Adam has made a really great family website for us so after this week I will be cancelling my blog (its not like I was posting on here that much anymore anyway!) Our new website is http://www.alewishome.com and I am going to do my best to keep it updated with all the happenings in our family, especially now that we are expecting the twins!! Thanks to the 2 or 3 people who actually checked and read my blog here at hope of grace and I hope you will continue to follow our family over at the new website!
The greatest terrorist
Please watch the video I posted here. The Department of Homeland security how stated that it now considers the greatest terrorist threat to our country to be the “right wing extremist”. Who is a right wing extremist? Well, if you are a pro-life believer than you are. If you are pro-gun than you too are a terrorist. And yes, you, the soldier coming back from the Iraqi war who just might think that what you were fighting for was worth it, are now a terrorist threat to the USA. Who knew that someone who so many consider a hero is now considered on the of the greatest terrorist threats to our great nation. When did it become “American” to only share the views of the current government and become “un-American” or “Terrorist” to have a conservative or different view. So what comes next for the down home, small town American who believes that a babies life is of great importance or who wants to have the freedom to own a gun to hunt. Or the big city American who wants to own a gun to feel safe? Do they drag us out of our homes and place us into a special prison for terrorist? It makes me sick to my stomach to think of what the next 4 years could hold for the conservative American…or should I say the greatest terrorist against the USA!
Vote for Piper!!!!
Right now Piper is winning the Marley & Me cutest dog contest in the southern Illinois region! Please go and vote for him. You can click the link below! All you have to do is register, confirm your address, and then give him 5 paws!!!! If he wins we will have to have a Marley & Me party!!!
Marley & Me – Cutest Pets
Piper needs your help in the Marley & Me – Cutest Pets photo contest. Vote Now!
Pets Name
Piper
Submitted By
Amber L.
The crafty chain letter!
The first five (5) people to respond to this post will get something made by me. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. Whatcha get is whatcha get.
2. What I create will be just for you, with love.
3. It’ll be done this year (2009).
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. Heck, I might bake (!!) something for you and mail it to you when you least expect it. I may even create something totally unbelievable and surprise you at work!! Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text into a note of your own and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your note.
7. Send your mailing address if you don’t live close to me!
IMPORTANT: This offer is null and void if I do not see you post your own note to pay this forward.
*Feel free to respond even if I didn’t tag you!* So I was tagged and agreed to participate. You can reply here or on Facebook.
The cost of life
To us having a baby is a priceless gift, yet today Adam and I found out just how much priceless will actually be. For one invitro fertilization cycle (IVF) the cost before insurance is $12,000-$14,000. Honestly, I dont care. I would pay anything for that chance to carry my own child and I know that Adam feels the same. God has blessed us every step of the way and has provided in ways I didnt think were possible. Yet today as I heard the “cost of life” I couldnt help but be a little discouraged. As I sat there listening to Dr. Ratts talk, I couldnt help but think about the Planned Parenthood clinic just 2 blocks away. I thought about how ironic it was that I was listening to how much I could potentially have to pay for a 50% chance of getting pregnant while someone else was possibly hearing how much it would cost her to abort her unwanted bundle of joy. It broke my heart to think that 2 blocks away from where I sat the price of the mothers life was more important than her sweet babies and for less than $500 she could destroy the life of that child, literally. There are so many wannabe mothers and fathers who walk in and out of my doctors office every day. Each willing to give whatever the cost for the chance of conceiving and becoming the parent they long to be. I just cant imagine what makes someone so desperate that they feel their only choice for their baby is death when it is so obvious to me that there is an abundance of ready and willing parents who are more than willing to love and cherish that sweet baby! Actually I can imagine and it makes me shutter. Its the complete abscence of God in their lives and the full prescence of sin that controls them. How horrible it must be to feel to be so lost and so deep in the world that you would be willing to murder your child in the hopes that you are making your own life better. The verse at the top of my page, Jeremiah 29:11, rings more true to me now that it ever has. I am blessed to be a child of God and to have been chosen as one of his own. His words to me are like that of a loving parent. He knew all of my faults and he knew how I would betray Him and run astray, yet he choose to give me “a future and a hope”. He loved me before conception as I do the child I do not have yet. And like me it didnt matter what the cost was to Him just to have me as His child. Yet unlike me, the cost for Him was His blood shed on the cross and ultimately His death. How can I complain about the price I have to pay when He gave so much more for me? How can I not trust that He does have a plan for my life that is full of good and hope? My heart breaks for the women who sit at the Planned Parenthood and do not understand how I feel. I ache thinking that they have been fooled into believing the lies of this world and for that their innocent child must pay the ultimate price to “save” them from a life of misery and struggle. Yet in the mist of this heartache I am rejoicing. I am no longer crying tears of “why me!?” Now I am crying tears of joy that my Lord loved me so much that He saved me from the pain and despair that so many others feel. I know understand what it means to give the ultimate cost for life and am thankful that I have an eternal life awaiting me with my heavenly Father!
Happy 3rd Birthday Piper!!!
Happy Birthday to my bestest, furriest, friend! You many only be 3 years old today in people years but you are 21 in dog years!! I want to thank you for always being at the door to greet me with a smile and a wag and for always accompanying me to the restroom, even though thats only to get some lovins for yourself! Thank you for going on every walk with me and helping me keep on track with my weight loss and for always sitting at my feet while I eat so that I remember I do not have to finish everything by myself…again helping me with my weight loss! I know most people think you are just a dog but to me you are so much more! I love you my furry friend!
Baby Piper...12 wks old
Pipers 1st Birthday
Summer 08...Piper age 2
Piper...almost age 3 🙂
Now for a little extra fun for all of my friends you have beloved pets and understand!
To all Pet Owners
To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door – nose height.
Dear Dogs and Cats: The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest. The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn’t help because I fall faster than you can run.
I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm. For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, and try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years — canine or feline attendance is not required. The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat’s butt. I cannot stress this enough!
To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:
To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:
1 .They live here. You don’t.
2 If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That’s why they call it ‘fur’nature.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it’s an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn’t speak clearly.
Remember: In many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
1. Eat less
2. Don’t ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called (well, OK, the cat thinks about it)
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don’t hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don’t smoke or drink
8. Don’t have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don’t want to wear your clothes
10. Don’t need a ‘gazillion’ dollar for college. And finally,
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.
P90X Day 1
Well, I’m a day late on starting my routine but in my defence I forgot that yesterday was the Super Bowl and therefore my TV was occupied 🙂 Im honestly a little nervous in letting all of you know my figures and see my pictures. My friend Shelly was so sweet in reminding me that its not about my numbers but about me being healthy, which is something I easily forget. I am doing this in hopes of both making my body healthy in case I were blessed to become pregnant and making my mind a little less stressed. Between school and work its so easy for me to become stressed and I know that is not the healthist environment internally for a little one. My numbers as far as weight and things are not bad and I would probably be fine staying where I am at if my body was healthy lean muscle instead of unhealthy subcutaneous fat. So anyway here we go!
Day 1
- Weight 122.6 lbs
- Chest 34 in
- Waist (small) 25 in
- Waist (at umbilicus) 28 in
- Hips 36 in
- Rt Thigh 21.5 in
- Lt Thigh 21 in
- Rt Arm 11 in
- Lt Arm 11 in
Well there you go! Hopefully I will stick to my plan this month and come May 2 I will be the healthist I have ever been!
Off the Wagon
I have fallen off the working out wagon AGAIN! GRRRRR…. I dont understand what my problem is. I bought the P90X workout off of ebay and was really gungho about it for the first week. My whole body was sore and I felt like it would really work if I could stick with it. I am so frustrated with myself for quitting so soon. I can already feel my body pudging back out. Since I have been on so many hormones lately my body is starting to fake pregnancy. I am bloated and am having some horrible cravings without the bonus of being pregnant. I am embarrassed to say I ate an entire bag of cheeto puffs and bag of reisens chocolates almost completely on my own…in less than 2 days! Needless to say all of this is causing some unwanted weight gain. With my PCOS I will continue to balloon up if I dont get myself under control. I can only imagine how quickly I will gain weight if I actually become pregnant without an already established workout plan. I’ve seen results of other people with PCOS who have become pregnant and some have gained anywhere from 50-100+ lbs! I gained 30+lbs in 3 months during my time at Evansville so I have reason to be worried!
So I’ve decided that asking for encouragement is not enough to keep me motivated! I am going to get drastic with myself. Starting Sunday, I plan on beginning the P90X workout for real! I will take before pictures along with my weight and measurements and (gasp) will post them for all to see! My thinking is if I am willing to put myself out there completely then maybe I will stick with it. Its one thing to just tell my faithful readers that I am working out knowing that there is no consequence if I dont stick with it, but if I am expected to post update pictures and stats then there is the consequence of embarrassment if I do not show improvement.
My plan is to post updated weights weekly and updated photos every 2 weeks or so. I am also willing to take any advice on keeping motivated or any tips on how to eat better. If you have any recipes to share or any stories of success in your life I would love to hear them!
What a wreck!
Yesterday I was awaken by the scariest voicemail I have ever received. “It’s me. I’ve been in a wreck. I’m fine. The cars not” Of course being half asleep all I heard was “I’ve been in a wreck” I hung up the phone to call Adam back in a panic to find out what had happened. He was driving from the Vergennes Jr High and headed back towards Elkville when less than a mile from the Jr High he hit a patch of black ice. From what he remembers he started to slide to the side and he turned the wheel into it with no luck. By the time he tried to correct it, it was to late. His car was turned the opposite direction from which he was going and headed for the deep ditch. When he hit, his car toppled onto the drivers side deploying the airbags and sending everything inside the car flying! After that he remembers seeing that the car was smoking and then quickly turning it off and getting out. He had to crawl up and out the passengers side. Adam said he couldnt have been going much over 25 or 30 mph. If he had been going much fast the pathfinder would most likely have continued to role over a number of times, ending very badly considering Adam had not put his seat belt on yet. Adam is fine other than a small airbag burn on his right wrist and the sore everything that comes with the jarring and tension! Praise Jesus that that is all he suffered. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about how differently things could have turned out. Thank you Jesus for guarding my husband! Thank for not taking him home just yet! How blessed I am that you have given him to me as a lover and friend!
The insurance adjuster said he is pretty sure that the pathfinder is a total loss. When vehicles turn onto their sides there is a lot of engine damage that would cost much more to fix than what the vehicle is worth. So it looks like we will be buying a new vehicle a few years sooner than we planned! We are praying that the pathfinder is worth a least a little something so that we will have a decent/little down payment for a new vehicle.
Hope of Grace 