Birds

While I was driving home from school the other evening I saw birds flying and I thought what amazing creatures.  If the bird that is leading gets tired or just needs to fall back another bird will come and jump up and take his place.  Could you imagine, if we were tired, or hurting or just needed to take a break and someone jumped in for us.  That would be awesome.   If we could just be birds, or as cool as birds!!

 

“Dear God make me a bird so I can fly far far away!”

Ibuprofen

While I had a massive migraine yesterday I was attempting to drive down the road when i saw a homeless man sitting on the corner.  I then started thinking to myself, I wonder if homeless people get to get some Tylenol or ibuprofen when they get headaches.  Then it escalated to, “I wonder if people in third world countries have medicine for headaches?”  “Maybe they use herbs!”, “I wonder who thought to take an herb first for a headache?”  Finally my brain started to really hurt, worse than before, and I just thanked Jesus that I did have Ibuprofen when I have headaches. 

Today, it’s weird to think that some people don’t have what we think is a necessity.  I would probably go crazy if I didn’t have Tylenol when I got a headache. Just to think, what would I do if I grew up not even knowing Tylenol was around?  hhmmm…it’s kind of weird to think about things like that.

 

 

Until Next Time….

Little Women

I can’t wait till Leilani is older and she can do this cute little book.  I remember when Suzanne showed me her older one and then she posted something about it on her blog.  This is so cute, and it’s always good for little girls to know how to behave properly.  It just seems like such a cute book. 

 

Until Next Time….

The past few months

 

So I've been in school for 3 weeks now and It’s amazing.  I love it so much, the interaction with adults, the learning.  I feel like I am finally being useful.  (I know staying at home is being useful but I just started feeling unmotivated and maybe even a little worthless.)  I know it sounds dumb!  Anyways, I’ve gotten A’s on everything I’ve done so far, so I’m feeling pretty good.  Math word problems suck but hey it’s only a section of a chapter.  Psychology is really interesting. I learn a lot of things I don’t really agree with but it’s okay I have to take what is good and leave what is not.  Human services…I love that class, it is so interesting, I am even thinking about majoring in Social Work, but I can’t go to William Jessup with that major so I might have to stay with Psych. if I want to go to that private college.  I have to make an appointment with the advisors there and maybe they will be able to help me, with which direction I should go for what I want to do. 

I love leading the care team at church, it gets overwhelming sometimes but just knowing I am helping someone makes it all worthwhile.  We just got done collecting backpacks for Foster Kids and my goal was 50 and we have more than that.   Thank you Jesus.  Right now I’m trying to get a harvest carnival for Halloween put together, so I’m praying for enough help so the kids don’t have to get candy from houses they can come and do activities at the church. 

I’ve been pretty busy, but I feel good.  I still have my emotional days, but I think it’s just cause I am Amber and that’s how it is. 

I’m going to try to write on this thing at least once a week.  I miss blogging…

 

 

Until Next Time!!!

My Classes

1. Psychology 1A

2. Math 52

3. Intro to Human Services

4. Counseling 10

 

I am so excited, they are all subjects I really like so it will hopefully be pretty easy!!

Getting ready to start school

I am starting school in August and I am so excited.  I feel like I am taking this giant step forward and not just sitting where I’m at.  Cameron is also going to start doing pre school, well at home with me, so I am excited about that too.  Our days will be full of fun things to do, and I just love to watch my kids learn it makes me feel good and I know it makes them feel good too.  I will hopefully write more soon, I feel like I have been so busy lately even though I also feel like I’m bored…haha

 

Until Next time…

My Heavenly Father

I got the privelage of taking Mom and Dad Christian to the airport on Monday morning at six a.m. The ride on the way back was quiet and calm, a perfect time to have a conversation with God. This might sound a little weird but I'm going to say it anyways.
While I was driving I was praying out to God, asking him to give me direction for life, take this situation we are in and make it into something so much better. This is the revelation I got out of our conversation.

When Cameron is kicking and screaming because he wants to do things his way we will gently pick him up and take him into a whole nother environment so he will stop and listen to us. I have been a Christian for two and a half years now, and the entire time I have done things on my time, in my way and wasn't really following God's will for my life. ( I guess you could say) I was doing all the good Christian things on the outside, I just wasn't really listeing to God and his plans for my life. In a sense I was pretty much kicking and screaming. God revealed to me that what he did was pick me up and take me out of the environment i was in because I was not listening to him, he has now taken all my worldy things away from me and has completely got my attention. I am here in a different situation and ready and willing to listen to my heavenly father who knows what is best for me.
That conversation on the way home from the airport brought so much peace into my life at this hectic moment. God has something sooo much better for me I just need to be willing to listen and to follow his direction.

Grateful Day #2

My five things I'm grateful for today:
1. My mom said she might be able to add me to her gym membership for $15 and she said she would even pay for it.
2. Once again my kids both took naps like champs and with no hassle
3. I got to sit down and read Mere Christianity for 30 minutes with no interruptions
4. I got to eat ice cream :)
5. I wanted Salmon looked in the freezer and had salmon :)

Starting something new...

I just read a little article on this lady that started a journal and everyday wrote five things that she was grateful for each day. She said it has changed her outlook and her attitude. Since i've been completely in the dumps lately I thought I would try it out. So this will be my journal...

Day #1 Five things I'm grateful for today
1. The weather was quite nice out
2. My kids both took naps without a fight
3. I got to make white chocolate chip macodamian nut cookies
4. My kids went to bed wonderfully
5. My oh so very wonderful forgiving husband for still loving me even if I'm a poop head sometimes...

( I feel better already :) at least a tiny tiny bit )

P.S. I just finished a book by Max Lucado called Traveling Light. It was really good. The entire book was based on Psalm 23 and every chapter was about a verse and what it truly meant. It was nice to read...

This thing we call life...

Life....How would you describe it? Wonderful? amazing? full of dissapointment? Crazy?

The past month or so I feel like my life has been turned upside down, completely turned upside down. It seems that no matter what, things just keep getting a little more difficult. I realized, after quite a few days of non stop tears, that no matter how hard I cry and no mater how hard I kick my feet and scream things really are not going to go the way I plan them to.
God has control over my life, I do know that for sure, and I know that he has plans for us. Maybe he needed to take away all we had, so he can do something completely different with us. (When I say all we had, that just seems so weird cause its like all material stuff, which really isn't important anyways, even though its nice and convienent to have)

Today while we were driving to San Fransisco I was thinking about where we were headed (Life wise) and I turned to James and said, "Well honey, we have nothing so we might as well just go into mission work" He kind of looked at me like I was crazy, but the way I look at it, we really have nothing to lose right now. No house, no car, we are saving money so it seems like the perfect time :)

I wish God would just let me know what he is going to do, what his plans are. I'm not good at sitting and waiting, I'm not good at having to depend on other people, I'm not good at not having control over my life.

Everything will happen in God's time, I know that, I just really need to patience to except it.

I will try to write more often, I know its been a while, and I miss writing, things have just been a little crazy lately.

Until next time...

Its been quite a while...

but what can I say it's been quite a life the past few weeks. I really don't have anything to say, just wanted everyone to know I'm still here and someday hopefully soon I'll have something meaningful to say!

Until then....

For Today...

"But anyone who does not love does not know God -- for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." (1 John 4:8-10 NLT)

Also, Cameron just told me I needed two phones because I like to talk and I have two ears. It's nice to know that he is starting to know his numbers...it's not really nice to know that he thinks I talk to much :)

The need to start before I'm finished...

Last night while I was organizing and cleaning my room out, I stumbled across a ton of books, all of them I started reading, almost finished, then put down and started another one. All 10 of them have bookmarks in them, near the end, but for some reason I never finished them. I don't really know why I have the need to start something else before I finish the thing I was on first.
My goal, until it is finished, is to finish everything I have started before starting something else. So, i have 10 books to finish reading, quite a few sewing projects that need to be finished, some scrap booking, writing down of recipes onto cards, and even a cross stitching project I've been working on for a year or so. Maybe through all of this I will figure out why I think it is necessary to start so many projects and finish so few.

On another note, everyday it seems that more and more people are calling me with their problems, at first I was like "oh my how am I going to deal with this, I can't even deal with my own problems". Yesterday while I was thinking about a specific person and wondering why in the world God put me in this position, I realized that out of all of this I have learned how to pray really well. I now pray about everything and anything, Thanking God for all he has given me and not really sitting in my own hole and dwelling on my problems. I feel it has brought me closer to God, because I don't really feel awkward talking to him anymore. It is, also, kind of nice to not really have the time to sit and sulk. A part of me, though, is fearful that when things slow down and not so many people need me, I will have to come to terms with what I, myself, need to deal with. I guess I might even feel a little sad because I won't feel needed anymore...(at least for the time being) I get satisfaction out of helping people, I think it makes me feel worth something, like someone actually needs me to be here on this earth to make them feel better. I know that that is not the only reason why I am here, and like many other people I am trying to find my place in this giant messed up world.

Until next time...

Ridiculous....

There are so many ridiculous things that go on in this world....

1.

Teen Sexting Legalized in Vermont?

Legislators in Vermont are considering a bill which would legalize "sexting" between teenagers. For those of you who don't know what sexting is, it is the exchange of explicit videos and photos via cell phone. See FOX News.

Current law in Vermont allows "sexting" participants to be charged with child pornography, but lawmakers are considering a bill which would legalize the consensual exchange of graphic images between people aged 13 to 18 years old. Passing along images to others without permission would remain a crime under the child pornography laws.

Supporters of the bill say while they don't condone "sexting" they also don't believe teenagers should be prosecuted as sex offenders under child porn laws for behavior that is consensual. Would you want your 13-year-old daughter to be able to receive nude images from a guy at school? While I don't believe such behavior rises to the level of child porn, I also don't believe that legalizing such consensual images is the answer, either. What do you think?

The hardest part...

I think the hardest part about being a Christian is the distance that grows between you and non-Christians. I know my beliefs and I will stick by them till I die, so being afraid of, i guess, peer pressure is really not an issue with me. It's more like you become a Christian and all the non- Christian people in your life just seem so different. I don't really know how to explain it, it just kind of saddens me. My family is non-christian and the more and more I grow in my faith the more and more we really have nothing to talk about. My sister and I really have nothing in common anymore, my mom and I don't really talk unless it's about the kids and even then we disagree on a lot of things like school, and money and how to raise them. It is really sad.
When I first spoke in tongues I was sooo excited I longed to call my mom and tell her how awesome it was, but I knew she wouldn't understand and would just kind of be like..uhh...so i didn't call her. Thankfully God has placed me in a place where my in-laws are awesome, so I could call them and be extatic and they would understand and be happy for me.
Good news: My sister Nikki gave her heart to God yesterday at church, I was so happy I cried..that is something i have been praying about for two years.
So, i guess I will just keep praying for the rest of my family, God is big and he is awesome.

Until next time....

Gianna

Read it its an amazing book. Just finished it in one sitting. Ha i havent done that in a very long time. I have a super busy day tomorrow hopefully i will be able to sleep tonight.

<3

I love this song... I need it most days!!



I open my eyes to the sound of morning news
And wish for ten more minutes left to sleep
And as I get into the shower the thoughts of
facing one more day
Overwhelm me and I begin to weep
And I've never felt like I've needed Your help,
so bad
Verse 2:
Well, my tears are pushed away now for the
sake of morning rush
'Til the Bible on the table catches my eye
And I read that you are near to the hearts that
break with grief
And I realize that I don't have to try
To live life myself because You're ready to help me live
Bridge 1:
And everyday I look to you
To be the strength of my life
You're the hope I hold onto
Be the strength of my life
Chorus:
Be the strength of my life
Strength of my life
Be the strength of my life today
Be the strength of my life
Strength of my life
Be the strength of my life today
Verse 3:
Each day has its problems, it troubles and its tears
And it seems I'm always anything but strong
When I learn to know my weakness,
I understand your strength
And even when the hard times last so long
I won't try by myself, I'll just ask for Your help
Each day
Bridge 2:
And everyday I look to You
To be

-Leslie Phillips

The Worth of a Woman

"You are precious and honored in my sight..." Isaiah 43:4a NIV

Are the factors that determine a woman's value based upon variable, shifting factors or are they based upon fixed factors? Fixed, of course right? But if the answer is so obvious why do we struggle so much as women with feeling worthless? It's because we often allow variable earthly factors define our worth. There are main reasons why women feel worthless:

-They've been abused
-They've been told they are worthless
-Choices they have made
-They've been cheated on
-They are co-dependent
-They've battled an illness
Including many more that we use to define our worth. Many of us feel worthless. Why? We've felt ignored, invisible, insignificant, useless, undesired, ugly, unloved or forgotten. Girls are emotional, broken down in many ways. Great portions of our identity and of our personal value are wrapped into highly combustible packages of emotion..how we feel about this or that. The honest truth is our worth has nothing to do with how we feel.
That way of thinking is like a spiritual dead end road. Scripture tells us that anything we do in our own strength or of our own goodness is of no value to God. "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" Isaiah 64"6a
Because of Jesus Christ, I am (you are) a woman of highest worth. NOT because of anything else. I am (you are) a grace girl. Not perfect by a long stretch. I (you) have been changed by the unconditional love of God and restored to perfect beauty through Jesus' shed blood. Because of love, we are His daughters and we are precious in His sight. We need to set aside feelings that diminish our value, and embrace our proper identity: A child of the King of Kings.
Feelings of worthlessness are from the Enemy himself. It makes me sad that the enemy has such a strong grip on God's daughters (myself included). We need to associate the word worthless with the word lie. That's what it is a super duper lie.
I bend a knee to negative feelings and live a defeated life because i'm not quite sure how to overcome my sense of worthlessness. I now know that God wants me (and you) to experince healing and have an appropriate sense of self-worth.

The Bible tells us that because Jesus died on the cross we can be clothed with the "robe of righteousness". Apostle Paul tells us that when we are reconciled to God, we become his righteousness. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" 2 Corinthians 5:21 There is no possible way we could ever earn such a robe. But Jesus gave his life for us, He earned it for us. He paid the price and we receive the gift. Why?? Because I am (you are) worth it. We are precious and highly valuable in the eyes of the One who sees.

Until next time....

The beginning of A Thomas the Train cake

The Beginning of Cameron's Thomas the Train cake. This is Thomas' face. It's as good as it's going to get, but better than I thought it was going to be. I'm excited for the rest of the cake now.

Pistachio's

I have been craving that pistachio flavor lately. I bought pistachio ice cream last night, made pistachio pudding today, I don't know what it is but I love that taste right now. Hopefully none of the pistachio things I am eating have salmonella :) I'll write something more meaningful later, I just thought I would share that.

Until next time...

For Today......

Love like Jesus. We hear this all the time from our pastors, youth pastors, Sunday school teachers, etc., but what do we mean? Sometimes it sounds so redundant that we become numb to what it REALLY means. "Loving like Jesus", can also seem impossible sometimes that we don't even try. My plea is for you to not become numb, because love is a command from God.

I am in the process of learning what love truly means. For the last couple of weeks, God has had me read 1 John over and over again. I am still a long way from grasping this concept that we talk about on a daily basis. However, I am beginning to understand that love is not a token of lust for your significant other. Love is not what you have for a well cooked, medium rare steak. It is not even your favorite T.V. show. Love is a choice and love is action.

1 Corinthians 13 gives a good definition of what love is in action.

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

This love seems hard to grasp. I mean there are a lot people who I am not very patient with. I am a jealous person. I like to brag from time to time. I sometimes hold a grudge. I have to admit... I am a sinner.

However, when I turn to 1 John I see where it’s not me that does the loving but Christ through me. I, in myself, can not love like I am commanded. Through Christ, however, I can "love like Jesus".

1 John 4 7-12 reads:

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

John is instructing us to love one another just like God loved us. We were apart from and showed him hatred by our sins. However, he still showed us love by giving up his life so that we could have life. Therefore, we love him, because he FIRST loved us (v. 19). This is our example to others. They may not love us, but we must love them FIRST. We can do this because verse 9 says God sent his only son to die so that WE MIGHT LIVE THROUGH HIM. It is no longer us doing the loving, but Christ in us.

So now you can love like Jesus.

Hebrew

Today I was watching this show on the history channel about the bible and the Hebrew language and then I decided to learn Hebrew. I found this neat website called http://www.word2word.com/coursead.html, which gives you an entire list of languages that you can learn for free on the internet. I thought it was pretty interesting. So I am starting on my Hebrew quest, doesn't seem to hard yet, at least not to memorize what the symbols mean and how they sound. Then I can read it, but memorizing what the words I'm reading mean might be a little tougher. One day though I will be fluent in Hebrew!! :) ( I don't know how long it will take, I took spanish for three years and really don't know very much :) But it's an adventure, and it gives me something a little productive to do in my free time...

Until next time...

P.S. We went hiking today I will put pictures up soon :)

its nice that they do this

The largest gathering of prison inmates and their children takes place this weekend at a facility once known for its violence, murder, and mayhem.
 
The event, known as "Returning Hearts," allows inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola to spend a day with their children. Inmates and their kids enjoy games, food, relationship building, and Bible teaching. Lyndon Azcuna is director of Awana Lifeline, which sponsors the Returning Hearts celebration. He says the event can make a huge difference in the lives of at-risk kids. "Everybody knows that these children are mostly inner-city children. The characteristic of inner-city children is hopelessness," he notes, "and what we want to do is...equip parents and churches to build a legacy of hope in Christ." Eight-hundred children, 250 dads, and 800 volunteers are expected to take part in the weekend event at Angola.

Quite Interesting what studies come up with..

LONDON (Reuters) – People who suffer chronic sleep problems are more likely to think about suicide or actually try to kill themselves, researchers said on Wednesday.

The more types of sleep disturbances a person had -- such as waking up too early, difficulty falling asleep or lying awake at night -- upped the odds of suicidal thoughts, planning a suicide, or attempting it, researchers told a conference.

"People with two or more sleep symptoms were 2.6 times more likely to report a suicide attempt than those without any insomnia complaints," Marcin Wojnar, a researcher at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the Medical University of Poland, who led the study, said in a statement.

"This has implications for public health as the presence of sleep problems should alert doctors to assess such patients for a heightened risk of suicide even if they don't have a psychiatric condition."

According to the World Health Organization, some 877,000 people worldwide kill themselves each year. For every suicide death, anywhere from 10 to 40 attempts are made, the U.N. agency estimates.

Scientists have linked sleep disturbances to increased suicidal risk in people with psychiatric disorders and in adolescents but it is unclear whether the association also exists in the general population, the researchers said.

In the study presented at the World Psychiatric Association International Congress in Florence, Italy, Wojnar and colleagues looked at the relationship between sleep problems and suicidal behaviours among 5,692 U.S. men and women.

About a third of the volunteers reported at least one type of sleep disturbance over the preceding year, which included either difficulty falling asleep, trouble staying asleep or waking at least two hours earlier than desired.

After adjusting for factors such as substance abuse and depression as well as for the influence of age, gender, marital and financial status, the researchers found the most consistent suicide link with waking up early.

People who reported that problem were twice as likely to have had suicidal thoughts or planned a suicide and were nearly three times more likely to have tried to kill themselves.

The researchers do not know exactly why but said lack of sleep may affect cognitive function and lead to poorer judgment and increased hopelessness. A malfunction involving the brain chemical serotonin may also play a role, Wojnar added.

"Our findings also raise the possibility that addressing sleep problems could reduce the risk of suicidal behaviours," Wojnar said.

Three Days...

Today is day number three without caffeine. Whoo hoo for me!! My horrible caffeine headaches are finally gone and I kind of feel a little bit better. Now if I could just sleep a little better, without such vivid dreams, then I won't feel like I need caffeine. I have also been running every other day which clears my mind and makes me feel good about myself. Eating healthy, running, and no more caffeine...oh my who ever knew I would end up like this :) ( I even turned down In N Out the other night...which is one of my fav.fast food places. I was proud of my will power, which I normally have none of.)

On another topic, sales tax increases tomorrow, and pretty soon personal income tax and some car fee in increasing too. I know we have a state deficit, but I don't know how well this will work out. People already don't have the money to spend, so this will probably make them spend even less. Oh my...

Getting ready to read...everyone have a wonderful night!

Love to read

I found this really neat website called swaptree.com. If you love to read, but hate the expensive cost of books and how your bookshelves get over packed, you should check it out...(haha kind of sounded like an advertisement for them).

Anyways, it's a website where you can put in the books you have and the books you want and you can trade people. There are some books that are keepers but the other ones i've read and won't really read again or just weren't that interesting to me I've put on there and I have 60,000 items I can choose from to trade. I'm excited. They also do movies, cd's and video games. Now I can read all the books I've wanted too with only paying a few bucks for shipping and handling.

You should check it out if interested!

My frugal tips for the day...

1. Save the bags your cereal comes in because you can use it as freezer wrap or for coating meats and vegetables.
2. You can use 1/4 oatmeal 3/4 hamburger meat and cook it up. It doesn't make the taste any different and you save on meat...(They say it works but, I'm not so sure...I guess I will have to try it.)
3. Buy vegetables when they are on sale ( peppers, onions ect.) Dice and freeze so you will have when the prices go up.

Until Next time...

If I died tomorrow...

would I really be happy with what I have done with this life God has given me?? I'm really not the adventurous type what-so-ever, but I have been having the urge to get out, go smell some flowers, breath in fresh air, swim in a lake in the middle of mountains. My life is so planned out( which is not a bad thing, I like it that way), but I really need one day to just run and jump and breath in air and just sit there in that spot for as long as it is needed to clear my brain.

I know this is prob. dangerous, but I want to go up really high on some mountain where no one ever goes and just lay down and be with just me and the earth. ( haha that kind of sounded goofy).

Don't get me wrong I am happy with my life, I think I just need some adventure sometimes...or I at least need to leave my house other than Sunday's and random nights I run to the store or have a meeting to attend.

Until next time...

Sometimes I want the world to stop

Seriously sometimes I wish I could just stop the world for 10 min get everyone I really care about into the same room and just have a giant group hug for 10 min. I've been missing people lately and wanting to be near the ones I care about all the time. My anxiety has been pretty bad and I always think like the worst is going to happen so maybe that's why I'm feeling this way. I think it would feel super nice, to have everyone you care about in the same room and just feel super loved by everyone for 10 whole minutes. So if anyone ( well people that I know) needs a hug just come on by, cause I need some too!!

Green eggs and toast

So today is St. Patricks day. This morning I made my kids green scrambled eggs and toast with green butter thinking that it would be something cute for them. Well my kids probably thought I went crazy or something, Cameron told me that my eggs were rotten eggs and Leilani refused to out them anywhere near her mouth. (My kids absolutely love eggs too) Maybe another year they will like them :)

Today I also had jury duty. I was there from 8 a.m to about 12:30 p.m. I didn't even get to sit in a juror chair or answer any questions. They filled all 12 juror seats and the two alternates before I even got called on to give my information. It was a VERY boring 3 hours and I hope that I never have to go again.

One more thing, my foot is swollen and bruised and hurting pretty bad. I'm pretty sure I didn't break it because I prob. wouldn't be able to walk on it, but whatever I did do to it, it hurts. Hopefully a lot of Ibuprofen and ice will make it feel better soon. I hate limping when I walk. Plus that means I can't wear any cute shoes until my foot goes back to normal.

Until next time

A Day at the Park

Here are some pictures of when we went to the park. It was a super nice day and the kids were very happy to get out!!

Oh and then there is one of a pretty flower and the clouds with pretty colors...

Tent City

This is something that, we as people who have,need to help with. These people have nothing. We at least have a roof over our head at night and a heater or fireplace to keep us warm. They are sleeping in tents sometimes not knowing where they are going to get food next while we go and stuff our faces at (your choice of a restaurant). This hurts my heart, all these people have nothing and we are all greedy with what we have. (Man I sure do have a lot of things to say today)

numSlides of totalIma

Sacramento's homeless rate is rising fast. With more foreclosures, jobs lost and full shelters, all you have to do is walk downtown or cruise the American River and you'll meet people who are homeless for the first time.

The sea of tents along the American River is hard to miss, and their number is growing.

"Anywhere from 20 to 50 people a week is showing up out here that just became homeless," said Steve Kruse, a homeless man. "There are shelters, but they're filling up so fast."

Many of the men and women in the tents lost their jobs and then their home.

Robert Booker was laid off after working four and a half years for a Sacramento property management company, but managed to snag an open spot in a shelter. The tent he was setting up near the river was for his friend, but he is concerned he will end up there as well.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson knows the crisis is growing. As foreclosure and unemployment rates skyrocket, the homeless rate is now on the same track. From 2007 to 2008, Sacramento County's "new homeless" rate rose a whopping 15 percent.

The last count showed the number of homeless with no shelter at all up 26 percent. That's 1,200 people living on the street or in a car.

Mayor Johnson says the new homeless plan he's working on may include a regulated tent city. "I can't say tent cities are the answer to the homeless population in Sacramento, but I think it's one of the many things that should be considered and looked at," he said.

Kruse says the public should consider who could be next to face that situation. "Prepare! Don't turn your back on us today, because tomorrow, you'll be living next to us," he said.

"I'm seeing families out here," Kruse added. "A lady walking down here yesterday with two babies and a stroller, and she asked did anybody know where she could stay."

When the Game is Over, It all goes back in the Box.

I just finished reading that book by John Ortberg. It was one of those books I couldn't put down. It is actually quite sobering, you look around at all the things that matter to you like clothes, TV's, Nifty technological items like washers and dryers, dishwashers and you think, wow I spent so much time trying to get the money to buy all this stuff and in the end it doesn't even matter.

God and People matter. That is what we are supposed to be spending our time, effort, love on. People will last, in a sense. One of our purposes on this earth I believe is to get everyone into heaven. How can we possibly do that if we are busy in front of the computer or watching TV, or even making tons of money trying to buy the newest of things? Don't get me wrong, I love clothes, and the internet, it's one of my flaws ( quite a big one), but reading this book gave me a different perspective.

If I only have today left am I going to spend tons of time getting "pretty"? Am I going to dust and clean all of my "temporary" possessions? (Now I'm not saying live in a disgusting house, because that's taking it overboard)

If I only had today left, I would spend all of my time with people, with my precious children and the lovely people in my life. I wouldn't sit in front of the TV or the computer, I'd get out enjoy the precious gifts God has given us. The smell of newly opened rose buds, the gorgeous white and pink blossoms on the trees, the pretty sound of birds chirping and the awesome gift of human life.

In a sense I only have today to do things. I can't wait for "life to get better", "James to make more money", "My kids to get a little bit older" because I might not have tomorrow to do the things I should have done today.

I'm also learning to be thankful for the tiny things and even the things that seem like such a burden. Everyday is another gift from God, we should always remember to thank him for giving us another day, even another breath of life. When you wake up in the morning say "God Thank you for another beautiful day to do your will on this earth." It makes your whole day go quite differently than if you roll out of bed grumpy because you didn't get enough sleep because maybe you were up late taking care of your "temporary" possessions or working super hard to buy some more. :)

Even if your sick take joy in the fact that you are still alive. Your hearts still beating and your still breathing. If we take gratitude in EVERYTHING, just imagine how much more joy you will have. God has given us everything we can see, and even things we can't. We need to be thankful everyday, because in an instant in can be taken away. Without warning or anything.

I have one more thing to say, When you die do you want to be remembered by that person that made tons of money and had a giant house with lots of useless possessions, or do you want to be remembered by that Amazing person who gave so much of their life and drastically changed other peoples lives? I don't know about you ( and I even love my "temporary" clothes) I would rather be known as the person that had little and gave a lot.

Until next time...

I love this song...

I heard this song on the radio last night and I absolutely love it. It's encouraging. One of my new favorite songs. Just thought I would share it with you!

<3

More pictures of the kinds

This one is especially for you Auntie Barb.
She was being Camera Shy
Just a cute little boy
She gets her craziness from her Dad
She wanted the string around her head
This is by far one of my favorite pictures
Just riding in the car

Another cute one outside

New Books

As you already know I have problems with sleep so yesterday Tamson and I went to the goodwill and I bought tons of books to read while I can't sleep. Most of them I already read, I just love them and would re-read them over and over. Lets see...
I got;
Moby Dick-By Herman Melvin
A million little pieces-By James Frey (Which James told me that the guy made up the entire story and pretended it really happened to him)
Anthony and Cleopatra - By Shakespeare (Whom I absolutely love)
Fahrenheit 451 - By Ray Bradbury
Othello - Shakespeare
Twelfth Night - Shakespeare
Gianna - Jessica Shaver
Joshua - Joseph Girzone
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
and Prayer is Invading the Impossible - By Jack Hayford.

I am so excited to read all of these...I sooo love books!!

Name Days

A name day is a tradition in many countries in Europe and Latin America of celebrating on a particular day of the year associated with the one's given name. The custom originated with the Catholic and Orthodox calendar of saints, where believers, named after a particular saint, would celebrate that saint's feast day. In many countries, however, there is no longer any explicit connection to Christianity.
^-Wikipedia

Each first name is assigned to one day of the calendar, based on religious traditions, historical events, birthday of a famous person who had the same first name, or on other facts.

<sup>Birthdays are normally celebrated with just immediate families and Name Days are widely known and celebrated by everyone. That's kind of nice if you don't want everyone knowing your age :)

A list of Name days for you guys;

Amber - Feb 28th
James - July 25th
Cameron - July 18th
Leilani - Aug 11th
Michele - Sep. 29th
Robert - June 7th
Katherine - Nov. 25th
Suzanne - Aug 11th
Barbara - Dec. 4th

Mynameday.com

I just found that quite interesting.. Now I know something new for the day!</sup>

Sometimes I just need a hug....

I wish I had a mom
who would hold me when I cry,
who would gently rub my hair
when on her lap I lie.
I wish I had a dad
who would hug me really close,
tell me everything will be fine
when I really need it most.
I wish I had a mom
who I could curl up to,
a mom who would always tell me
"Amber, I really do love you."
I wish I had a dad
who I could always go to,
who wouldn't have a mean thing to say
just "I believe in you."
I know I'm supposed to go to my husband
when I need comfort and support,
but sometimes I still want two parents
to go to when I hurt.
Too bad they are the reason
there's this void in my heart,
I don't know how to get rid of it
I don't even know where to start.
I try so hard not to care
and pretend that I'm alright,
but what I would do for two parents
who would hug me close and tight.

A Little Visit to Chico

So on Friday I had to go up to Chico so I could take Nikki to Butte College to take a test while Chrissy watched the kids. I took quite a few pictures while I was up there, and I thought I would share some.
Nikki and I driving to the college
This was pretty much just a pile of stuff, but I liked how the picture turned out
I like this pole they had in the middle of campus, the guy there was just extra cause he was already standing there.
Another abstract statue ( I love abstract art)
This guy was praying I thought that to be interesting so I took a picture of him. It's not often I see someone praying out loud in the middle of a non christian college campus!
Cameron
Leilani
Some small pretty blue flowers growing in the grass


All in all it was a good day, kids were good for the trip up there, they were good for Chrissy and Nikki said she think she did good on her test.

Until Next time...

Camera

I have one thing to say for now then I'm off to read.

I bought a new camera today, I am so excited...I can't wait to take pictures of things to show you all how good it works...yyaahhh for me!!

The Faith

I just finished reading a book called The Faith by Charles Colson and Harold Fickett. I got this book for Christmas and it was really good. I just finished reading it because I have this bad habit of reading like 5 books at a time so it takes me a while to get through one.
Anyways I wanted to share the last two paragraphs with you because I thought that they were good ones.

"And Christianity is, decidedly, an other-directed religion, as the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkengaard often wrote. By the very character of what we believe in our orthodox faith, we don't want to force beliefs down a person's throat; rather, we're perfectly willing to lay our lives down for others as Chinese Christians did amid the cultural revolution's madness, as Christ did for us.
Christianity does not seek to impose, it proposes. The Gospel is the great proposal; Come to the wedding feast, one and all-black, white, rich, poor, East, West, Muslim, Jew, Christian-all are welcome and it's never too late. God turns no man or woman away, not one. Through His son, Jesus Christ, the Father brings us into His kingdom. This is the promise He holds out to individuals and nations alike, a kingdom not of eating or drinking or of marching armies and clashing swords, but a Kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy forever in the Holy Spirit."

If you like to read, well even if you don't, I suggest this book, it was really interesting.

Until next time....

Mucinex

So pretty much I took Mucinex this morning because I was all congested and it was nasty. Well anyways, it worked which I like, but it also made me feel like I was on drugs. Which really isn't a good thing. Like if I take tylenol PM it makes me wired instead of tired, I guess that is what this stuff does to me too. At least my house is clean, and cameron probably learned a lot of words today because I have been talking and talking and talking to him.

I feel like I drank 4 pots of coffee. Anyways, I will never take that again.

Starburst

I was looking at random things on the internet because...well just because. I came upon this cool little starburst. I remember having these things on a stick when I was little and you could blow on them and watch them spin. I don't think you could do that with this one, but it would be pretty to put it on a gift or something.

Computer Mouse

So pretty much my computer has been down for two days because my mouse has been broken. For some reason my computer decided no longer to recognize it. It's been half nice half annoying. I did realize that I prob. spend too much time on here when my kids are sleeping.

However, obviously I did go buy a mouse today. Funny story though, I go to the mall to look for an over the shoulder bag (which I couldn't find), so I run into radio shack and buy a mouse. On my way out I see Krisma, Chrissy and Jenni and we go into Rue 21 and then get pizza. Then we go into Ross so I could get a laundry hamper james wanted. While I was looking around I realized I no longer had my mouse bag. So we go everywhere we just were and look for it. It is no where to be found. (Kind of makes me dissapointed in the human race).
Anyways, I had to go back to radio shack, buy another mouse, and pretty much the guy ringing me up for the second time thinks my little error is quite hillarious, so he pretty much tells the entire store, he talked so loud.

It was quite a funny experience, thankfully I do things like this all the time so James just pretty much laughed about it. I love my husband for understanding that sometimes im ditzy :)

A pile of Sugar

So today my kids decided to have a sugar adventure and dumped an entire bag in the kitchen floor. Then they decided they would play with it, in their hair, in their diapers, it looked like they had snow all over them. After the initial frustration of figuring out how I was going to get small granules of sugar out from all over my house, we laughed and then we threw it in the air and let it rain down on our heads. It actually made me pretty happy...

I now have to figure out how to clean it up. Thankfully I'm young and patient <3

....

Can't Sleep...thought I would write...But I don't really have anything to say...
Oh my husband got his haircut..he looks cute :)
The kids were a little wild today, but we made it through...
I don't know why I can't sleep...I hate it...
I can't wait till Friday..It will be fun!!
Sat. is Valentines day...I don't think we are doing anything...it's okay though
I should prob. try to lay down and sleep...
Good night

<3

San Fransisco

Pretty Much my favorite place to get away. All the diverse people walking around, all the little shops to go to, I love it. My sisters mom and I are going on the 28th and I couldn't be more excited. I have not been there since December of 07' That is way too long.

We are going to take the ferry from vallejo to san fran so we don't have to drive across the bridge. Then we are going to go to some thrift stores..It's going to be fun!! I never really get to hang out with my sisters and mom all at the same time so it will be nice.

Anyways just wanted to say I was super excited...and hopefully the anxiety attacks will be non existent on that day..

<3

reminiscing

This is a ton of pictures from 03' to 07'. I was just looking at them on my computer. Thought I would share. Don't mind me back in the day, I looked funny :)



Suzanne and Cameron is 06'
Me is High School 04'
Me In High School 03'
Me a Really long time ago...I think 03'
High School 04'
Katherine and I cutting down a tree 06'
Me 05'
James and I first time going to beach together 06'
My super cool new family <3 06'
James Cameron and I 06'
James and I 06' ( He forced me to walk in the wilderness to cut down a tree)
I look funny with my rubber boots 06'
Funny again 06'
Cameron's first day of daycare 06' (Thankfully he didn't have to go long)
Little Tiny Leilani