Lost & Found

Last night after church, Sam and I came home and carelessly destroyed our entire house searching for something that is just a tad bit important to us: my wedding ring.

I noticed yesterday morning during church that I didn't have it on. Boy, is that a weird feeling--I almost felt completely naked! So Sam gave me the evil eye and mouthed, "WHERE IS IT?" And that's when my stomach sank to a bottomless pit...I honestly had no idea.

Sam and I made a jokingly silly promise to each other that we would never take our rings off without asking for permission from the other person. So every time he makes meatloaf, he asks me if he can take his ring off so he doesn't get raw hamburger chunks hung up in his ring...and every time I put gel in my hair or lotion on the babies, I ask him if I can take my ring off...you get the picture. Well, yesterday morning, we were running late (imagine that), and I was sitting on the recliner waiting for Maya to bring me her brush. So quickly, I just slipped my ring off and set it on the end table so I could put some gel in my hair and at least have myself ready to walk out the door as soon as Maya quit dilly-dallying. Well, a bunch of things happened in a really short amount of time--Gabriel pooped a load and had to be changed, then he puked all over his church outfit, then Maya reached over me and spilled a can of pop that had been left on the end table, then Sam was yelling at me for being late...and so on. So out the door I went...with no ring on.

As soon as I walked in the door last night, I went straight over to the end table where I thought I had left my ring...it wasn't there. Sam lifted up the recliner thinking maybe Maya or I had knocked it off onto the floor...wasn't there. I thought maybe I had actually taken it off when I was changing Gabriel, so I told Sam to look on the bed, and gently shake the blankets to make sure it hadn't somehow gotten lost in the blankets...wasn't there. I looked on the bathroom sink thinking perhaps I took it off before I got in the shower...not there. Again, Sam lifted the recliner to look underneath...no ring. I bent over the end table to look behind it, thinking maybe it somehow got shifted to the back of the table and fell off underneath against the wall. While I was trying to do that, the can of pop that Maya had spilled earlier that morning was about to be spilled again, so irritated, I yelled at Sam, "COME GET THIS STUPID CAN OF POP AND DUMP IT DOWN THE STUPID SINK!!!!!!!!" Sam takes the can of pop, he pours out the diet dr. pepper, and then he says, "Sarah, stop looking...I found your ring."

Yes...my ring got to have a 12-hour soak in a can of God's sweet nectar. Now I know why the pop was spilled earlier that morning...because a very precious little someone who I love with all my heart decided to practice her skills in cleaning jewelry. :)

Hope you all have a great Monday!

Much love,
Sarah

Happy Fall Festival!

It's that time of year again...time for funnel cakes, caramel apples, and....the TILT-A-WHIRL!!! I haven't ridden rides for YEARS now, but I'm planning on riding the carousel with Sassy, and I'm hoping to ride the tilt-a-whirl and MAYBE the Octopus...whaddy think, Ronda? ;)

I know I missed Thankful Thursday, so I'm just going to throw this in here today...I'm thankful for cell phones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) And guess what? I'm getting one TODAY!!! :)

One more thing--if you would like to WIN A FREE COOKBOOK with an AMAZING story about a little girl who has changed MANY PEOPLE'S LIVES, leave a comment on the latest post on this blog (Yes, that's all you have to do!):
www.kyriethome.blogspot.com

Have a super weekend, everyone! Love to you all...

Sarah

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Yankee Candles, anyone?

The time has come for me to throw my little sales pitch, so here goes:

I'm selling Yankee Candles, and I want you to buy one.

:)

Thank God I'm not a salesperson, right? lol

Seriously, though, I'm selling these to raise funds for our Women's Ministry group at church. It's really awesome in the fact that we get to keep 40% of our earnings!! We pretty much have nothing to work with, and I can't really get a group going or do fun things without having a little starting money to throw in to decorate, get door prizes, have snacks, etc...so buy some good smellin' candles or air fresheners for your home...these also make perfect holiday gifts if you aren't particularly a candle person!

So, if you're interested, here is the catalog. http://www.yankeefundraising.com/html/includes/catalogs/FallCatalogs.html

Just pick out what you want, let me know, and I'll get it ordered for you. Moolah has to be given to me by September 28th, and all orders will be in before Thanksgiving/Christmas.

PS--If you don't want a candle or anything else from the catalog, I'd be more than happy to take any donation. Make checks payable to: Grace Nazarene Women's Ministry. :)

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for REFUGE. I'm especially thankful that I have more than one "resource for aid, relief, or escape."

One refuge is my children. After working all day long, and being physically, mentally, and emotionally drained, I can always count on Maya and Gabriel to relieve me of any feelings of sadness, pain, or grief.

Another refuge is my husband. Lately, since I've gone back to work, I've been counting on Sam's aid with the kids, especially at night. I know this might seem to be minute, but I can't imagine what I would do if I didn't have him to count on. Obviously, there are other ways that a spouse can be your refuge...and for mine, I'm thankful.

My family is a HUGE refuge for me. Any time, any place, and for any reason, I know that I have family who I can go to for shelter, protection, safety, aid, relief, or escape. My mom and dad have been a refuge for me more times than I can even count--and to this day, they are ready and willing in any situation. And not just my mom and dad, but my sister, my aunts, my uncles, my GRANDPARENTS, my cousins, EVERYONE!

I can't close this post without mentioning the most important refuge in my life and in your life, even if you don't acknowledge it--Jesus Christ. Talk about shelter or protection from danger, trouble, etc...He's it! Talk about a place of shelter, protection, or safety...He's it! Talk about anything to which one has a resource for aid, relief, or escape...He's it! He's my security, my safety, my sanctuary, my haven, my stronghold, my harbor..."my salvation and my glory: the ROCK of my strength, and my refuge, is in God." (Psalm 62:7)

What are you thankful for today, Carly?

Chris, what are you thankful for?

Sam, what are you thankful for?

Courtney, what are you thankful for?

Katie and Yaw, what are you thankful for?

Ronda, what are you thankful for?

What are you thankful for, Dad?

Mom, what are you thankful for?

Annie, what are you thankful for?

J, what are you thankful for?

Much love to all of you,

Sarah

Happy Grandparents' Day!

Please try not to notice my butt in the background...and contrary to what my sister says, I AM wearing pants!!!! :) Don't you just love my little coon kids?
And of course, my honey-honey, lovey-lovey doing what he loves to do best--drink bath water!

Hi, everyone! Sorry I've been a slacker...reality kicked in again, and while I praise God every day for my job, I am absolutely exhausted by 3:00 p.m.! Needless to say, blogging isn't at the top of my "to do" list when I get home in the evenings. And honestly, NOTHING is on my "to do" list in the evenings except for spending time with the three most important people in my life--Sam, Maya, and Gabriel. However, I DO love all of you who read this, so I will do my best to "spend time" with you, too! :)

So yes, I realize that Grandparents' Day was two days ago, but I just wanted to put a little blurb on here about my grannies and papas. Born in 1911, 1920, 1923, and 1927, they are collectively 350 years old. Now THAT'S a lot of living! Unfortunately, Grandpa Victory died in 1987, so my memories with him are few--but that makes those memories even more precious to me. He was a character, let me tell ya. I'll have to elaborate on another post sometime.

As for the other three, they are very near and dear and close to my heart. Sam and I make every effort to see all of them at LEAST twice a week. What a blessing for our children to have 3 great-grandparents alive and for the most part, healthy! I never want to forsake my children the opportunity to know their Poppy, GG, and GGV...and what relationships they have already established are just incredible. Maya is especially fond of her Poppy, and is happy to crawl up into his lap at any given moment--to read a book, to play with a bear, or just to snuggle.

I know these short sentences don't do justice for how grateful I am for everything they have taught me and shown me, and for the way they help me, love me, and believe in me. I love them with all of my heart, and hope that someday, I too will be able to share the love that I have received from my grandparents with my own grandchildren.

Much love to all,

Sarah

Just Checking In...

Work went great on Friday. I had my first follow-up visit with a family. I had an email from my boss on Saturday letting me know that I would have a new baby's family coming on Tuesday...we'll be doing the services this week. So, so sad, yet so rewarding to know that I am blessed to be a part of helping these families grieve and heal after losing such a precious part of their lives.

I'm going to keep this short. I've had a migraine since Friday night...between my head and 2 teething babies, sleep has been hard to find around the Shaffer household, so we're going to call it an early night!

Hope you all have had a restful Labor Day!

Love,
Sarah