Sometimes we understand a message when it is simply illustrated

Sometimes we understand a message when it is simply illustrated..









....and you question God - 'why me?'.....
always look at the bigger picture....

A day without the Lord - Is a day wasted.


God is going to shift things around for you today and let things work in your favor.

Thank God for the stuff that didn't hit you!

School pictures

Kelly is showing school pictures this week and since I happen to have some scanned in, I thought I'd join!

Longaberger Super Labor Day Sales

Check out the SUPER sales this week from Longaberger! Go to www.longaberger.com/juliehumphrey to order. These will make great gifts for teachers!

So this is love......

I found this bedding when I was searching for fabric to make a window treatment for my dinning room. I am in love. Hmmm....wonder if this is ever discounted?

Photos from Neiman Marcus.

I had intended to photograph my roosters but I have been so busy this week that I didn't get to it, so I guess this will have to do.

Thrifty Treasures

WE got this Pottery Barn Sectional FREE....yes, FREE!, this weekend. It was advertised on Freecycle and my husband traveled 45 miles to pick it up. It is 5 years old and in excellent shape except for some sun fading on the back. We have washed the slipcovers and they look great we just have to vacuum the rest of the upholstery and it will be ready to bring into the family room. I am so excited about our good luck! We have been looking for a denim section for 3 years. I'll post photos once it is in the familiy room. It retails for between $4,429.00 - $6,279.00.

First Day of School

Decorating with Longaberger

Check out all the great new Longaberger Products coming out in September.

Lots of work!

I've been hard at work this week, in between trying to make visits to child care programs and trying to get ready to be gone next week for an Early Language and Literacy training, getting Aaron's clothes and outgrown toys ready for consignment. We are participating in the Rhea Lana's consignment sale the second weekend of August this year. I am excited to clear out the fall and winter clothing that is outgrown as well as some toys and other things he is too big for. If you have a Rhea Lana's near you, check it out. I found some great stuff there last spring.

New Photo

Aaron had his photo taken last week at the Calotype Belly Buttons event in Jane. We love Calotype!!!!

Whew!

Ok, I finally did it. Have you ever been so burned out that you just can't function? That's how we have been feeling.....for a while now. We have taught Sunday School for 6 years and we have really been quite tired for the last year. We haev really needed a change but have held on for the kids...well, this fall there is only one child in our group and we decided now is the time to make a change. I am taking on two other projects at church and I just need a break.

Blog Hop favorite Photo

These are two of my favorite photos. Aaron Christmas 2008. Julie at Calotype did a great job capturing the real Aaron. He is pushing the train I got for Christmas the year I was 2.
Our first family portrait, taken at Calotype. We won their give away at Barnyard Days one of the first weekends Aaron was transitioning into our home. This photo was taken in Dec. 2007 when he had been living with us for about 2 months.

***Replace this line with your content. This week, on TUESDAY, 7/7/09, the theme is A FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPH. Post up one of your favorite photographs and a caption that tells the audience about it. Here is a sample: http://mcklinky.blogspot.com/2009/07/mcklinky-photo-blog-on-tuesday-sample.html Do not change any part of this snippet of code except for this paragraph only.... replace the text that falls between (and includes) the opening and closing asterisks. Be sure to enter your own link to your own blog hop post as soon as the blog hop starts!***

Travel in style

Travel Mugs Perfect For Vacation Season!
Just in time for you to hit the road for summer vacations, Woven Traditions® Travel Mugs are just $12 on Wednesday, July 8 only. At this price, everyone in the family can have their own color.
Our sturdy Travel Mugs keep coffee hot for the grownups and soft drinks or juice cool for the kids. For a longer lasting cool, chill a Travel Mug in the freezer before adding your favorite beverage. For warmer sipping, fill a Travel Mug with water and heat it in the microwave and then empty it just before adding your drink. Tasty!
Here's a delicious idea: If you're planning a "stay-cation," have a "make your own sundae" get-together and give everyone a Travel Mug to fill with favorite ice creams and toppings.

Go to www.longaberger.com/juliehumphrey to order. Order early for best selection.

Super Great Longaberger Horizon of Hope Deal

The Longaberger Horizon of Hope baskets and pottery will be available beginning July 1. $2 from every basket and $1 from every pottery piece will go to breast cancer research and education. To sweeten the deal, you can receive a free tote July 1 - 17 when you purchase a basket. Go to www.longaberger.com/juliehumphrey

Busy social life of a 3 year old boy

We've been invited to a swim "meet". What a fun idea! Our friends S & SE invited Aaron to a pool party this week and again in two weeks. I bought a new suit for the event and Aaron got a fish swim ring. Hopefully he will actually get in.

June 24 Longaberger One Day Sale

Available for this price on June 24 only. Go to www.longaberger.com/juliehumphrey to order. Contact me to see how you can get an extra $10 off this basket.

Male Bonding

I walked in on Joe and Aaron watching a movie the other night. Aren't they cute?

I submitted this pic to the local paper for father/son photos for father's day.

Finally the end of the month is in sight!

What a month! College classes are out for the next week (who ever came up with the new schedule where we have a week between regular session and summer school.....it sucks!) but I am working on updating my syllabus for my summer course and then setting up my website for the 8 week session.
We renewed our foster care license this month which meant filling out paperwork, re-do finger prints, discovering that the state of Missouri lost our original file and now we have to provide all of those copies too......cleaning the house for the inspection, etc.
I am hoping for a break in June. I am working this June for the first time in 5 years. It is a huge adjustment to go from a 10 month contract to a 12 month contract. I dislike working in July more than June but it seems weird to not be preparing to shut down for several weeks and regroup.

Difficult week

In Loving memory

Gary L. Crouch

Feb. 18, 1955 - May 9, 2009

My Uncle Gary was killed in a motorcycle accident on Saturday. Today was the memorial service and graveside service. One of my other uncles said it was fitting that it poured rain because my Uncle Gary was always trying to dunk someone in the lake.

I went to college in Springfield where my Aunt and Uncle live. My Uncle always took care of any car trouble (or any other trouble for that matter) that I had. I am so lucky to have such a large and caring family. My mother is the oldest of nine children. My Uncle Gary was married to the fifth sister in the family. Please keep my Aunt and my two cousins in your prayers as they deal with this loss.

Porch & Patio Party

Grits & Glamour is having a Porch and Patio Party today! I finally got my front porch cleaned off this morning (it just started raining again while I was taking photos). This is the view of our front porch from the street. Please excuse the tall grass, it has been raining here for 2 weeks! I got a few plants out in between rain but nothing major has been accomplished. We started painting the trim work a dark green and have painted the larger portions a golden color. You can't see it very well, but we added an Uppercase Living http://expressyourself.uppercaseliving.net "Welcome" above the house number on the porch.

We put a small pond in front of the porch for Father's Day last year. It has a fountain and a pot with a waterfall. It also provides sushi for the local cat and racoon population.....no more $12 pretend koi for us! The window baskets on the ironwork will get filled with moss rose as soon as I can located new coconut liners for them.

This is the new "wicker" love seat and end table we purchased for Mother's and Father's day this year. We have a cushion but since it is raining, we haven't brought it out. I have a small bakers rack that I fill with bird houses and plants. The blue bird house on it was made by my grandfather when I was a kid. I'm still thinking about what to put on the table. Since there is no cover on the porch it makes choices limited.

Here is a side view of the child size chairs our son uses. I will probably put some of my collection of old garden cans out here in a few days.

This is a poor old chair by the front door that I put a basket of flowers in. Hopefully once it stops raining, my flowers will take off and cover the basket. Please excuse the spot at the base of the entry way, we are in the process of replacing some rotted wood.

Give away at the lettered cottage

Check out this post at the Lettered Cottage http://theletteredcottage.blogspot.com/2009/05/coastline-contest.html
And check out http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7044601

A Rain Barrel

I have been reading about ways to conserve and save money and we decided to give a rain barrel a try. We set up a space in our back yard and used a couple of cinder blocks that were hanging out in our basement to raise the barrel off the ground.

My husband brought home a huge barrel from work. It has two small openings on the top, one we left the original size to use an an overflow and the other we made larger to fit the down spout. He drilled a hole in the side for the spigot go in. The he covered the top with landscape cloth to keep those pesky mosquitoes from finding a new place to lay eggs. It was too dark to photograph the finished product when he finished so I will have show it off tomorrow. We will also see how well it works tomorrow with the forecasted rain.

New Porch Furniture

I got a new love seat and end table for the front porch today. We decided to get it for Mother's Day and Father's Day. These are made by Hampton Bay and made of resin wicker. As soon as it stops raining, we'll put it on the porch and I'll take some photos of the porch with the furniture and my flowers.

Whew!

It has been quite a week! I put together my "basket" for our Curves Relay for Life team and delivered it on Tuesday. I used an ivory Longaberger pie plate, a Longaberger small serving basket, a Longaberger entertaining cookbook, a Longaberger apron and a woven reflections longaberger bowl (see a theme here?). So glad to have that done and delivered.
We left Wednesday for a meeting for my work at the University of Missouri - did I mention that I work from home? Sometimes it's wonderful, sometimes not. Aaron and Joe went with me. We had fun at the hotel and even got Aaron to get into the pool just a little bit. We managed to squeeze in some shopping and found Aaron some great clothes in the next size up at a huge savings.
I'm hoping to post my kitchen photos for http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2009/04/show-us-your-house-friday.html

Child Care Provider Appreciation - May 8

Remember to appreciate your child care provider on Friday, May 8. Go here http://www.providerappreciationday.org/about/ to read more about it.

Too cute!

I just read the funniest blog story. Go here to check it out http://thestonerabbit.typepad.com/the_stone_rabbit/2009/04/the-pink-escape.html

Bad, bad blogger!

I am a bad blogger. I have thought about blogging over the past week but I haven't done anything except look at everyone else's blog. We have been busy. I was in charge of a children's lenten event that was yesterday. I was in charge by default, our youth and family director asked me to help and then did nothing except get volunteers who did not show up. Luckily, it was a crummy day and our numbers were down so my one volunteer and I weren't too swamped.

My niece and nephew have been in town for several days and have been with us part of the time. They spent the night last night. They talked and giggled until late. My nephew was the first one out. I dont' know what time my niece and son went to sleep but they were still up at 10. She was singing to him.

Our town has the city wide garage sale coming up on April 4. I am super busy getting ready for it. Please come and take some of these treasures off our hands!

Meltdown

Mommy had a meltdown ths morning. Too many toys strung across the house, hubby is addicted to Facebook games and has totally neglected his share of the housework (how hard is it to unload and load the dishwasher and put your own laundry in the hamper?), Aaron is not staying in his own bed and this morning when he was hitting me, I shoved him to the other side of the bed and he his head on the headboard and now he has a black eye......seriously. I had blood drawn this morning and they took is from my hand and it left a huge knot on my hand. My morning daycare forgot I was coming and I had to reschedule them.....now I will need to reschedule the afternoon one. I feel like I am just one big ball of stress! My friend, Jess, is visiting this week and I can't find her number to call and get together. Does anyone else feel this way?

Update - Prayer Request

This is just an update on my friend I asked you to pray for in January. The tests have shown that her brain tumor is cancer and she is taking chemo to reduce the size of the tumor. She hasn't been at her job very long so she doesn't have any insurance. A fundraiser is scheduled for her in April. Please keep praying for her and her family.

UGH!

Have you ever had one of THOSE days? We have had one all week. Aaron has been sick with the flu. We switched our checking account to a "green" account to get a better interest rate. With the "green" account, you get 3 paper checks a month and everything is on-line. Not a bad deal, right? We thought so until two large payments were paid twice out of the account this week. We called the companies to ask questions were bounced around to multiple locations because no one seemed to understand our problem with paying the car payment twice and paying the mortage twice.
Now the new UGH! We just discovered that the social security number FSD gave us telling us it was our son's.....IS NOT HIS. We discovered it when the bank called to tell us that they couldn't open his savings account with it. Thank goodness I hadn't been to have our taxes prepared yet. Now we have to find out how to get him his Soc. This is just crazy!!!!

Cleaning Out

The husband and I are both home today and it seemed to be the perfect time to begin working on our garage sale. Actually, we are just in the middle of the prep work.
We happen to live in a town that boasts the largest garage sale in Missouri. We have a city wide sale the first weekend on April. We start selling on Thursday. We try to do a total clean out to prepare for the event.
Today we are cleaning out bedrooms. If you're near Neosho, MO stop by there is always lots of stuff!

Lost!

Don't you hate it when you lose something? Right now I am frantically hunting for some paperwork I need to send in to the main office. It should have gone out on Friday. I know the work was done....I have the sheets with the scoring but no forms. Working from home has it's ups and downs.......upside, you can do paperwork while you watch The Biggest Loser.......down side, some times you forget to put your paperwork back where it really goes.

I must complete my search so it can go in the mail!

Edited: I found my paperwork and all has been taken to the post office and shipped to the main office.

I'm Back

It has been very busy around here for the past few weeks. I had a huge Basket Bash on Saturday. I went in with 9 other Longaberger Consultants to sell our retired products. There were some awsome deals there! I picked up a pumpkin crock that I have wanted for a long time for $15. I haven't seen it that cheap any where else! I sold a ton of my stuff and made enough to buy new product from the new wishlist that began yesterday.

Aaron stayed home today with a bad cough. He is watching Ghostlight right now. It is his favorite short film. He loves anything that lights up and has found a lantern that looks like ghostlight to play with. When he gets older, we'll take him to see the spooklight that the story is made from. We live pretty close to the Spooklight. I saw it once when I was in college and it scared the crap out of us!!!!!
We are trying to get ready for a sales event in Joplin March 13 - 16. Rhea Lana Children's Consignment event is coming to Joplin and we got a booth for Longaberger and Uppercase Living. We are working on some really cute UL demos that I hope to post on here in a couple of days. Speaking of UL, check out Shannon's post about the UL design she got from us http://thedavisfamilynwa.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-cannot-get-enough.html
It looks so cute on her platter!!!

Almost caught up!

I am finally almost caught up with my grading. Teaching two on-line classes requires quite a bit of grading and if I get behind it takes a bit to catch up. I am nearly there. Now, I just need to finish my paperwork to get our taxes done. I put it off for much too long this time.

Thanks for the kid words when I was down last week. I am moving on. I have to see that person tomorrow but I have a plan to just do my job, get in, get out and schedule for next time. There are lots more clients who appreciate the work I do for them and I just need to focus my time and energy on them and not worry about this one.

My Sweet Valentine

Yesterday we picked up Aaron's valentine photos from Belly Buttons on our way to NWA to do some shopping. I think Calotype captures his personality perfectly. If you are any where close to the southwest corner of Missouri, check out Calotype and Belly Buttons. We found a cute outfit for Aaron when we were there for the Valentine photographs. I hope it stays cool for a while so he can wear all of his clothes!
We went to Fayetteville and ate a AQ Chicken. Aaron entertained the other diners with his singing in the booth and then making a mess on the window. We also stopped in Rogers to shop and drop off discount coupons for Longaberger and Uppercase Living for the Just Between Friends consignment sale. If you are one of the first 500 at the sale, you can get a discount from us.
We didn't find much on Friday. Aaron got a Thomas DVD, but we didn't find anything else on our list, maybe next time.
We worked on Aaron's room this evening. He finally has curtains and I hope we will have everything in place soon. I'll post some photos soon. I think he is enjoying his big boy bed now.

One of those days

Its been one of those days. I have a theory about stray dogs and it has proved correct again. My theory is not to bring home stray dogs (people) because they either bite you or pee on the rug. I picked up a stray dog that I felt compelled to work with through work..... I knew the person from other situations and I had an opening. Never again. I feel betrayed and I really am considering dropping this person from my work load. The person is no longer a friend.

Yea!!!! - and please continue to pray for friend

My friend Kim posted on her Blog (A Blissful Heart) http://ablissfulheart.blogspot.com/2009/02/we-got-call.html that they received a call today about 2 children they will soon adopt. A 5 year-old girl and a 2-3 year old boy. They are waiting the official notice which can take a few weeks. Please keep them in your prayers. They have been waiting a long time to get this news.

My other friend it still waiting for news on her brain tumor. She will hopefully find out on Thursday. She is in good spirits. Please continue to pray for her and her family.

Traveling

I am on the road this week. I am in Jefferson City for a meeting for work. I work for the University of Missouri (did you see last night's game?) but I work from my home almost 5 hours away. Every so often, we all get together for a meeting. The good thing is seeing my co-workers (it's lonely working from home and not having a co-worker to grouch to) and I get to go to the outlet mall in Osage Beach. I stopped today and found a few deals but the prices should be lower on Thursday on my way home because of President's Day weekend.
I am comfy in my hotel room keeping an eye on the Biggest Loser and the tornado watch...thank goodness I am on the first floor......and trying to get motivated to do some grading for the on-line classes I am teaching this semester.

The Winner is......

Sorry I was so late posting. I had a doctor's appointment this morning and then worked this afternoon.

The winner of the Uppercase Living $10 gift certificate is..................


Shannon!!

Email me for details.