Silly Hat Friday

Today is "Silly Hat Day" at Jack's school. He chose to wear his pirate hat. He said that he knew it was not "silly" but wanted to wear it anyway.

Of course I have to start my day with another Madeline story. I left the kids in my bed watching tv (yes I am one of those moms who let the tv "babysit" for a moment) I need to warm up the car because it was iced over. I was only gone for less than 2 minutes and this is what I came back to

Madeline broke a piece of the wood blinds into about 5 different pieces. It is always something :)

The Little Moments...

So often lately I have had to take the time to love the little moments. Take the time to laugh at them, because if I did not laugh I may surely loose my mind :)

This sweet little Madeline decided to finger paint even though it was not time to finger paint. I keep our painting supplies on top of the safe in the basement. I have yet to figure out how she was able to reach them. Of course when I ask her, all she says is "I paintin mommy" Its hard not to laugh, even though I want to scream "Madeline, your outfit is ruined" Take the time to laugh at the little moments...

You also have to take the time to smile with pride.

I have been very blessed with children who will go to sleep very easily. Well for a few nights Jackson wanted to leave his bedroom door open and the light in the hallway on. I could not figure out why so after about 3 nights of this, I asked him. He said "because I can see my daddy's picture" See I have a big picture collage hanging in the hallway and Jason's picture is scattered all throughout it. I layed down next to Jack and sure enough it was a perfect view of Jason's picture. So as I layed there next to Jack as he looked at his daddy's picture, I smiled (and fought back the tears) I smiled with pride because I am so blessed to have a husband who is such a wonderful daddy that even though he may have been gone for almost a year now his little boy thinks the world of him...what more could I ask for?


So take the time to love the little moments:)

Jessica

11 Months Down...

I can not believe this..today marks 11 months! 11 months! What a ride the past 11 months have been. Whew...I am so glad to have 11 months under my belt. Just praying for the strength to make it through the next few and complete this part of this journey.

"Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you..."
Psalm 55:22


On a lighter note...we are trying to stay warm at the Crow house. Who knew that last week we would have temps in the high 60s only to be followed up by single digit temps today...The kids have enjoyed getting all bundled up. I put so many layers of clothing on the kids that they can not put their arms down. (pretty funny site) Below are some pictures of the kids with some of their layers on.

Jack is holding the snowman "we" made for his project at school.


How about those "boots with the fur"?

One last thing:
Last spring, I did a post about my friends, Aimee and Carlton, who are adopting a beautiful little girl from China, Lily. They finally received travel approval today to go get her! I have a link to their travel blog on the right (Aimee's travel blog)
so you can follow their journey to China. Please be in prayer for this family as they begin this part of their journey.

Jessica

Just what the little dr's order...

Little late on this post, but hey better late than never right???
To say that last week was "challenging" would be putting it lightly, but we made it through and it is a new week.
I have learned some things through this deployment (a lot of them the hard way). I have learned that if it is going to break down, go flat, tear-up, need replacing, get sick, get hurt, etc ...(the list could go on forever) then it is going to happen when your husband is thousands of miles away and unreachable on the phone. Well wouldn't you know that I would have car trouble yet again? Started off as a simple problem...dead battery. Take the car to service dept. and told no problem we will have you out in 10 minutes. Of course there has to be a problem right...nothing can be as simple as replace the battery. Nope you see, the battery acid leaked causing a heap of other problems and this service dept could not get the battery out. So off to another service dept. to get fixed...now mind you this is 3 hours later and the kids are restless. Long story short, the car is fixed. But by the end of the day I was drained. As I lay on the couch I told the kids that mommy had a headache and to play quietly...yeah right...play and quietly are 2 words that do not mesh. :)
They decided they needed to dr. mommy. So Jack convinced me to lay on the hardwood floor because it would be so much more comfy than the couch (I would only buy this from a 4 yr old) So I obliged and lay down on the floor. Then the 2 of them "took care" of mommy. Madeline got her dr. kit and gave me a shot for my cavities (don't ask...Madeline is obsessed with cavities). Then Jackson placed his speed race helmet on me because he said it would take the head ache away. And you know what, for that moment I was able to laugh and it did take my headache away. Those kids are just what I needed at that very moment :)
Here is a picture of me laying on the floor with my "headache helmet"...

Update on law...

There has been a clarification added on the new children's law. Looks like thrift stores and consignments will be able to continue. :) Check out the link below (thank you Sarah for informing me!)

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.html

Follow Up from 1/7/09 post

I have received many emails and phone calls regarding my post from yesterday. Most of the comments I received were shock and skeptical. I know, I was too! I hesitated to blog about it, but I feel we need to know this information as it is going to affect a lot of us. A lot of you have asked for more information in regards to this law. I encourage you to follow the links below and read for yourself.

Click on this link to read the new law:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.pdf


Click on this link to view FAQ's:
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faq.html


Click on this link to send an email or to call the CPSC: http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/newleg.aspx

New Children's Law...

Ok this is not something I normally use my blog for, but I am really confused about this new law (CPSIA) that affects the selling of products geared for children ages 12 and under. Before I posted it on here I checked it out on snopes.com and here is what that website had to say about it:

New Safety Rules for Children's Clothes Have Stores in a Fit

Barring a reprieve, regulations set to take effect in February 2009 could force thousands of clothing retailers and thrift stores to throw away trunk loads of children's clothing.

The law, aimed at keeping lead-filled merchandise away from children, mandates that all products sold for those age 12 and younger -- including clothing -- be tested for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Those that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, regardless of whether they actually contain lead.

The new regulations take effect Feb. 10 under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which was passed by Congress last year in response to widespread recalls of products that posed a threat to children, including toys made with lead or lead-based paint.

When I first heard about this "law" I was very skeptical and thought it was joke. After a few phone calls and verifying it on snopes, I guess I have to come to the conclusion that it is true.
I have so many questions about this law (ok mom you can quit laughing at me)
What does this mean for us?
From what I can gather this law requires that products (including toys, clothing, books, educational materials, bicycles etc) must be tested for lead and be labeled as such.
I am very supportive of testing the toys that our children play with, but clothes??
I frequent thrift stores and consignment shops to buy my children's clothing. So how is this law going to affect them?
How are these type of stores that are usually small business suppose to remain in business and comply with these laws?
Is our government going to supply them with the resources to test every product?
What are the big department stores going to do with products already there that do not have this "seal of approval"?
Is there a grace period for the stores to become compliant with this law after it takes affect?
With these new regulations comes testing for these products. Who is going to cover the costs of this testing? Are the manufacturers going to increase the price of these products to cover these cost? Children's clothing is already ridiculously expensive. Is that a smart thing to do with our economy in the state that it is in?
Why are we not hearing about this law until a month before it is to take affect? Every time I turn on the tv I see the commercial for the "digital tv" and getting into compliance with that. Why has there not be any story on this law?

Ok bloggy friends I want to hear your opinions on this new law. It affects just about everyone of us. So let me know what you think.
In the article above it stated that any thing not meeting the new requirements must be deemed hazardous and discarded. Where do you discard these "hazardous" products? Are our landfills not already overgrown? Well I will step in line to take any discarded hazardous clothing.

Happy New Year!

Our "big" fireworks display...ok what do you expect for 39 cents??


The kids watching the show :)


Madeline loved the sparklers.


Jackson did not like the sparklers, but he enjoyed the show.

Wow...I can not believe it is already 2009! At times 2008 has seemed to drag by so slowly and yet it is already 2009. 2008 was a year full of many ups and downs. A year of many struggles. A year spent almost entirely without my husband and my children without their daddy. It has been hard, but those hard times have taught me so much and yet there is so much that I feel I will be learning over time. I guess that is the beauty of going through a trial. I can see God's hand so clearly in so many events, yet I know that as time goes by I will see it in other events as well.
Because of that I can honestly say that I am thankful for 2008. Not thankful that my husband has been gone, but thankful for God's grace, His sufficiency, His love, and His faithfulness during every trial over the past year.
I know that the New Year brings lots of resolutions. This year I am not making any resolutions-they are just to short lived for me. I do good for a few weeks but the minute "life" happens and I slip, I get discouraged. What I do want though is for the Lord to increase my faith, but I know I do not need great faith, just the faith of a mustard seed.
So I will leave you with a prayer out of "The Valley of Vision"

'New Year'

O Lord,
Length of days does not profit me
except the days are passed in thy presence,
in thy service, to thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides,
sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth thy praise,
testify thy love,
advance thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters
of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbour,
thee, O Son, at my helm,
thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.
Give me thy grace to sanctify me,
thy comforts to cheer,
thy wisdom to teach,
thy right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize.
May thy fear be my awe,
thy triumphs my joy.

Amen

Happy New Year everyone!
Jessica