Then & Now...

October 2009

October 2010



October 2011

Joy...

Joy is defined as : A feeling of great pleasure and hapiness.

This is how I'd define it...



"No MaMa, E's!"...

As if he wasn't sweet enough... We've added chocolate :)

If you ask Eli how many M&M's he wants, he'll answer

"6, 7, 8, 9, 10! Biiiiig one, In da bowl!"

But there was a wonderful surprise waiting in his big bowl of "Ema, M's"...

"No MaMa!" (excited gasp) "E's!"

Jumpin' JellyFish...

 When Life Give's You JellyFish....

JUMP!

..... Just Keep Jumpin'!

Then & Now...

Love looking back at this face!



September 2009



September 2010



September 2011

Eli's Prayer...

Eli looooooves to pray, especially with Sunni, it usually goes somethin' like this...

"Dare Dod, Naa Nuu, Amen! Momma's Turn!"

Today was no different, while doing laundry I over hear Eli praying with Sunni, blanket in his grasp, and lounging on top of her. When you're two, laying on your dog is the coolest way to pray... When it was my turn I began with the usual everyday 'thank you's', and then Eli added some very special things we should be thankful for :)

"Dear God, Thank you so much for all that you do for us, for the food we eat, and for..."

"Iyee Poo Poo In Da Potty!!"

Change The World Wednesday (Beef)...

"The humane treatment of animals is just the right thing to do. If you have to explain that to people, well you're talkin' to the wrong kinda people." ~Will Harris



Beef : Hard to stomach...
(FYI, I've researched FACTS not opinions, although I do cast some of my own opinion, it should be easily recognized! This barely digs into the meat industry, there is sooooo much stomach turning info, but it's a start!)

Quite a few months back I watched 'Food, Inc.' (a documentary made to open our eyes as to where our food actually comes from). I was deeply affected by many things I learned. What hit me the hardest was the way our meat is raised. Growing up in what used to be referred to as "Cow Town", I just figured grass grazing cows were what I was eating. I was stunned to find out just how un-natural things actually are. After talking so much about the documentary, and all the "we gotta do something" speeches I gave, Adam watched, and as a family we decided that we'd only support those who 'do it right'. After lots of research, my conclusion was ~ I will never again consume beef that has been inhumanely raised and slaughtered, NEVER!

Did you know?

*Unless otherwise labeled, the beef you buy in your local grocery store is corn-fed, some places state it as if it were something to be proud of. Doesn't seem like a big deal until you learn cows aren't supposed to eat corn, God created them to munch grass & similar greens, hence the 4 stomach situation they have going. We force cows to eat what doesn't come natural, because it fattens them up quickly, and the industry is about $quantity$, not quality (or anyone's well being).

*In order to feed cows corn, they are raised in feed lots, also known as Confined Animal Feeding Operations, sounds lovely... This limits movement, forcing the animal to fatten quickly. Life in a feedlot varies, only a few things we can be sure of, cramped environment, living in pools of waste. Calves born on a feedlot are generally taken from their mothers immediately and placed in confined stalls, no milk for them, only corn. Male calves are usually sent off to be slaughtered for veal (if not born to a veal farm). Males are used for veal because before they reach a certain age they must be castrated otherwise the flavor of their meat is noticeably different, people generally do not like it, there for to skip the process it's easier to just use them as veal. Calves born or shipped to a veal farm can be either sex, and are kept in a 2 foot cell, they are purposely malnourished because "pale veal" (anemic calf) is the most popular.

*The cows un-natural diet and disgusting living conditions lead to sickness and disease. Because of the sickness created we must pump huge amounts of antibiotics in the cows just to simply keep them alive, not healthy, alive. The use of antibiotics also come in handy to fatten the animal up, about 3% more fat is obtained with use of antibiotics. An estimated 15-17 million pounds of antibiotics are used in our meat each year ~ Fear is rising that with so much overuse in the meat we consume means that as humans our bodies may not respond when antibiotics are needed.

*The average life span of a feed lot cow is 6 months, some are raised for up to 2 years, the average slaughter weight between 900-1200. 

*I tried to find an accurate number as to how many slaughterhouses we actually have in the US, but such info is not available. This is some of what I did find : Studies show that in 2004 only 3 companies control 80% of the beef in the US (a huge rise from the 1970's only 20%), with only 22 slaughterhouses doing the majority of the slaughtering. Larger scale slaughterhouses do approximately 306 cattle an hour, AN HOUR!

*This is how it's done: Cattle are 'stunned', an electric shock (or a blow to the head) that is supposed to leave them rendered insensible to pain, but often the shock does nothing. They are then either hung upside down to get their throats slashed, or sent down a cutting conveyor. If the cow is conscious, which is very often the case, they bleed out (which just in case you didn't know, is a slow and horrific death). The cutting conveyor? Straight from a slaughterhouse workers mouth whose position was 'second-legger' for 20 years, his job was to remove hoofs... "They blink, They make noises, The head moves, The eyes are wide looking around.", some survive as far as the tail cutter, the belly ripper, the hide puller. Many don't die before they begin the cut. Slaughterhouses are not only criticized for the animals welfare but also for the workers, it is one of the most dangerous environments to work in (306 an hour!) between the machinery and the disease.

*Fast Food Beef: is made up of a majority of 'fatty trimmings' collected from slaughter which until the late 1990's was only regulated for pet food, but the industry found a way to put in on the menu. They found that treating the 'trimmings' with ammonia killed the common E. coli bacteria ~ so now, BAM, 70% of the burger meat sold in the U.S. is made up of this 'fatty trimmed ammonia beef'. The largest market for ammonia beef? You guessed it, McDonalds followed by Burger King, and other patty serving fast food restaurants. Ooooh yes, and your kids cafeteria burger! So, let me get this straight, Mickey D's (and other prepackaged ground beef) is essentially drugged up dog food?! Another scary thought, what on earth are our animals now eating?!

 *Heifers who are kept for breeding can have 10-15 calves in her lifetime, when she can no longer breed they are slaughtered but are now "lower quality" and used mainly in canned stew meat.




My Point?
Don't get me wrong, I believe that animals such as cows/pigs/chickens were put on this earth to help sustain life. It disgusts me to know that for a very long time I have supported gutless greed driven companies. They have built an empire out of abuse, but the animals aren't the only ones being abused... it trickles down to us, the consumer. The beef industry as it is, is horribly destructive to our environment, to our bodies, and ultimately the future of our food, our kids food, our grand kids food.

Choosing to buy that dollar menu burger, or the 'cheap' beef at your local grocery store has revolutionized the way our food is raised/grown/produced/slaughtered, the same can happen when we all start choosing NOT to...


So, Where Do We Go From Here?
After doing my research I found that MY most convenient option was Whole Foods. There are many local farms that I could buy from, but it just isn't do-able on a regular basis (for me, but maybe for your family). Whole Foods has an animal welfare rating system that tells you how your food was raised.


*The beef I buy is 100% grass fed organic beef, supplied by White Oak Pastures in Georgia & is humanely slaughtered on site. Check them out for yourself : http://www.whiteoakpastures.com/index.html


Keep in mind that Organic meat doesn't necessarily mean it's been treated humanely, but you can beat that an organic cow has lived a faaaaar better life than the feed lot, organic means no antibiotics or hormones, so their living conditions must represent that. Also, Grass fed beef doesn't mean organic, but it does mean low saturated fat, high in omega-3, beta-carotene, vitamin E &C. So do you research!!


Buy smart, with every purchase you make you are casting your vote, your vote shapes our future.

Sundays Sermon...

Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This "letter" is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:3

Continuing the series 'God is writing a letter'. A letter written by George Washington before he became president was sold at auction for over 3 million dollars... How much would a letter from Christ be worth?

Today we heard Anthony's story. He grew up in New York, never knowing his dad, and never really felt affected by it until when he was 8 and wasn't able to play in a father-son basketball game. That day it hit him, I don't have a dad. His mother told him three things about his dad, his name, his career, and where he lived. Anthony attended a very strict church, strict to the point of uncomfortable (Mike made sure to let us know just "easy we get off" hahaha), through his church he ended up going to Spain. While in Spain, he met up another small church group from Puerto Rico, there for the same reasons as he. Small talk led to "tell me about your family", when Anthony told all he knew about his father the woman he was talking to said that a family that attended her church had the same last name. The woman ended giving Anthony the familys number, kinda as a just in case, this might be a God thing. Anthong called the family, and the more they talked the more information they gathered. and as it turned out, his father was in fact a member of this family. So, let's recap, never knew his dad, went to SPAIN with his church, met someone from Puerto Rico who knew his dads family! Whaaat?!
Long story short, Anthony did end up meeting his dad, but it wasn't a fairytale ending. Anthony says that he wanted to simply meet his father, he wanted to know who he looked like. He knows that God put him in that church, brought him to spain, and he was put on the path to meet his father. Life brought him to Florida where he met his wife, they have 2 children. Through everything Anthony says he felt God's presence.


When you take a look at your heart, when you read the letter God has written in you, when you look at your life and count your blessings, you can SEE where God has really made an appearance. He is there, and always will be.

Get your worship on!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PN-BMHi5L8

Then & Now...

Time Flies, Here's Proof...

August 2009

August 2010

August 2011



Change The World Wednesday (Grocery Bags)...



Between 500 billion and a trillion plastic grocery bags are consumed worldwide each year... WOW!

Considering the lifecycle of a plastic grocery bag, you use it for what? Thirty minutes? Transporting groceries to car, then groceries to kitchen? Ehh, some get reused in trash cans, or for dirty diapers, and then go to live for hundreds of year in a landfill. Between one and three percent don't even make it to the land fill, so they end up polluting the environment (often our oceans) for the next few hundred years they last. Even if only one percent don't make it to the landfill that's 5,000,000,000 floating around, going where the breeze takes them.

Here's your challenge: Paper or Plastic? Neither! Get yourself a few reusable bags, and USE them. If that's just too much to ask... atleast recycle the ones you consume. In front of every grocery store in town there is a recycle bin for plastic grocery bags, it's just a little not-so-in-your-face way of saying "Plastic Bags SHOULD Be Recycled"...

Just remember we are borrowing this earth from our children, leave it beautiful! To do nothing is selfish.

Sunday's Sermon...

We've started a new series intitled "God is writing a letter", it went a little somethin' like this...

"You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts."

(2 Corinthians 3:3)

We are letters from Christ. The way we live, the way we love others, in all we do, we are a walking message from the Lord. This is a tough thing.... if you could actually read me would I say 'love and forgiveness'? Do I display God's message with my life?

Being honest the answer for me is no, probably the hardest thing for me to do is to show forgiveness. I guess I feel like if I show someone forgiveness, big or small, it means that I'm allowing (what ever happened) to happen again, it's something I'm workin' on!

Get Your Worship On:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVTeIMursb8&ob=av2n

You Only Turn TWO Once...

My sweet not-so-lil' Boogie turned two! This is a once in a lifetime occassion, so we celebrated all week!

~ The Celebration Began With Dinner @ The Rainforest Cafe ~

Eli loooves animals so we figured the jungle was the best place to get the party started. It took a few 'thunderstorms' before he was able to soak up all the cool things that surrounded him. He really liked seeing all the animals come to life, just as long as we didn't get too close :)

~ Next Up, A New "Baatee!" (bike)  For Boogie ~

After spending a good chunk of the afternoon at Toys-R-Us, riding every bike they had available, we decided on the one bike that was sold at pretty much every store around, to add to that, it was cheaper at every store around also. So we bought Eli his cool new camera (the other toy on our list), and headed out to Target. Eli didn't have a fit when we left without a bike, he was worn out, and thankfully fell alseep in the car. I ran into Target to quickly get our birthday surprise, at an even lower sale price (SCORE!) while Eli slept & Adam waited. Quietly I put it all the way in the back of the Jeep so those beautiful little eyes wouldn't see it! When we got home, Adam unloaded the car, & I put Eli in his bed to finish his nap. Waking from his nap, Adam had a project going in the garage, and Eli went out to see what hims Daddy was up to, and that's when it happened....

"BaaaaTeee! Oooo, Baaaateeee Mease?!" Uh oh, he found his bike, there was no getting out of this one.... "MaMa, Iyee's baatee! Mease?" For about 15 minutes we tried to get Eli's mind off of the awesomeness he'd just come acrossed, but it wasn't happening, he just couldn't understand why he couldn't have his beloved baatee, and so he got his birthday present early. Needless to say, Daddy will not be incharge of hiding Christmas gifts, that's for sure!

~ Calling All Wild Animals! ~

Eli's birthday party was WILD! Jungle themed, with a water park set up in the backyard. Sliders, and chicken off the grill for all the wild animals to munch on. I made cupcakes for everyone, and ordered a personal monkey cake for Eli to have fun with (too bad it didn't actually look like a monkey, oh well). All of his friends came over to celebrate and have fun. He get's so shy around big crowds, so he hung out with GaGa a lot, but really started to enjoy himself when everyone sang to him. He blew out the candle three times, "Mommy mooooore hot!", and opened countless gifts with such excitment, giving me a big ol' "Cheeeeeeze!" for pictures! I couldn't believe we were celebrating our baby turning two?! I also can't help but imagine what next year will bring, three is going to be much different, he'll be choosing what we do to celebrate his birthday, but trust me I can wait, and if the clock would slow down just a tad.... 

"We Share The Same Soul, Oh Oh Oh Oooooh."

Boogie, my heart can hardly contain the love & joy I feel for you. You are the greatest gift, we are beyond blessed! xoxo

Change The World Wednesday (Kindness)...

"Make A Better Place, With My Own Two Hands. Make A Kinder Place, Oh, With My Own Two Hands" ~ Ben Harper

When I think of making the world a better place, I think of those "little acts of kindness". I pass up the chance to give little acts of kindness waaaaaay too often, and I pinky promise that I will work on that! We all should & here are a few ideas to start with...

*Smile: people react so much differently to EVERY situation when you smile.

*Be Polite: say excuse me, please & thank you, ALWAYS!

*Let A Stranger Go Ahead Of You: in line at the grocery store, if they have only a few items verse your cart full, just let them go, people are generally surprised by this "Are You SURE?!"... yes you're sure :)

*Help The Needy: the homeless have a bad rep, but remember it's not your place to judge, no matter how you look at it, you have MORE, more food on your table, more clothing on your back.

*Remember The Needy Are Everywhere: instead of selling your used furniture, or baby clothes & toys, find someone who is in need and just give them a hand.

*Be A Considerate Driver: you are behind the wheel of a 2 ton killing machine, proceed with caution!

On the environmental side of things (Duh, it's ME talking!)

*Buy Locally: support those not in big business, this doesn't necessarely mean just a farmers market, most of those folks aren't farmers, seek out a local farm & support it!

*Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: makes the world a better place for all of us :)

"Don't be yourself, be someone a little nicer." ~ Mignon McLaughlin

Need more? Thanks Oprah!

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/35-Little-Acts-of-Kindness

Sunday's Sermon...

"Go into the world and tell the good news to all creation."

Mark 16:15

Mike (Pastor Mike that is) gave us a wonderful visual of how just a handful of believers grew into the church family we have today...

"They got it." and then shared it! This one told that one, and that one shared with so & so, and they all spread the word of God's love and forgiveness, inviting everyone to join our family.

Imagine a family tree, each branch reaching to another, growing and spreading out its arms...

Like a tree, our arms should always be reaching out, always sharing the love God has for us all...

And that Jesus meets you where YOU are in life, no appointments needed!

Get your worship on :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9W-O2MUT5U

Change The World Wednesday (Recycle)...

"I Can Change The World With My Own Two Hands." ~ Ben Harper

This is what I am doing with my own two hands...

Judging by the 2 pizza boxes (Thanks BPB!) this is two weeks worth of recyclables.

No, we don't actually go throught this much food in two weeks, just that this is what was emptied out of the cabinets during this time period.

My community doesn't make recycling easy, we have to collect it and then bring it (yes, put in in my car & drive...) to my local recycling bins, about 7 miles away.

It will never cease to amaze me how, as humans, we are so greedy.

Almost everything we do is to look out for ourselves.

We work out countless hours to ensure health, We save money for 'the future'....

We put so much time, energy and resources into the future. But what kind of future is there?

We have no future if we have no Earth.

"A Dream We Dream Alone Is Only A Dream, A Dream We Dream Together Is Reality." ~ John Lennon

Dream With Me, Leave Something Beautiful For Our Babies To Explore!! 



Tuller'n...

The "Terrible Two's" have been pretty amazing so far....

Yes, there have been days were I have been brought to tears simply because he wouldn't just stoooop, and I have taken many mommy time outs.

Those moments of madness are forgotten when I watch in awe as a little mind learns, and experiences new things. You can't help but look at the world differently when you try to see things as your toddler does. Coloring has a whole new meaning :)

"Moooore Oppy Face, Meeease!"

"Iyee Tuller'n!"