and now i'm gonna spoil you

sweet jennifer partin at meditations and musings gave me these. i just can't believe it. my head is now the size of my 17" tube monitor. yes i do look very funny but i'm glowing so brightly ;)

I now bestow these uplifting awards to my friends: FRAN ANG KATHY TERI JENNY

MARIA MIDWESTNEST cheryl abby bethanne BEV & debbie

may God bless each one of you real good!

i am spoiled rotten!

THIS CAME FROM SWEET JENNY HOPE!!

the good Lord knows how thankful i am for you.

every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. james 1:17

i gladly pass this award to a few wonderful ladies that are in my blog life that without their daily dose my life would just not be the same.

so to maria - jubilee on earth and

debbie - justmythoughts and

cheryl - profbaugh and

nancygrayce - toowonderfulforme

you are now recipients of daily dose. hugs ~janel

Happy Birthday To My Emily!

My Sweet Emily ~

You were born that sweet day January 18, 1986. Funny you were born in winter but your heart has always been a summer girl. I prepared so much for your arrival but with all the preparing I did I had no idea the love that I would feel in my heart for you. I totally fell in love with you. Holding and taking care of you was all I wanted to do. Everything you did was so wonderful. I looked at every first thing you did with amazement. You were my first, your firsts were my firsts. You were my beautiful blue eyed curly haired blond girl that had my heart. I watched you grow into a curious sensitive girl who at a young age had a sense of fairness and justice. Your tender heart was smitten by all the little creatures you had. You were in love with every one of them (except chico, poor thing). I would watch and listen to you play the piano with admiration for all your hard effort. You played beautifully. I know it was not your favorite year but homeschooling you in 6th grade was my favorite because you were home with me everyday. You hated to start school each year and I hated to send you. That was your Igor year. You had such a creativity with things that you tackled with your grandma's help or by yourself that were beyond your years. You and Jordan were good buddies. Partners in crime. I know crimes were committed only you and he know about to this day :) . You finished things you started. Taking over the yearbook was such a big task but you did it. Later, watching you really like volleyball was a new joy because you had a sport that was all your own and you really played well in spite of everyone. I'll never forget watching you back out of the driveway with your fresh drivers licence, tears in my eyes, knowing I had to let you go because you were growing up and there wasn't anything I could do to stop you. I had to let go and that was the most unnatural thing I ever had to do in my life. You and I know that is still my problem. Getting your first job was another proud moment. You getting employee of the month 3 months in a row made me so proud but in my heart of hearts I knew you had a hard work ethic. You paid for your own first car, $5000.00, and never missed a payment. You watched your spending (i won't mention the 1,000 text messages :) because you paid for those too. You always wanted to be independent. Seeing you fall in love and give your heart away and get it broken is something no mom is ready for and I wasn't. I wanted to protect you and I couldn't. Your heart is your biggest asset. Your tenderness for the young and old is the most beautiful thing God himself has placed inside you. It is His gift to you and us and the people you come in contact with. Now you have Jack. I know the love I felt for you 22 years ago, you now feel for him. Your beautiful heart full of love will show him the way. The love chapter in I Corinthians, your favorite, shows what importance you place in your heart for love. A tender heart is better than a heart of stone you will show him that. The good in you, your justice and fairness will teach him to respect others. Your hard working values will teach him to try hard at all the things he attempts. Your easy going spirit will allow Jack to not be afraid to fail because you will be there for him, loving him through it all no matter what. You are and will forever be his biggest fan. Our time together has gone by so fast. I have my regrets. I certainly wasn't the poster child for a perfect mom but this I know, I love you Emily on this day, your birthday, and every day of your life, no matter where you are, or what you are doing, or where we are in our ever changing relationship. I hope some of the things I taught you you will always remember and pass along to Jack. God will never let you down. Faith and prayer will get you through lifes toughest times. When God gives us a no it is only because He has a greater yes. He knows what's best for us more that we do. You are in my heart forever. I love you more than words can say. ~ Mom

a ready defense or not

i want a do over. yesterday, i was in a florist by my house. it is not just a typical florist. it is a beautiful place, really kind of trendy. you can not only buy beautiful flower arrangements, but beautiful things for your home and garden. it is run by a family and in particular a beautiful 40 something woman who is always behind the counter. i remember her from past purchases. she sees a gazillion customers and i'm not in there but a couple times a year so i don't think she remembers me but she may now. anyway, i had just come from the cemetery right down the street. i was checking on my dad, his birthday was day before yesterday, he would have been 89. i wanted to get a grave blanket for a while now and had not done so. i didn't want to duplicate anything my sister or brother had already done so i went to the cemetery first then to the florist. my emotions were raw. i thought i composed myself enough, so i went in. i walked in and passed a stand of garden tiles with sayings on them. the word prayer was on a lot of them. i decided i would buy one of these too.

that is one thing i cherished was hearing my dad pray. here is just an example of answered prayer. within the last 6 months before my dad went home he prayed as he lay sick on the couch that my brother's sudden back pain would go away so as to let him be with his congregation that evening. we didn't know that he prayed that. suddenly my brother left the table and went to the bathroom only to pass a kidney stone. he came out, gave us his happy report. the sudden back pain had a cause and it was a kidney stone (he showed us his proof) and it is now gone. dad told him what he had just prayed.

i walked in and said i'm the one who called about your grave blankets....tears began to flow....she handed me a kleenex...told me it's ok to let it out... we talked a little....she rang me up and i said "i also want" i could only point to the garden tiles display ....she understood and rang that up too. she walked me out and we stopped to pick up the tile. i noticed she was wearing a beautiful pink ribbon around her neck with a beautiful cross hanging. the tile i picked had a cross on one side "God answers prayer" next to it. i spoke of my dad and how i missed hearing him pray. she said wow if he is up in heaven tell him he has to get us up there. i was taken back because i never quite heard that approach. a loved one already there gets us there? by then we were nearly out the greenhouse door when i told her i know how we get there and it's only by the blood of Christ. i'm not sure how that registered with her. somewhere in there i said we have a personal relationship with Christ. but what i'm about to say is that i choked. as soon as i knew where the conversation was going and my obligation to speak i was excited but inside i choked. here this beautiful woman who wears the symbol of salvation, a cross, and hadn't the faintest idea about how we get to heaven and hear i was choking and wanting to go meet my daily obligations.

if it were my dad he would have taken as much time as he could until she was sick of him. he was mr. outgoing. loved to talk to anyone about the Lord. this means eternity for her. i have to go back. these moments are what i must be ready for. i may or may not be able to recreate this moment. it was a gift from God. she could be dead as i type this. no drama intended, it could be true. even if she is alive she is dead in her sins. she really is clueless. she made that clear to me and i'm sure i did not make salvation clear to her. so now i want a do over. i also want mercy for both she and i.

these things are just tests

i was put in a situation today that doesn't come up every day. you get these situations once in a while. you don't ask for these things in your life they just happen. ones in which you have to make fast decisions right on the spot. you have to rely on the recommendation of a professional, your spouse's needs are at stake, your own gut feelings and prayer. i had one of these today. one of life's little tests.



the day started out normal enough only to end up in the oral surgeon's office. my husband had to have a tooth pulled that was probably the culprit of his sinus hurting. it was just that the anesthesia didn't take after 3 shots so they needed to sedate him. i know. it happens every day, it's safe. i'm just one of those people that don't like suprises. they called me in and told me what was happening. i had a pit in my stomach when i walked in (that's me). i would have liked to leave and get a second opinion (that's me) but my husband was in a lot of pain. he needed this taken care of now.


so i did what i do. i got on my cell phone and called mom. i hadn't let her know where we were going or what was going on. mainly i wanted to ask her to wisper off a prayer. she did NOT answer the phone. i was stumped. why not. i was left alone to sit in the waiting room with my thoughts (mostly fearful of what if this, what if that). i know your saying it is only a tooth. i know it's only a tooth. so when my call failed, my heart said you don't need to talk to mom you have all you need right here. you are not alone I AM with you. He was. everything went fine. lesson learned......again.

randomness of everyday stuff

1. our health is much, much improved, praise be to God for his mercy.

2. with the michigan primary election on the 15th our phone not only rings off the hook from telemarketers but now presidential candidates. we've had 2 tonight mccain and romney no huckabee yet. i feel important. we did work for the bush campaign. we did parking lot duty and were awarded standing room next to the stage.

3. my grandson was in his jumper thing hanging in a door and i was on the floor not paying attention to him looking at a magazine when he started to laugh hysterically at me flipping the pages. of course i flipped and flipped and flipped.....his laughter made my day.

4. carry-out tonight was fish and a baked potato...i knew you were wondering.

5. i still have Christmas returns...ugh. tomorrow!!!! i will get this off my list, after breakfast.

6. i feel bad for marion jones, olympic gold medalist, who will have to go to jail for 6 months for lying. i can think of some of our past presidents who never had to spend time in jail for lying.

7. the jehovah witnesses have visited my home twice in the last month. it must be the crosses on the front of my house. both times i did not open my door. today it was when i was feeding my grandson and put him down to see who was at the door. i was mad.

8. i am taking the puritan reading challenge, along with my husband. you can read about it at
jenniferpartin.blogspot.com. i was smitten when i read they wrote not for head knowledge of the word but for it's practical application.

9.i wish it would snow here in michigan because things look dirty and grey.

10. last but not least i was given an award from jenny hope that made my day, again! thanks jenny.


love to you all from michigan ~janel

M*A*S*H

our house feels like a mash unit. the couch is covered in bed pillows and blankets. the t.v. tray sits next to it with the thermometer and slurpee. the frig is stocked with juice and pop. popcicles are in the freezer. the kitchen counter displays the motrin, tylenol, my antibiotics and now my son's who just was diagnosed with bronchitis and beginning pneumonia. he has horse pills to take twice a day and no work for a while just fluids and rest. i just bought him a new motor trend magazine so he can get himself geeked for the auto show he will probably attend. this is a bummer.

we don't know why the Lord lays us up for a time. we don't like it. we just have to have faith it is for a reason and quiet our hearts to be open for Him to speak.

mexican carry-out and antib* both are therapeutic

i've got a bug. don't really know if it is bacterial or viral but i'm on antibiotics. i'm taking azithromycin z pack and i don't think it is helping one bit. i think i tried this antibiotic some years ago and had the same experience. in my gut i was hoping for cipro and i just didn't speak up. i hate when i do that. my sinuses are still hurting along with both ears. they feel like i'm wearing ear muffs. i feel the need to sleep almost 24/7.

i thought i was nipping it in the bud last weekend and thought i just had a cold. i bought air borne and sudefed and ended up at the dr. wednesday anyway. he did give me my first b12 shot, at my request. my temp hovers around 99 and my son has some form of this too with a temp of 102. it goes without saying i am well into grandson withdrawal and i don't like it one bit.

my good husband just went out for mexican at my son's request. it's kind of a drive but he feels sorry for us and didn't even hesitate. i'm getting the combination plate called the arizonian. you get 1 beef chimichanga, 1 beef & cheese burrito, 1 flour beef taco, 1 beef & cheese enchilada along with rice and beans for $8.25. we always opt for a bag of chips and mild sauce.

the evening will consist of tv and books and bed and juice galore. make that books and bed and juice. the tv will be occuppied by my husband. we have a special show running in this area all about the autos. they are highlighting all the auto's latest technology and auto bling-bling. my husband's job is related to the autos and he loves to keep up with all that. this too shall pass.

To The Ends Of The Earth - Hillsong