listen to others when they speak
offer a word of encouragement
write a letter or send a positive email to someone you really care about
make a phone call and just say " I am thinking of you"
enjoy the simple things in life...
say sorry when need be
think before you speak
think how you would feel if someone talked to me that way
do something special for others without wanting something in return
reconnect with an old friend
hug your children
put your child to bed without rushing them
drive down the road without getting mad at the driver in front of you
help someone put their groceries in their car
take time to give thanks even when there are dark days
praise God throughout the day for the small things
listen to the birds as they are always singing a beautiful song
Sorry I was MIA however I needed to take a respite from the computer at night. I want to share a few funny comments from Carson...
The other night we were having chicken for dinner and Carson says..
C: Mommy why would people kill God's animals?
M: So we can eat
C: but God will be mad at you for killing his animals just plant vegetable seeds
Carson's prayer Tuesday night
Lord, Oh Lord pleaaasssse give my mommy a new brain so she will give me ice cream every night.
C: Mommy can you buy me blue finger nail polish?
M: No Carson finger nail polish is for girls
C: No Mommy blue is for boys so it will be fine.
Is anyone following the stanley cup?
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. - 1 John 3:16
Verse 1
He counts the stars one and all
He knows how much sand is on the shores
He sees every sparrow that falls
He made the mountains and the seas
He's in control of everything Of all creatures great and small
Chorus
And He knows my name
Every step that I take Every move that I make
Every tear that I cry
He knows my name When I'm overwhelmed by the pain And can't see the light of day I know I'll be just fine 'Cause He knows my name
Verse 2
I don't know what tomorrow will bring
I can't tell you what's in store
I don't know a lot of things
I don't have all the answers To the questions of life But I know in whom I have believed Chorus He knew who I was when He carried the cross
He knew that I would fail Him but
He took the loss
Chorus
Every step that I take
Every move that I make
Every tear that I cry
He knows my name When I'm overwhelmed by the pain And can't see the light of day
I know I'll be just fine 'Cause He knows my name
Today as I was driving Carson to school he said, "Mommy, there must be a problem in heaven." I replied, "why Carson?" He said quickly, "look at all this smoke; there must be a fire in heaven." All I could say was "oh Carson, I love you."
It has been an emotional couple of weeks. Not really wanting to get into all the details but I will share this… Today I had to attend an in-service for work, however during the morning session I had to leave to attend a close friend’s funeral who died suddenly. This childhood friend of mine was 6 years older than me, however, he was one of those boys who I would look at on the bus and blush for no reason. He was one of those boys who I would say Hi to in the halls and my girlfriends would giggle and say “He said Hi back…” He was one of those boys who would tease me about everything and it would not bother me. As a matter of fact, I liked it. He was one of those boys who was always there for me. As we aged we kept in touch with each other periodically. But when we did talk there was never a dull moment in our conversation as we always picked up where we left off. He never married nor had children as he would say to me, I just cannot find a single GretaJo out there J. Since I learned of his death his smile and laugher have penetrated my mind. I find myself driving down the road replaying silly memories of us at parties, movies, talking on my porch, driving by my house and stopping while I was mowing the grass, yelling out his jeep window as I was power walking down the street and so many more. One thing really stands out to me… I NEVER shared with him about the Lord. Yes, we talked about it in passing, but I never asked him if he was saved. So I wonder where he is? With that being said, life is short and you never know when your name is going to be called. So please make sure your heart is right with the Lord and those around you. Wes, Thank you for the fond memories and years of friendship. I will miss you.
favorite...
Color:
Me: Yellow
Carson: Green
Singer:
Me: Rod Stewart (stop laughing, I love him)
Carson: The lady with the crazy hair (not sure who he is referring to)
Food:
Me: I do not have a favorite food.
Carson: pasta
Animal:
Me: horses
Carson: snakes
Time of the day:
Me: Morning
Carson: this day. :)
Season:
Me: Summer
Carson: Summer
Favorite thing to do:
Me: hanging out with family
Carson: playing lego's and swimming in MomMom's pool
sport:
Me: hockey
Carson: all of them
go ahead sing the song...
Anyway, power rangers have left our house altogether and we are seeing changes in Carson's behaviour. He is not jumping on the furniture, karate kicking everyone and everything, ect. This change has not been easy for Carson as he sometime begs to watch it. However we are being strong with our 'No's'. We still have away to go with his strong willed behaviour but we are making strides.
Carson yells from the hallway... "I went to a pepper rally at school this day."
me: "Oh that's great!" "was it fun?"
Carson: "Yep, the boys had on blue shorts and white shirts."
me: "what boys?"
Carson: "The awesome basketball players at my school." "They are in the play off."
me; "wow that is great." "Did you have fun at pep rally?"
Carson: "Mommy, its a pepper rally not a pep rally."
How do you teach a very strong-willed boy to listen the first time?
How do you teach a very strong-willed boy No means NO?
Most nights when I lay with Carson before he falls asleep my mind is non stop. I am thinking of all the things I have to get done and I am really not in the moment with him. However, tonight was different; I forced myself to just focus on him. Instead of reading a book tonight he wanted us to draw together. We talked about drawing a house. We both took turns with different parts of the house which was a lot of fun however we did not stop there. We drew trees, clouds, sun, a net for the bad guys to fall into (what a boy), and a swing set. As Carson was drawing the swing set he said "I am going to draw two swings. One swing is for Best and one swing is for me." I replied "Ok, that's really nice." A few minutes later, Carson said, "we drew the prettiest house on the street." I quickly replied "Yes we did." So I asked him to tell me a story about our drawing ...are you ready?
Story from Carson
My Mommy built a pretty house and if you step on the crack you will break her back. The three bad guys came into the house to get food as they were hungry. But the sun was shining too bright and burnt their eyes so they ran and fell into the net. Best was out back playing on the playground when she saw the cops and fire trucks pull up to the house. Best ran out front screaming Carson, Carson great job for hanging the net. The end.
I am trying very hard to teach Carson not to be:
Self- Centered
only helping when he wants something
when given a task to complete it 100 percent the first time
not using others to get what he wants
rude to others
Carson was playing in one of the fields at the horse stable when he yelled:
"Mommy, do you think Pop-Pop will let me get the milk out of the cows butters?"
Conversation between Best and Carson
Best- Hey Carson do you want to go to the Rain Forest Cafe' on Saturday night?
Carson- Yes.
Best- OK it's a date.
Carson-Best, I will bring the umbrella so we do not get wet.
So we took a long weekend vacation (rushcation) to Lake Harmony Pa. for some family fun. The weekend was action packed with skiing, swimming, tubing and visiting family and friends. This was Carson's first time skiing. He did great! The kids were completely off their schedules however adapted very well. Fun times!
I want to share a little about all of the blessings that come from adoption. I knew that adoption would make me a mother, but I never thought it would make me a friend and a sister. 
In 2006 I traveled to Guatemala to bring my daughter home. I had previously experienced a failed adoption and I didn't handle it well. I didn't participate in any of the forums, groups, etc. that other people did. It made me sad to see all of the Pink announcements people were receiving and hear about the milestones for other families come and go. I know that's ugly, but it is the truth. To the ones who are still waiting, to the mothers without children in their arms, you're in my prayers. 
BUT all of that changed when Ella came home. I started my own blog and started reading other blogs about adoption and Guatemala. I stumbled across Gret's and felt an immediate kinship. At that time she was a single mother to Carson. I was amazed at her faith and strength. We began talking on the phone...and we began talking about what we could do to give back to the country that had delivered our prayers.
We decided to meet and plan our trip back. Gret had been following Dick Rutgers/Chris & Donna Mooney/Bethel Ministries and we wanted to participate in their ministry. So, she, Jonathan and Carson traveled to Kentucky. At that time I was still married. The three of them get out of their car and they are all dressed in plaid - very different than than my family - we were all dressed in tye-dye. This continues to crack me up.
We went to Guatemala in 2008. It was the first time I had ever been to Antigua and the first time I had ever been to Hermano Pedro. We all cried as we toured the facility. Bed after bed, metal crib after metal crib. After we walked out of the malnutrition ward we couldn't contain the sadness that we felt - we couldn't contain the thankfulness that we felt - our babies were home and safe with full tummies. My sister Angela prayed as we all cried. Gret and I hugged and held one another during the prayer. I loved sharing this time with her - she KNEW what it is like - she felt the SAME feelings that I felt.. 
She shares other insecurities and anxieties with me. She and I are walking a similar path. I am so thankful that adoption brought us together as sisters to be there for one another, to love one another and to have on each other to count on. Believe me - I am quite a responsibility to have - and she takes this responsibility on without hesitation and with open arms. 
We fell in love with the women and children at Hermano Pedro. We traveled together again in 2009 to see our new friends. We were grateful that Carson and Ella were home, but when we look into the faces of our children we see hundreds that were left behind staring back at us. The Lord told us and continues to tell us that we are called to travel there in His name to deliver His love and I'm thankful to Bethel Ministries for giving me the chance to do this.
In 2011 we traveled back. This was a different kind of trip for me. I had never been part of an organized mission trip to Guatemala before. I had only gone down there before on my own schedule. This was much different - Chris and Donna Mooney worked with Jonathan and Greta Jo to set our schedule. Man, this was much different!
More people to travel with - people who didn't know me. This made me extremely nervous. I have, at times, severe anxiety that can cause me to have panic attacks. They are harmless, but very scary to experience and they embarrass me. I never would have traveled with people I don't know if Greta Jo hadn't been there to literally hold my hand through the entire time. It brought us even closer together. We talked about being an adoptive mother, we talked about going from being a family of four down to a family of two (side note - divorce sucks), we talked about how it is to go from a family of two to a family of six. We talked about physically carrying a baby and we talked about physically losing a baby. We talked about the different kinds of pain that we both experience. We talked, and we talked and we talked. And we bonded.
Just a few weeks ago she asked if I could come to visit her in New Jersey. The group was getting together to show a recap of our trip at their church. I told her that I doubted I would be able to afford the time or money. She and I text and email frequently. She mentioned it several times and each time I saw nothing but barriers in front of me. I listed them in my head while wishing the whole time I would be able to go and see her, to hold her hand and to feel the love of my sister by choice.
One morning I was at work sitting in my office crying like a baby. I realize that my problems are tiny compared to the load that others carry, but at that moment I was feeling the full weight and burden of all of them and it overwhelmed me so much I could barely handle it. Then Jesus stepped in. I looked up and had an email from Gret asking if she could buy my ticket. She wanted to see me. She wanted to see me so much that she would actually buy my ticket. And let me tell you - right now I am not a very giving and happy friend. She knew that I would be coming with anxieties, with burdens, with tears - and that I would be a very needy friend who might not have much to give to her in return. Knowing that someone like Gret loved me that much took me from being overwhelmed in a bad way to being overwhelmed in good ways. Her love and her generosity... I don't have the words to describe...
Peace and Hugs,My life has been really busy the last two weeks (more than normal). I have so much to write about however my eyes are very heavy and I still have to study.
