Never Say Never

As I am currently taking the steps to follow the vision that God has placed on my heart, the title and theme of a post I read on Christine Caine's blog from a guest really struck a nerve. The title was "Never Say Never". In the post, Bianca Olthoff wrote...

"Never tell God you'll never do something. It's almost like the summer camp game, Truth or Dare, but you're playing against the cosmic champion. Yup, it's TOTALLY an unfair advantage. But God is a gracious winner who creates challenges to prove you aren't as weak as you perceive yourself to be."

It made me laugh. Why? Because I reasoned with God a long time ago and told him that I couldn't study medicine in college because I could "never" make life and death decisions for anyone. That was years in double digits ago. We just finished up a series about "Vision" at church and it struck me pretty hard that I wasn't on the right road to reach my vision. To borrow a quote from Holly Wagner, "I was running in someone else's lane." I realized that the burning fire I thought I had snuffed out long ago was simply just switched back to a pilot light, ready and waiting to be ignited.

Houston, we have ignition!

So now I'm impatiently waiting to see if my application was accepted so I can go back to school to study what? If you answered medicine, you get an A for the day. It's going to be a slow part time process for a while. I need to find out which of my core classes will transfer, complete the dreaded placement testing, etc. The most important thing I've learned...Texas and Iowa are very different when it comes to core classes. I have to take 2 History and 2 Government courses. Believe me...I'm thrilled. I'm pretty sure by the time I have my BSN, I'll have enough credits for an extra degree. Did I mention that I'm planning to go to Nursing School on the cash plan with no loans? Maybe I should just save that for a post of it's own!

But what about the life and death decisions that you said you'd never make? The long and the short of it is that I had to make those decisions on a daily basis after our daughter Emma was born 14 weeks premature. My micro preemie weighed a whopping 1 pound 13.6 ounces at birth. We were forced to start making those life/death decisions within hours of her birth. Consents had to be given for transfusions and procedures and suddenly the thing I said I would never do was exactly what I WAS doing. It was a humbling moment when I figured that out. God used my daughters birth to teach me a lesson about myself that I was too afraid to challenge on my own. I was stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. As I watched the nurses skillfully attend to my daughter, I saw brief glimmers of myself in their shoes. It was those moments when I knew that someday my dream was going to finally take flight.

I'll leave you with this. I posted this video on Facebook this past week because the lyrics really speak volumes! (Did I also mention the series that followed "Vison" was about fear? They're kind of like peanut butter and jelly, they always seem to be found together!)



Walk On The Water
Songwriters: Josh Crosby; Dan Muckala; Brittany Nicole Waddell

You look around
It's staring back at you
Another wave of doubt
Will it pull you under?
You wonder
What if I'm overtaken?
What if I never make it?
What if no one's there?
Will you hear my prayer?

When you take that first step
Into the unknown
You know that he won't let you go

Chorus:
So what are you waiting for?
What do you have to lose?
Your insecurities try to hold to you

You know you're made for more
So don't be afraid to move
Your faith is all
It takes and you can
Walk on the water too

Verse 2:
So get out and let
Your fear fall to the ground
No time to waste
Don't wait
Don't you turn around and miss out
Everything you were made for
I know you're not sure
So you play it safe
Try to run away

When you take that first step
Into the unknown
He won't let you go

(chorus)

Bridge:
(step out)
Even when a storm hits
(step out)
Even when you're broken
(step out)
Even when your heart is telling you telling you to give up
(step out)
When your hope is stolen
You can't see where you're going
You don't have to be afraid

So what are you waiting,
What are you waiting for?

So what are you waiting for?
What do you have to lose?
Your insecurities try to hold to you

You know you're made for more
So don't be afraid to move
Your faith is all
It takes and you can
Walk on the water...
Walk on the water too

The Wrestling

I've never considered myself to be a wrestler but right now I am wrestling with something BIG. There is a point in life where you can choose to keep walking in the same direction or you can go through the turnstile and head off another way. I feel like this is one of those junctions in life for me.

There has been a lot of talk about vision, direction, calling, etc. circling my life as of late. Posts by friends on Facebook, church, I feel like it's all heading somewhere and I'm afraid I'm going to cause a big crash when it all collides at my feet. I say at my feet because my brain really can't process much more!

I'm stuck right now praying and pondering. If this is really my vison, my calling that has come to light recently, I am totally and utterly overwhelmed. There is no possible way I can do this on my own and it scares me. I'd rather just pack it away in a box and forget about it, or dumb it down to something that it isn't, just to make it more "manageable" for me to handle. Then again, it may just be a repressed fantasy or an irresponsible dream that I have just concocted out of sheer nothingness just to torture myself.

Until I have peace about this I dare not share. It will sound foolish...I can guarantee it! For now I am holding my breath, praying, and meditating on God's word.

"for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." Philippians 2:13

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

"for we walk by faith, not by sight—" 2 Corinthians 5:7

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:28-34

"for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matthew 6:8

"He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

Five For Friday

I thought I would share a few random thoughts for you today. Why five? Alliteration my dears...alliteration.

1. Things I'm annoyed with at the moment, birds squawking loudly outside my window, my sinus infection & the inability to breathe through my nose, and lawn mowing at 7:30am.

2. I never seem to win anything...but today I've already won 2 things. I won a blog makeover from an awesome designer Just Jaimee, and I also won a 3 pack of pocket sized bottles of Entertainer's Secret Throat Spray. I think I'll go buy a lottery ticket later today...I'm on a roll! :)

3. My 1 pound 13.6 ounce preemie turned 5 years old a little over a week ago. She amazes me everyday with how smart & beautiful she is.

4. We went on a cruise as a family 2 weeks ago. We had so much fun that my daughter keeps asking me if we can go on another cruise again sometime soon.

5. On June 4th, my niece Erin Pospisil has been missing for 10 years. She was 15 years old when she disappeared. This year, ala Tangled, family and friends will be releasing sky lanterns to symbolize the hopes and prayers which have been lifted up for Erin & other missing children. For more information on the event or to read more about Erin's story, please visit Help Find A Child.

Collab Fab!

Mommyish has 2 new kits out this week and both are collabs! The first is a collab with Sweet Lilac Studio callled Summer Blooms.

This is the layout I made with this kit...


You can get the kit here! I also used another fabulous font from Kevin & Amanda called Cry Kitty.

The second collab kit was created by Mommyish & Amanda Heimann Designs. It is called Pretty Picnic.

The layout I made with this kit is quickly becoming one of my favorite layouts that I've created so far...


You can get Pretty Picnic here. The font is once again from Kevin & Amanda, it is called Socially Awkward.

Have a great Thursday!

What Happens at Cabelas...Stays at Cabelas

What happens at Cabelas, stays at Cabelas...that is unless your mother is a scrapbooker!

One fine day we went to Cabelas with the grandparents to "feed the fish" and "see the animals". Then we saw a bunch of "stuffies". Those are stuffed animals for those of you who don't speak Emmanese. She picked up the opossum and the rest is photographic history. I'm thinking that these might go into the collection of photos I'm saving to embarass her when she's a teenager.


The kit is Live Out Loud by Mommyish. The font is My Own Topher by Kevin & Amanda.

More Mommyish Love

Mommyish had a new release yesterday...Easter Fever!

You can get it here.

It coordinates with...Sprungle Fever!

And you can get that one here.

Or just buy the bundle here, and save some money!

You can even get this cool freebie from Mommyish's blog!

And last but not least, here is my layout for Easter Fever. I know, the anticipation was eggciting wasn't it! :)

10 Uses For Baby Wipes

Really...I know, but for the past year and a half we've been trying to figure out how to use up all of the wipes we stockpiled while my dd was still in diapers. So I thought I'd pass on a little of what I've learned in our conservation experiment. On a side note, we have always used unscented wipes. I have fragrance allergies and frankly, the smell of baby powder from most wipes just grosses me out!

1. washing little hands & faces - These are great to use while camping, shopping, dining out, etc. I usually have a few on hand at all times. They work just as well for adult hands & faces.

2. makeup removers - They work great on washable waterproof and regular mascara (I've never tried it with traditional waterproof mascara). They don't irritate eyes like some cleansers can. It's a great alternative to "I'm so tired, I'm going to sleep in my makeup".

3. smoothing flyaway hair - As a photographer by profession for several years, this is one of my favorite tricks. Glide the wipe gently over the hair a few times and the flyaways will tame. It won't make the hair look wet either. DO NOT make the mistake of using a Clorox wipe for this trick. I heard a lovely story from the photgrapher when we got my daughter's Christmas pics taken. She said it bleached a noticable patch of the child's hair almost instantly. I feel sorry for that mom and I wasn't even there!

4. cleaning rubber stamps - I always hated trying to clean rubber stamps, especially the kind with the wooden base before I discovered this trick. Just wipe them down with a baby wipe when you're done. It gets into all of the nooks and crannies and saves a lot of time and frustration.

5. quick clean ups - Occasionally I use wipes to pick up dust, clean dirt off of a wall or wipe down counters. Baby wipes sure are handy to have around aren't they?

6. cleaning tile floors - You would laugh if you came to our house on "cleaning day". You might find my daughter and I "floor skating" in the kitchen on our tile floor. We put wipes on the floor, put our feet on top, then we "skate" around the floor to clean up the dirt. It really is a fun way to do a boring task and she doesn't complain at all about helping.

7. paw wipes - Our dog likes to get dirty sometimes. I would rather not have to clean the tile floor everyday so occasionally we resort to using wipes to clean paws on days with bad weather. We taught her to "wipe her feet" on the rug when she came inside as a puppy but now that she's getting older, she just ignores the request. She hears, she just doesn't listen.

8. dry erase clean up - Yucky streaky dry erase boards can be remedied with a simple swipe of a baby wipe. Just wait a minuted for it to fully dry before you try to write on it again.

9. light stain removers - Got something on your shirt at lunch? Splatter yourself with a bit of toothpaste? Were you the victim of food flinging by your toddler? Notice a spot of dirt on your pants? Baby wipes to the rescue! Just wipe the stain with a baby wipe. Depending on the stain, it may just get the whole thing out or leave a less noticeable spot. Either way, the stain will be easier to get out in the wash later.

10. wiping baby bottoms - And last but not least, the original use for baby wipes...for baby bottoms. Did you think I was going to forget this one?

This was not an exhaustive list by any means. Just my top 10. What creative uses have you found for baby wipes?