Successful Parenting

Your Calling

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 05:44:00 +0000

So many times we wonder what we were put on this earth to do. What is our calling? We search and search for it all over but we just can't seem to figure out exactly what it is that God wants us to do. Well, there are some people that are blessed enough to figure out their calling and thus live a fulfilling life doing what God meant for them. However, there are also a lot of people who die and never figure it out. Attached is a message from my pastor to us. Hopefully it will shed some light on this complicated issue:

A Word From Pastor Ted:

A calling is something you discover, not something you choose. The word vocation comes from the Latin word for voice. Discovering it involves very careful listening. People will sometime speak about choosing their calling, but a chosen calling is an oxymoron. The whole idea of calling is taken from Scripture, where time after time God calls someone to do his work. The whole idea of a calling is that there is a Caller and a call-ee. You and I are the call-ees and God is the Call-er. God equips the worker and assigns the work. Michael Novak puts it like this, "We didn't give ourselves the personalities, talents, or longings we were born with. When we fulfil these gifts from beyond ourselves-it is like fulfiling something were meant to do. The Creator of all things knows the name of each of us, knows thoroughly, better than we do ourselves, what is in us, for he put it there and intends for us to do something with it. Something that meshes with his intentions for many other people. Even if we do not always think of it that way, each of us was given a calling by fate, by chance, by destiny, by God. Those who are lucky have found it". I pray that you continue to see how God is guiding you in your calliing.

I will be the first to say that it took me over forty years to figure out what my calling was. And sometimes you can have more than one calling because God can give you more than one trait that you can use for the better good. One of my callings is writing. Another one of my callings is managing projects. I know those two are callings but I feel in my gut that there is something else I am supposed to be doing but can't quite put my figure on it. Oh well, it will come to me some day, and if it don't I will just use the other two gifts I have received from the Lord. Have a blessed week.

-Pastor Ted, in Toni's viewpoint

On line School

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 08:46:00 +0000

I have been at Fort Hays for two years now, and let me tell you, this is an awesome school. The staff is always available to handle your questions no matter what department, and if you leave a voicemail message they have always called me back. I am married, this is my second marriage, and I have six beautiful children...the first five were all girls and the last one was a boy. And no, I did not intentionally get pregnant with my son. After fifth child I did not want any more children. However, the Lord stepped in and low and behold I became pregnant with my son. it was a boy. My husband of course was thrilled to have a little man around him now, and they are clones. My son tries to stay strapped to my husband's hip. My first three girls are 25, 23, and 19 and were by my first husband, however they have a step dad in my husband, so more love to go around. Besides, he lives out of state. My three babies are 6, 10, and 12. They are all extremely smart, every one of them and my seventh grader made the cheer leading team. We were thrilled because there was so much competition, but when they gave me the break down sheet of the total cost, which they did not reveal to me until the day we picked her up from tryouts, I almost fainted! But they were only trying out at this point so we would not know for a few days if she made it or not and needed to come up with the money. But, of course, the smartest girl in school, my beautiful and tall baby she made the team. Last year she made Valedictorian and received the highest achievement trophies in all subjects..Because they do so well in school, we allow them to participate in one or two extra activities, but it is so expensive. for her to be cheerleader, I almost fainted! I had no idea it was that expensive. Now she also wants to try out for the step team, which is another few hundred dollars, but something has to give because my ten year old wants gymnastics lessons and my son wants to take up karate and all of them need swimming lessons. Can you say, "Broke because of my kids? My husband keeps telling me to relax because God always pulls us out of jams and is always right on time with His help. We are active church members, I am on the PTA Board at my daughter's middle school , and am Room Parent for my son who is in the first grade and his sister is there as well and she is in the fifth grade. Besides, we are supposed to allow the children to specialize in anything or even try out out on anything because we are in scholarship mode. They all make straight A's but to get into a good college you need more than a 4.0 average. They were in girl scouts and I was a Girl Scout Troop Leader until I became ill about two years ago. Lastly, you should know that I have a very, very rare Cancer called VIPOMA. I am in and out of doctor offices and hospitals and there is no cure. Because it is so rare, only one in ten million people get it, they really are not focusing on a cure for it. I realized that when they told me that all they can do is "make me comfortable" and "take the edge off " my pain. It is excrutiating because I already have very bad back issues and the VIPOMA which is usually in the pancreas . So I hurt all over until I can take my medicine and it kicks in. I am only telling you guys about the cancer because I spend so much time in the hospital. But now I have a Sprint mobile card so hopefully I can still log in and complete my lessons on time. Well, as you can see I am long winded. I hope to make friends with all of you and good luck to everyone!Right now I am being seen by some specialists at the John Hopkins Cancer Research Center in Baltimore. I live in Atlanta, so it is very difficult getting the money to travel there. Okay, I will stop talking now. Good Night

Toni Braswell

Kill Them With Kindness

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:10:00 +0000

You can get more with honey than with Salt
Kill Them With Kindness

Last Sunday we had one of the dynamic, engaging and most spectacular Methodist Pastor that I have ever had the priviledge of hearing preach… Reverend Walter Kimbrough. From the time he steps onto the stage until the time he closes the bible and the preaching part of the service is over, he will have you so mesmerized with his message and the way he delivers it that you don’t want to take your eyes off the pulpit even to take down a few notes. Nevertheless, I was able to gather a few as I feel it is very important to not just listen, but to also take notes and embrace and understand the message the preacher is trying to get across.
We were very honored to have Reverend Kimbrough speak at our church on Sunday because as you can probably guess, he is busy, busy, busy. However, because my pastor is a mentored of Reverend Kimbrough’s he takes time out of his busy schedule every so often to give us a word. I have never been disappointed by any of Rev. Kimbrough’s messages. They just seem to just naturally flow out of his mouth and right to our ears.
In this particular Bible Reading and message, he focused on the words written in Kings2 6:8-23. What I got from the sermon is that first of all, when there are more of you than there are of an opposing group, why would you worry about them hurting you? If you actually outnumber them and are in the majority, you have practically nothing to worry about. Unless, you are fighting a fight you should not be fighting to begin with. You see, sometimes you will be somewhere you should not be, doing things you should not be doing, and that could cause you to lose the fight.
During that time, there were a lot of fighting among different groups and different cities. You can kind of compare it to the fighting that goes on today amongst not only countries, but among different religions, different schools, different cliques at school, and dare I say, even sometimes among church members. Thank God we do not have that problem at our church. I have been a member of this church for about two years and I have had the pleasure of watching its attendance. Now, we have grown by 28% and we are still growing. The word is out; Leland Qwest Methodist Church is the place to be!
Sometimes you will be asked to do something that you feel in your bones is wrong, but you do anyway because your superior told you to do it. Therefore, for fear of losing their job, they do as told. In essence, they are like robots. They don’t use their own minds and own brains, they just wait for orders and do as told. This may surprise you, but there is a higher power than your superiors. If you are asked to do something that you know in your heart is unethical, then you need to pray to your Lord God for guidance. I like to think of things this way, will what I have been asked to do or will do be yet one more thing I have to explain to the Lord at the Judgment Gate? I know he forgives our sins, but that doesn’t mean we should just go around and keep committing wrongdoing even when we know it’s wrong just because we don’t want to get fired and we know He will forgive us .
Something else I wonder about too is this, how long is my “good deeds” list compared to my “you should not have done that” list. I sure hope to God that my good list is a lot longer than my bad list!
Once you develop a close one on one relationship with the Lord, you will become more aware of what you should and should not do. He tells you when to go and when to stay away. As you grow in your one on one relationship, you will receive revelations numerous times and you know that it isn’t just a dream or just a thought that popped in your head because you have cultivated your relationship with the Lord and you now know how to listen out for him. Sometimes we do not get our blessing or make mistakes because we were too busy talking to the Lord and asking for things instead of just waiting to hear his responses. One word that I hear a lot when I pray sometimes is “Be Still”. At first I had no idea that it was coming from him or what it meant but overtime I learned. Basically it means “Be Quiet, Listen, and do not act yet”. Great advice.
Did you know that sometimes God will send you your enemies directly to your path even though you may be trying to avoid them? The question here is, “What are you afraid of”? As long as you have that connection with the Lord, you have nothing to worry about. God always has your back. When you see those people in the hall who does not like you, don’t turn your head----smile at them, ask them how they are doing-show some compassion for them because they obviously need Jesus. Turn the tables, treat them like a friend….a friend with a big “caution sign” on It, but treat them with sugar. Who knows, they may have thought you didn’t like them, or it could be some other silly reason, but as a Christian, you ignore all that talk behind your back. You try to win them over for one reason and one reason only; you want them to see what being God’s child and having a close relationship with him will do. They may think you are crazy because they know you know they don’t like you, but that’s their issue…not yours. As long as you do what you are supposed to, all will be well.
Well, that’s it for now. All of the information above was thoughts, ideas, and some were even direct quotes from the awesome Reverend Kimbrough himself. Let me also add, that although this particular blog entry focused on our guest speaker, Reverend Kimbrough, I still have to express my love and admiration for my pastor, Pastor Ted Rollins. He has done a lot in changing meand some of my ways. Pastor Rollins and the church congregation that has reached out to me (you know who you are) has helped me in my journey to obtain a close relationship with my Lord. I came in a lost and slightly confused babe, and now, even though I have this rare cancer, I have not lost my religion. I believe that even the cancer may have brought me closer to the Lord. All I know is, I pray all the time now, I listen for him to speak to me now, and I try to get my children to participate in church activities. My husband and I are also active members and have been for two years, although because of my illness we are not able to attend as many meetings or outings or volunteer work we would like.

Thank you all, for praying for me, and for keeping me going. Thanks to Reverend Kimbrough for making me realize all of the above through his sermon. Thank you, Pastor Rollins for praying for me, encouraging me, and helping me to find my way back to the Lord. Good bye for now. I love you all. Good Night.

He may not be there when you want him, but he is always right on time

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 05:00:00 +0000

I went to John Hopkins Hospital earlier this week and God had his hand all in it from the beginning to the end. First of all, we could not afford to go, the plane tickets were so expensive, but I was told by many doctors that John Hopkins was the best place to go for rare cancers so I knew that I needed to go...if not for me, for my kids. I want to be the one to raise them with my husband so i need to do whatever it takes to make that happen.

Back to the story...The Lord stepped in and made it possible for us to afford the tickets to get to Boston. It just so happened that my hubbie had enough frequent flyer points to pay for one ticket, so we only had to pay for one ticket..can I stop here and give God praise?? Hallelulah.

We arrived at the airport on time but for some reason Keith was hurrying and walking real fast. I was having a hard time catching up to him. Well, when we finally got to the gate, I expected to sit down and take a breather because the plane was not scheduled to take off for at least another twenty five minutes. To our surprise, the plane was almost completely boarded when we arrived at the gate. We were some of the final people to board the plane. Again, I can only thank the Lord for guiding us to walk so fast to the gate and not take our time and walk leisurely. Had we done that, we would have missed the plane because the plane was filled to capacity and there were people hoping there were "late people" because they were on standby.

We arrived in Baltimore, Maryland ahead of time by about twenty minutes so thank you to the pilot. He deserved all the credit. Those biscuit cookies they served hit the spot too. When we arrived, we rented a car, because the hospital was thirty minutes away from the airport. We did not know if we were going to have enough or be in a bind for the car, but we stepped out on faith.

Here is the best part, the hotel room we stayed in was one of the best hotels in the city. We had a one bedroom suite with a flat screen tv in the living room and in the bedroom. The shower got as hot as you wanted it to, no matter how many other people in the hotel had taken or were taking showers when you were. Wait,that's not the best part. We did not have to pay not one red cent for the hotel stay! We were there from Sunday to Thursday night and did not have to pay and were treated with royalty. You see, during my gynecology appointment a couple of months ago, my usual doctor was not there so the doctor who owned the practice had to give me my yearly exam. She was reading my chart and noticed that I had a rare cancer. She wanted to know more about it, which is usual because a lot of doctors have never heard of it, so I explained all the details that I knew about it. I also mentioned that I had been fighting it for two years now and had been to another cancer treatment center in Tampa, Florida on and off for a year and a half and they were unable to resolve the cancer. I explained that the doctors were now suggesting I go to John Hopkins Cancer Center in Baltimore and she gasped. It turned out that her sister had a son with a rare cancer and since they spent so much time at the hospital seeing him, they had actually purchased the suite at the hotel that they were staying at...near John Hopkins Cancer Center. She said that sadly, the son died, but that her sister would be so glad to let someone else with cancer have use of the suite. She contacted her by phone right then and there and gave her the dates and I was all set. We were in a plush, nice, comfortable, one bedroom suite and did not have to pay anything! I need to take another moment now to say "Halleluah". Unbelieveable!

Everything just seemed to fall in place, but then the devil tried to step in. When we arrived at the hospital for my scans, tests, bloodworks, etc. at 7:30 in the morning, the staff indicated that they did not have authorization from my insurance company to see me and that unless I paid out of pocket I would not be seen by the doctors. Can you believe that?? I took out my tablet that I right down all my phone calls, names, dates, and times in when speaking with people on the phone and showed them who I spoke to, when, and that they assured me last week several times that everything was all set. We stood there arguing back and forth because the scheduler said her notes said something different! I almost fell out crying. They did not care that I came all the way from Georgia. I begged them to please call Blue Cross and get another copy of the authorization (because I knew they had received one last week) and they said they kept trying but couldn't get through. They suggested I stay another week or two to wait on the authorization and have the tests done, but I could not do that. I have small children at home I told them, but they seemed content to just let me walk out of there. Even if I wanted to stay an extra day I would not have because my children were having an end of summer camp program that all three of them were participating in and I refused to miss it. I miss so much of their things by being sick and this is one time I would not miss it! I think I cried and cried, but not out of sadness, out of anger!

We went and ate lunch and went back to the hotel room. I spent the day in bed sulking and Keith spent the entire day in the living room working. It just so happened that I did not schedule the trip for the one or two days the test would take. That day I missed my kids so much and I swore that if this was a bust I was done with all of these hospitals. I would just live the best I could and leave it all in God's hands. I pouted and stayed in bed that entire day.

However, The test was scheduled for Tuesday, which as you know did not happen. I had scheduled our departure for Thursday night...something just led me to do that.

The next day, Wednesday, something in me told me to call up to the hospital and speak to Virginia as she was the only one that was really sympathetic. I called her and she said that they had been trying to reach us. That not even thirty minutes after we left Blue Cross called them and gave them full authorization to do everything they needed to do. (I guess the paperwork from last week got misplaced}. I was esctatic. I asked if it was too late to come in that day and she said yes, but that I could come in and have them all done that following morning. I needed to be there at 7:30 a.m. My husband and I could not believe it. The Lord works in mysterious ways. You see, had I had the tests done on Tuesday as planned, I was not symptamatic, meaning I wasn't sick, it was a good day symptom wise. You cannot get a true reading unless the patient is acually going through "an episode". My episodes usually last three or four days, sometimes longer. In between those times I have a few good days here and there.

Thursday morning we arrived at the hospital, had all the tests and bloodwork done and went back to the hotel to nap. Had I not scheduled our departure for Thursday instead of Wednesday like anyone else would have, like I started to, the whole trip would have been a bust. But God stepped in and beat that devil at his own game! We arrived at the airport on time, boarded the plane, and had a smooth ride home. I will say this one last time, because I am in awe of His power when you turn your life over to him. You see, because I had become closer to the Lord, and ask him and pray to him to use me to do His will and help me and my family in protection and everything else, I have learned how to tell when He is guiding me in a certain way or trying to tell me something. It is hard to explain, but I did not get it before. I did not understand having such a relationship with him before. I love him and all that he has done. But His Hand Was All In This Entire Trip. I Owe It All To Him and the People he put in my path, like the nice sister of the doctor who allowed us to stay in her room. She says we can stay there as much as we like, just contact her and let her know so that she can make the arrangements.

So, that is the end of this very long story. I hope that you can understand why I am still in awe of everything that happened. I Love the Lord. God is good..All the time!

P.S. Yes, we did make it to the kids program and they were so surprised to see me, especially my son. He screamed "Mommy", "Mommy" and I was so happy to be there. Details are in my next blog (smile).

Krystal and Arthur joined my church on Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 04:20:00 +0000

When I saw them walk in, I was very pleasantly surprised. They attended once before, but I thought Krystal was totally against small churches, however not only did they show up, but they actually walked down the aisle and joined as new members. This is such a big step in our relationship. Krystal is a total sweetheart and I see so much of me in her. My son-in-law has had a positive influence on her with her relationship with the Lord. Sometimes you need that extra push to get going. I hope that she will become an active member. I am attending the women's church meeting tomorrow and the president says she has a position for me. I was once secretary, but since my illness and all my hospital stays, I have been unable to fulfill my duties. I look forward to hearing what she has in mind for me. I really want to give more of myself to the Lord.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but Krystal is pregnant with my second grandbaby. The first was beautiful Arielle and I was blessed enough to be in the room with her during the entire delivery. Krystal seemed so calm due to the spinal block she received. I was shocked at how calm she was. She didn't even start moaning until it was about time to push. I had all six of my babies natural birth so i felt ALL the pains. I could teach a class on it. I also breast fed my youngest one, my only son, until he was two years old. This grosses some people out, but I decided it was better for him because of all the ads about the positive effects it grants. I even heard that in other countries, some mothers nurse their babies until they are four or five. I see nothing wrong with it, and like abortion, I feel it is a personal decision. I have no regrets. Now he just turned six. Now if I can only get him out of my bed and into his own room at nights.....that's been a battle and I always say, "Choose your battles" .

I Danced With My Granddaughter

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:36:00 +0000

Saturday, I danced with my grandaughter. This may not be a big deal to some, but due to my illness, I have not been able to spend as much time with her as I wish. She is two years old now and I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. I was the first person she looked at when she opened her eyes. I was so happy! She has truly been a blessing. My daughter keeps her dressed real nice everyday and she looks just like an angel. She is so pretty she should be on t.v.

Well, at the Pastor's appreciation dinner, I squealed when she, her father, and her mother came through the doors. I was so shocked they came.
I enjoyed their company and they got a chance to meet some of the church members. Keith and I also met some of the newer members of the church. We reached out to as many people as we could because as Leaders of the church, that is what you are supposed to do. We welcome everybody and tried to make them feel comfortable and not alone. Our church is diverse and unique. It was such an honor for our pastor to receive another aportment
to preach at our church. From time to time his mentor, Reverend Kimbrough who was our pastor when we attended Cascade United Methodist church comes in and guest speaks. I think he is coming soon, either this week or next week I think.He is our current pastor's mentor. If that isn't a sign that we are where God wants us to be I don't know what is. My children love going to church just as much as me and my husband. They do not complain, and even Little Keith gets excited about going to church. I have nothing but good things to say about Qwest United Methodist. I even adore the lead singer, Cynthia. My favorite song is "Smile", and when she sings it, it moves me to tears.

It was a shame that more people did not show up and it hurt my heart because as much as he, his wife, and their darling daughter sacrafice and give to the church and its members we should have had a banquet hall full of people. Well, one of the Leaders (The pastor's right hand man) approached me after church today and informed me that we would be doing a "do over" next month and that this time it would be different and hopefully more people will come. I definitely want to be a part of that. As a matter of fact, I think I will ask if I can plan it myself. As a project manager for IBM for fifteen years, I think I could do a good job of planning a special gathering for the pastor. As a matter of fact, I think I will ask if I can put the whole thing together. Yes, I am sick a lot, but I can still do a good job of planning the gathering with enough notice...he deserves so much more than what we had Saturday and I would love to take on the task of planning it. It would be a gift to him. This is a project, and if he accepts my proposal, I would like to be the project manager. You cannot have two cooks in the pot because en that I have got to spend more time with my older kids and grandbaby. I won't take nothing away in the form of time with my three youngest ones, but I will need to spend time with the others too. Plus, my little ones love their older sisters and adore their niece and little cousins. It's time for us to come together.

Imagine my surprise when I saw them in church on Sunday. And afterwards, they asked all the men to meet downstairs for a brief meeting, and my son in law went downstairs with my husband. He has even expressed an interest in joining the church and maybe even the choir. I really hope they join. I really do. I have signed Little Keith up to be baptized and I will send out invitations to everybody.

Should I be Upset or Just Let It Go

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 16:50:00 +0000

I need you guys’ opinion. I do not like to be upset or carry grudges so I want to squash this mess and continue on with my life. All of my friends and relatives and church family is aware of this very rare cancer that I have and the fact that I have to drive from Georgia to Tampa, Florida every three months. The last time I was in Tampa was two or three weeks ago. I had major surgery that included exploratory surgery of my liver, spleen, pancreas, stomach, etc. in search of the tumor however the surgery was unsuccessful and they could not find the tumor, however they did remove my gallbladder. Before I went to Tampa I begged my sisters and my mother to please come visit me in the hospital at least for one day because I was terrified and needed family there. Keith was by my side every step of the way and I do not know what I would have done without him,but no sisters, and no mother. My mother has illnesses of her own. She is in constant pain with her legs, back, and kneecaps so I totally understood that she could not take the drive to Tampa. I had spoken with my youngest sister and we agreed that it would be better for her to come around and help me at home versus coming to the hospital because I would need more help and company at home once I came back, so all is good on that point. She has not come around yet, but that is my fault, I am working on a schedule for all of this. However, my other sister knew how difficult this was going to be for me and I asked her to come but due to monetary issues she could not come, which I understood.

Fast forward to the week after I arrive back at home from my surgery in Tampa. I found out that my sister who said she had the monetary issues, her husband, my oldest daughter and her husband all drove to Disney World together to have some R&R. I spoke to my sister a few days before they left and she made no mention of the trip. To make matters worse, on several occasions while I was in the hospital I expressed to that sister that I wanted the three of us (sisters) to come closer together as a family because I felt that we were no where near as close as we could be as siblings. That was just my opinion, but I see so many other families who laugh together and take small inexpensive family trips together, etc. and I know that we could do that too. She promised me that we would work on our relationships once I returned from my surgery. Well, that is pretty hard to do when they are living it up in Orlando while I am recovering from surgery in Atlanta. Please don’t get me wrong, I think they all had a right to take a vacation to Orlando with their children, We all need to do more of that relaxation, what bothers me is that they did it the week after I returned which means they could have done it during the two weeks I was in Tampa and visited at least one day. It would have meant so much to me. I don’t know of any boss in the country who would not have let them rescheduled their vacation days two weeks ahead of time to visit their sister in the Cancer Treatment Center, but none of them did that. I am very hurt over this and I want to get passed this but need you all’s opinion/help on this. I text messaged my sister my displeasure with what they did and asked them to say Hi to Mickey Mouse for me.
My question for all of you is this…..Am I right to be upset, or am I wrong? How do I get past this because it hurts me to my core. I feel like I am just a piece of trash to them and that I don’t matter. What are your thoughts?

Reality Shows Enough Is Enough

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 16:17:00 +0000

Is there any end in sight to reality television? Don’t get me wrong, there are many reality television shows I enjoy watching, but the number and extent in which they will go to in order to be success and make money are beginning to get outrageous. One of the worse of these shows is called “Cheaters”. Cheaters is a reality television show in which spouses or significant others who suspect their mates of cheating on them hire private investigators on the Cheaters staff to secretly follow around and tape record conversations of the suspected cheater in hopes of finding proof that the person in question is actually cheating on their significant other. This show reveals it all! Hotel room visits, lying telephone conversations, romantic visits in the park, sex in cars, you name it, this show has seen it and shown it on television. The highlight to all of this is when the television show host actually meets with the person being cheated on and shows them footage of the proof they have on the person cheating. As soon as the footage is completed, the show whisks the person off to where the cheater is at with their companion. I probably do not need to tell you what happens next, but let me just say that’s when it gets juicy. There is fighting, hotel doors burst open with people naked or in towels, quiet intimate booths zoomed in on with bright television cameras. It is really kind of ruthless, but it does make for good television.

Some of the better reality shows such as American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and the Bachelor are some of the good, decent shows, but there are more and more of similar shows popping up on the tube. We all love a good reality show, but at some point enough is just enough and I for one say that it is enough. Please, no more new reality shows until we can at least get accustomed to all of the current ones under our belts and understood first.

By the way, in case you are all wondering, my current favorite reality show is Dancing With the Stars. It was once American Idol, but since Paula’s departure I do not find it quite as interesting. I also get upset at some of the people they pass through into the top twelve. To me, some of the ones passed over are much more talented than some of the ones who make it to the top twelve. I hate that!

My Kids Bring Me Joy

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 16:11:00 +0000

There are quite a few things that bring me joy. The sound of birds chirping, soft music, a good meal, a soft kiss on the cheek—these are just some of the things that bring a smile to my face, but the number one thing that makes me happy is watching my children play together peacefully in harmony. As all kids, they fuss and fight and have their disagreements and that simply irritates me, but I know that it is common. Watching them play together with smiles on their faces and enjoying each other’s company elates me to a degree in which I cannot describe. It is beyond comprehension to me how such lovely and peaceful children who thoroughly enjoy each other’s company one minute can appear to hate each other’s guts the next minute.

Growing up, I was the oldest of five and thus was always at odds with at least one or two of my siblings. My two sisters were close, my two brothers were close, but no one ever wanted to play with me. I don’t want to sound like a whiner, but that actually bothered me over the years. I eventually accepted it as something I had no control over and spent a lot of my time writing poetry, reading, and listening to the radio. There were numerous times I wished I had a twin brother or sister to share thoughts and feelings with but by the age of ten I realized that I needed to accept things as they were and be happy about it because there was nothing I could do about it.

As an adult I often reflect on the loneliness I felt growing up and vowed that I would do everything in my power to ensure all of my children always felt like they could talk or lean on anyone in the family…even me. I guess that is why it brings me so much joy to hear them playing and laughing together. Although they are five, nine, and eleven, they have a very good sibling relationship and truly enjoy each other’s company (most of the time). I watch them and rejoice as I know that all households and/or siblings do not have such a healthy and joyous relationship.

My Kids Bring Me Joy

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Home Based Administration

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 15:58:00 +0000

I am often asked what is the best way to become a virtual assistant or home based secretary. Many people are under the impression that working from home is easy and you get to sleep for the better part of the day and spend more time with your kids. I am here to tell you that those impressions are totally false. On the contrary, you may actually spend more hours working your administrative home business than you did actually going into an office. Mostof my days start before I wake the kids up to get ready for school and does not end until around ten or eleven o'clock at night. It can be tiring and draining, and some days you may wonder if you made the right decision, but in my opinion nothing can be more satisfying than working for myself instead of for someone else. I do not need a supervisor to pat me on the back because I pat myself on the back everytime I get a compliment from a customer. For the most part, I am in control of how much money I make because it is based on how much I work and how well I am able to attract more customers. I am very happy that I took the plunge and decided to work for myself. Although I do get to spend more time with my kids, it is a juggling act and is definitely hard work. That being said, this may not be the best fit for you if you are not self-motivated and have a hard time with dedication, but I believe that even if you do not possess those characteristics now, you will be more than willing to make the necessary changes once you feel the pride of owning your own business.

I Love My Church

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:28:00 +0000

I love my church. I love my church. I love my church. Did I tell you I love my church yet? Almost from the moment I walk through its doors, an overwhelming sense of peacefulness overcomes me. All of my worries are laid aside and I just bask in the love and good spirits of the church domain. I even love all of the people at my church. We are not a huge church, but we do have more than 10 members so we are not exactly a tiny church either. I guess you can say we are a medium sized church but to me it is just the perfect size. Everyone who attends is so open, free, caring, and loving. These people do not know that the people who attend and that are members at Leland Qwest were handpicked by God. It is no accident that we and others have stumbled into the church doors and decided to stay. I believe the Lord brought us all there for a purpose. There is something we can do, or someone we can touch to carry out the Lord’s message of peace and hope. I have never left the church feeling anything but pure enjoyment and excitement. When leaving, I am always on “fire” on the inside and continue to pray to the Lord quietly on the drive home. The choir is fantastic! The songs sometimes literally bring tears to your eyes and you can’t stop. The choir has been touched by Angels and know exactly what song needs to be sung and on what day. They have never let me down. Finally, let me tell you about the pastor. Pastor Rollins is one of the most dynamic pastors I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. You can feel the sincerity in his voice when he preaches the word. He is not judgmental and treats everyone with love and respect. He personally knows all of the members by name and has the ability to basically look into our hearts and minds to discern how we are feeling. His powerful words combined with a genuine love for the Lord, and a passion for his congregation brings all of to our feet time and time again. I spend a lot of time wondering how I can help in the church. There is a reason why God brought my family to the church and I will one day soon find out what my purpose is supposed to be. I love my church!

Home Based Administration

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:51:00 +0000

15 Minute Religious Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:45:00 +0000

Most of you who frequently read my blog may be insulted by what I am about to say, but I feel it necessary to set the record straight. As you know, I am a mother, wife, entrepreneur, soccer mom, sometime girl scout leader, and I am fighting a very rare cancer. I am also, for those of you who do not know, a Christian. A devout Christian and I love worshipping the Lord. I am not a Saint, by no means, but I do try my very best to live up to His expectations. I am telling you all this now because my Pastor has issued a challenge to us. My pastor has asked us to start giving the first 15 minutes of every day to the Lord. Give our maker, our forgiver, the one who gave us His only son to deliver us from our sins, 15 minutes a day to just be still, pray, talk to Him, and truly listen. When my pastor first asked us to do this—to accept this challenge—I was a little taken aback. I did not fear the challenge itself, but I was afraid that I might not be able to sustain the challenge and let myself down, my church, my family, and Lord. Then I realized this…These 15 minutes are strictly between me and my Lord. No one else needs to know anything about my daily conversation with the Lord. So if I go a day or two without keeping this commitment, the only people I would be letting down are me and the Lord Himself. I would never intentionally do anything to let my Father down, that includes my father in the living flesh, and especially my Father up in the Heavens. With this in mind, I decided to accept this very important, yet slightly intimidating challenge.

I have “signed on” for quite a few challenges before (including weight loss challenges), but I never won. Part of the reason why I never won was because I could never follow through to the end. For one reason or another I would always drop out of the challenge. I made excuse after excuse for why I could not continue in the challenge because I was so ashamed of falling behind. It was not until I began thinking about this 15 minute challenge that I realized that the only person I ever let down was myself. I may have fooled a lot of people, but the only people I really hurt and really let down was myself and the Lord. He has always had faith in me even when others did not…even when I did not. This time will be different. I am telling you all this, because my blog will no longer be strictly limited to parenting success anymore. From this day forward, you will start to see some blog posts regarding my 15 minutes with the Lord. This include articles, excerpts from our conversation, quotes from the Bible, etc. If you are not a Christian or do not believe the Lord is our Saviour and that God gave his only son (Jesus) to us for forgiveness of our sins (past, present, and future), then you may not like my blog as much anymore. I hate to lose any readers but I do understand if you are offended by religious posts that you will no longer continue to read my blog. Hopefully there won’t be too many of you leaving. For those of you who are staying, please feel free to ask questions or make comments about anything you see or read. I promise to publish all comments or questions to the blog so that everyone will know what everybody else is thinking or feeling.

The blog posts that pertain to the Bible or the 15 minutes I spent with the Lord will start off with the subject line of, “Toni’s Interpretation of the Bible -------“ For example, my blog post today would read, “Toni’s interpretation of the Bible—Psalm 3:4 which reads “With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears and answers me out of His holy hill. In this portion of the Bible, King David is between a rock and a hard place. David has to decide between losing his kingdom AND his life, or he would lose his son. He seeks help and advice from the Lord. I have been in situations similar to the one King David is rustling with. They might not be as crushing as David’s, but in my heart I was torn between what to do. What I need to remember and never forget is that I should always seek guidance from the Lord. I should take my problems to the Lord and truly believe in my heart of hearts that He will tell me how to handle the situation. The trick here is , YOU MUST BELIEVE. You cannot have any doubt, you have to truly believe that once you take your problem to the Lord and lay it out on the table, you are done. The Lord will handle that problem or He will tell YOU how to handle that problem IF you believe in him.

Let Go And Let God
Have a Happy and Blessed Day, and Enjoy Your New Year. May all your wishes come through in 2010.

Sincerely,
Toni

My Daughter Taylor

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:14:00 +0000

Taylor is a well-rounded fifth grader at her Elementary School. There are a lot of great things that can be said about Taylor as she has a good heart, a loving spirit, and really does not have a mean bone in her body. She is an outstanding big sister to her baby brother and baby sister and can be found assisting with homework and household chores almost every day of the week. At her church she is a candle lighter, junior usher, and confirmation class attendee.

On Wednesday, November 18 she was formally inducted into the National Honor Society's Junior Beta Club at her school. Taylor is a straight A student and was recognized not only for her academic achievements but also for her character and citizenship and willingness to always go above and beyond in school. She is also a cheerleader at her school and attends a special program sponsored by LockHeed Martin for exceptional students called “LM Smarts”. On Friday, November 19 we received a Gold Sealed Invitation formally announcing Taylor's invitation to attend the annual "Junior National Young Leaders Conference" in Washington D.C. The nomination indicated that "As a result of your outstanding academic achievements and demonstrated leadership potential, you were selected to represent her school and the state of Georgia at the Junior National Young Leaders Conference to be held this spring 2010 in Washington, D.C.” She was nominated by her current fifth grade teacher, her fourth grade teacher as well as the Principal.

We are very proud of Taylor for her performances in school, in church, and even at home. You could not ask for a more caring child. We have been blessed with her and cannot wait to continue to see her grow into the wonderful and talented young lady she will become.

Will You Be Allowed into the Kingdom of Heaven

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:50:00 +0000

Will You Be Allowed Into the Kingdom of Heaven?

Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness".

A lot of Christians are under the mistaken belief that by going to church and doing a few good deeds here and there that they will automatically be allowed into the gates of Heaven. Getting saved and accepting Jesus Christ as your savior is also not a guarantee that you will be allowed into Heaven either. In the passage above, it indicates that many people who arrive at the gates of heaven w ho have prophesied, cast out demons and even done a lot of wonders in the name of Jesus may still be told that they are not worthy of entering into Heaven. This can be a little confusing to most of us because most of us grew up thinking from childhood that if we are good, accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and become saved that we will undoubtedly be allowed into heaven. Throw in a few good deeds here and that would definitely solidify our entrance. This may come as a shock to most people (including me).

In our lifetimes, God will ask us to do various things for Him and in His name. That little voice that whispers to you when to do the right thing could actually be God giving you a command. Volunteering your time, spreading the word of God to a lost soul, comforting a loved one or even helping a total stranger—all of these could be God asking you to carry out an act in His name. God is a forgiving God, but when he asks you to do something you have to carry out that act the way he asks you to do it and when he asks you to do it. If you carry out his will whenever he asks then when you do arrive at Heaven’s gate, you will not be castaway as someone who never knew the Lord.

There will be a lot of people arriving at the gates confident they have done good in this lifetime and will be allowed into the Kingdom of Heaven but will be turned away because they did not do the Lord’s will. Are you sure you will be accepted into the gates of Heaven? Have you done everything the Lord has asked you to do? On judgement day, we will all have to stand at the gates of Heaven and be judged individually. The worst thing in the world would be to be told by the Lord, “Depart from Me, I never knew you". As of this writing I myself am not quite sure I have done everything asked of me…wait, I take that back. I am pretty sure I have not done every single thing asked of me but that was before I developed my own personal relationship with the Lord. I was a believer, Saved, and worshipped the Lord but it was not until recently that I began to truly understand what is expected of me and how to hear the Lord speaking to me. From here on out I will listen closely to that inner voice and guess what, you can too. It is never too late to change and it is never too late to ask for forgiveness.

If you are a lost soul, if you do not have a strong personal relationship with the Lord, if you are not sure you will be allowed into the gates of Heaven—I encourage you to join a church no matter how big or how small. Church is where I was finally able to truly cultivate my relationship with the Lord. I love my church, and I am sure you will come to love yours too.

Health Update

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:31:00 +0000

Hi--I know it has been a little bit since I gave you an update so I will try to briefly tell you what is going on. As you know, I was diagnosed with a very rare type of cancer on August 28 of this year. This cancer, VIPoma, only strikes one in ten million people. The only chance for survival is if they can locate the tumor and remove it. If that is done successfully, I will still need to be tested every few months for the rest of my life to check and see if the tumor has come back (which it usually does). So far I have undergone every type of CT Scans, MRIs, Radiation Scans, Colonoscopy, and Endoscopy Outpatient surgeries in an effort for the doctors and surgeons to locate the exact location of the tumour. All tests confirm that the nodule they see in my stomach is a Neuroendocrine Tumour, however we do not know for sure yet if it is "The VIPoma Tumour". Now it is like a race against time for them to find where it is located. I had an Endocopy procedure performed this past Thursday at St. Joseph's Hospital in which they thought they may have found the tumour, however they were not able to remove it because it kept "rolling into the lining of my stomach". So, here we are. They would like for me to give the doctor who performed the surgery on Thursday one more shot at retrieving the tumour. If he is still unsuccessful, a Pancreatic Surgeon ( whom Keith and I are very familiar with by now) will have to perform a more extensive surgery which will include exploratory surgery and a long hospital stay. Things regarding this cancer moves rapidly because of the urgency to remove it. One day I am attending a soccer game with the kids and receive a phone call while on the field to report to one of my six physicians or to the hospital the next day or day after.

The next oupatient surgery is scheduled for the week after Thanksgiving and we are praying that the Surgeon is successful this time. If not, we will have no choice but to go to plan B. I am passed the "Why Me" phase and the bitterness and the guilt. I now realize that God has something big for me planned. I know this because He will never put more on you than you can bear. Myself, my husband, and my children are all covered under a good Christian church with an open and outstanding Leader and we are committed to give of ourselves to the church as much as we can. We also wanted our children to grow up in the church and have their own one on one relationship with the Lord. It seems that once I decided to join the church and become more active is when the pains associated with this disease started.

I will beat this Cancer. I have to. I have too many people praying for me and too much to live for. All of my children and my grandchild need me. My parents are terrified they may be losing me. Even my grandmother and extended family members call and talk to me a lot to express their concern and love for me. Being in this church has been a blessing to me and I actually wake up thankful that I am able to go to church that day and praise the Lord. I feel so at peace when I am there even through the pains which are unbearable at times. I will be a living testimony to all of those struggling through and living with Cancer. In fact, once I am better, I may start a support group for this particular cancer, VIPoma . I want to get the word out about the symptoms and signs of this disease because usually this disease is not caught until it has already spread and it is too late. Too date, I nor my doctors have been able to locate anybody who is still alive with this disease except me. Yes, I do believe I will have a story and testimony to tell !

My Four Year Old Attacked In Face By Dog

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:55:00 +0000

Oh my God! When I arrived in the emergency in the room where my four year old son was being treated for a vicious dog attack. The dog had bitten my son in the face and it appeared the upper lip was loosely hanging on and there was blood everywhere? You could clearly see where the dog’s fangs had bitten my son down into my son’s face right up under the nose and through both lips. I was devastated.
It all started a few hours ago. I was having a procedure done at another hospital and my parents had agreed to pick up my son after school and take him to their home until my outpatient surgery was complete. When my parents arrived at their home, they took Keith down out of the Expedition and had instructed him to go into house while they proceeded to retrieve his two younger cousins out of the SUV. By the time my parents walked into the door (within a minute after pulling into the driveway), it was too late. Keith’s 18 year old sister was screaming that Keith was bleeding. My mom rushed over to him and told my father who had just walked in the door to turn around get back into the SUV because they needed to rush him to the hospital because he had been attacked by one of their dogs. On the rush to the hospital, my mom kept applying pressure to the wounds with a cold rag. Once at the hospital my mom called me on my cell phone. Not wanting to upset me because of a rare disease/cancer I was at the hospital for, she proceeded to tell me what happened and to hurry and get to the other hospital.

My four year old son required 14 stitches to his face. I believe I cried more than he did with each needle puncture to sew up the wound. The next day his face looked even worse. The swelling had set in and he did not look anything like the handsome young man of a day before. He looked so bad that his two sisters (eight year old and ten year old) could not bear to look at him. They cried and cried. He looked like he was in soooo much pain. The swelling started to go down by day 3, but we still had to try and keep the stitches clean. The stitches were removed by his pediatrician ten days after the attack. During this time we had numerous churches and people praying for him. Today if you were to look at him, you could not tell he was attacked. He still has scars but I am praying that they will completely go away. To be honest, I believe he is healing rather quicker than anybody ever expected. As for the dog, he was taken away by animal control, tested for rabies, and put to sleep at the request of my parents. They loved that dog and it hurt everyone to see him put down, but how can trust the animal after he has shown such aggression towards a child?

He's Going to Pre-K

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:42:00 +0000

I finally found a preschool that I am comfortable with and my son is scheduled to start there on Monday. Please excuse me while I jump from joy!!! I love having him home with me, but we both need a break and he needs to be learning and praying and this school is a faith based school so they pray every morning and every afternoon. The classrooms are school...only ten kids per class..and it is clean and all of the staff, the directors and teacher are all intelligent and gracious. He will only be going for four hours a day, but that is good enough for now...You can learn a lot in four hours, plus he will be able to play with friends both inside and outside and work off some of his energy.

On the other hand of this,the four hours a day will give me the opportunity the keep the house clean without my four year old messing it right back up, I can go grocery shopping without having to put him in one of those dirty old car carts that all the kids love to ride in (and those carts are very hard to turn), etc. I am looking forward to Monday, I just hope my son is too. If we can get through it without kicking, screaming, begging, and saying, "I promise I'll be good...just to make me go to school." it will be awesome.

My Four Year Old

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:07:00 +0000

My four year old is driving me crazy. No, really, really crazy. He can be the sweetest little boy at times, but most of the time he is an over active, overly imaginative, creative, jumping, kicking, whining, crying, whining, demanding, hungry mean machine. He does things just to see how far he can push my buttons and at first I just sit there and occasionally threaten him with a time out or a spanking or a timeout in his room alone…and for a minute he may get quiet until he realizes he would rather take his chances and just scream at the top of his lungs while looking at me. That is when I have to take action.
The fact that he is home with me during the day now instead of in pre-K makes things a little worse. He needs to be in a school environment at least for half a day learning and growing with kids his own age. The problem is I have not been able to find a free pre-k program in our neighborhood in which I can pick him up and pick his sisters up on time as they both get out of school at the same time. So, I would end up paying a late fee to one of the schools which I cannot afford. So I keep looking for a pre-k or church pre-k program to place him in. I am trying but you know for yourself that you can’t just put your child anyplace. You need to check and double check the place out to make sure that your child is in a good place.
Placing Keith Jr. someplace where he will be able to grow and where he will feel comfortable is going to be a challenge. He is a spoiled momma’s boy but once he gets used to a place he thrives but he problem is it usually takes him a while before he gets to the thriving point. I could put him where he was last year up until I lost my job but I cannot afford it. However, maybe I can call and see if he could come three days a week or ½ days and see if I can get a break on the tuition if I do. Another option is to place him in the preschool where he went to for summer camp. That is an option, but my favorite option would be to just place him with our church. He knows the teachers at the church and they know him. I would feel comfortable with him there and it would help thatI I would be volunteering at the church sometimes. Problem is, the daycare/prek program at the church has not started yet. Maybe I should just ask the Pastor what is needed to get it up and running. Maybe I can help make some calls or something. Yes, I think that is an option. I will call the pastor to see if I can do anything to help open te the prek doors soon, and I can check into the summercamp he went to to see if they would take him in as a pre-k person, I could offer my services to help….or I can just keep looking around in the neighborhood. OK…I think I know where to start. I will keep you updated as to the progress.

Time at Grandma's

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:50:00 +0000

It is after one in the morning and I can't sleep. Insomnia has been a part of my life for almost a year now. The only thing that helps is the ocassional ambien. I have had this horrible headache across my forehead for three days now and nothing except pain medication eases some of the pain, but I do not like taking medicine so I mostly suffer through it. I have an appointment with the oncology surgeon on tuesday so we should have some more answers and a surgery date then. I am so weak all of the time now. I made hotdogs for the kids for dinner which they did not mind, but I feel a little guilty. I will really try to make that homemade spaghetti and meatballs with garlic toast for them tomorrow.

I visited with my parents today much to the delight of my little ones. They had been asking all week to go over there so I took them there with the intention of only staying about fifteen minutes, but it actually turned into almost three hours. It was a nice visit, spending time with Mom and Dad is always nice and I wish I could do it more often. The only problem is that my two year old niece bites my kids and my two year old nephew throws things at them. My mom watches them for my sisters so whenever I drop by with the kids after school they are there. The funny thing is, my kids still love to be around my niece and nephew. They talk about them all the time. I also watched my granddaughter for a few hours tonight so my son-in-law could take m daughter out to dinner for her birthday. She is getting so big and is forever cute. Happy Birthday Krystal.

Vipoma Diagnosis

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:13:00 +0000

I am numb. I guess that is probably the best way to describe my feelings right now towards my recent medical diagnosis. After months of diarrhea, weakness, weight loss, back and stomach pain, etc. I have finally been given a definite diagnosis for what is wrong with me. I have been diagnosed as having Vipoma. Never heard of it? Join the many doctors and other medical professionals who have been in practice for decades who also have never heard of it. This disease is very rare and affects 1 in 10 million people. Yes, you heard right…one in ten million people. My Endocrinologist, who happens to be one of the top fifty in his field here has only encountered this a few times in his entire thirty plus years of practice. One of his nurses told me that she has been working in his office for nine years and that this is the very first time that office has encountered anyone with this disease. There is no mistake, they have run test after test after test and even repeated some of the tests just to be sure…it is definitely Vipoma.

From what I understand, this is a very rare cancer that usually originates in the pancreatic area. Chances of survival are greatly increased if they can find the tumors and remove them. The problem is, although they know for sure they are in my body, they do not know exactly where they are. Scat scans, radiation scanning, etc. have not been able to show where they are, but what it did show was another problem that I apparently have….Gallstones..one of which has calcified. I don’t really know what a calcified Gallstone is, but I do know that the doctors are wanting to remove those gallstones as well, but their priority right now is to find the Vipoma tumors and remove them. At this point I am told the next step is surgery, however the surgeons are in discussions as to how to proceed with that. Did I mention how rare this is? I am told to be patient and that they are aware of the urgency of the situation but that is very hard to do when I do not know what to expect next. Doing nothing is not an option as of course if you do not remove these tumors it is fatal. However, for what I have read, even if you do remove the tumors, there are no guarantees. I read somewhere that your chances are greatly improved if they can remove it, but that by the time symptoms present themselves it has normally already spread making your chances not so good. The survival rate for this does not seem to be really good, but I have a LOT of people praying for me so I am hopeful.

I just wish I could speak with someone who has this and is living with it. Someone who can tell me that there is a LOT of hope and that though most people do not make it, there are a LOT of people who do. But I cannot find anything like that out there on the internet, not in the forums, anywhere. So I wait, and pray, and enjoy as much time with my kids as possible. I am scared if you can’t tell by this posting…I am very scared. I have hid this diagnosis from my three youngest children (ages 4, 8, and 10) because I do not want to scare them. It just doesn’t seem fair to put something like this on them when they are working so hard in school. I don’t want them worried and I don’t want them to cry. If there is anybody out there who has this, or know of someone who has or had this, please let me know. I could really use to hear from someone out there who knows something about this. Thanks for listening.

My Tween wants a Cellphone

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:56:00 +0000

I didn't have a cellphone until I was well into my twenties, had a job, and a couple of kids. However, times have changed and with the change has come the need for us to consider allowing our Ten year old to keep a cellphone in her purse for emergencies. Yes, I know that although "emergency" is the intended reason for the cellphone, she will probably use it to call her dad, her grandmother, etc. The good news about that is, there is a cellphone made especially for kids that you can program yourself to only be useable by the child during certain hours which means the phone will not be ringing during class time. Also, you can set a limit on how many minutes per month the child can use it, and get this....it comes with a GPS so, if heaven forbid you do not know where your child is, or cannot reach them, the GPS will allow you to find them....what parent can't use that? Another good part about these phones is that they are NOT toy phones, and are not cheapos..For example, the phone I just bought my daughter is pink, pretty, and a Sprint phone. The plan I purchased meets my budget and includes unlimited texting. Trust me, there are plans available for ANY budget. I prefer the piece of mind that allowing my daughter to carry a cellphone brings. Plus, when she is at a friend's house she texts me constantly so I know exactly what she is doing. :)

To find out more about these great cellphones for kids, visit the webpage below...

http://www.kajeet.com/antoinette

children with Autism

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:30:00 +0000

I gave birth to six beautiful children and none of them had autism, however I always count my blessings because I know that odds are any one of my six children could have been born with autism. What is autism? I don't know very much about it but from what I hear it actually makes children who are exceptionally gifted and bright appear to be children with learning disabilities. This puzzles me because looking at these children they appear they same as any other, however the only difference I see is in regards to how they interact with others. What is being done to identify autistic children earlier on so that they can receive the proper care they need? What are some of the signs we should look for in autistic children...how can I be sure my child is not autistic? Is there a special program out there that will come into your home and test your child for autism? What happens if the tests prove that he is indeed autistic? What happens next.? As you can see, I have tons of questions. If anyone out there knows anything about autism and how to test your child for autism and how to get help if needed, please let me know. All comments welcome.

I Hate being Unemployed

noreply@blogger.com (bizybee06) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:34:00 +0000

I have been unemployed now for five months, and I absolutely hate it. The hardest part is actually wanting to work but not being able to find a job. I came down off of my high horse several months ago and stopped expecting potential employers to pay me what I was making at my last job (which was $53K annually). I even took a notch lower and stopped asking what I felt I was even worth, yet to this day I still have had only one prospect and after two interviews I received no further phone calls. So, here I sit day after day after day applying for jobs and hopefully something will pan out soon. As I write this I feel both silly and calmer because at the start of this blog I was slightly enraged and depressed. I have two daughters in Girl Scouts and a son in Soccer and with school just started back a month ago, I am having to come up with $20 here and $30 there to pay for school activities and extracurricular activities. Before I would just write the checks and not even give it an after thought, but now that I am unemployed it is extremely difficult to come up with these funds. I try to hide the fact that I am struggling from my kids, so I borrow the money and pray that either a job comes through or I will be approved for unemployment so that things will get a little bit better. I know that there are worse off people out there in the world, but I never dreamed that I would be in this bad of a position…ever. It is very humbling.

On the flip side of this, I have made some changes that will benefit us even once I find a job such as shopping at thrift stores, using coupons, budgeting funds, cooking meals more at home, paying closer attention to nutrition, etc. Even after I find a job I know that I will continue these new habits just because they are good habits to have. No longer able to afford to order delivery pizza as much, my kids look forward to and even have a song they sing when they smell pizza cooking in the oven. (Tonight it is Digiorno's Pepperoni Pizza). Awwww….the pizza is almost done now and here comes my kids singing the song down the stairs…”Mommies, cooking pizza…Mommies cooking pizza….Mommies cooking pizza..” Hearing them so happy has already lifted my spirits and makes my problems seem minute…if even just for tonight.