13 years ago today.....

My boy about 1 month before he showed his face. He was already packed in there!

13 years ago this morning Steve and I headed to the hospital for a planned C-section. We had been told by our doctor that because our baby was so big they would have to do a c-section so there would be no complications. My mom met us at the hospital, and things proceeded from there. My sister Kam showed up with Madeline, and my sister Rachel came. Steve got all dressed up in surgery scrubs and off we went. I still remember it being a surreal experience. Being fully awake, but having them cutting me open. My boy was a stubborn one from the beginning. Even with a C-section they had a hard time getting him out. The doctor that was holding the suction cup attached to Jeremiah's head lost her grip and ended up punching my doctor in the eye. Hence an HIV test needed to be done. Jeremiah was born at 12:30 pm and weighted in at 10lbs 1 oz, and was 21 inches long. When Steve saw his boy, he went a little green and had to be helped to the floor.

Our big bundle!

We didn't know it at the time, but Jeremiah's collar bone was broken during delivery. I still can't watch the video of the nurses handling him before we found out. His crying still hurts my heart!

Kam said I could have never given birth to that head!

Like every new mother I didn't have a clue of what lay ahead. There were nights of little sleep, colic, and having to stop breastfeeding because he was allergic to something in my milk. Because of that and other reasons I've often felt like a failure as a mother. Through the past 13 years this boy has taught me much, the main thing being how I must rely on the Lord for everything. When I tried to raise him in my own power I failed and ended up hurting him and me. For a long time satan used that against me, but through the mighty love of my Savior, he raised beauty from the ashes of my surrender! There have been many wonderful times of discovery and lessons learned, and I want my boy to know that I wouldn't trade a minute of my time with him! He is a wonderful young man, who loves the Lord, and who has a servant heart, even though he may argue he doesn't!

I LOVE YOU JEREMIAH, WITH ALL MY HEART, AND I AM SO GLAD GOD GAVE YOU TO YOUR DAD AND I TO RAISE!

Little did I know the awesome young man he would become!

And look at that red hair! Oh I always wanted a red head!

Interesting Michigan facts - Final Installment

The Ambassador Bridge was named by Joseph Bower, the person credited with making the bridge a reality, who thought the name (Detroit-Windsor International Bridge) as too long and lacked emotional appeal. Bower wanted to symbolize the visible expression of

friendship of two peoples with like ideas and ideals.

Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes and more than 36,000 miles of streams.

Michigan has 116 lighthouses and navigational lights. Seul Choix Point Lighthouse in

Gulliver has been guiding ships since 1895. The working light also functions as a museum, which houses early 1900's furnishings and maritime artifacts.

Forty of the state's 83 counties adjoin at least one of the Great Lakes .

Michigan is the only state that touches four of the five Great Lakes .

Standing anywhere in the state a person is within 85 miles of one of the Great Lakes .

Michigan includes 56,954 square miles of land area; 1,194 square miles of Inland waters; and 38,575 square miles of Great Lakes water area.

Sault Ste. Marie was established in 1668 making it the oldest town between the

Alleghenies and the Rockies.

Michigan was the first state to provide in its Constitution for the establishment of public libraries.

Michigan was the first state to guarantee every child the right to

Tax-paid high school education.

Four flags have flown over Michigan -- French, English, Spanish and United States .

Isle Royal Park shelters one of the largest moose herds

remaining in the United States.

Some of the longest bulk freight carriers in the world operate on the

Great Lakes. Ore carriers 1,000 feet long sail Michigan 's inland seas.

The Upper Michigan Copper Country is the largest commercial deposit of native copper in the world.

The 19 chandeliers in the Capitol in Lansing are one of a kind and designed especially for the building by Tiffany's of New York. Weighing between 800-900 pounds apiece they are composed of copper, iron and pewter.

The first auto traffic tunnel built between two nations was the mile-long Detroit-Windsor tunnel under the Detroit River .

The world's first international submarine railway tunnel was opened between Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada in 1891.

The nation's first regularly scheduled air passage service began operation between Grand Rapids and Detroit in 1926.

In 1879 Detroit telephone customers were first in the nation to be assigned phone numbers to facilitate handling calls.

In 1929, the Michigan State Police established the first state police radio system in the world.

Grand Rapids, more specifically Frederick Meijer Garden, is home to the 24-foot

Leonardo Da Vinci horse, called Il Gavallo. It is the largest equestrian

bronze sculpture in the Western Hemisphere.

The State Motto (written in Latin) translates to:

"If you seek a pleasant peninsula, Look about you.."

Was that interesting or what? With all the negativity due to poor economics and housing market these days Let us all try to remember and say something positive about our beautiful and interesting Michigan ! We will strive to thrive once again! It would also be a good thing to keep our Michigan in our prayers and thoughts too.

Thank you and may God Bless our Michigan and her people!

Interesting Michigan Facts - Part Two

The largest village in Michigan is Caro.

Michigan's state stone, The Petoskey is the official state stone. It is found along the shores of Lake Michigan.

The Mackinac Bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world.

Connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan, it spans 5 miles over the Straits of Mackinac, which is where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet.

The Mighty Mac took 3 years to complete and was opened to traffic in 1957.

Gerald R Ford grew up in Grand Rapids and became the 38th president of the United States . He attended the University of Michigan where he was a football star. He served on a World War II aircraft carrier and represented Michigan in Congress for 24 years. He was also an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Boy Scouts.

The Kellogg Company has made Battle Creek the Cereal Capital of the World.

The Kellogg brothers accidentally discovered the process for producing flaked cereal

products and sparked the beginning of the dry cereal industry.

The painted turtle is Michigan 's state reptile.

The western shore of Michigan has many sand dunes. Sleeping Bear Dunes rise

460 feet above Lake Michigan. Living among the dunes is the dwarf lake iris,

the official state wildflower.

Vernor's ginger ale was created in Detroit and became the first soda pop made in the United States. In 1862, pharmacist James Vernor was trying to create a new beverage when he was called away to serve our country in the Civil War. When he returned, 4 years later, the drink he had stored in an oak case had acquired a delicious gingery flavor.

The Detroit Zoo was the first zoo in America to feature cage-less, open-exhibits that

allowed the animals more freedom to roam.

Michigan is the only place in the world with a floating post office.

The J. W. Westcott II is the only boat in the world that delivers mail to ships while they are still underway. They have been operating for 125 years.

Indian River is the home of the largest crucifix in the world.

It is called the Cross in the Woods.

Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the world

Michigan has more shoreline than any other state except Alaska .

Mari had this on her blog the other day so I thought I would give it a try. Here's how it works. Mari got 5 words from another blogger and she did a post about the words she was given. She then offered to give 5 words to someone else. I thought it would be fun, so now I'm going to post on the five words she gave me. If you want to join in, tell me in the comments and I'll send you your own five words!

Kids - Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Psalm 127:3
I love them! I have 2 of my own. Jeremiah who will be 13 on September 30th and Rebekah who is 10. I thank God so much for both of them! Since their births I have grown so much, through many trials and errors. They have taught me so much, about myself and how I need to deal with some of my own issues in order to help them through theirs. I always wanted a son with red hair and doggone if God didn't supply! I love my sons hair! I know that your not supposed to say beautiful when it comes to boys, but his hair is just gorgeous to me! My Bekah has the sweetest smile, and wonderful personality. To say she loves dogs is a complete understatement. The girl is obsessed! I am also the Director of Children's Ministries at our church. This is a challenging job. Not because of the kids, they are the reason I keep on truckin'. I love the littlest babies, and I love the older ones too. I hope that through my life they see someone who genuinely loves God and desire to draw them closers to him as well.
Michigan - The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Psalm 85:12
As you can see from my last 3 posts, I love my state. I was just saying to my husband last night that my sister cannot get McIntosh apples in Mississippi, at least not where she lives and at a large price. It made me think of the wonderful variety of fruits and vegetables we have here in our state. Right now Honey Crisp apples are out, have you ever had one? Oh my they are good! It's a short season though, so you have to eat alot during that time! We just have so many things to offer here! Beautiful beaches, calming waters (or raging seas when a storm comes up), cool green forests, cute coastal towns, and then there's that weird stretch of land above us that we get to call ours too, the Upper Peninsula!! You know one thing that wasn't in the facts of Michigan is that Michigan has 200 waterfalls and all but 1 are in the UP! Oh my it's beautiful! Lake Superior is just my favorite lake! For alot of reasons, but one being because that is where I get my precious stones! (See below) We are having it rough lately here, but I truly do not want to leave anywhere else!
Coffee
Oh I love the stuff! Black is best! In our house our favorite is Winter Wonderland! Fortunately the place that roasts it is in Spring Lake, not far from me, so about once a month Champ and I head over there and get our stash. When I started blogging I would look at the blogs that had coffee in the title in some way. That is how I met Sue at Praise and Coffee, and now occasionally put on a night myself to get together with ladies, talk, laugh, eat, praise God and DRINK COFFEE! They have been so fun to do! Oh I just love the rich flavor! I think I'm one of the few that makes it very close to the directions on the package. I always have to tone it down around family and friends. My mom, sister, and in-laws all like their coffee about tea color - GIVE ME A BREAK, WHAT IS THE POINT THEN! Light weights!
Pets
We have a few at our house. Of course theirs Champ, but he doesn't consider himself a pet, he is a person, then 1 fish, and a hamster. Don't tell anyone but my husband is working in the back yard so we can soon have, are you ready, CHICKENS! Yes chickens! He's like a little kid right now working on his coop. He has only spent $6 so far, because of all the scrap wood he has laying around, and the inside is almost done. I'll keep you posted as things progress. My favorite type of pet though are dogs! I love them and as you saw above so does Bekah! We wish we could have at least one more. I love Mari's grand dogie Sophie (right Mari), Oh she's cute, and then theirs Cheri's Oscar! That dog is way to cute, but so is Max, the poor thing, we never see pictures of him! Dog's are so loyal and the love that you can see in their eyes just warms your heart! Where would I be without my little shopping companion sitting next to me as we run errands or pick the kids up from school?
Stones - Ecclesiastes 3:5a
Oh last but not least! Mari knows how much I love my stones! On her trip to Colorado, her and Andy even picked me up a couple, which meant quite a great deal to me! The stones I love the lost of course come from the shores of Gitche Gumee (Lake Superior, if you haven't heard the Gordan Lightfoot song). They are smooth and round and all different colors. You can find Agates if you're lucky. I honestly may have some, but I just pick them up because I can't stop. When you are walking along the shore and look down, and the water is washing over them, turning them all sorts of colors, you just have to reach down and pick one up! or 2, or 5, or 50! Whatever! We try to do things with our stones. We've made birdhouses, and have ideas for other things too. They also remind me of the rock that we have in Christ Jesus! When I see them I am reminded of how firm a foundation I have in Him.

Well that is it! WOW! I can't believe I made it through! Thanks Mari!

Interesting Michigan Facts - Part One

I love living in Michigan! I know I've said that here before, but I just need to state it again. This past week I received my monthly copy of the Allendale Lifelong Learner newsletter (the senior citizens newsletter, I love to read it!) Perusing it the other day I say that Kathy put alot of interesting facts about Michigan. Some of this I knew, most of it I didn't, but because I love Michigan and we are about ready to enter a very beautiful season in this state, and because we are having a hard economic time I wanted to share the great things about my state. I will do it in a few segments as not to bore you to much.

SOME INTERESTING MICHIGAN INFORMATION

Detroit is known as the car capital of the world.

Alpena is the home of the world's largest cement plant.

Rogers City boasts the world's largest limestone quarry.

Elsie is the home of the world's largest registered Holstein dairy herd.

Michigan is first in the United States production of peat and

Magnesium compounds and second in gypsum and iron ore.

Colon is home to the world's largest manufacturer of magic supplies.

The state Capitol with its majestic dome was built in Lansing in l879.

Although Michigan is often called the ( Wolverine State )There are no longer any wolverines in Michigan . (However, one was spotted in 2007, so there are some.)

Michigan ranks first in state boat registrations.

The Packard Motor Car Company manufactured the first Air-conditioned car in 1939.

The oldest county (based on date of incorporation) is Wayne in 1815.

Sault Ste. Marie was founded by Father Jacques Marquette in 1668. It is the third oldest

remaining settlement in the United States

In 1817 the University of Michigan was the first university established by any of the states. It was founded by priests. Originally named Cathelepistemian and located in Detroit , the name was changed in 1821. The university moved to Ann Arbor in 1841.

The city of Novi was named from its designation as Stagecoach Stop #6 or No.VI.

Michigan State University has the largest single campus student body of any Michigan

university. It is the largest institution of higher learning in the state and one of the

largest universities in the country. Michigan State University was founded in 1855 as the

nation's first land-grant university and served as the prototype for 69 land-grant institutions later established under the Morrill Act of 1862. It was the first institution of higher learning in the nation to teach scientific agriculture.

The Harmony of the Scriptures

Leviticus 19:16-18(The Message)

¹⁶ "Don't spread gossip and rumors. (Cross References)

"Don't just stand by when your neighbor's life is in danger. I am God.

¹⁷ "Don't secretly

hate your neighbor. If you have something against him, get it out into the open; otherwise you are an accomplice in his guilt. (Cross References)

¹⁸ "Don't seek revenge or carry a grudge against any of your people.

"Love your neighbor as yourself. I am God (Cross References)

I was doing my study in Psalm 129 this past Sunday through "Stepping Up" with Beth Moore, and this passage just jumped out at me! Now I have read the book of Leviticus a couple of times, and generally found nuggets, but to me it has always been the book of the law and a hard one to get through. But here God continues to show me how the Bible is living and active, and able to teach and correct when needed! Praise be to Him! It not only reminded me of how I should be acting toward others, but of the harmony of God's story. How he is consistent throughout scripture in thought and action. Check the above cross references to see how God's word fits so perfectly together. There is not one book in the Bible that anyone can ask "why is this book a part of scripture?" God is the one who put it together, there is no error! Even though he used men to do it, He is sovereign over all things and has given us this wonderful tool so we can know him completely! That is something to rejoice in! AMEN?!

TSMSS - Let it be a Sweet Sweet Sound!

Do you ever listen to a song on the radio and not have it touch you deeply and then all of a sudden it hits you and you realize that that song was just for you at the moment and time? Well it happened to me this morning so I thought I would share the song with you. The video I believe is just the CD cover of Sarah Grooves CD, but the words are so clear on it, so it is the one I chose. I know I haven't been blogging alot lately. I don't know if that will change of not, I have been overwhelmed by life and haven't found the time to sit down with my thoughts. I want to know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers often, and that I so appreciate when I am able to make it to one of your blogs and they speak to me! Have a blessed day ladies!

Sweet Sweet Sound

I am an instrument of the living God

My life a melody to His name

More than the songs I sing

Worship is everything

I live to glorify my King

Hear the song of my life

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

I raise this anthem high

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

Through all the mire and clay

You're washing me with grace

You carry me, oh Lord, through it all

So I will testify even in the fire

I live to praise my Savior

Hear the song of my life

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

I raise this anthem high

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

Let everything that has breath

Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord

And all creation will sing Hallelujah

Hear the song of my life

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

I raise this anthem high

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound

(Let it be a sweet, sweet sound)

Word Filled Wednesday Psalms 19

I read this Psalm yesterday and it just spoke to my heart! Don't you just love the Psalms! The calming effect they have on me I so appreciate! We can identify with the writers in so many circumstances! That's because our God is Sovereign, and who knew and knows what we need to persevere! All Praise, Glory and Honor to our God!

Psalm 19

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

² Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

³ There is no speech or language. where their voice is not heard

⁴ Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

⁵ which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.

⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.

¹¹ By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.

¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Be encouraged by others who share God's word over at The 160 Acres Woods

Praise and Coffee Tonight!!!!

Tonight is it! I hope to see you there! If not, please be in prayer for this evening that the words I speak are what the LORD wants these ladies to hear. The devil has been active at attacking me, but I am resisting! I so covet your prayers, because right now I'm feeling like Moses and Gideon, saying "who am I to bring word to anyone!?!" May God alone get the glory, and draw these women closer to Him!

7:00 PM at Stonebridge Apartment Community Room in Allendale