Oliver's Arrival

Today marks 3 weeks since Oliver was born. So, now with our family visitors having come and gone and little Oliver resting peacefully in his swing, this just may be the appropriate time to share his "birth story" for anyone interested. (That's what this post is about, so if that's not your thing; you have been warned) We'll see how far I get before our next dirty diaper complaint ;)

So basically the weeks leading up to my due date, I was ready to not be pregnant anymore... like any other woman. We went for evening walks, and I drank every tea recommended to induce labor and ate spicy food... all that good stuff. At each check up my doctor would discover that I was making no progress dilation or cervix-wise. I did not feel too concerned for the most part because historically the women in my family would go from 0-10 on the day of their comparatively short labor. I informed my doctor of this incase it meant anything to her... I'm sure it would be medically irresponsible to make decisions based on such information. So, on Friday the 7th she had me go in for an ultra sound to measure the amount of fluid and view the state of the placenta so that Monday when I went back in we could discuss a plan. Now, my actual due date was Sunday the 10th so it's not like I was particularly late; my hope was that she would find that everything was fine and continue to wait till he came naturally. I have desired to naturally birth my children since before I ever even got married... I knew this was my wish in my teen years. That said, I knew that if she wanted to induce labor, I would have a much harder labor; the drug pitosin forcing contractions to be much harder and stronger; not an ideal combination with no pain medication. [Which absolutely was not an option for me... and I can be pretty darn stubborn about things I am serious about]

Anyways, we went in for my appointment on Monday morning. She came in the room with a serious look on her face. She said that my placenta was past it's prime (I guess they begin to deteriorate about 37 weeks). My fluid levels were less than ideal and Oliver's growth had slowed. She made reservations for me to check in at 5pm on Tuesday and begin a drug to soften my cervix which had not even begun to soften @6pm, and start pitosin drip @5am. I cried. I was really upset, concerned about Oliver and disappointed that I was not going to have the birthing experience that I desired. She asked what she could do and I asked her to pray. She said she would.

We went home and continued to work on all of the "labor inducing" theories... went to the high school and climbed stairs... pulled weeds... more tea and spicy food etc etc. I composed an e-mail and sent it to my closest friends and family members explaining the situation, asking for prayer. I woke Tuesday morning, prayed and asked Jesus that no matter what happens that he keep his hand on me and let me feel it the whole time, which is the only way I can do this. We checked in at 5pm and they checked me, no dilation cervix 60% effaced; gave me the first of 3 doses of medication @6 as planned; the following scheduled @9pm and 12am. Over the next few hours, contractions were registering on the monitor but I really didn't feel much... the nurse kept coming in to adjust the monitor and have my lay on my side saying that maybe Oliver was laying on his cord and his heart rate would slightly dip after each contraction. No problem... I thought... maybe we're getting somewhere... hope I will go onto labor with out the pitosin.

9pm came and went and no one came to administer second dose, what the heck??? 9:15... no one... now I'm anxious and angry... 9:20 Mike talks to nurse "what is GOING on??" They decided that they didn't like Oliver's reaction and will not be administering drug anymore... they will start Pitosin @3am instead of 5am. NOW IM PISSED, this is not what I want and the staff does not even have the courtesy to tell me what is going on... I cried... "Why did I even agree to let them induce me?" So Mike says what can I do?? I said "pray over me, pray that I go into labor before 3am". He did. Then I calmed down I felt the embrace of my savior and was able to feel peace.

At 10:30pm, I felt my first strong contraction... kept silent, watched the clock and another came 5 mins later, this time they were STRONG and not showing up on the monitor. I told Mike, start timing me, I'm pretty sure I'm in labor. He did, within 15 mins we felt confident "this is it"... we agreed to keep me hydrated and keep this to ourselves because we wanted to revert back to our natural birth plan, no drugs, no IV, no interventions.

It was after 1am and the nurses had come in and out a few times, we decided to let the nurse know "we're in labor". She said "what makes you think you're in labor?" uh... duh! So Mike told her that he had been keeping track... not to mention my mental state was deteriorating.... and I was moaning and breathing through a contraction every 3-4 mins.... She left the room and a few minutes later another nurse came in the room and said, "So you think you're in labor?" We were like "we ARE in labor..." so she said ... let's check you... and WHOA I was dilated to 7cm. Again... DUH... I think I know I'm in labor.

A little while later when my nurse came back in I said "So what's the plan"... in the slurred (drugged with pain) voice I could muster. She was like "well what do you think the plan should be?" I said "like when do we inform the DOCTOR???" She said "well your doctor comes on @ 7am. We'll go from there.” She left the room.
I was thinking 7am... she's NUTS... I'll tell her next time she comes back. So next time I told her (I think I was still speaking english at this point) "Uh, we need to call the doctor, I'm not going to make it 'til 7am” Now it's after 3am. Mike could probably tell you times better... I was barely coherent.... or should I say barely Human at this point. So exhausted from the pain, Mike said I snored between contractions.

She decided to check me again and I was now at 10cm. She said "but your water hasn't broken” WHAT THE HECK?????? What does it take for you to call the doctor around here???? So a couple contractions later I told Mike I'm having a strong urge to push. He said what should I do?? I said tell the F@#(^$@*&^ NURSE!! (When you're in labor, you might say some things that are out of character). He ran out into the hall and shouted the update to the nurse... at least I think that's what happened.... with the next contraction, I couldn't stop the push... I pushed my water out... now they FINALLY come in and said "We've called the doctor that's on call, he is really close and will be here shortly.. They proceeded to set up the room for delivery... it was around 4am.

The doctor walked in the room @415. They had me start pushing immediately, finally! I pushed once, twice... I was so exhausted.... then they told me this time you gotta PUSH hard Katie, PUSH PUSH PUSH.... take a breath and PUSH! My nurse trying to lock eyes with me another nurse on the left, Mike on the right, everyone shouting PUSH. And Oliver was born!

I guess, in the mean time somewhere between the 1st and 3rd push the his heart rate dropped drastically, the doc had to make a huge incision (class 4 episiotomy) and said if he doesn't come this time we'll have to use the vacuum.... thank God! I just remember before going in, my friend Meg, my aunt Carol and a couple others said, just Push like heck... as soon as the baby is out the pain stops... so I kept that in mind...

Anyway, deliriously exhausted as I was, sooo happy... they put Oliver on my chest, and I told him "I love you".

A few hours later MY doctor came to visit. She told me "I am sorry I wasn't there, and I am also so glad that you got to have the natural birth you desired. Quite frankly with the way the check ups were going I thought you'd be a cesarian." Ugh! Well, leave it to God to show up when there is no possible way you can give the credit or glory to any other source. His timing is always perfect. From Oliver's conception where we were called to a 14 day fast that we put off for years, and in our obedience Oliver was conceived on that 14th day, to his arrival; God has been un-mistake-ably in this every step of the way, something we need to remind ourselves of daily on our journey as parents. It's all for him.

Evolution/Darwinism Debunked

This semester we are going throug Lee Strobel's book "A Case for Faith" with our small group. The book basically takes a hard look at the world's critical questions to Christianity through interviews between the author and several of today's renowned scientists, professors, and theologians. Our current chapter addresses the creation vs. evolution debate... we put toghther these sort-of "cliff notes" to help guide our group through this meaty chapter.... It's not entirely referenced as far as scientists names and sources... but all of that info is in the book if you want to see for yourself, I encourage you to pick up a copy. It's a great book, and the info is thouroughly 'backed' in the book for the analytical and scientific minds :)
Anyways, I thought I'd share the short-hand version of the chapter with those of you who are intrigued by this debate:


Evolution/Darwinism : Basically states that the origin of life started by non-living chemicals on the earth, [if given enough time which is scientifically unlikely] were combined to create living cells.

** In order for this to be possible the exact 20 out of 80 types of amino acids (Much more complex than 1 or 2-sided cells) had to have linked together in exactly the right sequence to form proteins which are the building blocks of life. (this is not even taking into consideration the complexity of DNA and RNA, the ability to store info, reproduce and process energy)

Theory 1: Random Chance

Hypothesis: That the right combination of 100 Amino Acids found each other and linked together in exactly the right order/sequence by chance to form a protein.

Conclusion: Odds are nearly impossible 1 in 110 w/ 60 zero’s after it. “Scientists simply don’t believe it anymore”

Theory 2: Chemical Affinity

Hypothesis: Amino acids are “biochemically pre-destined” inherently attracted to each other in a way that would cause them to link up in the right sequence to make a protein.

Conclusion: Debunked – Not just 10, but 250 proteins tested. Results demonstrate no chemical preference in sequence. Even author, Kenyon, has repudiated the idea.

Theory 3: Self-Ordering Tendencies

Hypothesis: If energy is passed through a system at a fairly high rate, the system becomes unstable and will actually rearrange itself into an alternate and somewhat complicated form.

Conclusion: High level of information required to order the amino acids to create protein molecules. There is a significant difference between the “order” found in some nonliving things and the “specified complexity” of living cells.

Theory 4: Seeding from Space

Hypothesis: Building Blocks of life came from somewhere else in space, either sent by extra-terrestrials or Amino Acids were in a meteorite that fell to earth over 3.8 billion years ago.

Conclusion: 1) At these velocities, at least 10 to 15 miles per second the temperatures you reach on impact are so high that you end up frying just about anything. 2) Even if meteorites did deliver amino acids to earth, you still have not solved the Origin of Life problem, how did these cells assemble into amino acids??

Theory 5: Vents in the Ocean

Hypothesis: Vents may have provided an environment where the beginning of life might have been nurtured from very simple molecules all the way to living cells and primitive bacteria.

Conclusion: 1)“Granted, the vents might provide an unusual energy source that could prompt some chemicals to become reactive, but it never addresses the assembly problem.” 2) the high temperatures of these superheated vents would destroy rather than create complex organic compounds

Theory 6: Life from Clay

Hypothesis: “life somehow arose on clays whose crystalline structure had enough complexity to somehow encourage prebiotic chemicals to assemble together”

Conclusion: 1)“crystal is nothing more than redundant information. It’s far, far short of the specified complexity that living matter needs. 2) “No one has been able to coax clay into something resembling evolution in a laboratory; nor has anyone found anything resembling a clay based organism in nature”


What's funny to me is that as I read through this chapter the second time with the intention of drawing this "highly scientific" information, I had to chuckle at how ridiculous these hypotheses sound... it almost humored me that supposedly super intelligent scientists even entertained these ideas....

The conclusion reached by the Walter L Bradley PHD, the scientist/researcher interviewed, and most of today's scientific community is well summed up in his statement "I think that people who believe that life emerged naturalistically need to have a great deal more faith than people who reasonably infer that there's an intelligent designer."

So my question is... the folks out there claiming to be "darwinists": Have they really investigated what they "claim" to believe? ... or is it just another sorry excuse to deny faith???

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My Girls

On my 19th birthday I was a freshman in college. My first Birthday away from home I drove up to Port Austin Michigan where my nearest realtives lived (Aunt Julie and family) with my room-mate and best friend, Meg for a home-cooked dinner. We took the 1.5 hour drive as an opportunity to enjoy the scenery and made a mini-road trip of it. We passed by a "yard sale" and little junk collectors as we were... we just HAD to stop!
As we were looking around, rummaging through someone else's junk, a blond lady (Probably in her late 20's early 30's) came to the door. She told us "every thing is for sale, even come inside, it all has to go" It led me to believe things were not going well in this woman's life. She had to sell all of her things and leave... maybe being evicted?? Anyways, just as she was telling us that, 2 kittens came at her feet and were just circling her feet. I couldn't help but ask "are the kittens for sale too??"
She replied "No, no, please. Take them we will give you food, whatever you need we have to leave and they cannot come with us".
I was in love. One problem though: I had a roommate that did not like cats... not really at all. I begged, she laughed... we also lived in college dorms where cats are not technically allowed... but there were aonly a handful of weeks til school let out for the year. We were planning on moving into a rent-house off campus.
So we continued on our journey had a nice dinner... on the way back passing the yard-sale again... Meg gave in to my pathetic begging. We stopped back and they were so suprised and happy to see us, this time there were 2 little blond girls (Probably about 3 and 5) loving on the kittens. They were crying and holding them not wanting to let go, at the same time thanking us for taking them to give them a good home. They told us their names were "Katie and Molly" ... well obviously the names had to be changed... but sweet.
So on we went, we stopped at a walmart for a litter pan and litter. When we arrived back at school we snuck them into the building (which wasn't very hard to do).
Those first several weeks they just slept on my head and went with me everywhere I went. Into the back pack and off visiting!
School let out... and we had a helluva summer. Our rental "lease" idea fell-through. Meg and I went our seperate ways crashing with different friends (looking for residnecy going to class and working) our stuff all stored in the garage of a house in the woods. A storm one night uprooted a 100yr old monster tree crashing through the roof of that garage... ugh... everything I owned, clothes etc had to be fished out removed from the garage and cleaned up... but where to take it??
Anyways... me and the Girls "Iris and Lily" had to move on.. another friend let us crash for a couple weeks, thanks Yang :) And finally Melanie had a friend moving out of a one-bedroom on the other side of town. I decided to take it! Me and the girls moved in and loved it there! We planted Roses with the nieghbor ("Chick" Boggin from Tennessee a 75 yr old Shriner with a heck of a life-story) in the back cooked and did art projects all night long sometimes, cooked dinner for guests and danced while no one was watching... everyday!
Lily loved to hang out on top of the kitchen cabinets, Iris by the window. I had to be careful bringing in my groceries... if I brought the bread in first and went out for more I'd come back to kitty bites through the bread bag. Every night we locked ourselves into the bedroom... because that's somehow safer.. and we all snuggled up on my twin bed with a foulrescent rainbow striped quilt.
After that year, It was time to move back home. My dad said the girls couldn't come with and said I had to find another home for them. I called my cousin Brian and my Aunt Joyce asking them to say no to what I was about to ask them, but I had to make the call because I told my dad I would. Awe shucks, they said no. So they "Had to stay in my room" haha... I was home for less than a week and caught my DAD going in to visit with them! Guess that means they got approval :) They got free reign of the house with Misty and Spice. Everyone pretty much got along... Iris and Lily brought a lot of love and laughs. Although I had a brief 5 month stint living in Wrigleyville (Probably home half the time anyways 'cause I worked in the suburbs painting on my days off) when I first started with United, the girls stayed at my folks 'til I married Mike.
When they first met him... they must've known he'd be around for a while. We were at my folks watching a movie... Iris hopped right up on his lap... Lily sitting on the back of the couch by our heads... something they have NEVER done before with someone they just met! I got mono while we were dating, in bed for 6 weeks straight! My mom joked about my nurses... they were clearly taking shifts... one would leave, the other would come.. never leaving me alone. Day after day, week after week.
They came to South Elgin with us the day we got home form our honeymoon... we HAD to go get the girls! During our stay there... We thought we were going to lose Lily she was only about 5-6 yrs old she got a horrible stomach problem... several visits to the vet, we nursed her back and were so thankful.
We moved to Palos Heights shortly after that. They loved it there... it took a little getting used to but everyone picked their favorite spots. We put a cat door in and left the back door open all day... they had free reign of a "huge" yard and hardly left the patio. I would come home and the neighbor lady would tell me that she chatted with "the Girls" while I was away working all day... Cute :) During our time there we learned of my dad's illness... during the short time we had with him after that, I would go home and cry my eyes out every night... the girls taking their turns coming in to comfort me, I soaked their fur with tears. They knew.
Then on to Oklahoma! When we first moved in we would find Lily in the Laundry Room cabinets... then one day we found her in the kitchen.... in a brownie pan! Yes, I washed it before I made brownies again.
Last fall Lil's stomach issue came back. At first they said she had a tumor the size of a human fist in the intestines. A couple weeks of antibiotics and it was the size of a golfball. A couple more weeks of antibiotics and it was gone! It was a miracle, unexplained, but we were so glad and thankful. Again in April, she was getting sick again, losing weight... they took and image and it was back, and a different shape leading us (the doc) to believe it to be cancer. I was just heart broken, Mike too... they had a special bond. Thick as theives.
We went ahead with surgery. She opened her up, got what she could and closed her up as quick as possible... the cancer was everywhere, the intestines scarred together :( Things not looking good for Lil, we brought her home and spoiled her for 6 weeks. I prayed that God let me know exactly when was her time so I could take her in before she suffered for any length of time. Last friday I woke to hear her sick, rushed out of bed to check her out... maybe she just ate some grass. I let her outside and she was sick, falling over, I picked her up and ran in with her, cleaned her up and tried to give her medicine... she couldn't keep anything down. I was panicking but knew it was time. God answered my prayer. Thursday she was rolling around in the sun, Friday it was time.
Mike cam home from work early, we loved on her 'til it was time to go. We brought her in and said good bye. It was really really heard. I knew 13 years ago these girls would break my heart. Lily did. But she was a gift. A gift that brought me joy and I cherished for 13 1/2 years.
At bed time and in the morning Iris cals for her. I woke monday morning at 6:07 to her calling for her sis, again at 6:07 on tuesday. Today she was with me. She spends every moment I am home within a couple feet of me. She's my girl, we been mourning our loss together. All 3 of us miss the heck out of Lil, she was "always under our feet" as Mike accurately put it.
Some folks don't take too much to animals some get attached. What I do know is that they are a gift. Iris and Lily were a gift just for Me, and 3 years later for Mike too and God knew Mike was going to come along :) . They have been a constant source of joy and unconditional love in our home.
Lily will be greatly missed by all 3 of us and Iris will be loved by the both of us, hopefully for years to come.



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3.24.11

Ha! Barely over a week later and I had to bust out the maternity clothes... aye aye what am I in for? I hope it's not that I am eating too much... I feel like I need to make sure I get a good balance in... plus sweets :)
We finished up a fabulous job yesterday... this one I will definately post pics of.. it was one of our favorites in quite a while! Glad about it 'cause it was also one of my last... at least for a while. We'll see what the future brings... in the mean time I have no lack of things to keep me busy.
We have our last floor to lay on saturday... PRAISE GOD. Then there will be plenty of wall repair cleaning etc to do before the Adkins gang comes for easter.
After easter is a mad crazy month of prep for Clean Slate which is May 19th. Clean Slate is our church's version of Extreme Makeover... and it IS EXTREME! Super excited and blessed to be a project leader in this life changing ministry for the second year in a row!
Throughout the summer I will have my garden and yard to tinker in while preparing for Baby and a couple visits to Chicago and one to Tucson. The time will fly! I have no doubt that Kustom Kate will keep me busy... just in different ways than climbing ladders and busting butt. Hoping to move into more custom artwork type stuff... I've been lucky to have inquiry already :)) And my new studio will be ready within the month! YAY. That's it for now I have to go shop for art for a client before the day runs out...

10 Weeks

Well, I haven't checked in since my initial announcement so I thought I'd talk about how the journey is going... Probably not a superr exciting post for most, but I thought it would be nice to have a couple notes anyway.
I remember when this whole thing started I'd call Holly [my sister] regularly and ask... is this normal? Or should I expect this? yada yada She always said, I don't know or I can't remember... I'd think DUH? How do you not remember? You have 4 kids and the youngest is not even 3 yet? Haha... now I understand....
Everything has been pretty normal so far. No nausea... not suprised because I decided early on not to go there... mind over matter; that's how I deal with flu season too.
Not super tired unless I tire myself out. Everything fits just fine... for the next couple weeks anyways. I really do enjoy getting out of pants and into sweats if I am out on appointments, working or running around all day. No strong aversions or cravings to foods. That could still be yet to come.
My only complaint: the first several weeks I had insomnia. That was annoying!
I do however really enjoy reading about the development of our baby though... I have an app for my phone that tells what organs/body parts are forming. I think it was like week 7 or 8 the baby already and fingers and toes developing! Not even an inch long and already fingers, toes and now teeth budding! Crazy! The books also say that the sex has already been decided we just won't know for a while yet!
Pretty neat stuff! God is Great! We just keep praying for healthy development of a healthy baby!

"Crazy Love" Compelling Thoughts from Chapter 1

For the last couple of weeks now, we have been discussing a book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan with our beloved "Group 38". I'd heard of the book and been meaning to read it for the last handful of years... What a thought provoking adventure so far!

Anyways, kind of a re-curring theme lately especially in our culture, there is one particular concept that I really feel led to hone in on. Well, let me pre-cede that with this: In the first chapter [partucularly] of the book Chan gives his best human effort to try and draw a picture for you of who God really is.... his omnipotence, his massiveness, his absolute eternal and timeless existance. To get a glimpse (when you have 17mins) check out the 2 videos @ www.crazylovebook.com : "Awe Factor"[2min] "Just Stop and Think" [15min]

A quote from the book:

A lot of people say that whatever you believe about God is fine, so long as you are sincere. But that is comarable to describing your friend in one instance as a 300lb sumo wrestler and in another as a 5'2" 90lb gymnast. No matter how sincere you are in your explanations, both descriptions of your friend simply cannot be true

This concept points me to ponder a very false belief that has infected our society. Does this one sound familiar?

"I am a good person, I don't have anything to worry about, I believe that as long as I am generally good, nice to people and give to charity, I should have no problem getting into heaven"

The truth my friends is this: Us HUMANS don't get to set the standards. God does, He has made the standards very clear and if you live in the US you are extremely priveleged to have access. All you have to do is go to the book store, library, or stay home and turn on your computer. What are you searching for?

My husband re-tweeted a priceless piece of wisdom from one of our previous pastor's this morning: "If you have given up on seeking God, don't blame Him that you have also ceased to find Him." But let me add to that... If you've given up on seeking God, you've given up on the most envigorating, exciting, unpredictable, compelling and fulfilling adventure of your life! From this view: things make sense, have a purpose, change lives and shape the future more than money, or power ever could.

I don't condemn anyone for having that weak point of view I highlighted above I just want you to have more purpose, hope, and flavor in your life!

Let me leave you with 2 thoughts:

Saying that just being a good person will get you into heaven is basically saying that Jesus died in vain. (Wait, don't roll your eyes, even the world's most "intelligent" Athiests don't deny Jesus, his innocence, OR His death. They only dispute his resurrection and His origin. Again, everything you need to know is acccessable)

The second thought is a piece of scripture to ponder:
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demon's believe that - and shudder. -James 2:19

The Gospel is not about condemnation or guilt. But the very truth of it should compell you to thirst for more... So Relax, enjoy the ride, and always check your sources :)
(see Luke 13:24)

New Chapter...

Okay, it's been a while... I've been formulating this post for several days now 'cause it's kinda a big deal.... you'll have to read the whole thing to find out why though :)
Throughout my adult years [18+ish], I am extremely grateful to have such a diverse variety of experiences... Character building, I'm sure, but more importantly chapters of a story that in the end will show how they all come together to Glorify Him.
Near the end of my second year away at college... I woke one morning with a voice shouting "It's over, time to go". Funny how these things are ALWAYS preceded with a way to deepen my roots in each particular phase. Ironically, I had spent the several days leading up to that morning looking for housing with my "roomy" for the next year, Melissia. Both of us excited about the year-to-come.
But there was that voice. A voice I knew only as unavoidable and true. It's always accompanied by a stirring in the gut almost a wieghtless stirring if I could describe it. Like a bird about to take it's first jump out of the tree... a little nervous, at the same time knowing there is NOT another option and it's really for the best.
SO I called my Dad. We were closest at that time... normal I think for a Gal @ 19... not saying my mom and I butt heads 'cause we really didn't. I just talked to my dad more. I let him know... "After finals, I want you guys to come and pick me up, it's over". [Sounding relieved 'cause they hated Northwood for me] He said okay, no questions asked.. just call your mom. So I did.
I went home did my internship at my Dad's shop that summer (for my Associates) and interviewed with United Airlines and got hired. That was great! I traveled the world, lived in Wrigleyville for a stint, met many many people and had great fun.. Met Mike in 2000 married 2 yrs later.
After being furloughed and called back a couple times after 9/11 I had a harder time going back. I wanted to paint, and not be away for unpredictable amounts of time anymore. Then came the voice "it's time to move".. preceeded by the "huge" 5-yr pay raise and accompanied by that gut thing. I thought ... well I gotta keep at it 'til I get a cleintelle built up. NOPE. After weeks/months of horrible anxiety attacks I decided to do a PalmSprings turn... "it's only one day" [one VERY long day]. I never went back.
Married a couple years, we had a Townhome/Condo in South Elgin IL at the time. This is about the time we started going to Church... it was a tiny little Methodist church, avg attendance less than 50. The female preacher, Pastor Mary's words pierced our hearts. Forever changed. Around this time we started talking about starting a family.. we were READY! lol.
I was standing out on our little deck one morning after Mike left for work and that Voice had something to say to me. A 14 day abstinance from my worst vices, and we can start a family.... I know what they are, so did that voice... no further dialogue was necessary.
We moved about a year later to Palos Heights experienced great spiritual growth, God put the most amazing people in our lives at the Stone Church. I get choked up thinking about you guys :) Thank you!
Anyways ... a couple years later came the voice, and the stirring. Roots being the church... but it was our faith now that gave us wings. We ended up in Broken Arrow OK. (There are of course many many details.. but, this is a blogpost..)
Anyways... this is now our 3rd year here. MY how time flies... the family thing seeming unreachable ... we've had times of hope and times of hopelessness... never yet the strength to make my "14 days". The voice would remind me regularly... and my response became "Lord why do you ask me to do something that you know I cant". (I knew now that voice is the Holy Spirit) We began to see a doctor. Diagnosis: "I see nothing wrong with you two, but let's try a few things"
Anyways, I think this just added more frustration and emotion to the mix because we had this hope in medicine.... (which, I don't discredit)
In the fall, I started working with another woman, Lisa. Became fast friends, we were staying busy, making money... what I had been hoping for since moving here.... a few weeks before Christmas... though... I got that stirring again... I thought.. I know that feeling well... it's time for change again.... Here we go! But I wasn't entirely sure what.... do I need to change careers? Things were just starting to get good! Typical.
Meanwhile, that voice wasn't going to go away and I knew what I had to do. Mike and I did joined together in a 14 day fast starting at the beginning of this year. I had no doubt in my mind we would have good news. After all.... Given the strength by Christ... I MADE MY 14 DAYS! I started taking home tests more than a week early.... in great anticipation... all the while repeating in my head any time doubt tried to enter my mind "God is Faithful".
After years and years of prayer "Father please bless us with a child that we promise to raise to reflect your light"
We are finally going to be given that chance!
GOD IS FAITHFUL.
Moral of the story: All the Glory be given to God. We are thankful. Looking forward to my new "career" :)
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Why would people build a house without a foundation? Perhaps to save time and avoid the hard work of preparing a stone foundation. Possibly because the waterfront scenery is more attractive or because beach houses have higher social status than cliff houses. Perhaps because they want to join their friends who have already settled in sandy areas. Maybe because they haven't heard about the violent storms coming, or because they have discounted the reports, or for some reason think disaster can't happen to them. Whatever their reason, those with no foundation are shortsighted, and they will be sorry. When you find yourself listening but not obeying, what are your reasons?

-NIV

"But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and it's destruction was complete"
Lk 6:49

Matthew's Connections

Well, I talked last time about how I learned that Matthew specifically is the gospel writer that focused on Jesus being the Messiah in fulfillment of prophesy. Once again time has elapsed, but being holy week I find it appropriate to elaborate on the same concept.
In the beginnings of this book Matthew shows that the very way in which Jesus came into this world has been foretold:
1) In how his lineage traces back to David which was prophesied centuries before.
2) In how he will come to us: MT 1:23 : "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" - which means "GOD WITH US"

I have to stop right there for a moment and try my best to conceive that the God of the universe put on human flesh and came here to be with us, to lead us back into relationship with him, pretty amazing.

His coming, The character of Jesus and his Mission were revealed to us centuries before in Isaiah 11: 1-5
1.A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2.The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -
3.and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4.but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5.Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

A week before his death Jesus rides in to Jerusalem on a Donkey, prophesied in Zechariah 9:13

In Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23, and 20:17-19 Jesus predicts his death and resurrection for the first second and third times to his disciples.

During his last week he predicted Judas' betrayal (MT 26:20) and Peter's denial (MT 26:34)

So all of these scripture references tell us how the birth life and death of Jesus Christ was no coincidence at all, in fact the only time in history where so many events and prophecies all came true.... but more importantly point to one thing [person] that is Jesus.
Why is that so important? Because we're all broken and hurting in some way or another, no matter how hard we try to mask it. Jesus came to make it right. He came to sooth us, he came to show us that we don't have to pretend we're something that we are not, he came to give us perspective that in a crazy world where there is disease and death, and money is never enough and people are critical and jobs are hard to find [insert your stressers here] that none of that matters. He came to free us from all of those worries and give us hope for eternal life.
He came to tell us that he already knows we're not perfect, and he still loves us anyway. You don't have to become a better person to begin a relationship with Jesus. He wants you right now EXACTLY the way you are... and there is freedom in knowing that he already knows your worst thoughts and deeds, he understands why you thought or did those things and he still wants to use you to be a light for his ETERNAL kingdom.
Now that's the kind of Lord I want to bow down to for ever and ever... how bout you?

"Look to the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life" MT 6:26-27

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Bible Readiing

Okay, here's the problem about not posting very often... I have too many things to talk about; hence forced to be general in order not to drive my reader(s) crazy!

I'll share a piece of my journey today.... please don't laugh [about how long it's taken me] but I started reading my NIV Bible cover to cover a LONG time ago... and have just these past couple weeks had the joy of diving into Matthew which is the first book of the new testament. Now, if you went back I mean WAY back in my posts you'd probably be able to figure that it has taken me 2 and a half years to get to this point. (reading an average of 5 days a week) However I have been digesting each and every verse, lesson, story along the way, including all of the "life application study notes" [which are great and very helpful].

So I'll share some basic knowledge that I have attained in these past couple weeks...

I Enjoyed the last several books of the OT. They are all written by prophets who had some form of communication with God and were to [and did] deliver the message to the people. The common theme being "To Shake the people of [mainly Jerusalem because they are God's Chosen people] out of their complacency and urge them to return to God" And also to give them hope for a future and deliverance through the Messiah who Christians believe to be Jesus Christ.

I have also learned that the reason or one of the reasons Matthew is the first Gospel (written account of Christ's life) is because the purpose of his teachings was "to prove that Jesus is the Messiah, the eternal King" or in other words to prove that Christ's life was a fulfillment of prophesy and promise by God.
This information may be trivial to some and profound to others... In any case, it's something that I learned and found that by reading consecutively its really helping me to make connections that I otherwise would not have.

Hmmm.... There are so many other things that I would like to talk about because I am just drinking this in and enjoying Reading about Jesus's teachings... many or most of which I have read through in random order... what a difference it makes to chew on each piece and reflect. It's helping me to think things though and evaulate my own perspective.

So anyways my intention is to post more often and chat about/brain dump my learnings.

In closure, I want part with a recent finding [like 5 minutes ago]
While writing paragraph 4 of this blogpost, I pulled out my old friend Meriam Webster just to see what he/she had for a definition of Gospel.... interesting that one of the definitions is : "any information which is accepted as unquestionably true."


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Social networks and professionalism

A couple years ago when I started this blog, my intention was to use it more to share who I am with those I was in ministry and the students I was ministering to at the Stone Church in Palos Heights IL. Well everyone else was doing it... so I jumped on the band wagon... lol (and also to make an attempt at some creative writing or journaling... whatever) It was actually a fun little network we had going there for a while... I looked forward to everyone's posts every day or couple of days. And it's still a neat way to keep in touch.. although most of us don't update as often. I think twitter took us by storm :)
Anyways after chugging through the first couple of posts, and feeling stupid about having basically a public journal... I started keeping things in mind to write about, and looked forward to the opportunity to share a piece of myself with my friends and whatever random visitors.
Anyways I started using the space to provide links to Kustom Kate, and share some of my work and promote my business. Hey, it's real-estate.... use it, right??? I mean I coulda seperated business from personal, but that's a lot of juggling! I've had a couple eyebrows raised about sharing my faith in one post and then promoting my services in the next. And then became a conservative political junky talking about policy and gov.. knitting... gardening... Well you get it , all over the map. I just have too many interests and really enjoy the opportunity to express myself in writing [and pics].
Well, it's interesting to me how social networking media have progressed. This stuff was all supposed to have different compartments... like linked in for your professional contacts, myspace (I AM referring to 5 yrs ago) for personal, then facebook and twitter etc etc. Now, not only for me, but for anyone who chooses to participate, it has muddied together, and I think it's a beautiful thing!
Now employers look at how you conduct yourself on Facebook and Twitter as much as they scrutinize your resume and past experiences. I mean think about it, wouldn't you? As a business owner myself, I care just as much [if not more] about character over credentials (for obvious reasons).
When given the opportunity to choose, wouldn't you rather do business with an accountable, honorable respectable person than a smarty pants? (I mean take a look a look at the unexperienced Harvard grad running the country.... oops I mean... nevermind)
Anyways the sum of my thoughts are... Maybe I was a little ahead of the trends, (as always, but I'm in a good industry for that ;) ) but, social networking DOES affect your professional life. It's unavoidable; but it really shouldn't matter if your character is consistent.
It's a small world, be who you want this world to perceive you to be.

I feel that I could elaborate further, but I fear that this post is already a confusing mess of words and punctuation.....

(this post was not written with any one in mind, it's just a thought I had rolling around and wanted to share)




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Extreme: Connecting and Creating

This week I had the priviledge of participating in the Extreme Makover home here in Tulsa. Initially I was reluctant to commit to volunteering. Not because I didn't want to volunteer... heck it seems that I do a lot more volunteering than paid work [wait, that's because I really do]. It's because I wasn't interested in an all-nighter... my adrenals just can't handle it anymore. I probably have United Airlines to thank for that, LOL.
Anyways, my friend Marilie volunteered her workroom to do some sewing for the project, and nominated (? I don't know if that's the best choice of a word but we'll go with it) me to get involved in the decorative artwork... so I agreed. It sounded like they really needed the help. Crazy that it's so last minute, but I guess that's how it works. The designer from the show said he needed 8-10 artists.. and asked me to help gather. So, me, the people organizer got on it 'cause that's what I do.
My first thought was: let's call the best in town... now I don't know who they are because, since moving here my efforts to connect with any Decorative Artists have been thwarted; So I basically gave up months ago... Anyway I googled and called a few. Everyone seemed willing and eager to get involved.
It was exciting to be involved in helping a deserving family, and the whole tv production thing was nuts, but for me the biggest blessing was in the 2 friends that I made. The past few months have been tough for me, I've been working hard at this thing and constantly praying and evaluating how much more I wanted to give it .. or be forced to make a decision to transition out of it. Well, not forced but.. how long can you keep running to stand still??
My interactions with the local decorative artists showed evidence that I have "moved that bus" (get it?). So I'll keep on doing what I'm doing... I'm not as invisible as I feared.
Don't get me wrong, my life is a abundantly filled with joy and blessing.. I just didn't know if I needed to be directing my energy elsewhere. I walked away from this experience with some long-awaited answers, and am EXTREMEly (haha I did it again) thankful for that.
Here are a couple pics... don't know what I'm allowed to post... so hopefully I won't get in trouble :)

My new friends: Teena and Lisa

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