I was tagged again by thehoffmanzoo so I will take the challenge and think of six more things that are weird about me.

1) I still try the hiccup trick my Aunty Elaine taught me as a little girl about drinking a glass of water with a spoon in it and holding the end of the spoon to my temple. I still don't get it but hey it works! ROFL!!! Kimmy, where did she come up with that one anyways?!

2) The feeling and sound of cardboard boxes being opened gives me the willies!

3) I fight my kids for my own piece of plastic bubble wrap so I can pop some of the bubbles too!

4) I eat a cucumber a day whole! (everyone had an intervention with me and made me give up a whole tomato a day since I was burning my stomach out.  ) Cucumbers were the next best thing.

5) I cannot stand getting a wet spot on my stocking feet or on my shirt right where the sink hits me when I lean over to turn the water on.

6) I am adopting our fifth and sixth child this year. (I don't think this is weird but everyone else does!)

If you haven't done it your it!

I know the Lord is moving in my Spirit big time right now. It always seems to happen this way. I feel reflective, slow my pace down and then the Lord starts speaking to me. I know I'm probably not making a whole lot of sense to anyone right now since it is almost impossible to explain in the human realm what God is in the process of doing within the Spiritual realm of a person. I can just sense it that I am ready to be put on the potter's wheel and be molded again.

It started this past Sunday when we were speaking at a church way up in northern Maine. I was really sick to my stomach and had to really struggle through just being at the service. I know I disappointed the church as this one always wants to hear me speak along with Eric about our ministry but, I just couldn't. I even showed up to the service in Jeans!!! Big no no as a missionary. Seriously, it was awful as I felt like I was about to lose my stomach at any moment. I barely made it at all! Eric had even warned the Pastor that I might need to lie down in his office. Not sure how he thought I was going to accomplish that one with four kids while he was preaching?! *lol*

Anyway, I kept praying that God would just help me through, put a smile on and be cordial until we could leave. I actually was fighting tears just because I felt that way with this church being like family to us and yet I couldn't fully enjoy our visit! I hated knowing I was disappointing them. To make it clear these were my personal feelings as I know this church fully loves and accepts us just as we are.

Worship began and I just felt as though I needed to do as the Bible says to praise Jesus in ALL circumstances. So with my feeble mind and queasy stomach I stood up and began to sing to the Lord. It is amazing how much you can put your infirmities aside while worshipping God! I also believe God specifically orchestrated the worship service with songs that just brought healing and comfort to my soul.

After worship the Pastor asked if there was anyone who needed a miracle to please come to the front so he could pray over them. Here's the dilemma... I'm the visiting missionary. Aren't I supposed to be ministering to their congregation not the other way around?! Oh, whatever. I have already lost my mind by showing up to the church in jeans and unable to speak so I might as well walk right up there and get prayed for. *lol* Anyone thinking humility here?

Pastor began praying for me and the Holy Spirit just started to begin His work in me. Like I said it's hard to explain. Pastor finished his prayer and then a lady (the one who led worship) said, "Pastor the Lord is not finished here yet!" Oh how I love it when there are people who are in tune with the Holy Spirit's prompting because she was right on! In my mind I was privately praying and pleading with the Lord to meet me there that morning. The lady then layed hands on my head and started to pray fervently. I thought it was neat that she chose to put her hands on each side of my head as she had no idea that I was dealing with a migraine. Migraines make me awful sick to my stomach but we hadn't told anyone why my stomach was upset that day.

More importantly, I have been praying for YEARS since I went through all of the medical trauma that God would heal my mind now that He had used the doctor's to heal the awful, incurable disease that kept me in bondage for 15 years of my life. I have been so traumatized by all of my medical past and life experiences that I live in constant anxiety every single day of my life and have had to be medicated because of this debilitating condition. This anxiety of course, is not healthy and causes me other medical conditions. I believe it is the main root of my migraines as well. So, as the Spirit moves and I begin praying as well, the lady then prays for me to have peace and starts reciting the scripture about peace.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 NIV

I just about started jumping up and down as I KNEW that I KNEW the Lord was showing me and answering my prayers that I was going to be healed of my anxious heart. I knew right at the moment that God was going to begin showing me how to be released of this spirit of fear that has held me captive for so long! This was exactly what I had been praying for so long and finally I felt confirmation that I was ready to receive God's peace.

Keep in mind through this entire experience I had not shared ANY of this with any person in that church. When Eric got up to preach he affirmed the church and shared his gratitude for praying over his wife as it is not common in our experience for churches to minister to us in such a way as we travel. God works in unexpected and wonderful ways I tell you! I am glad I was obedient and persevered through no matter how unbearable my infirmity felt at the time because God has begun something new in me. Ever since that day things just haven't been the same in my heart/spirit in a good way. I also have not had a migraine since. Btw, I later went out to dinner and ate just fine with Pastor and other members of his congregation. Thank you Jesus!

I want to continue sharing my experience with you...there is more.... In the meantime, pray with me that God continues this healing and that I am receptive to whatever it is the Lord shows me to receive His peace and let go of the spirit of fear.

I have been tagged by MomtoH_VandJ!

1) The color Purple like in grape bubble gum or a grape popsicle makes me extremely giddy!

2) I am more awake at Midnight than at Noon.

3) I laugh when people bump their heads or trip. (I have a three stooges' type of humor) Sorry but it looks funny! This one is going to be used against me someday I just know it!

4) I still get urges (ok Eric says I actually do it) to jump on the bed.

5) I don't like eating the ends of any type of bread including sweet breads.

6) All the above things I do not think are weird!

If you are reading this than consider yourself tagged if you like doing these things!  (I would write in six people but no one ever does them when I do!)

My MIL sent this to me via email. I had a ton of fun trying to do it without using my Bible to remind me of the books. I got stuck on one of the shortest books in the puzzle for my last one. *lol* Anyway, thought some of you might enjoy the fun too.  You probably will want to print it in order to circle your answers. Don't post the books you found in the comments because it then gives it away to others. 

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Can you find the names of 25 books of the Bible in this paragraph? This is a most remarkable puzzle. Someone found it in the seat pocket on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping himself occupied for hours. One man from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Roy Clark studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Victs mentioned it in her column once. One woman judges the job to be so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help calm her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot....that's a fact. Some people will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. The truth is, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have. Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation may help, books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. And punctuation or spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete. Remember, there are 25 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph.

We traveled way up North to Millinocket Maine this past weekend to share about the Chi Alpha Ministry at I Care Ministries. Awesome church btw if anybody reading my blog is up that way! They are one of our most favorite churches to visit. I have more to share about our visit but I will do that later when I feel more refreshed.

Here this will help you to know what I mean by refreshed... On the loooong drive home Chloe ever so quietly says, "Mama I think you gave me too much." I had given each of the children a little cup full of peanuts to eat so I just assumed when I turned around to look at Chloe I would see her cup still fairly full of peanuts. Nope, instead I got to see her entire front covered in throw up. Um, Chloe I think it was more than too many peanuts. Poor girl! Remember she is still in a carseat with straps and buckles. Major EW!!! The only thing that kept me going at the moment was the fact that Eric and I were still laughing over her non chaulant (someone tell me the correct way to spell that!) way of telling us that she just got sick all over herself.

On that note  here is something that caught Jared's eye before leaving Millinocket.

I didn't think we ever going to get Jared back in the van. He was completely in awe of the military helicopter!

Here is the recipe for those who asked. I should have known better to show pics of cooking and not give you the recipe too right?!  You can find it here on the food network channel. My kids begged me to make this and ran trying to find paper and pencil for me to scribble it down fast as we caught it on tv.

Pizzette with Gorgonzola, Tomato and Basil

8 ounces purchased pizza dough
3 ounces Gorgonzola, crumbled
3 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Roll out the pizza dough to 1/4-inch thick. Using a 2 to 2 1/2-inch diameter cookie cutter, cut out 18 circles from the dough. Arrange the circles on a heavy large baking sheet. Sprinkle the Gorgonzola cheese over the circles. Top with the tomatoes, pressing them gently into the dough. Bake until the pizzettes are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drizzle the pizzettes with oil. Sprinkle the basil

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This is how I did it... Simplified and Kid friendly to read!

Cut pizza dough with a round cookie cutter.

Crumble up the Gorgonzola Cheese and then put pinches full in the middle of your little pizzas.

Cut in half grape tomatoes and place three half slices on each pizza trying to squeeze the cheese and tomatoes together.

Bake in oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes

Cut up FRESH basil leaves and put them on top.

Sprinkle a little olive oil over all your pizzas and enjoy!

I'm a little behind on this but life has been busy!

We made Gorgonzola Mini Pizzas to Celebrate the New Year! Jared cuts the pizza dough with a cookie cutter.

Sprinkling a little bit of olive oil over the mini pizzas after they are cooked and fresh basil added to the tops.

Chloe is excited to take a bite!

What they look like finished. They were YUMMY!! Eric actually went out and got me more ingredients because he wanted another batch made in which he almost ate all by himself! *lol*

Caleb worked on his dragon that he got for Christmas.

Phoebe and Papa watching a movie. Pheebs was feeling a little under the weather with a cold. I love how she was sitting just like her Papa.

Serious Battle Ship Game between Papa and Jared while waiting for the New Year. Memere gave Jared this game for Christmas.

Chloe plays don't break the ice by herself.

Having a little fun with our Cheetos. Saber tooth tiger and I have no idea but it made the kids laugh. *lol* As you can see we really cheated on our healthy eating for the holidays this year! New Year's Resolution for Mama is to get back on her diet.

The last picture of year 2006! All the kids made it until midnight to watch the ball drop. Looking forward to what 2007 has to bring us all and especially adding our next little one's to the family.  As you can see we also took the tree and all Christmas decorations down as well that day. We got the toys all put back and our new one's all organized on the shelves with the rest.

 This time it's 2 PM  The kids are out having a blast!

Chloe Brushing off the bushes and Phoebe looking like she's walking in a forest.

Gotta have a posed picture for our first good snow of the year! As you can see the girls are wearing the boys' snowsuits from when they were four and five. If I can dig up Jared and Caleb's snow pics from them I'll have to post it below.

The play block is even more fun when it's full of snow!

Do you want some snow?!

Here ya go!!!

Phoebe & Chloe posing for a pic.

Hey, who are these little guys?! This was Jared and Caleb when they were 5 & 4 wearing the same snow suits.

After posing for a pic Phoebe and Chloe started goofin' around and doing some sort of snow ballet.

I debated but can't resist sharing this with you! I thought you might all think I am a nut but the kids had so much fun that it's going to get out anyways. Well, you all know how I like to have spontaneous fun right? The boys reeeeally wanted snow for Christmas but instead we had a "green Christmas." First time I can remember since I was little. Anyway, they were really disappointed that they didn't get their Christmas wish.

At around midnight, Eric went to shut our outdoor Christmas lights off when he noticed it was snowing. I ran to the back double door, flicked on the light and sure enough saw these HUGE flakes coming down. I didn't get my hopes up though because usually when the flakes are large and slow it's a temporary thing. Plus, I knew in the forecast that it was supposed to rain which would wash away any amount of accumilation we did get.

Around 2am, when I decided to get myself to bed, I put the dogs out one more time and to my surprise there was about 2-3 inches of snow accumilation. This is where I could NOT help myself.  I went upstairs to see if the boys would open an eye just to show them out the window that they got their Christmas wish. Sure enough the moment I walked in Caleb woke up with both eyes wide open! I whispered that he got his Christmas wish. He didn't understand what I was talking about so I said, "Come here and look out your window." Caleb just about jumped out of his skin seeing the ground and trees all covered in snow! So, of course, Jared is now alerted to something going on in his bedroom and he joins us hiding under the window shade watching the snow fall. The boys then pleaded with me to go out in the snow!  Hey, why not it's Christmas right?! *lol* I was also afraid that it would be gone by morning.

They got their coats and boots and ran a couple of laps and licked the fresh snow coming down from the night sky. A memory they will never forget and unlike many children in our area they got their white Christmas! (I know technically it was the next day but not to them since it was still Christmas night in their minds.)  The next day the snow was slush and it was raining buckets. Mama knows best... and she hasn't lost her childlike heart!

Posing by our first Christmas tree that we had to throw outdoors because of Jared's asthma. It makes a nice tree on the deck. *lol*

I can't believe it's snowing!!!

Yum! Catching it from the air is delicious!

It's clean don't worry. Just look at that happy face!

One more lap running around the yard before it's time to head back to bed.

We all went "home" for Christmas!!!!

Ok, left to right... my sister in love Ashley with my brother Stephen in the back, then myself and my hubby Eric, then my sister Alyssa and her lovey Mark in the back, then my brother Johnny and his lovey Mary. We will forgive Johnny for being a traitor and wearing a stealers shirt

Memere and Paul with the grandkids. My four and then Steven who is Mary's son. Mary is my brother Johnny's girlfriend.

Jared jumps into Uncle Stephen's lap.

Lissy and Mark.

Opening presents with Memere

Memere likes her present from us!

Happy Birthday Jesus Cake is lighted!

Time to eat Aunty Lissy's gingerbread house! YUM!

Playing with Memere and her singing Christmas triad.

Having a late night snack with Memere before going home. I think Caleb was chilled out in the living room watching animal planet.

The twins look tiny in Paul's huge chair.

One last photo for Memere with her grandbabies. (I'm bummed because a dust spot or something was caught by my flash in the air on Mom's hair. Hmmmph!)