Mar 21, 2009

My thoughts on exciting things in my life now vs the past! .21 cent steak, My Target deals this week,


By using the tips I gathered from my friends, Angela and Kim and these awesome $ saving blogs I visit Christi's (2) Cents & moneysavingmom  I purchased  $50.12 worth of groceries for $24.67!  This is all stuff I buy every week, not a bunch of things I will never use!
The steaks are boneless beef chuck steak.  Each package has enough steak to feed all 3 of us. 

 One package I paid .21 cents for and the other .77 cents for!  I use the $2 off  Sutton & Dodge steaks coupon, and buy the meat they have on sale that week.  You can print coupons off of Targets website or here.  

Normally I just type into my google search "Target deals" and go to someone elses website and get that weeks deal! Clip or print my coupons, then head to the store.

I told the cashier I was doing 3 transactions and placed things on the belt with the coupons on top.  

Oh yea, I almost forgot, Target has a special, if you buy 5 quaker brand items(which are all on sale), you get a $5 gift card.  My 1st transaction I purchased the oatmeal (Which has no sugar in it and helps keep me full), cereal(which has a ton of iron in it and make a great grab and go snack for Alessondra) and the carmel corn snacks (that Alessondra LOVES), received my $5 gift card, then turned around and used it on my 2nd transaction!!!

After I posted this I started thinking..."How sad that .21 cent steaks, coupons and $5 gift cards from Target are the exciting things in my life."

I remember when the "exciting" things in my life were things like: 
when a patient came in for her post op appointment after a masectomy and could not tell the difference between my sutures and the surgeons sutures! 

Or being the first person to sign a little boys cast after putting it on in the ER.  

Or getting to see the look on a mom's face the first time she saw her newborn baby that I just helped to deliver.  

Or seeing a patient at a follow up appointment that actually took my advice and changed their diet, become more active, quit smoking and lost weight!  To see their face when I told them I was proud of them and we could now come off of insulin!

All the above thoughts and memories are nice, but truth be told taking care of Jeff and Alessondra, my family that God has blessed me with is what TRULY matters in this season of my life.  

Don't get me wrong I miss it, however God has called me to another job for now.
There are 100's, 1000's of surgeons who can suture better than me with one hand!

There are orthopedic Dr's, PA's and others that can put that little boy or girls cast on, and sign their name much more legible than me!

There are too many to count, others that will show those parents their newborn baby, once they lay their eyes on that baby, the medical personal are forgotten!

There are so many MORE qualified people that can manage a patients diabetes than I!

However I am the ONLY one who can take care and love my family the way I do!  The job was created for me!  I am still in training for this job and will never be perfect, but it is the MOST exciting job I have ever had

Below is the woman I strive to be: 


Proverbs 31:10-12 and 25-31
A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

"Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Now that is exciting!!

Mar 16, 2009

A Twist on Birthday Parties: 4th Birthday Celebration (For the Sake of Others)

We celebrated Alessondra's 4th Birthday this Sunday. Her actual birthday was Tuesday March 17th. We typically do not do a party celebration, Last year we devoted the whole day to Alessondra and spent the day having family time!
However this year we decided to do something a little different.
Alessondra is always asking "Mommy, when am I old enough to help people?" "When can I go on a mission trip?"

We wanted to encourage and foster her giving spirit.  
Studies show children who take on altruistic responsibilities at an early age exhibit higher self-esteem, gain a deeper understanding of the needs of others and improve critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

So for her birthday this year we teamed up with The Tapestry Project to provide some much needed items for a Mom, Jennifer and her daughter Serenity.
If you would like to help this family see the list below and contact me or another family check out The Tapestry Projects website 

Jenifer & Serenity list of much needed items:

1. household kitchen ( silver ware, cups, dishes, pans)

2. towels

3. baby toys ( this is a BIG need) and reading books (cardboard)

4. girl clothes 6months

5. Bottles

6. Formula

7. any decorative house needs.

8. clothes for mom. ( Large, size 12-14)

9. Walmart gift cards (these will be used to purchase some of the bigger itmes needed for the baby and mom)



Thank you Angela Steele for lending us your "cupcake tower"


Alessondra blowing out her candle, (Thanks Jeanie for such a great picture!)


Alessondra "helping" me make the cupcakes, more licking than helping...


Alessondra enjoying her cupcake: (her eyes sparkle when sweets are involved!)



My niece's Ashlen and Makayla


Jackson and Alessondra have so much fun together!


Brother and Sister, Ashlen and Blake checking out the windows in the new playset (Thanks again to Jeanie for capturing a cute moment)


Alessondra caught a lady bug which she named Frances, and wanted to keep it close by:


Cousin Sophia enjoying playing outside:


Papa (Richard, Jeff's Dad)), Kari and newest edition to the Click family, Kinzie


My mom (G-ma) helping Alessondra and Frances up:


Nephew & Cousin Blake, cousin Jackson and Alessondra enjoying the playset:


Jeff with his Mom, Cindy:


My mom (Kathey) and I..."Party pic time"


Little sis, Kerri, Aunt Loretta, Mom and Me



CJ (Jeff's Brother) and Ava enjoying some "daddy daughter time"


Fun with Friends, Blake, Alessondra, Makayla, Jackson and Ava


Family Pic:


Bangs in our face (as my older sister always says "An apple doesn't fall too far from the tree")



More party pics: Steve and Jeanie (Sophia and Jackson's parents)


Nindy reading a book to Kinzie and Alessondra



Jackson, Alessondra and I checking out all the gifts that guests brought for Serenity and Jennifer.
Bottles, formula, towels, lots of CUTE clothes, cleaning supplies, baby toys and books!



Family and friends, your generosity was AWESOME.  Thank you so much for showing the love that Jesus Christ shows us daily! Without your help we would not been able to bless this family so abundantly


Gpa, Andy, Cj and Jeff preparing to move the play set over a few feet (with a little help from Ava and Blake)


The almost finished playset. Alessondra and I are so proud of Daddy for working his tail off this week to get it done for the party.

I originally called around to see how much it would cost to hire someone to put this together...$350-$450. Jeff said "NO WAY, I want to do it!" And he did!
One of our friends Dustin, came and helped one evening (Thank you D-Train), other than that Jeff did it ALL BY HIMSELF!




98% finished!!!

Mar 5, 2009

For the Health of our children, Turn off the DVD players (yes even in the car), the TV, computers and the video games.

Data indicate children who watch more than two hours of TV per day may have increased asthma risk.

Commenting on the study detailed by Bloomberg News, Mary Engel pointed out in the Los Angeles Times (3/4) Booster Shots blog that "asthma is generally thought to influence sedentary behavior rather than vice versa: A wheezy child opts to watch TV rather than risk an exercise-induced asthma attack."

But, the work published in Thorax by researchers in Scotland shows "the opposite to be true." After tracking "3,065 children from 3.5 years of age to 11.5 years," investigators found that "about six percent of the children had asthma by age 11," whereas they were all asthma-free at study start.

Furthermore, "those who watched TV for more than two hours a day in early childhood were almost twice as likely to have been diagnosed with asthma by age 11 as those who watched less."

The authors explained that the "relationship between physical activity, sedentary behavior, and asthma is complicated," but "one hypothesis is that failure to stretch airway muscles by the kind of regular deep breathing that comes from exercise may contribute to the development of asthma."

Click here and here to read a little more about this

Feb 16, 2009

"I get to eat seaweed...

Alessondra was singing joyfully "I get to eat seaweed, I get to eat seaweed" as she waited for her miso soup to arrive. She had never had seaweed, tofu soup before, but she will most likely have it again, she LOVED it!! We had this at Yakimono Japanese Express Grill (on Memorial just west of May Ave near Mimi's), very yummy!

Share photos on twitter with Twitpic

Jan 27, 2009

Fun in the "snow" AKA Ice pellets, Now and 3 years ago...

Jan 2006

Jan 2009

Ice Skating on the back patio

"Mommy Can I eat this WHOLE bowl of snow?"
"Snow Cream"

Alessondra (My Baby) Jan 2006
Such a Lil Girl Jan 2006

Alessondra My "Big Girl" Jan 2009, but still my baby!

So Much Fun!!



Slid a LITTLE too fast in our homemade "sled"

Dec 29, 2008

Do you remember your Mom trying to get you to eat by saying "There are starving kids in... China, Africa..."




Well here is a chance to REALLY help children that do not have adequate nutrition.

This fundraiser is to provide the orphans with one egg and one piece of fruit per day for a year!

While visiting Africa recently, I saw how poorly the orphans at the Wellington Orphanage were being fed.

They only get 2 meals a day, breakfast and dinner. This usually consist of porridge or rice.

Very rarely do they get protein or fruit and vegetables. When mission teams are visiting they may get a piece of fruit a few times or protein on SPECIAL occasions.

This is a picture I took of one of the "special occasion" meals, rice with cassava leaf:

The Wellington orphanage is doing the best they can on what little budget they have.

However the children are malnourished which has so many side effects.

New research shows that even mild under-nutrition can prevent learning. Malnutrition can even affect learning before slowing down growth.

Under-nutrition increases how often and how long a child may be sick. They do not have proper medical care to treat the every day illnesses.
So when they get something that would be considered minor here in the United States, it could be fatal for these malnourished kids.

Poorly nourished children tend to be less physically active, less curious, less attentive, less independent, less responsive socially, and more anxious.

These traits keep them from developing reading, verbal, and physical skills, among others.

Because of their lack of protein, vegetables and fruit most of the children showed signs of iron deficiency such as anemia.

Anemic children do not do well on math, reading, vocabulary, problem-solving, or psychological tests.

Even mild iron deficiency causes fatigue and a shortened attention span.

Feeling hungry affects learning.

These hungry children tend to be irritable, disinterested in learning, nervous, timid passive, and unable to concentrate.

If we REALLY want to help this country, these children it all starts with proper nutrition!
Here are some pictures I took that show the malnourished children:





Please come to this AWESOME fundraiser! Have fun and help change the world!
January 4th at 6:30pm
There will be a concert with ARANDA and a hilarious comedian who is a Christian named Elijah Tindale!

It is at Club Venu in Bricktown 222 East Sheridan
MUST BE 21 years of age
Admission- FREE
Espresso-FREE
Parking-FREE

(parking garage right next to Venu is free on Sundays)

Please pass this on to anybody you want, post on your own blog or forums.
Thanks!!!

Dec 16, 2008

Thankfulness, Gratitude, Meekness and Self-Control



This was written by my dear friend and mentor Kathy Patton. It really spoke to me today so I thought I would share it with you:
I love learning new visual aides and word pictures.

This morning I learned a few details about a very important small device on a boat. It is called the Trim Tab.

The Trim Tab is not the boat, nor is it the motor, it is not even the rudder on the motor. It is a small tab that when slightly turned in a new direction can affect the entire boat and its ability to properly ride through the water at greater speeds and allows the boat to turn with greater ease. It can significantly reduce the time needed to get up on plane. It also allow a boat to keep its bow down and stay on plane at lower speeds and thus conserving fuel.

I began applying this new concept to my life. What are some of the trim tabs that allow me greater effectiveness and ease of maneuvering through life?

Thankfulness and gratitude. I read in an article, "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

Meekness. John MacArthur’s notes say it well, “This is not weakness but a genuine concern for others which will be reflected in a desire to treat others gently, just as the Lord treats all believers.”

Self-control. The restraining of my passions and appetites for the greater good. Not allowing my desires to dictate my actions but laying them down out of love for Jesus.

Of course there are many others that could indentified but for today I will be concerned with putting these three into practice. I know it will improve my effectiveness for Christ. This time of year can be filled with things to do, places to go and people to see if I do not focus my attention on the eternal. My hearts desire is to fill this Christmas with Christ.

Merry Christmas and a very blessed New Year,
Kathy

Posted by Deziray