Dear Mr. Trump, Based off your own words and the word of God, you are going to hell if you died today.

Dear Mr. Trump, 

Based off your own words and the word of God, you are going to hell if you died today. 

I don't know if you realize that or not. 

I don't know if you will even read this, although I hope you do. 

Because I pray that you see that you are praying to a God who doesn't have your name written in the book of life. 

I used to pray to God before I really prayed to God. 

I would thank him for his blessings. 

I would tell him how much I loved him. 

I would pray that he would do great things in my life. 

But I wasn't praying to a God who I had accepted as my heavenly father. 

Because I had never asked for his forgiveness. 

The bible says in 1 John 1:9  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 

Again, the bible says in Acts 2:38, Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

God tells us in Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." 

But Mr. Trump, in order to do Ephesians 4:32 you have to do 1 John 1:9. 

You see... God is a gracious God who loves you more than you can ever imagine. You know how much you love your children? Your wife? That is nothing compared to the love God has for you. But his love doesn't keep you from hell. His forgiveness does. And in order to be forgiven for something... I mean... truly forgiven.. you have to ask for it. 

Being a good man, a good leader, a good husband, a good father, a good brother, a good friend, and a  good president can't come without a good relationship with God. And Mr. Trump, because you haven't asked God for his forgiveness, you can't have a good relationship with Him. 

Our country doesn't need a Christian as president. 

Our country needs a disciple of Christ who  wants to direct our country back to Him. 

There are a lot of people bashing you for your statement. My heart isn't angry that you said what you said. I believe you truly believe that's how the whole "being a christian" works. My heart breaks for you.

I pray God convicts your heart Mr. Trump. I pray before it's too late.

**Video can be found here**

REVIEW: 30 Pokemon Pack - Mew and Mewtwo Plus Rares!

My boys are huge pokemon fans! 

I googled a couple of years ago "whats the point of pokemon cards"
before I spent my life savings on them for my kids new "hobby".

If you are wondering as well...

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, players build decks around their favorite Pokémon and then play against each other, sending their Pokémon into battle to prove who the best Pokémon Trainer is. Players can begin with theme decks—preconstructed decks designed to cover the basics of the game. Then, they can augment their card collections with booster packs that provide more cards, letting players develop more diverse decks. With thousands of cards to choose from, the game is never the same twice. The Pokémon Company International releases four sets of cards, called “expansions,” each year, so the game continues to evolve and expand for both players and collectors.

*Description courtesy of www.pokemon.com* 

Most of the cards we have purchased have been from Wal-Mart. I received from amazon a 30 pack of pokemon cards by GoldenGroundHog and my kids LOVED them! They cost half the price as Walmart and the pack happen to have 98% of cards they didn't have. (They have A LOT!) They came with 2 trainer cards, A damaged card, and a poison card. The kids loved this as most of the ones we have bought haven't had these included. They didn't have any XP's in this shipment which my boys were disappointed about but from what I am learning about pokemon cards is that it's a hit or miss with those. Overall, my boys seemed to enjoy adding these cards to their collection. 

You can buy your own pack by clicking HERE! And with amazon prime you get free shipping!!

#GoldenGroundhogMewMewtwo #pokemon #pokemonreview #amazonpokemon

My Faucet Extender Review

Right before Christmas I received this product. 

It's called the Faucet Extender. 

My boys are still little and are finding it difficult to reach the faucet to wash hands. This often results in poor hand washing. I've noticed over the past few months they have stayed more sick than previous months. So... I wondered if washing their hands were made easier, would it cut down on the germs? 

I quickly placed it on his bathroom faucet and asked him to wash his hands normally. He struggled as he stood on his tippy toes to reach the water. So I asked him to wash them with the facet extender on. As you can see from the pictures his feet are flat and he looks pretty comfortable washing his hands. 

All in all I am impressed with my new gadget. As a mom, I try to find products that make not only my life easier, but life easier for the kids. This product does that! 

You can find your own life saver, errr, faucet extender by CLICKING HERE!!!  

#faucetextender

Changes and Changes

We recently moved again and it dawned on me that I had never posted the old house. I plan to keep most of the same kind of decor but change things up just a tad here in the new place. I'm excited and ready to get my hands dirty. In the move I found a few pieces of furniture that I hadn't yet put some paint on so that will be happening soon! 

The old house was white. Okay, maybe white isn't the right word. 

It had white dirty trim. 

White dirty walls. 

White doors. 

White white white everywhere. 

After a lot of hard work, we made the place our home. 

Here are some after pictures! 

Our fireplace. I loved this part of the house! I never did get around to
changing out the picture in the middle. 

Boys bathroom. I found this towel hook at Kirklands.
We used it for mostly towels but as you can see it worked
fabulous for drying bathing suits too! 

The living room. The carpet was stained and a nasty brown but we were renting so nothing could
be done about that. Everyone has a treadmill in their living room/dinning room, right? 

Probably my favorite room to paint and put together. Anniston's nursery.
I made the bow holder out of a large picture frame and ribbon. I added hooks on the bottom
so I could hang her headbands. Turned out fabulous! 

Anniston enjoying her tee/ 

Hot pink dresser? Yes please! This dresser is not real wood and I had tried to paint it several times with regular paint and failed miserably. I used chalk paint this go around it turned out AWESOME!!!
I had an old canvas with a terrible print on it that I bought for $2.00 at Goodwill I painted white and spelled out Annistons name on. Used puff paint and glitter to write her name and called it a day. Total cost for dresser and canvas- $15.00.

Here are the before

pictures of the dresser. It belonged to my husband before we got married and aside from the knobs and it being ugly, it was a solid dresser. 

Please keep checking back for more before and afters from the new house! It's already full of so much charm and I can't wait to show you guys where we call home! 

10 years

Today marks 10 years since I married my husband. 

We don't have a love story that would be deemed romantic by facebook. 

We met and married within 4 months and some would say we married because I got pregnant. Truth is, we knew before then that we were going to end up spending our lives together. 

I married him before I knew his quirks. I married him before I knew he snored so loud that I would be awoken from my deep slumber.

 I married him because I just knew he was my one. 

We don't have a part in the 10 years that jolted our marriage so hard that we found each other all over again and came back stronger. We haven't dealt with any infidelity or falling out of love with each other. We are, and have been, just two people who got married because we loved each other and knew we wanted to grow old together. Truth is, everyday life has been kind of stressful. Adding 5 kids to our marriage has added stress that we have figured out together. We have worked through the everyday stresses, the hustle and bustle of marriage and we have figured out the quirks that some marriages dissolve over. And it's made us stronger. And more in love. 

Do I love him more today than I did 10 years ago?

You better believe it. 

He is my better half? 

Yes, he's the best part of me. 

How our marriage has worked for 10 years isn't a big secret or mystery. It's actually VERY simple. 

We love each other. And we work everyday, through the tiniest of things to always show love to each other. We don't take for granted that in the world we live in now it's acceptable to just "fall out of love" and divorce without any judgement. We know that it's easier to just leave when things get tough but we made a promise to each other 10 years ago that we would do this together. We promised to stick it out, fix broken things- not throw it away, and to just be there for each other. 

Happy 10 years my love.... Thanks for sticking it out with me. 

Rain brings out emotions

 It's Wednesday. 

Hump day. 

And it's raining. 

I know I'm not alone that rain brings out those depressing and/or sappy thoughts that you really don't like to feel. 

I'd never survive in Seattle. 

Today I'm thinking about how much has changed in the past couple of years. 

Two years ago I was deep in ppd. 

I was struggling to figure out who I had become and how to pull myself out of it. 

I was angry. 

I was sad. 

I was emotional. 

I was everything but happy.

PPD was really kicking my butt and I felt so alone. 

I was living in SC away from all friends or family that could give the help they so desperately wanted to give. 

But..

My best friend sent me a peace lily. 

Her card was simple. 

The baby peace lily. 

"My sweet friend, I hope every time you look at this plant, you feel peace and overwhelming joy. Read Psalm 18: 32-36. I love you. Love, Spoon" 

"It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. 

He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has 

made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet,

³⁶ 

    so that my ankles do not give way. " 

At that point in my life I didn't think God could fix the mess my life was at that moment. 

But I read the verse almost daily. 

And as my plant grew, so did I. 

Today, my peace lily is so big it desperately needs a new pot. 

And I am reminded that with each day I water and nurse this little buddy to great health, God is doing the same to me. 

When I forget to water it, it wilts. 

When I get to busy trying to keep my life from falling apart and miss my own spiritual watering, 

I too wilt. 

Not a baby peace lily anymore! 

I am thankful today for friendships. New ones and old ones alike. I'm thankful for those friends that are no longer a part of my life other than a memory. And I still pray for them. 

I'm praying for the new friends too. I want to be a good solid Godly influence in their life. 

And I pray for the friends who I haven't met yet. Friends that will be there for a season of my life that hasn't happened yet. I hope I am the friend THEY need as much as they will be the friend I need. 

As I get things finished up for our move this weekend, I find myself becoming overwhelmed with all that needs to be done and I so easily forget that these are blessings and meant to be loved and enjoyed. So today, I probably wont pack near as much as I need too but I will enjoy all the many blessings around me. Each box I do pack will have a little bit of love and thankfulness poured in it before it's tapped shut and labeled. 

Today, I will pass this peace lily, which sits on my kitchen table, well over 500 times.

And today my spoon, I will thank you, well over 500 times, for the reminder that Gods love is great. 

What I learned by volunteering at my kids school

I signed up for PTO when my boys moved to a new school. 

Yesterday I went to the school to help with grandparents lunch. 

All I had to do was sit for an hour and take up money from grandparents who have chosen to eat with their sweet precious grand babies. 

But instead of just seeing grandparents excited about seeing their grandchildren that day, I saw what I always wondered happened during school hours. 

I was hidden behind a wall so 99% of the things that I witnessed left me out of their view. I knew these same things were done daily. With or without visitors there. 

I saw the principal walking the halls and hugging every single child that she met. I don't know how she did it but she knew every one of their names and sometimes even details of their life which she also asked about. 

I saw teachers of younger grades walking their current class to centers, or lunch, or where ever and giving a silent high five to their old students as they passed them in the hall. 

I watched as children after children walked into the nurses office and heard her gently tell each one that she was sorry they felt bad. She did what I always hoped a school nurse would do since I wasn't there. She told them it was alright and tried her best to make each and every child feel better. Some left and went back to class and others waited for their parents to come get them. 

(And now I know why my kids like going to her office so much) 

I saw students helping other students. A tiny little girl who left the nurses office dropped her agenda in the hall way and without hesitation another child, probably no more than 2nd grade, came rushing over to help her pick it back up. 

I think all parents wish they knew what happens at school. I know I do. But what I want you to know about our school, Demorest Elementary, is that our children are shown love. They are shown gentleness, respect, and kindness. 

I wish everyone who had a child at the school could experience what I experienced yesterday. It was the shortest hour of my life and I left feeling so proud that my children will get to go there for the coming years. For the parents who can, JOIN PTO! It's not a burden! It's truly a blessing! 

It's like a tiny sneak peak at what your babies do during the day and it helps us all stay connected. I have met several other PTO members at meetings and working at the school on days like these and I have always left feeling blessed. 

To our principal, Dr. Yearwood, 

I have no idea how you do it. Some days I can't even remember my own 5 kids names and somehow you called at least 10 kids by the correct name in just one walk down the hall. You gave my son a hug. You didn't see me. You asked about his day. And you seemed genuinely excited when he told you he was having a great day. It was a total of one minute from the time you said "Good Morning Brennon" to the time you said "I hope this day gets even better!" but it has stayed with me for well over 24 hours. I smile when I think about what you do for these children. I wont tell you enough this year, or next year or the year after that, but Thank you. Thank you for all you do. 

To our school nurse, 

I talk to you way too much this year but I wanted to acknowledge what you do. I watched and heard you do what most moms want to do when their child starts to feel bad. You are gentle with them. Your voice never raises. (or didn't during my hour there) Sick kids are tough man. Perfectly well children who think they are sick (or sick of sitting in class) are even tougher. But you handled each child with such grace. I don't know how you send kids back to class not in tears but I think it's ubber impressive. I haven't figured out a nice way to say "You're faking it" so I'll be requesting lessons and taking notes this year because you are a total pro. 

I can't possibly address every teacher I saw. To be honest, I think I only knew 1 by name. (I'm horrible with names) but you guys rock too! 

I know everyone thinks their school is awesome but I really think ours is the best! 

And I had some pretty high expectations coming into this school from our previous one. (Which is the best school in SC)