Long-overdue update on the Qtpies!

My computer was hijacked by some some sort of virus that attacks google stuff, and I can't log into my blog! So, it's been a LONG time since I blogged something.

So, we have 9 people living here now. My mom and Donnie's dad both live here, as well as our last 5 kids. Devon is graduated and looking for where to go in life. Cody is adventuring into online school, and I am not looking forward to it, but it is something that needs to be done. Hope has taken tremendous leaps in her artistic abilities! Trinity is also excellent at drawing, and learning her math facts faster than ever. Sam is............ well, SAM. A terror who plays a mean video game at age 5. lol My mom recently moved in with her dog, and she is an amazing help to me. I have some weird back issues, and folding clothes is debilitating for me. So she has taken over the laundry, and I feel SO MUCH BETTER!

Hope just decided "Hey, I think I'll draw Marilyn Monroe." and this is what she did in about an hour! Amazing! Her art teacher is so proud of her and is encouraging her a ton. Plus my mom is an artist, so she is helping her with materials and encouragement, not to mention buying this picture.

We also received some rather exciting news from our newlyweds, Kaytlin and Peter. They are giving us a grandchild in the spring! Not planned, but so very, very much a blessing!

This is a rather early ultrasound, but as you can see, he is very much a boy! They will soon be getting another ultrasound, so it will hopefully be confirmed. Not that I need more proof!

For fun, here is a picture of Sam, being Sam. lol

I love that kid! His middle name means laughter, and he is a never-ending source of laughter!

In other news, I started selling Pure Romance. I LOVE it! Some people really wonder how I can do it, and I am pretty sure some friends have backed away because they really don't see how it could be Christian or Glorify God. And no, not all of the aspects of the business, or the customers, do. However, God created our bodies and meant them for extreme pleasure between a husband and wife, and it DOES glorify God when a married couple makes the effort to learn all that they can about each other in this area and strive to make it fun, pleasing and a JOY. The more pleasurable the intimate life is, the more wonderful the emotional life is! This business for sure has helped many Christian marriages reach new levels of intimacy and joy. I have been majorly blessed through Pure Romance, and I am so excited at the new levels of training I have been offered and the growth I have seen in the short time I have been doing this.

I was recently authorized to start a ladies small group in our church where we meet once a month and play games and eat and just get to know each other so we have new friends and someone to go to when we need to talk or need Godly advice. It was an almost instant hit! Our slow months are about 14 women now! Praise God! I am just blown away by the reach that this ministry is gaining. Women from all walks of life, all levels of hurt and self-destruction coming together to lift and be lifted! It is truly a marvel to see the love between everyone, no matter the life circumstance! I have not experienced that in any other church. It is truly humbling.

My life is drastically different that it was 2 years ago when everything in my perfect life fell apart. This path is so painful, and so wonderful at the same time! I am getting past the pain and living in joy about 99% of the time now. I don't think I ever saw myself where I am, but God sure knew, and I am ever thankful that He directs my paths!

MAM baby products are awesome!

Donnie and I seem to be past the baby phase ourselves, but we are stepping into even better territory of being grandparents! It is funny how much more fun this is! We have one baby granddaughter and will soon be welcoming a new grandson to the mix!

Recently I was sent some really great MAM baby products to check out. It is just amazing how much better things are since I started buying for my first child 22 years ago!

This great pacifier is a MAM Perfect pacifier.

This pacifier is 60% thinner and softer to help prevent dental misalignment, superior comfort and it is better for the skin with the extra holes for air flow.

They have so many great pacifiers to choose from! You can even get them personalized now!

The Anti-Colic bottle is just one of the innovative developments from the MAM design studio. Its vented base has small air holes and a silicone seal that allows for maximum air flow in while still preventing milk from leaking out. The vented base ensures controlled milk flow by balancing air pressure inside the bottle. Liquid is also pushed towards the nipple allowing it to retain its shape and preventing it from collapsing. All Anti-Colic bottles use MAM’s patented ultra soft silicone nipple. Transitioning from breast to bottle is simple because MAM ultra soft silicone nipples feel most like mom's breast.

Our Anti- Colic bottles also have a self- sterilization feature!

The Oral Care Rabbit is a fantastic way to introduce baby to daily oral care. It is a BPA-free product. You can use this to rub on baby's tender gums and also reach the harder to reach areas in the back of baby's mouth. Bonus, baby will love chewing on your fingers!

This starter teething ring and clip are great! It is lightweight for baby to be able to hold and with the attached clip, it will stay cleaner and always close by! I know that when I am looking for a teething ring I look for something light weight because even young babies who are just gaining muscles in their arms need something to chew on, and they drop it less when it isn't too heavy for them.

Finally, I think this is a top notch product! I love the innovative design with the little fingers on the teething part, that is shaped perfectly for little mouths!

This is called the Bite and Brush. It soothes baby's gums as well as cleaning those first teeth. Those silicone nubs clean the teeth when baby chews on it, and you can also use it with teething gel for ultimate soothing.

MAM, you are continually amazing us moms with your products that help us make our baby's life easier and more comfortable! I've been a customer for 22 years, and will continue to buy your products with my grandchildren!

disclaimer:

I received several MAM products from MAM through Child's Play in order to facilitate a review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions.

Marina Games Take Out review

Take-Out is a really fun learning game from Marina Games! I received Take-Out to review recently and play it with Trinity, my 8 year old. She enjoys it so much that she tries to get everyone to play it with her!

Take-Out has 10 orange dice that you roll, then you roll the 2 white dice. The white dice tell you what number you need to remove from the orange dice. If you roll a combination of 6, then you have to remove any combination of orange dice that equals 6. You do that until all your orange dice are gone, so you have a total of zero.

This is fun AND educational! Trinity had to learn her math facts much faster in order to play against older kids and adults!

I highly recommend this game for anyone who wants to help their children learn their math facts without fighting with them. They do have a good chance of kicking your butt at this game!

Disclaimer:

I received this game from Marina Games and Family Review Networks in order to facilitate a review. I was not compensated for my opinion.

Beautiful Feet!

On Monday I wrote a post about my struggle with staying in God's will and how He led me through that decision. Part of it was a verse about having beautiful feet. Beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News! Yes! I am being stretched and taught so much where I am right now, and that stretching is in reaching the lost and hurting where they are and loving them with the love of Christ.

In the mention of that verse I mentioned that our church had asked people to donate the shoes on their feet to Soles for Souls. The post wasn't about this event, so I didn't elaborate it other than to be proud of our church for donating over 1800 pairs of shoes. Someone kind of freaked out about this, so I will elaborate on it.

We live in America, such a rich nation! Even the poorest of the poor are pretty rich in comparison to some other nations. There are people who have no access to shoes, like EVER, and the price is that they get sick or die. They walk around and grow tough soles, but that causes cracking in the skin which allows parasites and infections to take hold. Because they are so poor, they are most likely scavengers in dumps which poses an even greater danger of punctures and cuts, which leads to more infections and loss of limbs and death.

Even if I am poor, I probably can afford to go to the thrift store or yard sale and get another pair of shoes for pretty cheap. These people do not have that option.

So, our pastor and staff arranged a donation but didn't tell us. He gave us the opportunity to LOVE these people with our BEST and donate our shoes off our feet and to go barefoot and spread awareness of this issue. If we just go tell these people about Jesus, they won't care. But if we go LOVE them because Jesus loves them, then they WILL care about why we would do such a thing for them. They deserve to have shoes, and if we are honest, we will admit to having more than we need in the shoe department. Who can't share their shoes?

The church did not force anyone to donate their shoes. :) Really. I did not donate my shoes. MANY people did not. Some of my kids did, and my husband did. He gave up his favorite pair of boots. He can live without them to save someone's life. I kept my favorite pair of heels, which really wouldn't be a help for them. But we went home and packed up 4 bags of shoes and brought them up to donate. And we still have shoes we never wear.

It is not illegal to drive without shoes. It is a myth. So, no, our church did not call cabs and tow trucks for our congregation or send them out to break the laws of the land.

What about the families? Is it thinking about the families to take their shoes when they might have to go to the store after church? Really, it is Sunday, is it thinking about families to patron a store so people have to work and can't be with THEIR family on a Sunday? So you are inconvenienced, it won't kill you like the parasites and tetanus will in Africa. Small price to pay to serve and love someone. Though I actually saw the some of the congregation went out to eat barefoot and other places, wondering if they would be kicked out. I didn't hear of anyone having to leave because of it. My guess is that most people went home to get one of their 5-20 other pairs of shoes on and then went about their day.

The other big criticism was about what good our heels and dress shoes would do over there. Well, obviously the heels wouldn't be so good, but really, mens dress shoes are pretty much safe and good for feet. However, the amount of dress shoes and heels worn to our church by the 2-4,000 people who attend all of our services is pretty much about 1% if you were being generous, lol. Maybe 2 men wear dress shoes, and maybe 3-4 women wear heels. We don't cater to "churchy" people, we aim for the people who NEED Jesus in their life, and they are often not what churchy people want to see in their church. They wear jeans and t-shirts, ripped up clothes, some are even smelly and drunk. But they see HOPE, hope that will get them out of their addictions and poor choices and bring them to joy and peace.

I realize that this is going to bring out the vultures to try to destroy our church. You have a heart problem if you think that God wouldn't want these people ministered to. The Bible tells us that it is HIS job to judge those who have not chosen Christ. 1 Corinthians 5:12-13. The Bible tells us that we should be wise in the way we act to them, we should be FULL of Grace and only use Salt for seasoning. We don't smash people with SALT, accusing them of their sins, we are to be full of GRACE toward them and then give them salt and let God work on them. Colossians 4:5-6.

Do you who are religious know who Jesus spent his time with? He spent intimate time with his friends and believers, yes. He had his weekends with church, but where did he spend his time outside of being refreshed? With the worst of the worst of the sinners. The tax collectors, the prostitutes, the DRUNKS. He spent so much time with them that he got a reputation for being a glutton and a drunk. Matthew 11:19 "I, the Son of Man, feast and drink, and you say 'He's a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of the worst kind of sinners!'" He was out there, going and making disciples! He was out there with the LOST, not the religious. And the religious hated him. Matthew 9:10-11. He hung out with NOTORIOUS sinners and the Pharisees were INDIGNANT.

If you love Jesus so much that you are very religious, then you should be asking yourself if you spend time with unbelievers. Do you? Are they a big part of your life? Do you surround yourself with other believers and insulate yourself? I insulated myself. I didn't even know how to FIND friendships with unbelievers! "Invite someone to church who doesn't know Christ? How? I don't know anyone who doesn't believe!" Not practicing my faith right there. I am changing that! I, and so many of my friends and church acquaintances over the years have all taken pride in making ourselves to be more like Jesus. Yet we missed this important part of who Jesus was on Earth! I still don't have it all together here, I am learning who Jesus was, what He did, and how to be like Him.

The religious people crucified Christ. The notorious sinners mourned his death. Because they had a relationship with him. They became His early church, and they paid dearly for it by the religious people. They were called a cult, Acts 24:14 I admit that I follow THE WAY, which they call a cult. Well, I guess I am honored to join them and be called a cult. And to walk barefoot for someone else.

(I am not going to allow attacking and vicious comments on my blog. If you have an honest question and are willing to hear an answer, I will participate. Haters will be deleted.)

Weigh the Cost

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" ( Romans 10:14-15 )

Yesterday in church we were called to walk out of the church leaving our shoes behind. No one knew that they would be asked to leave their shoes. People wore their good shoes, their favorite shoes, their comfy shoes, their new shoes. Over 1800 pairs of shoes were left in the church to be donated to a cause that will show third world country people that we LOVE them. So that they can hear the Good news.

I want to have beautiful feet! One day I will stand before Christ and I want Him to think my feet were beautiful. I am called to serve in a controversial way, and it is hard. I don't mind the hardships, I try not to worry about the gossip or let it hurt me. I pray and seek where God would put me and then I do it. If I hadn't gone through the desert recently I may not be able to remain where God has me, but He made me strong for this day.

There is a price for following Christ. From being ignored to ridiculed, from being beaten to being killed. If we can't bear the ridicule and the loss of relationships, how will we bear the cost of death? Will we lay down our very lives if we walk away when we are gossiped about?

I debated walking away last week. Not away from Christ, but away from where He has me. I felt that maybe I could just serve Him anywhere, why did it have to be here? Was it worth what I was losing to stay here? But the truth of the matter was more was the cost of relationships worth staying in God's WILL? Could I step out of God's will for relationships and still be blessed?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35-39 New International Version (NIV)

I look at this and I know that if I can't stand firm with losing people I love deeply over Christ, I would not be able to hold firm to my faith when facing death. I don't choose to lose relationships, but I can't disobey God to save them.

I want beautiful feet. I am so thankful that my God always loves, always protects, always guides, and always comforts.

I'm a grandma!

My darling little Faith Ann was born on August 29th! Isn't she precious!? This is her looking at me about an hour or so after she was born.
I was so blessed to be able to be there when she was born. I loved being able to help Drew and Jannessa with things and just be there. We enjoyed almost a week at their house and then we drove back home. They came with us home to show the baby to the rest of the family.
Faith has the softest, thickest head of hair I think I have ever felt on a baby! I am pretty sure it is going to turn blond one day.
Faith was 8lbs 2oz when she was born and is just growing and plumping up more every day!

More great news: We have a grandchild coming in April, too! Kaytlin and Peter are expecting! I wonder how long it will be before "Our Seven Qtpies" is about our 7 grandchildren!

Fall is here!

Fall is here!

Fall means that kids go back to school AND people start going to church again! Yeah! I love seeing new faces at church and watching people learn about God and come closer and closer until they finally see that Jesus is the only way to having eternal life in Heaven! Watching lives change from depressed and messed up to joy and peace and freedom is just priceless!
Ok, so that happens in the summer, too, but when fall comes, it happens MORE.

Tomorrow is Fall Launch for our church AND our first Sunday having two services at our campus! The new series is about having better relationships. Dating relationships, marriages, and even parenting.

We've worked hard to decorate for the new series, and we are excited for morning!

Don't you just love fall! (I would go all "pretty fall colors" and all, but anyone who knows me would know I was off my rocker because I do not do outside, lol)

Life lessons

I recently went through a pretty horrific experience with church leadership. It devastated me. I love that church, but I can say, that even after apologies and admissions and truly seeing where things were misunderstandings and not intentional, I would not go back while those leaders are still in leadership positions. I am not saying everyone should leave, I just can't be under their leadership after the major failure and hurt. They are not bad people. It was a bad situation.

God taught me lots of things during that really long year and half of trying to figure out how those men who seemed to be wise had seemed to have lost their minds.
One of those things was that things are NOT what you think they are. Even when things really look one way, and you can't see any way that it could be something other than what it appears, it certainly can be something else. (in both directions!) Rarely are we blessed enough to see a meeting of the two sides and get to the real truth.

Proverbs 18:17

¹⁷The first to state his case seems right
until his neighbor comes to cross-examine him.

Therefore, I learned that we shouldn't spread the news, even if we think it is probably true and is shocking. We really think everyone should know. But when is one side the whole truth? If you only hear one side you have an absolute obligation to find out the other before you take action and spread gossip. Otherwise you are a perverse person.

A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. Proverbs 16:27-29

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. Proverbs 18:8

People want to hear gossip, especially gossip that tears people apart. If that is how it feels, you should sit back and take notice of WHY you feel the need to spread that rumor.

Sometimes we react out of hurt and truth gets distorted, and a small misunderstanding can become a HUGE offense before we know what hit us. The enemy wants to make Christians fight and cause dissension in the house of God. I've seen this a lot. I would tell my story, but we signed an agreement not to talk about it, even though I think hiding the truth is worse than telling the truth.

So, here is a little story:
A mom's side: My son is 18 and is going to this great church, playing in the worship band, and I check it out and all seems great! Scriptural teachings, great life-change in people! But then one day my son wants to stop going to college and serve God. I think he should finish school, so I say finish or move out. The church HELPED him move out! Then he wants to get married to a woman older than he is! He is only 18! The pastor told him to marry her, to quit college, They are a CULT!

A son's side: I am serving God, love what I do, and I am in God's will. But I am too stressed with school and my mission. I plan to keep serving where I am, and my pastors said they would hire me without a degree, because I have the skills. So I quit, but my parents didn't like it and said I had to move out if that was my choice. I get it, so I asked the church to help me find a place to live to honor my parent's wishes. When I fell in love my parents were furious! They wanted me to wait and got my pastor to tell me to wait. But we prayed and prayed and we really believe that God told us to get married, and we prayed with a mentor (who is not the pastor) and she agreed with us that is was God. I ignored my parents and my pastor's advice, and now I am happily married and serving God where I am supposed to be!

Who is right? His mom raised him to follow God and when he decided to follow God instead of her, she decided he was in a cult. isn't he an adult? Why would we get caught up in the mom's story? People only want to grasp onto the bad "cult" theory and tear apart a group of people who want to serve Christ. The truth doesn't matter. They don't care that they are hurting people, they just blindly and enthusiastically spread the word about this "cult."

Aren't they responsible to God for what they spread around?

This is the point where the internet becomes a frightful thing. Anyone can say anything and anyone will believe it and tear lives apart with no remorse.

1 Peter 2:15
For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.


God tells us to be fishers of men. I will keep fishing.

Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension

This year on my birthday, my 40th birthday, I got to celebrate by having a Phineas and Ferb party! Child's Play Party sent me a sweet party pack for 20 kids and we watched the new movie Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension! It may not seem all that exciting of a party to you, but Phineas and Ferb are amazing! My entire family, from hubby to 4 year old, watches it and LOVE it! I was thrilled!
I invited a bunch of moms and their kids from age 6 to 14 and they came over and watched the movie on the Disney Channel.

Then we took a break for some fun food! This is Perry the Platypus, who doubles as a suave secret agent, Agent P, though his owners are clueless until this new movie!

My friend decided I should not be making my own birthday cake, so she made me the most awesome surprise Phineas and Ferb birthday cake! The kids loved it almost as much as I did!

Us moms hung out on the couch while the kids took over the floor and watched the movie. (ok, so we talked a lot)

After watching Phineas and Ferb travel to another dimension, only to discover the secret about their pet, and watching Candace trying to catch them in the act of making the 104 days of summer vacation the best ever, I was able to give the kids some fantastic gifts!

They started with some Phineas and Ferb masks while watching the movie, and then they got tattoo sheets, a back pack, pins, and a sticker sheet to take home with them! We had to give out tickets and draw to see who got which back pack because most of them wanted an Agent P.

This party was so much fun! I loved the great food ideas and the wonderful gifts that were provided for the kids! The kids loved the movie and were thrilled with their swag!

I highly recommend Phineas and Ferb: The 2nd Dimension to everyone. The show is not only fun, it has decent values! The boys listen to their parents, evil never wins, and there are no crude references in it. Just good, clean fun and great imagination!

Life goes on.

I can't believe how little blogging I've been doing over the past year! I love blogging! My life has changed a lot, and it has changed so much that blogging doesn't feel the same. I don't have as many crazy disasters as I had when Sam and Trinity were little. Sam is still crazy, but he doesn't do that much in the way of blog fodder. He cracks us up every day, but I can't imagine everyone finding it funny, and it is usually a one-liner.
My new job is awesome! I doubt most people want to hear about it that often, though. :) I am selling Pure Romance, and while it surprised me that I wanted to do it, and that I have total peace about it all from God, I am really able to help women. And that feels so good! Not to mention that it is entertaining, too! I love making people laugh!
This fall will be a big milestone in my life: My first grandchild! I am so excited that it is a girl! I have been telling Drew for YEARS that I am praying for God to give him 7 daughters, you know, to get him back for all the crud he dished out as a teen, lol. First child being a girl= glees for me!




My mom and I found this wine called Seven Daughters and bought it for him for their first baby shower, lol. I thought he'd be annoyed, but he actually thought it was great! He'll be getting one of these every time he has a daughter!

Master Lock and Breast Cancer Awareness

I have 3 aunts who are all breast cancer survivors. Two on my mom's side and one on my dad's side. Since it is a topic that has hit so close to home, I am honored to be able to tell you all about Master Lock's campaign to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness.
Master Lock is running a new pink line of locks to help promote breast cancer awareness. I just love the super cute pink locks! I'm pretty sure the boys wouldn't be too enthused about pink locks, but I love them and I know my girls will like using them for their bikes.
In addition to the pink locks, Master Lock is utilizing Facebook and gaming technology in order to allow people to help raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. They have a game where you can help "unlock a cure." Go to http://www.facebook.com/masterlock and play their memory game and they will donate a penny for every level you complete. The game will be running through October, so lots of time to spread the word and rack up some serious funding!
I enjoy playing games on Facebook, but I think it is even better when you are playing for a good cause. So, go play a Facebook game with a clear conscience!

I love being happy again!

For the last year and a half my life has been constantly over shadowed by emotional pain. I enjoyed things that were happy and fun, but the joy was smooshed in my life.

Finally, finally! Finally I am happy again. I've gotten through the heartaches and pain and betrayals. Enough time has passed to be able to not dwell on them.

I am planning on blogging again now! And hopefully soon I will have the gorgeous wedding pictures to post from Kaytlin's wedding. And maybe I can find Devon's graduation pictures, someone downloaded them but I don't know where, lol.

And today is Kaytlin's birthday. She is done being a teenager! She is a beautiful married woman! Happy 20th Birthday, Kaytlin! I am so proud of you and the choices you have made in your life. (we won't talk about the shoes)

Free Husband......... on Craig's List

Donnie sent me a link to a Craigslist posting hoping I would see it before it got removed. It is removed, but here is what it said!

st cloud craigslist > for sale / wanted > free stuff

Free Husband (MN)

---

Date: 2011-06-15, 2:47PM CDT
Reply to: sale-2jqde-2442526935@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

Free husband, 30 years old, good with kids and animals, totally house-trained (though he will leave dirty laundry all over the house)...he will lie to you and call you names and put you down and threaten to leave you, usually on a daily basis but at least he doesn't hit you right? He can be lazy but when he gets going, he is good at yard work...has fun with kids but don't expect him to help at night when the baby cries. Nice and strong to move stuff around. Come and get him so I can have a bit of a break!

• Location: MN

Another one down........

Devon graduated high school! That is 3 out of 7 making it through! This past 12 months have been the busiest ever! One year ago yesterday, Drew and Jannessa got married! Then Kaytlin gave up her princess crown and got engaged. She then moved out and into a dorm, and exciting new adventure for our family. We found out that Drew and Jannessa are giving us a granddaughter! Next came wedding planning AGAIN. Kaytlin got married in May, and then Devon graduated in June. We finally resolved the painful issue with our former church. I started my own business selling Pure Romance. Finally Cody turned 16 today.

And those are just the highlights.

New Venture (long)

Almost 2 years ago Donnie was laid off from his pretty good job. We've managed to muddle along, but the pay cut is huge, and muddling along just isn't going to cut it much longer.

I decided I just need to bring in some money, too. But working a 9-5 isn't an option. We are committed to having a parent home with our kids. We would sell and move to a cheaper place, but we are under water on our house and owe more than it is worth at this point. Funny how that happens, huh? We are stuck.

So, after thinking and praying for options we came to the conclusion I needed to go into home party sales again. I loved selling Tupperware and I was a manager years ago. I ran through all the typical businesses and I just don't see making good income with them. You can buy much less expensive plastic than Tupperware, and once you have it, you don't need more. Pampered Chef is great, but you know, I found a much cheaper stone casserole dish by Paula Deen that can go in the dishwasher! Hello, why would I buy Pampered chef? Yeah, so that is out. Makeup? Not my thing. Yes I wear make-up, but I am not into the high priced stuff, even though it IS better, I just can't do it, so how could I sell it?

Then it hit me..... What do I buy and repeatedly buy? What does my husband encourage me to buy? What is important in my life consistently? My marriage is very important and I am willing to spend money to make it fun, exciting and to help us stay emotionally close. I buy Pure Romance products, and have for years. Most of my friends buy it, too. Most married couples are interested in having a good intimate life together.
I struggled with this. I am a Christian, that defines me. How can I do this? The person I have been buying from is a Christian, so I went to her and asked her how she balances it. She gave me some great advice. She always talks about God, and how He wants married couples to have a great sex life. And He does! I have no issues there, I totally believe that! Just read Song of Solomon, it is quite clear that God means for husbands and wives to take joy and have fun in their desire for each other. "Love’s flames are flames of fire,
flames that come from the Lord. (Song of Solomon 8:6b) " She also told me that through her parties she has been able to invite women to church and they have gone! Many women have issues that they don't know how to resolve and they don't know who to ask for advice. Being able to talk about sex freely is a gift. She has it, I have it. I can help women who do not enjoy sex, but just get through for their husband. I don't think that is good. You can enjoy it, and if you don't then you are not going to get the emotional closeness that God intends for your marriage. The effects of that will ripple through all of your marriage.

What about people who are not married? How can I sell to them? I believe sex before marriage is wrong. I do, however, we are not to hold unbelievers to our standards. Here is what the Bible has to say:

1 Corinthians 5
⁹In my letter to you I told you not to associate with people who continue to commit sexual sins. ¹⁰I didn’t tell you that you could not have any contact with unbelievers who commit sexual sins, are greedy, are dishonest, or worship false gods. If that were the case, you would have to leave this world. ¹¹Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don’t eat with such people.

¹²After all, do I have any business judging those who are outside the Christian faith? Isn’t it your business to judge those who are inside? ¹³God will judge those who are outside.

So, I came to the conclusion that I could do this business and maintain my belief system. I want to make money, yes, and this is a business that people will keep buying. But I also get to HELP women, and that is good! I may also get chances to reach people for Christ, and that is even better!

My biggest problem after all that was what people would think about me selling "sex toys." I am not all about toys, yes, there ARE toys, but that is not the main focus, and not why I am selling. I had to decide that what a few people think are not what matters. What matters is what God thinks, and am I allowed to do this? And my answer was YES. Now when I've been telling people I have had amazing reactions! People are happy for me and not judgmental. There will be times when people are (like when some people from our former church find out, lol) but I know why I am doing it, and that God is blessing my effort. Here is a little verse for the people who want to judge :

"Don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God's law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?" - James 4:11-12

I prayed about it, and God opened the doors and even made it possible to start. I am very excited to start this venture! If you want Pure Romance products you can check out my website, or if you would like to help me out (and get free products!) and have a party, I would be very honored. Privately email me if you have issues that I may be able to help you with. (qtpies5 at msn.com)

There's an app for that!

You hear that a lot "There's an app for that!" on commercials. But did you know there really IS an app for THAT?
I have been telling Donnie I want a little more romance in the fun department. So he says "Should I turn on some music and light some candles?" I asked him where he was going to get candles, we didn't have any in our room, "Is there an app for that?" I said with some sarcasm. When he was done finding a good music channel on the satellite TV he DID find an app for some romance, lol.


So we had a romantic fire in the "fireplace" on our headboard. Every time I looked at it I had to giggle. Ok, so maybe it isn't actually romantic, but it is really funny.

Never challenge a man with an iPhone.

Only at my house!

Drew and his wife, Jannessa, are visiting our house after Kaytlin and Peter's wedding. So we had a lovely dinner together of meat cake, and even Grandpa joined us for dinner.
While we were enjoying each others company Cody mentions that he has always wanted to play the game from Scrubs where Turk and JD drop their pants around their ankles and the first person to get embarrassed and pull them up loses.



The boys all said they would do it and wouldn't get embarrassed. They were so cocky that I goaded them into actually doing it. So Drew and Cody stand up and drop their drawers AT THE TABLE. Poor Grandpa! They sat back down and started eating. Jannessa was dying, she was right between the two pant-less guys.
Then, out of the blue, Sam stands up and drops his drawers, too! There were a LOT of tears of laughter by this point!
Grandpa didn't take his eyes off his plate anymore, lol.
But then Sam took it to a new level and I had to tell him to put it away, because no one else had that hanging out.
After supper the boys realized that they were both equally matched and it was boring in the house. So Drew and Cody went outside to do yard work with their pants around their ankles. Not. Even. Kidding.
Finally they agreed neither would get embarrassed and pulled them up at the same time. Leaving Sam as the winner, since he still has not put his pants back on!

Another tax deduction bites the dust......

Those were the words that my husband uttered to me the morning after Kaytlin's wedding as we were laying in bed absorbing the quiet after the busy weekend.

I really don't know how we would have ever managed to have such a beautiful wedding if we didn't have so many great, supportive and hard working friends. It wrecks me in the most beautiful way to know what great friends we have!

Kaytlin and Peter are finally married after 2 years of the most beautiful example of purity for their friends and siblings. They shared their very first kiss on the altar! I have never forced that choice on my children, but I have prayed that my kids would have that experience, and God provided a man for Kaytlin who wanted to give her the very best, more pure husband he could give.


They are absolutely gorgeous! (and I can't wait for grand babies with Kaytlin's good looks and Pete's brown eyes! I will be mush!) Their wedding was gorgeous! Their honeymoon is a bit rocky, with a bunch of delays and a car breakdown and 3 days later haven't made it to their honeymoon destination, but they will have great memories.

I am very proud of them, and so very thankful to our amazing friends.

I will post all the fun wedding planning disasters and other pics as I get them loaded on a computer that has internet access.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today my day was made complete when Trinity said the prayer for our steak lunch. Her grandma gave her a book of prayers and she has been reading them and praying. So today she wanted to say a prayer and she picked The Lord's Prayer, which she read with her head down and hands folded.

"Our father who art in heaven, hollowed be they name
They kingdom come, they will be done,
on Earth and as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tree passes
as we forgive those who tree pass against us.
Lead us not unto temperation and deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen."
We all giggled and covered our mouths through the whole thing! Totally made my day!

Let the wedding preparations begin!

This weekend my friends threw the first of Kaytlin's bridal showers. It was so much fun! Kaytlin was amazingly blessed, with over 30 friends and family coming along side her to congratulate and encourage her in her upcoming marriage.
I am starting to even get excited rather than dreading the whole wedding prep stuff. It is a LOT of work and a lot of money, but it is also a lot of fun. It has only been a little over 9 months since Drew got married, and I was not ready for another one, but what control do we have over that? LOL
I made Kaytlin's bridal shower cake. It was French Vanilla cake with lemon buttercream icing and raspberry filling. For the first time I actually LIKED the taste of the cake. :) I am not a cake eater normally, but I would actually eat a small piece of this. Had there been any left, lol. Which there wasn't.
I am really happy with the way it turned out. Sorry about the quality pics, I took these with an iPhone.