My Crazy, Stupid, Eeyore Morning by: Rachelle Phipps

"Good morning Eeyore, " said Pooh. "Good Morning Pooh Bear," said Eeyore, gloomily..."if it is a good morning...which I doubt"

Last night I stayed up pretty late, just enjoying the quiet house and puttering around, doing nothing really. I got to bed at around twelve o'clock and had a pretty restless sleep. At 4:30 am, I got up and talked to James before he went to bed, as he is 16 hours ahead of us. I talked to him for an hour and went back up to bed. My sleep was still restless but I eventually fell asleep. I was dreaming about getting 50 new chickens and forgetting to feed and water them for two weeks. In the dream, I told my mom that I was just so busy that I forgot about them...
I was expecting Sarah to drop her baby off at 7:30 so I could watch him. She showed up and I never heard her come in or come up the stairs. She softly woke me up from my cruel dream about dead chickens, and I woke up with my mouth open, which I hate. James loves it, but I don't. Sarah was laughing at me.
Anyway, so she leaves and then starts my crazy, stupid, Eeyore morning. I feel like Eeyore sometimes when I have mornings where everything spills or I am clumsy and nothing goes right. It is so frustrating.
So, I put Ashton up in the playroom with Zane supervising, while I start breakfast. I get going making Lemon Pancakes and everyone else starts waking up. Abbie is grumpy from the moment she wakes up and I am like, " Oh great, not this again."
So, eventually the kids come down and Ashton is up in the playroom crying, so I get him and put him up in the highchair while I finish the pancakes on the griddle. he starts crying more because he is getting hungry. Meanwhile Abbie is throwing a fit because I will not let her wear her bathingsuit and she can't find anything else to wear, or so she says.
So I get the pancakes done and for some reason everyone is super hungry this morning and it turns out that I have not made enough batter. I end up not getting much for breakfast and tell myself I will get something later. The first pancake I give to Sheldon, I put way too much syrup on it, so I am trying to pour it back into the container from the plate. I get a lot of it back in and decide to use the rest for his next pancake. So, here I am making more pancakes and Sheldon is finished with his first one, as is Zane and Abbie. They are all waiting for the next batch. Ashton is busy and quiet with his , thankfully. I turn around and Sheldon has decided to dump his remaining syrup on top of his head. It is dripping through his hair, and into his eyes. I don't have time to clean it off, so I just leave it. I get everyone served another pancake and get some juice poured for everyone.
Zane and Abbie get finished so I send them both up to get dressed. Abbie never did find something to wear...
There is now syrup all over because Sheldon has rubbed some of it off himself and onto his shirt and the island. It is dried onto him now, so I know he will have to have a bath, to get the sticky off. So, I progress to taking his clothes off and he hits his Apple Juice with his hand and it spills all over him, the island and the floor. By now Ashton is starting to fuss in the highchair.
I put Sheldon in the bathtub and proceed to start major multi-tasking. I get Ashton calmed down, cleaned off and playing quietly, and start loading the dishwasher. I turn off Sheldon's water and give him some toys, and try to go finish my dishes. I ask Zane to go make sure Sheldon hasn't pooped in the bathtub, and that I will be there in a min to wash him. Sure enough he has pooped...that is his nasty little habit right now....so I retrieve the floating poops as best I can, and let the water out. I go to try finish what I was doing and tend to Ashton who is crying again. I warm up some milk and feed that to him, and get him put down for his nap. I find the naked Abbie some clothes while I am up there. Meanwhile Sheldon is crying and cold, waiting in the nasty, poopy bathtub. I finally get down there and clean him and the bathtub up and get him washed and dressed. Ashton is screaming in the bed and Sheldon is following me around signing "milk" with both hands and whining. So I sit down and nurse him (this has got to stop soon, by the way). Ashton is still crying but I am trying to ignore him. Finally, he is asleep and Sheldon is content, so I head back downstairs to tackle my dishes and face the Apple Juice and Syrup disaster, still waiting for me, and finish cleaning the tub out better. I find Ashton's pacifier on the highchair tray and realize I had forgotten to give it to him and didn't realize it. That's why he was screaming in the bed. I finish cleaning up and it is 9:30. I finally get my hair and teeth brushed and my face washed and my own self dressed and put a movie on for the kids, so they will be quieter while Ashton sleeps.
By now I just feel like throwing in the towel and sitting out on the deck for the hour while Ashton sleeps and letting the whole house get ripped apart, but I have too much left to do still. I get laundry started and start picking up the house and getting the kids to help me. It looked like a tornado had gone through it, but I was thankful that the kitchen was clean, at least, considering the disasters that had just occurred there. I did eventually eat a cinnamon roll for the rest of my breakfast.
So, that was my Eeyore morning...I think my hair may have even looked like Eeyore's, as well. I am normally much more organized than this but every now and then an Eeyore Morning, does happen. Some of this should be blamed on not getting up before Sarah came but most of this would have happened otherwise, regardless if I had gotten up earlier.
Ahh, well, that is a day in the life of a stay at home mom, sometimes. I am not thankful for mornings like this but they do show you how much you can get done at one time. I AM thankful for Zane, however. He is always so helpful and doesn't contribute much to making a morning an Eeyore Morning.
Now we are going to the Mud Hole to go swimming, and hopefully no one will drown or attempt to drown!

Just Some Recipes

We have found out that home-made smoothies and milk shakes make a wonderful snack and sometimes even a meal, and can be fit into a tight budget. We rarely have ice cream at our house much, anymore. Colt brought over a half gallon the other night to go with our dessert, and left it with us. You can use yogurt instead of ice cream, if you don't have any at the time. Here are two of our newest recipes. We have a lot of other ones that we like, and I will probably put more on here, eventually.

*Peanut Butter Banana Milk Shake*

3 cups of milk, or 1 cup powdered milk and 3 cups water
2 or more Tablespoons peanut butter
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1-2 ripe bananas

Makes about 5 cups, or 4 servings. Put all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Add more ice cream, or vanilla yogurt, if too thin. If you add chocolate syrup it's a Banana Split Shake, but we never have that either...


*Orange Sherbet Milk Shake*

2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
1 cup chilled orange juice
1/2 cup milk
1 cup vanilla ice cream
a few teaspoons sugar or honey, to taste

Makes about 2 1/2 cups, or 2-3 servings. Put all ingredients into blender and process until smooth!

Lying; why do we do it? By James Phipps

Has anyone out there ever done something and had it effect every aspect of your life? I have. Believe me, I have had plenty of that in my time as a Soldier. The problem I have found with those experiences, is that sometimes the way they affect you boils over to cause problems that hurt those that we love in ways we cannot imagine.
See, I have not really thought about this topic before but I think the worst thing that someone could do in a relationship, is lie about something. Even a simple little harmless lie can be the seed that grows up into a tree that makes more little lie seeds and starts an endless cycle that without a lot of help from God, cannot be stopped and will destroy your entire world.
Why do people lie? Is it to make friends? To cover something up? For self gratification? Who knows? I know that no matter what the reason, there is not an excuse, to get you out of why a lie was told. Most times if you think about it, one lie cannot survive on its own. It needs friends so you have to tell another lie so that the first lie can stay safe, and before you know it, BAM! Your lie tree is grown up and you cannot tell the difference between the truth and the lies. In the end all you get is caught. You end up alone, no friends, no life, sometimes no family, just you and your path of lies that got you no where. Oh, you are awesome while everyone thinks that you are telling the truth but when they find out otherwise, you are the last person in the world they want to talk to. Someone once asked me if I had to choose between a thief or a liar who would I pick? The answer was the thief because all you had to worry about with him, was him stealing something. The liar could rob you and tell a lie and you'd never know it. I have been in these situations. I have had a problem with lying for a long time, but thanks to God and a witty Chaplain, I can say that my lying days are over. Ha ha... now you all are probably thinking, "Yeah right, you cannot trust a liar, you just said so yourself!" but I am here to tell you through the power of God and His Word, you can overcome anything. I know I have been wrong, I know who I have lied to and I have told them the truth about everything. All I can do now is pray that someday they will forgive me and trust me enough to be my friend. Do not worry there is only really one person who has been the victim over and over again and they have been told. So if you don't know, it wasn't you :) Take it from me, God is wonderful, and he can help you no matter what. But if you take your eye off him because you think he is to blame... take a look at yourself first, you will almost always find the root of your problem there.

Animal Noises

I woke up this morning and suddenly realized that I can actually sleep well in the morning!!!!!!!!! Some of you are probably thinking, "What is she talking about?" James knows all about it and has been on the receiving end of complaint after complaint after complaint! The sun pours through my window and onto my bed, my cat Katie sleeps curled up near my feet soaking up the rays, "LITTLE" birds chirp happily in the trees outside my window, and my kids (who also sleep better in the A.M. hours) snooze pretty late into the morning.
How is it that I didn't notice this until now? I mean, we have been out of the camper for 3 months, and into a regular house! I guess I was just so exhausted that I didn't even notice the change! This morning though, I noticed how relaxing it was to just lay in bed and drift in and out of half-slumber, even dreaming pleasant, little, short dreams. It was heaven! You guys are still probably wondering what on earth I am talking about!!!
Well, for a year and a half, the kids and I lived in our camper on my mom and dad's property. We were there trying to help them start an organic, cattle raising type thing........it turned out being cattle, goats, sheep....then soon after, chickens, gardening and then pigs, too. I don't even want to know, what else they will add to the "Funny-Farm" in the months to come.........my mom even tried to get my dad to let her raise llamas, after she saw some at our fair, last year. Oh, I hope she never reads this.....she doesn't know we call it the "Funny-Farm", so no one tell her!...
Anyway, so here I am with a brand new baby, in the camper. He doesn't sleep through the night very well, as most new babies. And at around 4:30, or as soon as the sun is starting to come up, this dumb rooster of my mom's perches himself on the slide-out bar on my camper (my bed IS the slide-out, and so the rooster is directly under my bed)!!! He crows more than just once......like about 10-15 times at regular intervals......and he did it pretty much every morning! He is not the only one making annoying noises.........his little pack of hens perch on there, as well, and do their stupid morning hollering, to let you know that they have laid an egg! Have any of you ever heard what that sounds like??? Oh, I just want to write a cuss word here, just thinking about those mornings! I hated it and there was nothing I could about it. I told my mom about it and she would just laugh and say it doesn't bother her.
So, we have roosters cock-a-doodle-dooing, and hens (I don't even know what you could call their hollaring...Jori Butler, or Kirstin Johnson....maybe you can fill people in on what that sounds like...or a good word to describe it). So now, we will move on to the other five animal noises that did not occur every morning, but at least a few times a week.
Cows...cows moo and holler for one reason only, (unless they are hungry)....and that is if their baby is outside the fence, or if they can't find their baby. And when they are on open range they lose their babies quite often...sometimes their babies can be acres away. So, just imagine "Valley" mooing.......i don't even think mooing is a strong enough word for it, and I have already used hollering.......if someone can give me a good word, I will enter it in here! I am not the best blogger in the world.......so, anyway, back to "Valley" mooing....have you ever yelled across a valley?....what happens? It echoes. Yes, so every week or so, early in the morning are two echoing, mooing noises, going back and forth. It usually doesn't last long, and actually I could probably handle the cow noises better than the chickens and animal next on the list....I am going to group these two together because even though they are different, it is still a similar noise. Goats and Sheep. My mom's goats and sheep would come up from the barn just about every morning. They would come up looking to eat any hay the horses left behind, or get into any hay that was under the tarp that they could get to, or they would scout the yard for any thrown out carrots or kitchen scrap that looked yummy....sometimes if they pushed on my mom's mudroom door hard enough or just the right way, it would open and "viola"....all kinds of yummy stuff in there........cat food, dog food, occasional chicken feed, or whole corn, or whatever my mom kept in there. And then, sometimes in the spring, and summer my mom leaves the windows open in that room, and one window doesn't have a screen. So, if they couldn't open the door, sometimes the kids would jump up on the patio furniture and try to jump into the window....I don't think they ever succeeded in making it into the window, but they made quite a racket trying to do this, and other things. If any of you have goats, you know that if they find a way to get somewhere and that somewhere poses even a smidgen of the possibility of possibly getting food, they will try every day to go there and do it. What time do they choose to do this? Early in the morning....some of you are saying, "Why are they not penned up?" Well, in the spring, summer, and fall they are on range, too. Mom and Dad have tried to fence them away from the house, but nothing ever works...and it is the "Funny-Farm", so what can I say? Anyhow....goats also know that if they cannot succeed in doing what they came to do, that if they make a lot of noise, baaing, and maaing, that their mother (my mom) will come out and chase them off, or whatever she does....IF she hears the commotion. Also, when goats lose their babies it is much like the cow noises. Mom has like over 40 goats, so just imagine the noises that they make! Ugh...i can just remember my frustration all those morning, and being so tired, from it all.
Another on the list is their dogs....most of you have dogs, but I am sure a lot of you don't let them bark. I think my parents just sleep through it sometimes. They don't always bark in the morning....they bark in the night at coyotes, which isn't a bad thing, but one of my mom's dogs...a little black Dachshund/ Chihuahua cross would bark at every little thing in the morning, and keep barking and barking....
And then my brother has this cat, that would try to come through my cat door, every morning. Well, Katie knew about what time he would come, so she would sit near the opening, but where Tom couldn't see her. And as soon as he was halfway in she would tear the daylights out of him. Now, just imagine this happening to a cat that is halfway through the cat door....Yeah, it made a huge racket. This started happening when Sheldon was about 6 months or so, and it would wake him up early in the morning, every time the cats would do this, so it was just so annoying.
As far as the rooster goes, he eventually died before fall of 2007....I don't really remember when it was...and I promise I did not kill him. He died of natural causes, though I WANTED to kill him! I will NEVER have a rooster...ever.
Occasionally, one or more of these animals would make their noise on the same morning, but it was more like a different animal, every morning. Except with the rooster....that was every morning until he died. I can honestly say that I can only think of a handful of times that no animal made a noise that awakened me! And I can honestly say, that most of those mornings were when James was home, so I don't think he really believes all this to be true or if I am just exaggerating! Well, I am not!
Anyway, I just want to thank God that I am not living there anymore and do not have to deal with those hassles any longer. The Bible has some passage or another for most things that you can imagine and here is one that goes really well with this situation!.........Laugh if you want........it is straight out of the Bible, y'all! Proverbs 27:14 "If a man loudly blesses his neighbor in the morning, it will be taken as a curse." That is NIV, but it reads pretty much the same in the other versions! Well, apply that to animals, and there you go! Or apply it to yourself and don't do this, to your neighbor! Especially a new mom! :) I don't know who would, but you never know!
Well, I have rambled on and on and now I am really tired. I am so thankful for my quiet mornings! By the way, I do LOVE chickens! Just not roosters! Rachelle

Feeling Like a Failure, by James W. Phipps

Okay for all those that know me, you know that I don't really blab about problems and do not usually let things bother me... Well i feel different about this subject and although I cannot explain why I feel like writing it out so the whole world can see.
As most of you know I was in the Army for 6 years and got out in November, just to go right back in on March 11th of this year. There is a lot behind why I did it and some of you know why; others don't but to make a long story short.. I was stupid. I made decisions based on what I wanted to do and what I thought was best. Was god involved in those decisions? NOPE.. was Rachelle involved? Hardly. If you ask her she will tell you that the fault lies with both of us but yet I know ultimately, it is my fault. See, I never thought to pray about what to do. I never thought about the strain it would cause on my marriage and my family. I mean I had my family living in a camper.. How low do you have to be to put your family in a camper for over a year and ask them to put up with it. All the while you are in a nice comfy apartment going to work and coming home everyday to be able to take a shower or bath or just be able to flush the toilet and not have to worry about seeing it again.. I look back on it now and know that I was in every aspect wrong in everything that I did. From day one of the thought of even buying a Semi, Rachelle was against it, but she did what she was supposed to do and followed her spouse, whom she is supposed to love and support no matter what. She followed me right into a path of destruction that rocked our marriage, our children, and our personalities. Sometimes I look back on how things were before and I wish for those days when Rachelle was happy with her life and family. When I was happy with what I was doing and who I was. Now although Rachelle might be happier, I know deep down she is still not completely happy. I myself and not happy at all. I wake up everyday and try to make sense of the last three years and can't see past all the mistakes I made (again Rachelle will say WE made them but they were all my decisions). I try to do things right and seem to screw it up. It's like my brain knows what I am supposed to do. My heart knows whats right and wrong, but I always seem to make the wrong decision.
One decision that I know was right though, was for me to come back in the Army. I should have never gotten out. That's one decision I am not ever going to get over. I set my career back by at least 2 years by getting out for not even six months. I put my family at risk by not having Insurance (Medical or Life). I decided to re-enlist after Sheldon, our youngest had a hernia that was possibly going to need surgery. That is one of the main reasons I came back in. Right after I came back into the Army his hernia went away. Poof, gone!!.. I had a light bulb go on in my head at that instant. God is trying to get my attention. I felt like he was trying to tell me something along the lines of.. "okay now that I have your attention stupid, LISTEN!" I believe with all my heart God had something to do with Sheldon's hernia. I think it was put there to see if i could make a good decision. I hated the Army a year ago. I couldn't wait to get out and have the freedom of my own business. The Army was terrible, it had nothing to offer. But once i was out i saw that what was best for me was tearing my family apart. 12 hours a week at home with my wife and kids. 4-5 thousand miles a week with $1500.00 in fuel. And when I was home I had to do paper work. It just wasn't going to work. I had to choose work or family. I chose family. So, I re-enlist thinking I am just going to go right back to my old unit and everything will be the same as before, only better this time because my family will be there with me. Nope, wrong again. I have 2 choices. Korea for a year or Germany for 3 years. I was shocked. I had not planned on this, this was not in what i wanted to do, but Sheldon had to have surgery, or so we thought. I took Korea. I have been told I am stupid and should have taken Germany because the family could go there but I knew it was not possible with all the critters we have.
So, I have been here since April 6th, and the whole time I am trying to make sense of why it is I am here. At first, I think its because of the orphanage I was taken too.. maybe I am supposed to do something there? I don't think so. I think God is using this time to teach me a lesson about life. See, sometimes you get things and you don't even realize how precious they are until they are taken from you. My most valued thing on this planet is my Family. I love them with all my heart but for the past 3 years I have led them like a mad man chasing his imaginary tail. After all this time and effort and the thousands and thousands of dollars spent (that could have had me out of debt) I have finally hit bottom. I know that God is my strength and that trusting in him you can get through anything, but right now, at this very moment as I am sitting here rambling on and on, I feel for the first time in my life like a failure. Of everything I have done in my life, 2 tours to Iraq, somehow making it back alive. Green platoon which is 5 weeks of hell so I can be in the BEST Aviation Unit in the world. To all the other things I have accomplished in this short life I have lived so far.. I have never accepted failure as a option. But right now I think I finally know what it feels like. I have failed at being a leader, father, husband and servant of God. I have done my own thing for years now. Pursued passions that where childish and stupid. Wildly led my family into a business deal that almost broke us. I truly feel like a failure. But having said that I feel that I know now why I am here in Korea. I believe God sent me here to get my attention all the way. To help me to realize all the mistakes I have made and how I could have avoided them. I feel now I know where that narrow path is and I am ready to walk on it once again.

I know for some that will read this, I am not a failure to them, but if you really stand back and look at things from my perspective as a husband and father, its hard to not feel that way. I have to say though that my hero in this whole ordeal is Rachelle. She was there through thick and thin. Yeah, we had our arguments but she never failed to stay firm and try with everything that her poor soul had to support me in this "Stupid Adventure as I'm starting to call it" that I took us on. Maybe in the next few weeks or even months I can start to come around, but for now I think I will just use this feeling to try and make up for all those cold months my family had to spend in a 24ft camper while I was in a nice warm apartment. Maybe, just maybe i can feel what they were feeling as I left them there all alone.

Seasons

A Change in the Seasons of Life

Today I watched my 7-month old nephew, Ashton. He is just starting to eat a lot of baby food and make big messes in the highchair. As I cleaned his face, hands and the tray I realized that it has been at least two months since Sheldon (who is 16 months) has even been in the highchair. I haven't cleaned the tray forever, either. Sheldon sits at the island with Zane and Abigail, now. He eats bowls of cereal with a spoon by himself. He hardly makes a mess at all. He has also graduated from sippy cup to regular cup. We only use sippy cups in the car, now.

I remember the days when I dreaded cleaning highchair trays, three or more times a day. I remember feeling and complaining to my husband that, that was all I did all day. I had a very small break between each child where we did not use the highchair, but for the most part I have been in the baby season for almost 6 years now! I have known nothing but pregnancy, breast-feeding, diapers, wipes, sippy-cups, messes, diaper bags, more messes and being tired!
I realized today though, that I am out of the baby season! I'm not sad at the realization, though! I'm very excited to hand the torch over to someone else...anyone else. I am ready to enter my next season of life. I don't even know what it will be called, but I am ready for it!
We have a year or so until Sheldon is totally potty-trained, but otherwise the evidence of the baby season is practically gone. He will be weaned from breast-feeding in two short months. The baby time of life is quickly fading! Soon, there will be no more diaper bags to pack with way too many extra diapers and an extra set of clothes for diaper blow-outs in the carseat; no more wiping snotty noses; no more spitting up on clean sheets or on me; no more waking up in the middle of the night to nurse and change an infant. I have actually slept through the night a few times this month. It has been 6 years since I have slept through the night! I count pregnancy because you do not sleep through the night! Unless, you are fortunate and didn't have to go pee all night, or eat during the night, like I did. Maybe some of you are fortunate to have babies who slept through the night, but I never did. Abbie didn't sleep through the night until Sheldon was born. I finally feel rested after 6 years of caring for infants. I am still tired during the day but not so "mentally" tired from giving so much of oneself to helpless infants. It is a welcomed feeling.
All in all, I know I have been blessed with a baby season that has been virtually free of huge medical problems, pregnancy and breastfeeding problems, colicky babies or anything else major. It has been a good season....a very hard one, but good. I have tried to be a selfless mom and I have poured myself into my babies. I didn't always do the right things at the right times. I wasn't always the most most patient mom! I vividly remember telling Zane when he was 3 or 4 months old that "I was going to throw him away" when he woke up for the 4th or 5th time in one night. I remember yelling at him when he was two because he would not eat his peas....he still won't eat them and I have finally accepted this! I remember yelling at Abbie when she was two, for piling every item of freshly folded clothing that she owned into a big pile in the camper. And I still say the d-word about some thing or another during the week. I picked up this bad habit in the camper from the stress of having 3 babies in a 28-foot space. It used to be a daily thing and now it is weekly, so I am getting better!
Anyway, my baby season has been a special time...a worth-while time...a time I will never forget and a time well worth treasuring...but I am actually glad to see it go. In a good way! I am ready to embrace parenthood past two years old...I don't even know what to call it yet. I have made it through the baby season, so I know with the Lord's help I can make it through my next one, and do it better than ever...I hope!
I am pretty happy that I can do things now, that were hard to fit into my schedule before. Just going anywhere in the car used to be this huge, big deal. Now it is getting much easier...unless we have a lot of places to go and then it is downright stressful. Church is nice now since I don't have to lug around the infant carseat, and deal with a squirming, cranky, hungry child. Zane sits through church, while Abbie and Sheldon are in the nursery. Pretty soon, Abbie will be sitting through church, like a big girl, too. I can actually sit through the whole sermon, which is so awesome!
I know some of you reading this are in the middle of your baby season, or you are just starting it. It is hard; very hard. Just keep chugging along and try to make the most of each day. I know from experience that some days there is not even one thing that seems good or goes right that day. Just try to do better each day. You cannot be perfect, so there's no sense getting yourself down about it. Just do better the next day! If you feel like you are in a rut and you keep doing the same bad things over and over, just forget everything else and re-tie those heart strings with your babies and toddlers....read books, play on the floor, whatever. Don't get yourself down; you are human and raising children can be so taxing on whomever shares the majority of time with the children. You have to be self-less. There is no other way around it. If you want good kids, that is. Putting aside self is incredibly hard; especially if you are with the children 24/7 (you Army wife friends of mine)! You do need time alone...but when you are with your children you must be self-less. This is not only for the baby season...even with preschool children, and I am assuming with older ones, this concept is the same!
The good thing about seasons, though, is that they are just that....seasons. They pass and change. They each have good and bad things about them. You just take the good along with the bad and keep going. Some seasons are easier than others, I am assuming...hoping. I have only been through the early marriage season and the baby season, so I am hoping that whatever my next one will be, is easier!
I didn't care about seasons before I was married...I don't even think I knew they existed at that time. I guess it was one big season called "childhood". We all grow up, though, and we realize that there really are seasons in life. The Bible even tells us so in the familiar passage in Ecclesiastes...."There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the sun." Eccl 3:1
Here is a little poem I found recently. I will close with it. It tells you just how special being a mom really is...

Only One Mother
By: George Cooper

Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky,
Hundreds of shells on the shore together,
Hundreds of birds go singing by,
Hundreds of lambs in the sunny weather.

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn
But only one mother the whole world over.

God's Plans

Tuesday, May 13, 2008


God’s Plans Are Not Ours
Current mood: tired

"Here I am with my irrepressible desire and urge to write what's on my heart...maybe someone will benefit! "

God's Plans Are Not Our Own

Isaiah 55 : 8-11 has become my recent favorite passage in scripture, and for good reason. Simply speaking; I know it is true! It reads, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts, than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it".
God's love is so much more than our human minds can fathom. His ways are not our ways. When things happen in our lives that we were not planning, how do we react? Do we say, "God is punishing us?", "What is God doing?, etc. It's alright to ask yourself, "Why, why, why?" Recently, I have learned that God is in control, even when we feel like we are not. Actually, that is the correct attitude we should have. When we feel like we are in complete control; that is when we will fall. I'm not saying that, just to say it! I know from experience that it is true. We should allow God to do his will in our lives. We are not in control of every little detail like we think we are.
However, in saying this, I do believe we are responsible for making wise choices. God has known since the beginning of time what bad or good choices we will make and He will use them all for good in our lives, and He will accomplish his will, or at least allow you to make bad choices, so that He can get you back on track, eventually. Save yourself some pain, though! Be good stewards of your money, pray (and I mean really PRAY, take time to pray thoroughly) before making decisions. Set aside selfish desires, impulses and attitudes when you are planning for your future. Distinguish all motives.
Due to not doing ANY of these things that I just listed above, my husband and I embarked on a two-year setback, financially. It hurt our family, marriage and testimony during that time. God allowed us to go off on our own, making decisions flippantly and with selfish or greedy motives. He had lessons he wanted to teach us.
The only good things that have come from the past two years are many hard lessons learned, a deeper spiritual maturity and also (praise God), a better marriage. I have learned lessons that I do not think I would have learned if we had not done what we did. They have actually sweetened our marriage, and for me personally ...it has extinguished any and all (hopefully) naivety in me. Being naive is SO dangerous! And yet, there are really no ways of purging it but through hard lessons. Still, if you can identify it early enough, DO NOT keep going with whatever you are doing, because it will be wrong!
During our trials it felt like a whirlwind of stress, bitterness and contempt. God knew what he was doing. We THOUGHT we knew what we were doing, but we were operating outside of God's will.
Even if you feel that you are outside of God's will, he is STILL there! He will allow you to stumble, allow you to even fall flat on your face. For his plans are not ours. He has an end goal and purpose in sight. He also has lessons he wants us to learn about being outside of his will.
What about when you finally feel like you are doing God's will and God takes your life in a totally different direction than you were hoping and praying for?
Remember always, that if you are married, God is dealing with 2 separate people. Even though you are one in marriage, each of you is learning at different stages and speeds.
How do you know that God is not bringing about circumstances for the benefit and uplifting of the maturity and soul of your spouse? Maybe it has nothing to do with you! Do not feel that God is punishing YOU! Besides, the uplifting of your spouse will eventually benefit you. God works in such amazing ways, and he is so forgiving of us, so take hope!
I know it is hard to not feel heart-broken and to find joy and contentment in a situation. But, believe me, it is harder to do so if you are not in God's will, and you know that you are not. It is much easier to feel at ease and to grow spiritually when you are in God's will. Then you are able to cultivate contentment, joy and patience, more easily. It will flow from you much better, than if you are fighting God, his will, or if you are just stuck in a situation that seems like there is no way out. I have been there!
I did not pray for my husband to go to Korea for a year; but I know without a doubt (and he does, too) that we are operating in God's will and He has plans for us, even though we really aren't sure what they are, or what he has in store for us. When I find that out, I will definitely be blogging! :) It will be something exciting, I am willing to bet!!!
And if you are outside God's will, have faith. Seek God. Seek his face. He will bring you out and make a way for you. Listen to this verse...Psalm 126: 5-6 "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." I just love that, and I've seen it a few times while reading but never quite understood it, personally until now.
Even when you are going the wrong direction, God can and will bless you and use that time as a time of deeper understanding, a time to teach you (if you are teachable) and get you out on the other side of the mess that YOU created! How awesome of a God are we dealing with here? How could anyone bless you and take the time and care enough about you (one person in billions) to get you out of your own mess? The past two months I have been shown what the power of God can do. There are no words to express it. He is just so awesome! And until God has pulled you out of a mess you created (aside from your initial salvation), you will not experience just how great His power is! He cares about even the smallest details! I cannot even list all the passages in scripture that point to God's all-knowing power! Seek them for yourself, but here are a few! God bless you wherever you are and in whatever you are doing whether you are inside his will, or otherwise.

Psalm 18:30 "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him".

Psalm 145:17 "The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward ALL that he has made.

Psalm 40:5 "Many O Lord my God are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us, no one can recount to you. Were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare".

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".

Job 42:2 "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted".

This one is amazing....Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD'S PURPOSE THAT PREVAILS".

This is great, too....Isaiah 46: 10-11 " I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: my PURPOSE will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose . What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do". (This could possibly be referring to Christ, but nonetheless, speaks of God's all-knowing power).

I will end here, even though I know there are lots more passages like these. I'm just giving you a few, to show you, how much God's plans sometimes are not ours! Comments welcome! Chelley

Army Wive's Prayer

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Army Wives’ Prayer Current mood: content My Mother in Law gave me this prayer, in a frame, right after I married James...it has graced my home and warmed my heart. I don't know who the author is... Dear Lord, Give me greatness of heart to see, the difference between duty and his love for me. Give me understanding that I may know, when duty calls him he must go. Give me a task to do each day, to fill the time when he's away. And Lord, when he's in a foreign land, keep him safe in your loving hand. And Lord, when duty is in the field, please protect him and be his shield. And Lord when deployment is so long, please stay with me and keep me strong. Amen

The Toilet Seat Debate

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

The Toilet Seat Debate: Current mood: cheerful Should the woman leave the seat up for the man, or should the man leave it down for the woman? The answer? Well, in the Phipps family, it is neither! I'm sure all of us girls have gone to the bathroom at night in the semi-darkness and the lid has appeared to be up, but upon sitting down you discover that the lid AND seat are up! This is a gross and a cold awakening from half-slumber! It has only happened to me a few times in my almost 5 years of marriage, but it happened a lot when I lived at home, and it is very annoying. We don't turn the light on because we are considerate enough of others to try not to wake them up, only to find that someone was inconsiderate, and left the seat up! Almost falling into the toilet is not cool! Okay, my brother in law, Clayton insists that the woman should leave the seat up. I think all men would rather leave it up if they could get away with it, but have been trained by their mothers to put it down for us. I am willing to bet that most bachelors leave it up, because they can. So, now to the Phipps family philosophy! Public restroom toilets do not have lids...one would have to hope that they are like that to discourage people from touching the toilet, unnessesarily. I think they don't have lids because that is just one more thing the employees will have to clean. Now, household toilets, however, always come with lids! There is a reason for this! You don't read home decorating magazines and see bathrooms with the toilet lid (or seat for that matter) up. It just doesn't look very appealing. Upon marrying we have approached this small problem very simply and it has worked wonderfully! The man must lift the lid AND seat at the same time to use the restroom and then he must put both down. The woman must lift just the lid, and then she must put it down, as well. This works nicely and both partners are doing something, equally. Even our son does this but occasionally forgets! :) Marriage is not 50/50, where one partner says "I will do this, if you do that". It should not be anywhere far from 100/100! Occasionally, a minor percentage might slip on one side. Keeping in mind, to maintain 100 percent of your part, will help this from happening. Both sides must fulfill their roles to the best of their ability. This will make for a GREAT marriage, rather than just a good one! This sometimes involves compromise on one side, or even both sides. It also involves giving up your rights, for a time, in order to fulfill your role, or in order to help your spouse become the man or woman God wants them to be. It can sometimes involve purging your pride! Pride destroys marriage, among other things! Having too much pride to come to a compromise on a small thing like the toilet seat, indicates that in the bigger issues of life, love and marriage YOU will destroy your marriage. You may do it slowly, chip by chip, but you WILL do it! If not destroy it totally, you will destroy the peace, serenity, friendship, love and sanctity of your marriage. You will destroy it's "heavenlyness". None of us want that, do we? I don't! Thanks for listening to me vent! God bless you and your guy/gal!