Life as a CFers Wife is a wonderful blog friend. She is always encouraging me even though she is facing some very difficult things in her own life.

Kelly at Praise In Spite of Pain is an inspiration to me. She is open about her grief following the death of her daughter. She has encouraged me many, many times in the short time I have "known" her.

Sara at OceanDesert is everything that a CF person should be. She has had a successful transplant and is living life to the full!

Rachel at -little bites of heaven- is my encouragement as a mom of multiples! She is life so gracefully with triplets!

Danielle at Our Family of 4 has become a wonderful source of encouragement to me. She is always checking in to see how we are doing over here in our little corner of the world. Thanks, Danielle!

Thanks for "doing friendship" with me, ladies!

Balloon for Liberty

I have found a friend in grief at Praise In Spite of Pain. Kelly and her husband lost their little girl, Liberty, 1 year ago today. Please pray for them as they are hurting too!

Kelly, here are the pictures of Lily, Wyatt and I with Libby's balloon!

A New Game of Tag

My friend, Kandy, put up a new blog tag yesterday. You are supposed to pick your 6th picture from your 6th folder. This was the picture that I found when I went to get my picture.

CALI

Cali was our puppy for about six weeks in the summer of 2004. Ryan's brother, Nick, brought her home without permission and Ryan and I decided that we would take her. She was a sweet puppy. We had her almost 100% house broken when we had to give her up for adoption (long, un-fun story).

Blogging

I started this blog about 16 months ago. When I started it I remember saying to Ryan, what in the world will I write about and who in the world will ever read it. Many of my friends were starting blogs and I enjoyed reading them, plus having Ryan's family live 4 hours away we thought it would be a fun way for them to "see" the kids.

The blog has become something that I love, a hobby if you will. I have never enjoyed writing, but I enjoy putting down my thoughts here on the blog. It has been my own personal journal through so many trying times. I hope its is a way for God to be glorified for all the things he has done and will continue to do in my life. It has been a tool for me to show off my kids, to inform people of Ryan's health and hospital stays, and most recently a way for me to express my grief.

I very rarely talk about my grief in person; most days people who see me will have no idea what I am really feeling. This blog has become my way of expressing just what I am feeling. It has helped me so much to be able to share my story of grief. I am hoping that maybe it is helping someone else in some way too.

Val laughs at me now, because I talk about "blog" friends like I really know them. I feel like I do know a lot of you. You have opened your lives to me through your blogs. You have encouraged my through your comments and emails to me. There are some of you who are also walking down a path of grief or are facing it in the near future. Some of you who do not "know" me have been some of my strongest supporters and I just wanted to say thank you!

blurb.com

I just found out about a new website: www.blurb.com. Many of you may have no interest in it, but it allows you to take your blog and make it into a book. I know my mom was thinking of creating one for me and the kids from our time at U of M. I am going to have to look more into it later, but I briefly checked out the site and it looks intriguing.

tag...

5 Things on my list to do today:
1. take the kids for a walk after dinner.
2. devos
3. talk to Val
4. go to bed early
5. not much on the list today...

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. air-popped popcorn
2. chips and salsa
3. garlic-ranch pretzels
4. fresh fruit
5. most things chocolate

5 Things I would do if I was a sudden Billionaire:
1. help family and friends pay off debt
2. give money to the transplant fund at U of M to help other families
3. pay my parents back for college and wedding
4. give to charities
5. buy a house

5 Bad Habits:
1. wasting away my time on the computer
2. complaining
3. procrastinating on house work
4. getting frustrated by little things that don't matter
5. getting caught up in gossip

5 Places I have lived:
1. Grandville, MI
2. Jenison, MI
3. Palos Heights, IL
4. W. Dundee, IL
5. Lake In The Hills, IL

5 jobs I have had:
1. sales clerk at Lori's Hallmark
2. summer help at Steelcase
3. babysitter
4. teacher
5. mom and wife

5 things most people don't know about me:
1. I went to college in Clearwater, FL for one semester.
2. I tried out for cheerleading as a freshman in high school
3. I love math -- taught it for 5 years
4. I am much more of a morning person, than a night owl
5. I "played" basketball in 7th grade (warmed the bench, really)

IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU ARE TAGGED AND IT IS YOUR TURN!! I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOU!

Blog Quizzes

I found these quizzes on another blog (yes, I am slightly addicted to blogging). I thought that they were fun, so I am sharing them with you! :)

68%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

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