7.31.2014

Thursday Thoughts

 

Thursday thoughts

 I have been so stressed for the past few weeks about moving, I love the house we have now and I do not want to move- it is a major downsize for us and I don’t do well with small places.
We went last night and picked up all of our furniture, we got some great deals. I love me a good sale.
Brooke had a great birthday this year, she sent me this text –
this text made me so happy to know she had a great time.
yes my 11 year old has a phone now, we are teaching her responsibility with it, she has to use her allowance to pay for it or it won’t be in service, I think she can have that responsibility now.
I have decided to give up junk food and loose some of this extra weight, I look at other people and see how nice they look and I want to have that self esteem back ( post coming on that soon). Day 1 of no chips, choc or ice cream, let’s do this.

7.30.2014

Wednesdays for Women



 
I am feeling so Thankful this week.
So I Wanted to share some things that I am thankful for
We all have long lists of things we are thankful for, but do we realize that we are a blessed people, there are so many people in the world who has no shoes to wear- I know me personally i have well over 40 pairs
 
 

Do we have enough food to eat? In fact yes we do, some of us throw out leftovers( im guilty of this) Do we have enough clothes to wear? I know I do, i dont need to buy clothes for a long time
Do we have a bed to sleep in? Yes, and we complain that isnt comfy enough
We have cars to drive
We have jobs we have the ability to travel around the world if
We have free health care- here in Canada we do anyway,
We have churches we can go and worship freely
We have a free education system
 Be thankful for your parents- without them there would be no us, i am sure there are times we wish they would stop telling us how to do things, but Love them anyway..
 Be thankful for the fresh air to breathe, your lungs, your heart for pumping
I am thankful for doctors who care about my health
I am thankful for another chance to live another day
 

7.29.2014

Happy Birthday Brooke



11 years ago was the happiest day of our lives as we became parents to a beautiful 7 lbs, 4 oz baby girl, who stole our hearts immediately.


Brooke,
It is such a joy to be your mom, you are so incredible, the older you get, the more of a pleasure it is to be your mom.
You’re extraordinarily smart. You…well, you always have been. I could sugar coat it or put on that “aw shucks” attitude about it – but, you were just born this way. Wish I could take credit for it, but dang, girl. You’re kind of just amazing by nature. It’s fun to watch your brain work.
I have no idea what this upcoming year holds for you – but I know that I will sit back and try to enjoy this ride. I imagine this is a year where you will start demanding more independence and thus it will be the year where I will have to learn a little bit how to let go and when to let go and when I still get to hold on. You are amazingly grounded with a level-head on your shoulders, and I’ve been blessed to have you in my world.

Eleven years ago today I first looked at your face and my world was changed, and daily you keep changing my world in all kinds of spectacular ways. Eleven years ago I officially became a mom, and though I’m not one to define myself solely by the fact that I am a mother, being a mother – being your mother – has shaped who I am more than anything else in my world ever has.

Happy birthday to you, Princess. I love you with my whole heart and I am oh so very lucky to be your mom.

I love you,

Mom

Now for my yearly tradition of her birth story


I was 19 when I got married, Andrew 20, all I ever wanted was to get married and be a stay at home mom... So we decided we would work on that right away, some people choose to wait, we didn't and not once have been sorry!!!

We found out about Brooke in Nov of 2002 and wanted to wait til Christmas to tell our family, well that didn't work out like planned bc I got to sick and my mom was really worried... So we broke the news to her, there were tears of happiness all around....

It was a long nine months... I was sick and still in college, I had to take time of from school and be admitted in hospital, I had kidney stones and was so sick....


Andrew lost his job and we had to move to St John's, moved here at 8 months pregnant and had a time trying to find a doctor, found one I really disliked, he had no bedside manners, 
I was due Aug 12, 2003. I went to see him July 28 and he said I dilated 3 cm and would give birth early that morning, he also went ahead and stripped my membranes, I still really didn't think this was it, sure enough I woke at 630 am and needed to pee, before I stepped out of the bed, my water broke, I told Andrew I had peed my pants, he said no your water broke, I had no pain and had no reason to go to hospital, called my parents and told them I was in labor, SO I showered, ate, pack my bag(just in case), got to hospital around 8 am, they checked me and I am 6 cm dilated, they take me to labor and delivery, they told me to take a shower and relax, I had one of the best showers of all time, contractions were so much easier in the hot shower, once out of the shower I am 8 cm and ready to bring my baby into the world, with only her mom and dad there to meet our bundle of joy!


The nurse hurries to get a doctor to deliver my baby, no doctor makes it, and she was delivered by an intern at 8:54 am after 15 mins of pushing, 100% natural  Brooke Lynn Grothe, 8lbs 4.1 ounces!! The nurse was so impressed and kept telling me to come back anytime, hahaha.

We got to hold her for a few brief moments before they took her to check her over, this is also when they came in to tell us we could not hold her for some time because they were thinking she had broken ribs from her quick delivery, after checking her over they brought her back to us and she was completely healthy.
We adore you Brooke. 

Here is a video from about 6 months up to this summer

7.27.2014

Weekend Recap

Friday: 
I took the day off because I had a very rough night on Thursday night, I had a bladder flare up for the first time in months, it has been going so well but I think I know what the issue is and I think I will do an update on that this week for ya. 
I slept most of the day away, then I noticed a friend from back home was 2 hours away from us, Brooke and her daughter are best friends, so i asked Andrew if he would like to go, so we did... 
we mett hem around 7:30 pm, we had such a wonderful time with the, they had a cottage on the beach, they were here for a wedding, so we hung out on friday night til 11 pm- we walked on the beach while the girls made sand castles, got in the water, found hermit crabs and laughed and talked a lot,  then we went back to the house where the grandparents, bro and the owners of the house was making a seafood dinner, it was so delicious. I felt bad for showing up there but we were told it was ok and to come on in, it nice to visit old friends and make new friends.  we ate dinner, had a fire and made smokes and my phone died so i didn't get anymore pictures. 
we stayed at my aunts house who just lives up the road from the beach. 

 

Girls chatting while walking

  
Sandcastles, bare feet, ocean, laughter- Best things in the world. Made my girls day 

 they wanted to see how cold it was 


 
Back at the house to clean up and have dinner. 

Saturday 
Spent time with my aunt and cousin, then we took the kids on a long walk to try and get them to nap( she has 2 boys) 

Came back to my aunts and she was making lunch for us, so we stayed and left to come home just after that. 
I slept the 2 hours home, I am exhausted and I think i have strep throat, it kills, I have had it lots before and it is the same feeling. 
Then we cleaned the house and I made homemade burgers. 
Ran to walmart to get a present for a little girl who has a party tomorrow. 

Sunday
Sundays begin to early around here, we have to be at the church for 8 am to set up , we have outgrown our building so we are renting one now
Brooke went to the birthday party, we hung out at home.

After service we went to Harvey's- first time being there and I love it so so much. 
Have a great week, check in on Tuesday for a special announcement:) 

7.24.2014

Confessional Friday

How can another week be over already... Linking up with Leslie 


Alright, let's confess 

1) We have a weekend with no plans at all! it is beautiful 

2) I had the best coconut cream pie last night- it is my favourite and it hasn't been easy to find a good one but went for coffee with a friend and found this spot.

3. Last weekend with a 10 year old- our baby is all grown up 
                                      

4. I really have no will power to pack up our house, any volunteers?






Truthful Thursday - What is in my purse - Link Up


Truthful Thursday
Things about me that you might wanna know 
************************************
What is in your purse

Better question is whats not...

Wallet,
hand cream, 
hand sanitizer, 
journal, 
blogging note book, 
greeter notebook,
keys, 
gum
medication
blistex, 
pad,
lip balm,
lip shine,
manicure kit, 
key card for work, 
mouthwash, 
tooth paste, 
tooth brush, 
pens, 
Brookes excema cream, 
polysporin
 
 

Link up and show us your purse:

7.23.2014

Wednesdays for women


to inspire and encourage

A friend shared this and I asked if I could post it :) 

I went for a walk around the block yesterday. It turned out to be a very long walk. I didn’t mean for it to be such a long walk but my little jaunt around the block turned out to be a 10.5 km trek. My roommate had warned me that a walk around the block in rural PEI can be very very long. Of course I only remembered his warning half way through my ordeal and I had a sardonic chuckle as I pondered why is it we only remember warnings when we are in the middle of our dilemma?
Besides ignoring the warning I didn’t bother to look at a map of my area. I had a general idea of the lay of the land and was confident I knew what I was doing. I also went by my experience in walking city blocks which, I discovered, are no match for rural PEI.
It started out a lovely walk, another beautiful sunny day and I was thoroughly enjoying myself. There was one problem thought; I had brought a bottle of water which I sipped on as I wandered these rural roads, and as my bladder filled I began to feel great pressure which I was unable to relieve. My walk became less pleasant as the pressure increased and it was about then that I remembered my roommates warning. Needless to say I was very anxious to arrive back at my humble abode which seemed to take an eternity as I trekked long country roads and even traversing along the highway.  I could hardly think of anything else except relieving that pressure and my focus was on getting home. Then I saw it! The sign for my road! Oh joy, relief was coming soon! I walked up my precious road as fast as my bursting bladder would allow,  I turned into the driveway, went through the door, and determined to not be distracted by my roommates, said a quick hello and marched straight  up the stairs to my room. Relief!
Later I decided to google map the block  I walked and when I zoomed in on the “little” block I shook my head in amazement. If I had checked before heading out I would not have went that route, and certainly not with a bottle of water!
The Bible is often referred to as a road map leading to heaven. If we follow its teachings we will arrive there safe and sound. However, often is the case that we only have a general idea of how to get to heaven and we neglect to take a closer look, thinking we have things all under control. Sometimes it’s not till the pressures of life bear down on us that we will take a closer look and if we are honest with ourselves we realize we didn’t have heaven’s road map all wrapped up like we thought. We realize we have strayed off the path. We realize we’ve been detoured by our own concepts and perceptions, by our own lack of knowledge and wisdom.

Life is a journey and if we want to keep on the right path we need to zoom in on God’s word. Walking in the ways of God is not the same as walking in the ways of this world. His ways are far above our ways and go against our carnal nature. Sometimes God will put up a roadblock when we are heading down a wrong path. We need to heed that roadblock and check our road-map to see where it is we have veered and where it is we need to go. The pressures of life can distract us and lead us astray but if we keep our focus on the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life we will be okay. Stick to the Word of God. Let it be a Lamp to your feet and a light to your path.

7.22.2014

Where do you fit in the blogging world


Where do you fit in the blogging world…

For some time now this has been on my mind… where do I fit in the blogging world or do I fit?
I have been battling wheter or not to stay here or just close my blog all together, it isn’t that I don’t enjoy it because I truly do, I like having this place to share my thoughts and crazy ideas.

I am not a fashion blogger,
I am not a craft blogger I have no craftiness in my body,
I am not a DIY blogger-  I don’t do well with DIY posts,
I am not a full time review blogger- I don’t even do well with reviews of items, so what am I and where do I belong
I blog about life as a mother and a wife, I do not have it all together, but together we have it all.
I blog about the day to day lives of the Grothe's, I talk about our weekends together, I host a Wednesdays for Women which is a women devotional- I love it and it has had great review.
If you come here to find a recipe, a DIY, fashion etc, I'd say hit the X up there because you will not find it.

I am a proud Wife and Momma and I love to share that here

7.21.2014

Weekend Recap


Friday:

Left work at 3:45, it has been a crazy crazy week:
 and stopped at walmart to get some snack food, then Brooke had a concert, she has been at Band Camp all week 



she had such a great time at camp this week. 
Came home and I took a nap, I felt so exhausted after such a busy week, also went birthday shopping for Brooke on lunch break{ sorry baby girl, I know your reading this, but no hints here}, shopping wears me out. 

At 7 pm, I had invited some girls over for a pool party/potluck and I never got any pictures, how crazy am I after all.... it was a nice time. Made some new friends and hung out with some old friends. 
I love having guests. 

Watched some Nashville before bed { if you do not watch this, you need to STAT}

Saturday:
I had a ladies breakfast at 9 am, should be against the law for anything to be before 12 noon on a saturday { can I hear a Amen?}
My breakfast, it was so good, and so filling, I could not finish the entire thing. 

We went and did some shopping, does any one else's husband get in a mood where they just wanna buy everything they see... my husband did that on Saturday and when this mood hits, we always spend more money then we should spend. 

While shopping i got a text from my friend Rachel who has a beautiful baby girl Lucy and then 7 months ago became pregnant again with a little boy Dyson, he was born on Friday night and 2 hours later he had gone home to heaven, his lungs were not developed, my heart broke for her, say a prayer for her this week, i will attend the funeral on Tuesday afternoon. 

Then my friend from my previous job text and said she wanted to come visit, she has a 2 week old baby and his first outing was to our house, we loved having him 

I could have another 


Brooke adored him 

Daniel and his mom, she is such a good momma 

Moses came over around 9:15 pm and Andrew made wings while i did nothing and watched Nashville on Netflix. 

Sunday:
Woke up to some sad news.. a pastor we know- his 19 year old son was  killed on Sunday morning. It just felt like a weekend for bad news. 
We had morning service and then we had some new friends over for lunch we had: 
*grilled chicken breast on the BBQ
* skewer of peppers and onions
*Santa Fe Salad
*Caesar Salad
*Veggies
*chocolate cheesecake. 

It was so nice to make some new friends, we all had a swim and just hung out and got to visit. 
After PM service we had a birthday party for one of our good friends, we grilled and had cake and lots of fun and laughter. 


Now it is nearly 1 am and I need to try and sleep. 
Have a great week 

7.18.2014

Confessional friday



http://www.blondeambitionblog.com/

Linking up with Leslie  
Another friday is upon us, where does time go.
Winter's seem to drag on and Summer's fly by.

Let's confess:

1) I cannot believe Brooke will be 11 in 2 weeks, wasn't she just an infant baby that I was sturggling with her to sleep at night, to give her a schedule, wasn't she just learning to walk, climb on things and still liked to sleep in our bed, we co slept for 18 months and loved it


2) I have mixed emotions about having to move, I love my house where I am now, but change is usually good, we have a lot of things to buy though to prepare for the move, we need to buy all new furniture as this house has none.


3) Tonight I have a girls swimming party, some great ladies are coming over to swim, eat yummy food and hang out and have a good time. I hope the weather cooperates for us.

4) I am ready for another vacation, I am excited for october to get here and go visit  my sister, I am going alone and I have never travelled along but im sure I will be ok, I am worried about a couple of airports but I will be ok.

5) I have an assitant at work who is deaf and yesterday i did something so stupid- I asked her if she would mind if I put  music on. #dumbmove . I felt so bad, I could have cried, she laughed it off but not me, next time I will be more careful

7.17.2014

Big fat negative

A Big Fat negative
 
It's no secret that I would love another baby or even two, my husband doesn't want another so any time I get a chance i remind him of this ;)
 
For those who may ask- NO I would never "make" it happen without his consent...i have heard people say just forget a pill, put a hole in the condom, isn't that breaking his trust? He could in turn resent me and the baby.
 
For the past 4 years l have had a IUD, {best birth control ever, no pill to remember, no worrying about condoms etc}.because of my bladder issues, they thought it best if they removed the IUD and see if it would help, it got taken out when I had surgery in April.
 
My first cycle was on time, quick and easy, IUD stops your cycle, so it was my first cycle in 3 1/2 years, it was great.
 
My cycle should have been here on June 25, as of July 7, it still isn't, so I thought maybe it's possible;) hubby wasn't impressed, I went to see my gyno for surgery check up, and birth control, I told her i was late and i'd like a pregnancy test, i peed and gave to her nurse who checked it....
it was a long 7-10 mins waiting for her to tell me if the Grothe family would be growing by 2 feet.....
 
Test came back as NEGATIVE, i could have cried, i really thought I was, had some symptoms etc, my heart felt like it sank, I quickly got over it and realized the big age gap it would have been ( Brooke will be 11 soon ), i'd have a live in sitter, i also realized God has other plans for our family.


It does hurt when I see pregnancy announcements, I'm thrilled for you and wish you the best and healthy babies all around!
I know I'm blessed with a healthy daughter, and our family is complete. People scowl at me when I say we're done, it's their business after all...
What about you? If you ever got a negative, how did you feel?

7.16.2014

Wednesdays for Women



Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
It’s interesting how we accept the law of the harvest in the natural but we can’t seem to accept it in the spiritual. We know that if you sow potato seed you get potato, not carrot. If you want carrot you must sow carrot seed. Seems pretty straight forward but when it comes to the spiritual we don’t like to acknowledge the Law of the Harvest. We hope to sow one thing and reap another.
Jesus told us we must forgive others if we expect God to forgive us. If we won’t forgive others He won’t forgive us. Sounds pretty rough but it’s the Law of the Harvest… Sow forgiveness, reap forgiveness. Sow unforgiveness, reap unforgiveness. Matthew 6:14-15
Jesus told us to not judge and condemn. He warned us that we will be judged by how we judge. So if we are harsh and critical in our judgement of others then we will get harsh judgement back. Sow judgement, reap judgement. Luke 6:35
You want God to bless you then you must bless others. Give and it shall be given unto you, pressed down and shaken. You can’t out-give God. You will reap far more than you sow. When God gives your cup will run over!  Luke 6:38
What do you want from God? Mercy? Forgiveness? Blessings? You must first sow the seeds yourself. Go ahead and try. Be merciful to others. Be forgiving toward others. Bless others. Be kind and gentle, even when you feel it’s undeserved.  God will not go against His own law. What you sow you will indeed reap. Try it God’s way and see what happens.

7.15.2014

Moving


My facebook status a few days ago said:
Yes, the word on the street is true- we are moving Sept 1
On Canada Day ( July 1) we got a call from the Landlord that they were homesick and were moving back home, we were shocked and in tears, we love our house currently and we have great neighbours, close to church, work, school, shopping etc..
I immediately started to look for a new place to live, there were not a lot of options as we do not want to be right in the city, we also did not want an apartment building- nothing against people who live there, but they just aren’t for us.

Fast Forward to early last week – I found a mini home that I adored, it was so nice all over, so I emailed and asked if I could come to view it, we got in at 5:30 that night, it was 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, I would have really like to have 3 bedrooms, the third to use as an office etc…
We really liked what we saw, so I asked for a contact email or number to apply, never thinking in a million years we would.


Spoke with the lady and she use to work right where I work now, so she checked my references and I checked hers and viola within 48 hours we have a new place to live for Sept 01, 2014, and Brooke can stay in her school, it is closer to shopping, further from church but that is ok.
We went this past Saturday and signed a lease( hence what my meeting was talking about on weekend recap)
Here are the pictures…






Kitchen/entry way 

Soaker tub in Master Bathroom 

7.14.2014

The Lind Family

I first met Lisa back in the days of xanga, she had just gotten married and was expecting her first baby, my love grew for her and her family and now that they are missionaries, my heart is with them all the time, I could never do what they do, but glad they are willing. 

Today I wanted to share about the work they do, and if you feel to help the out, please do so by clicking one of the links below. 



We joined MAF in 2011, served for one year in Kinshasa and felt God's call to stay there and continue the work.  We came back stateside in 2013 to raise our ministry support and do training at headquarters in Boise, Idaho.

Now, with our three kiddos - Levi (5), Amelia (2) and Axel (8 months) - we will be headed for one year of French language schooling in France before returning to Congo next summer.

Right now, we need a few more families to partner with our ministry on a monthly basis.  We also have an amazon wish list as we pack the last items to take to Africa.

You can keep up with us on our blog (www.lindfamily.org), or through Twitter, Instagram or on Facebook.  Anyone can email us questions at mlind@maf.org or visit our "official" MAF site at www.maf.org/lind to learn more!

7.13.2014

Weekend Recap


Friday:
Our Electricity came back on, it was off for 7 days due to a Hurricane that came through these parts, you can read about it here and here
We decided to stop for pizza and start cleaning as soon as we got home, so we got home, started cleaning, everything felt so stale with no AC, or power, or water for 7 days. 
We cleaned then I needed to pick up some laundry detergent so we went back in town and also went for a ice cream cone... 
went to bed early as we were pooped from cleaning and from not much sleep all week. 

Saturday:
We had planned to get up at 7 am and go check out some yard sales but we didn't get up in time. I put a pork roast in the slow cooker while we went to run some errands. 
We had a meeting at 1pm at a restaurant close to us, we had coffee and pie and chatted, ( details to come) we then got a new table with chairs and went to buy some groceries, i made pulled pork for dinner, then I kept some of the pork and made nachos while we watched "The Lego" movie as a family, it was nice. 
I made cupcakes and prepped lunch for sunday. 

Sunday:
We didn't have to be at church til 10:30 because we had our Sunday School picnic today, it was a lot of fun but i forgot to take pictures.  It was a hot day and there was so much food there, I had dessert first because that's what was important ;) 
Sunday Night was bitter sweet, we had to say good bye to one of our sunday school teachers, she is moving away as she just graduated with a bachelor in education we are so proud of you Jessica but we already miss you.


Well Friends, my update is short, but it was a slow weekend :) 


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