OH, HAPPY DAY!!!!!!!!!!

I saw this today and thought how blessed my life has been.I would have never had a chance to one day praise my Savior without these three days!! I think about the fact that Ron was a drug addict for so many years and that GOD saved his soul and completely turned his life around. If you think that you have done too many bad things for GOD to forgive you, then you are so very wrong. GOD loves all types of sinners, he just hates sin.
I have worked in my garden for the first time in a while. I finally planted my lettuce today. I worked in the container beds cleaning them out and as I ran my hands through the dirt, it was as if an old friend was calling to me. I felt Ron embracing me and encouraging me every step of the way.I looked around at the final product and it may not look like much to some but to me, it is beautiful. I planted it and cultivated it and I will watch it grow!! I will feel Ron right beside me, in spirit, guiding me with encouragement.

Now, of course, it doesn't look as pretty as when Ron created and planted the garden but it is a work in progress. GOD IS SO GOOD!!! I will post pictures of the garden as it evolves. Ron taught me a lot and now is my chance to use what I have learned in the realm of gardening!! 
I pray that everyone has a Blessed Easter tomorrow!! As everyone celebrates the holiday, remember that without the death and rising of our blessed Savior, we would never have a hope of going to Heaven. 

Visions of Spring dance in my head...

I am so glad for the snow to be over and melting on it's way.Sunshine makes me have visions spring dancing in my head!! Of course, when I think of spring, one can not think of it without thinking of planting in the garden. We had such a beautiful garden last spring. Ron worked so hard planting, making boxes in our garden, hoeing, digging and of course planting!!!
Here are a couple of pictures of Ron's beautiful garden that we had last spring:

Ron had such a green thumb and I could and can kill dirt!!! lol Ron had so many hidden talents and he never really excelled at any of them. I always use the old saying" Jack of all trades and a master of none." When talking about Ron and his abilities!! God is so good!!! GOD gave me this man, if only for a little while, to live off of what he taught me for a lifetime. Today has been hard, I miss Ron today. I love Ron. I at least have the hope of seeing him again someday. I know that he is praising my King!!! I will leave you with a quote that I saw today and I really thought it would be a fitting ending to this post:

My Budding Chefs...

We had a very lazy day Saturday and I let the children fix breakfast. Now don't go into a panic.. My house didn't burn down!!!! I let them make oatmeal in the microwave. I know, I know... I am not a big champion of cooking in the microwave but it is kid proof unless you figure out how to make oatmeal go boom in the microwave but that is another story!!! lol I borrowed a Pampered Chef rice cooker from a dear friend and it has worked wonders making oatmeal in the microwave. My sister who is cringing right now, is screaming at her computer screen"Just make it on top of the stove!!" I have tried for many years to make oey, goey, buttery oatmeal on the stove top to no avail. The first time I tried it in the Pampered Chef rice cooker in the microwave I was hooked.

My children are growing up so fast.. too fast!!! Ron would be proud of them. I am proud of them. It is these impromptu times that you really learn how much they are retaining. You learn a rather humbling lesson sometimes in these quiet moments that GOD allows you to glean... You may teach them but GOD allows them to learn, in all manners of ways!!! GOD IS GOOD!!!

Phew.. What a day!!

I woke up with a major sinus headache so thus I didn't get to go to church this morning which I hated. The kids went with my brother-in-law and I got at least a few hours to try and recuperate. I felt so overwhelmed this morning. My house is a wreck, I look around and see so much spring cleaning that needs to be done and lessons that need to be thought about. I really miss Ron on days like these. When I get really overwhelmed, I read one of my favorite psalms, which is psalms 62.
 Truly my soul waiteth upon GOD:from him cometh my salvation. This is my favorite part because if my soul truly does wait upon GOD then all will be well. From GOD comes my salvation and when we truly realize this, then all really will be well with our souls.I look around at this old house, at all the things that need to be fixed and all the things I could have if I went back to work full time. I realize that yes monetarily I would be well off if I went back to work full time but spiritually we would be bankrupt. My children need me now. I would miss moments when my son draws something really neat and I wouldn't be there for him to say" Look mom" I would miss the thrill of the children finding worms in the backyard. I truly enjoy teaching my children and being home with them. We may not have much by some peoples standards but we have what we need. GOD always takes care of us and provides.
I am taking today off. I really do try to enjoy Sundays. There is so much that we could be doing but I try to remember that when GOD finished his work, he rested on the seventh day!! When Ron was alive, we would go out in the garden and piddle around. As I get older, I would so much rather be outside in the garden or messing around with the flowers. This is so funny, when I was in my 20's my grandmas where alive and I had all that wealth of knowledge at my fingertips and I could have cared less about such things. Now that I am in the stage of life that it does matter, I don't have them here with me anymore on this earth. We should always treasure what you have when you have it, because you never know when it will be gone.
I love to recycle or find something to be re purposed for something else. I have found some really cool things to be re purposed for my garden. I am on the look out for some really cool ideas for the garden.
What is a neat re purposed item that you have come across lately?
I am going to try and acquire some lawn furniture this year. We have always had a hodgepodge of lawn furniture. I have been looking over pinterest lately for DIY ideas. This is my cup of tea.
I have been doing research on natural remedies for treating Autism and ADHD. Does anyone have any recommendations for herbal remedies to treat Autism symptoms and/or ADHD? I have found out dealing with my son that structure and routine are the  key to keeping him from having meltdowns all the time. He still has plenty but he does have less since I have went to a very structured routine, gluten, dairy  and sugar free diet. We use Truvia for our sugar and have for a long time.
We were watching a movie one day and the main character's husband dies and she sold her house and moved away. My son looked at me and said"Momma, why didn't you sell this house and move away when Daddy died?" I thought about it for a minute and then I said"Well, I see your Daddy everywhere I look in this house. At first that is a painful thing but overtimes, it can be a wonderfully comforting thing to be able to see your Daddy everywhere. If we had left then we would never have gotten to enjoy all the things that your Daddy did for us in this house." My point is, that if you run away from something just because it is painful or it hurts to deal with, then you could lose out on one of the biggest joys of your life!! GOD IS GOOD!! He will provide any time all the time!!!
 


This is Ron when we were first married. I love this picture. I give GOD all the glory for his many blessings!! GOD IS GOOD ANY TIME ALL THE TIME!!!

Peace...

I have absolutely loved today. I worked outside in my flower beds and I dreamed of what I was going to plant in the garden here in a couple of weeks. I thank GOD for just having the peace to be able to dream. I can remember a time not so long ago that I couldn't even think about the future. I thanked GOD for putting Ron in my life. Ron taught me so much, so many things that I do today are because of what he taught me. He taught me how to be thrifty, he taught me how to be resourceful and he taught me how to not always have the I wants and to live with what you have. lol 
I met Ron when I was twenty six and he was forty six.Ron was old school. He was almost twenty years older than me and he was raised if you wanted something and you didn't have the money, you either did without or you improvised. He was a master at improvisation. He could take anything and make it look like a million bucks. He was very mechanically inclined and I am not. We just fit together so well. My son is a lot like Ron in that respect. 
I told the kids today that we would be taking Easter break next week and you would have thought Jesus was coming through the clouds!!! I did something this week that I really don't like to do... I bought the kids an Easter basket. I really don't like buying Easter baskets for Easter.Ron started buying them one and it has been a tradition but I have never liked buying them one. It is just a commercialization of Easter.  Now before I get hate mail, let me explain. I don't want my children's emphasis more on the Easter basket than what Easter is about. This is why I don't do Santa clause for Christmas. I want my kids to know the true reasons behind the holidays.Am I the only one who thinks like this? I know there have to be other people out there that have these thoughts?
We had Muffin in a mug for breakfast which is out of the Trim Healthy Mama book that I have been attempting to the best of my abilities to follow. Pearl and Serene the daughters of Nancy that runs Above Rubies have a wonderful book out called Trim Healthy Mama. It is packed full of nutritional recipes, educational information and just all around common sense health information. I love the fact that because we eat gluten free and dairy free, we can still have a lot of the recipes. I am on a Trim Healthy Mama allergy group on facebook and these ladies are fabulous. They will figure out whatever needs to be figured out so that a recipe can be eaten regardless of your allergy.
I am so looking forward to Easter. I was thinking about Easter today as I worked in my flower beds. If Jesus had not rose on that third and glorious day, I would never had been able to see his glorious face in Heave, Ron would have never had any hope nor would anyone else for that matter. GOD knew that without the sacrifice of his one and only son, we would never be clean enough to be able to bask in his presence. OH, what a beautiful thought!!!  Just the thoughts that Ron is in Heaven now singing praises to the King!!!! GOD IS SO GOOD!!!Tomorrow is the Lord's Day and I pray that everyone  have a blessed day praising the Lord. I pray that if you don't know Jesus as your savior, it is never too late. One thing you will never hear come out of a saved persons mouth is"I wished I had never gotten saved." Just always remember...GOD LOVES YOU!!!!There is always hope. I above all people know a thing or too about praying for a lost man. There is always hope!!!!

Loving the silence....

I am sitting in my very comfy chair this morning, drinking my coffee and loving the silence. This is to me the only time of day that I get peace and quiet. lol
I read my bible and have quiet time with GOD at this time.I find this very important to me, because if I miss my quiet time with GOD my spiritual self suffers.When Ron was alive, I tried to be a light to him. He was a new christian and he had just started reading his precious bible he got when he was saved. He was so proud of that Bible. We took it and had his name engraved on it and when the man gave it to him, Ron almost cried. To know where he had been and to see where GOD took him in such a short time, makes me want to have a shouting fit!! GOD IS SO GOOD!!!  
When Ron was alive, if the weather was decent, we would go outside and look over our garden or look over the yard. Ron was a tinker person. He was always doing something. He was constantly planting something or fixing something. It is in the quiet moments, that my mind wonders and I remember...
My memory this morning is when I was pregnant with my daughter. I was so short and so pregnant that I couldn't get onto the bed. Ron made me a simple, very beautiful wooden step stool. That stool meant more to me than if he had bought me a diamond ring. I still have the stool ten years later and it still means more to me than a diamond ring! 
With Ron being gone, I live as frugal as I can to make ends meet. I make my own laundry detergent. I was needing to make some yesterday and I was out of washing soda. I had read One Good Thing by Jillee about a way that you could change baking soda into washing soda by heating in the oven. I tried it and it worked.My clothes came out very clean.I will always keep you abreast of any new frugal idea that comes my way. I know that everyone and their dog is doing frugal living, gluten free, homeschooling living and so am I!!!! lol This is my life. I make no apologies.
I am praying that we have a good day today. We will go to our co-op today and Connor usually does pretty good but he has to stay right next to me. Yesterday, he did so good. We did our Sing,Spell,Read and Write schoolwork without throwing any fits.We did our drawing and he loved it. We use the Draw right now program and he really excels at it. We use Math-u-see for math and he does pretty well. There are other programs that we use also, I just wanted to give you a glimpse at our homeschooling world.
Since my son's diagnosis, I have really changed my teaching approach. I have a loosely adopted a unschooling approach,Using the Bible, mixed with structure and a little bit of Charlotte Mason approach. I know that is a complete oxymoron but it works for us and that is what homeschooling is all about in my opion!!   
I know this has been a long post but I had a lot on my chest this morning. Thanks for stopping by!! GOD IS SO GOOD!! I pray you have a Blessed day!!! 

Here is the rest of the story...

Don't fear the darkness...Be a light!!! Isn't that a beautiful statement. I saw this on a bilboard today.. I have had so much darkness during this journey called grief. I posted my first post yesterday and I thought I would follow up with this post. As Paul Harvey used to say, here is the rest of the story!! 
People are strange. They try to imagine that they know what you are going through but unless you have had a spouse or child die, you don't know what it is like. When Ron died, I felt like a set of nesting dolls. I had a voice inside my head that started screaming and would not stop. I called that voice grief. I then had on top of that voice another voice that would try to figure out how I was going to pay the bills, teach the children, pay the insurance and on and on, etc.. I called these voices worry and strife and then I wrapped all those voices in a neat little package and I got up everyday and I took some Tyleno because grief would not be quite and I made preparations to bury my husband. I thought I was going to lose my mind. My sister gave me some wonderful advice, she told me just five minutes at a time, then thirty minutes then an hour until finally the day is over and maybe grief would let you get some sleep but it didn't, at least, not in the beginning. It has been eight months and I can finally say grief has stopped screaming in my head. GOD IS SO GOOD!! I can make it through a whole day without breaking down. Grief is a strange creature. I can be having a wonderful day and all of a sudden I will hear a song that reminds me of Ron, or I will see something that will trigger a memory and my day is shot.GOD IS GOOD!! When I have those days, I can see GOD with his arms stretched out saying COME TO ME MY CHILD.. YOUR BURDEN IS HEAVY BUT MY YOKE IS LIGHT!!! I had some really, really bad days during the holidays. I had thoughts and emotions a person shouldn't have to deal with but we do at times. GOD IS SO GOOD!! He was there every step of the way.  Now some of you might be saying"What about her kids? How are they handeling this?" My son during Christmas said the sweetest thing. We were sitting in the living room and he said"Momma, do you think Daddy might be having Christmas in Heaven" Without missing a beat, I said"Maybe son" Whatever makes him happy. He doesn't talk a lot about his Dad. He doesn't process his emotions like other kids do. My son is autistic and he is beautiful. Along with Ron dying, I have had to learn a new way to raise and teach my son. He has taught me so much on this ride called life. I have bared my soul on this one but I have done this to show others that they aren't the only ones going through grief. I pray that my blog can be a light to someone... plze don't live in the darkness, it is an awful place to stay. Always remember that we are exceedingly and abundantly blessed!!

Where do I begin....

GOD is so good in all seasons of our lives. We never truly understand this train of thought until we have to utterly rely on him for absolutely everything. This is my first post on my baby blog and I hope that you enjoy it. I love writing and I pray that what I have to say will be a comfort to someone.
For those of you who know me, you know the season that my family is currently in and for those that don't know me, I am in the season of regrowth after death. My husband Ron died on July 11, 2012 in a motor vehicle accident it was his birthday. Ron was my soulmate and I loved him very much. GOD is so good. Ron had only been a christian for about a year. Me and countless others had prayed for this man for years, so if you are praying for someone or for GOD to do something in your life, just know that it is always in his time and not ours.
We had two children under the age of 10. How was I going to take care of them. I am a stay at home mom who homeschools both of the children. GOD is so GOOD. He has provided all of our needs. We never want for anything. We had no car insurance or life insurance. Ron's funeral was paid for completely by donations. GOD IS SO GOOD!! My church and a sister church bought me a van. The vehicle my husband was driving was the only one we had. GOD IS SO GOOD!!
Sometimes I think that the kids are taking his death so much better than I am.We have since found out that Connor my 8 year old has been diagnosed with Autism and ADHD. GOD IS SO GOOD!! I thank GOD for all the trials and tribulations. Now don't get me wrong, I would have my husband back in a hot second, but I wouldn't call him back from where he is now for all the tea in china. But without the trials and tribulations, I would not have grown so much closer to my LORD.
The winter has been hard... but by the GRACE OF GOD I can see the SON and I believe that spring is trying to attempt to raise it's head.
I know that this post has been rattled but stay with me. I just want people to understand that GOD IS ALWAYS WITH YOU IN THE SEASONS OF YOUR LIFE!! I will tell you the last thing that my wonderful husband told me on the day that he died... WE ARE EXCEEDINGLY AND ABUNDANTLY BLESSED! Thanks for reading my little post and I give GOD all the praise.