And the winner is.......

POISON IVY! I have 5 little dots of poison ivy on my arm. I have never had poison ivy before, but come to find out I am severely allergic to it. So in reaction to that I have hives all over my legs. Though they don't feel like hives. Granted they are itchy, but they feel like they are bruised as well. It's very strange. I don't wan to know what would happen if I had a bad case of poison ivy...hopefully I will never find out.

For now I am on antihistamines and I bought poison ivy soap to wash the affected area. It's funny cause that bothers me the least out of everything! He said to watch it and if it gets worse or turns purple (the hives that is) then to go back immediately. other than that I am ok. Thank God.

So I feel stupid for going to the doctors over poison ivy and hives but hey better safe then sorry.

Not feeling well

***UPDATE***Pics of my legs



***UPDATE**** I talked to my mom and she knows a lot about ailments. She believes that I have shingles. GREAT! Just what I needed, this day hasn't been the greatest day of my life and now this! UGH! I would actually prefer shingles over mono if that makes any sense. Though shingles is more painful it is not contagious unless someone touches an oozing blister. Mono is contagious by a cough, kiss, sharing drinks etc. If it is mono then I will have to miss out on alot of things...one of which may be my sisters wedding.
However, my mom did say I had HSV-1 (herpes in the mouth) when I was a baby. Once the original flare up is gone it lies dormant in your body until it decides to rear its ugly little head again. And guess what? Herpes causes shingles. I guess I will know for sure tomorrow!



I don't really know what's going on with me these days. I haven't been feeling great. Mostly just tired but I chocked it up to me forgetting my Vitamin D pills when I went to VT for a week. On Monday I noticed a weird type of rash on my arm. I have 4 hard, itchy bumps that seem to be under the skin. Very weird, and annoying but I can deal with it.

That is until yesterday when over the course of the day I began to get a rash all over my right leg. Not to unusual I figured perhaps it was the heat or maybe even an allergic reaction. When I woke up this morning it was pretty bad. Very red and inflamed and now it's not only itchy but sore to touch. Very strange. Now it's spreading all over my other leg. I called the doctors and they are going to see me tomorrow at 10:15. But just when I thought it couldn't get worse I discovered a weird wave like pattern on the sides of my tongue and the peaks are white. I will attach a pictures so you can see what I am talking about. It's really weird. I am thinking....but hoping it's no mono. There is so much coming up and I am not going to be able to do if I have mono. Where the heck would i have gotten it from? Well thats my story for now. We shall see tomorrow.

Missions

I have a friend whose son is going to be taking a missions trip in just a few days. However, he still needs over $3,000 in donations to make this possible. If you think you can donate anything to help this cause please do. It doesn't have to be alot but if you could even spare $5 it would help! You can read all about them here, and get info on how to donate.

Be sure that when you donate you add his name in the comment box so it goes directly to him. His names is Zachary Krasawksi.

Rats with wings

I don't like birds...plain and simple. I think my strong feelings stem from child hood. My parents used to take me to feed the geese and ducks. Let me tell you when these birds see bread...they attack, and it's not nice, and I don't like it.

So naturally when Phil said that he was getting pigeons I strongly opposed. When I discovered he wasn't giving up his persuit, I gave in but only if I didn't have to touch them, feed them etc. I wanted no part in caring for these pigeons.

But let me tell you, it's fascinating to watch them. We started off with 10. Naturally, 6 of them paired off with mates and over Memorial day weekend our first little squeakers hatched. Then there were 16! Until last night. One of the males was attacking the babies for some reason. He had pecked one to death and was working on his second one. He obviously needed to be stopped so Phil used him for training Cooper and he went on to heaven. So now we are down to 14. However, this morning we discovered a female has laid 2 more eggs so in 16-19 days we will have 2 more little squeakers.

I guess the thing that fascinates me, and don't laugh....the thing that fascinates me the most about them is their reproductive cycles.

When we first got them one was already pregnant and she didn't have a nest yet so she laid two eggs and abandoned them. Since we knew they would not make it we took one inside and cracked it to see what it looked like. It looks like, well, and egg. Just like a chicken egg but much smaller. It has the yolk and white just like a normal egg. This was not what I was expecting. I was shocked to discover it was exactly the same as a chicken egg inside. I don't know what I was thinking....green, blue, half formed baby..I don't know.

So this got me thinking about how amazing God is. Here are these little pigeons who get together and create an egg that upon laying is JUST AN EGG! JUST GOO! And somehow, by sitting on this egg and keeping it warm it forms into a baby pigeon. I just can't wrap my brain around that. How does this white and yolk warm to the perfect temperature and form a baby? When I warm eggs I get breakfast! How amazing is it, that God takes even the lowest creature and cares for and forms every last detail of it's being.

These pigeons don't want or search for anything. They do what's natural and ALL is provided for. They do their part and sit and wait. They don't worry about feeing them...every need is provided. Granted those rations are provided from us, but ultimately God is using us and providing for us to allow us to provide for them.

What an amazing and delicate process that is!

People have asked me before "When you get to heaven what is one question you would ask God?" And lately I really would like to know how a person is made. I mean I know how the process starts...let's face it I have been pregnant 4 times...I am no stranger to that ;) But really how is a human formed? How is a baby pigeon created?

I always felt very blessed when I was pregnant. I felt honored, and knew it was the one time in my life that I knew and had physical evidence that God was working in me. What an amazing thing. What a gift. However often we get to experience it, however long we are allowed to spend with these creations they are each one a miracle. A soul with a purpose...though we may not always understand what that purpose is God knows. He knew us from the beginning of the world. He knows how many hairs are on our head. Heck! He can create humans and pigeons and all sorts of things. How amazing is our God!

What a coincidence

Melanie you will appreciate this story.

Phil, Emma, and I were sitting on the porch talking about turkey's because it was the last day of hunting season and Phil hadn't seen one turkey! He was saying how in turkey season you see tons of deer, and in deer season you see tons of turkey.

Emma began telling us that he didn't get a turkey because they were hard to see. Just like deer...when you go hunting they are hard to see. Just then she looks up and says "oh look, there's a deer now!"

Wouldn't you know it, right there in our back yard in the woods a fawn goes running by! What are the chances? How strange?

We all had a good laugh at the irony!

Air France Flight

I am sure many of you have heard about the Air France flight that seemingly disappeared. 228 people on board no survivors. My heart goes out to the families of people who have lost someone who was on that flight.
When I heard about this crash or any plane crash I am always amazed. Please don't think I am being insensitive because I am not. I am just pondering my faith a bit.
The Bible says that our days are numbered. God knows the number of days assigned to us here on earth before we are even conceived. The thing I can't get over is that, for all 228 of these people young and old this was their day to meet their maker. It blows my mind that with 228 people on a plane, every single one was chosen to die this day. There wasn't one mistake. This was the end of their journey here on earth. It's something I really have a hard time understanding. All these people were brought from all over the world to the same time and same place all because their time was up.

I don't understand it all, but I do have great respect for the one who knew this would happen before the world was formed. To the God, who through this tragedy can make good from this. Though it doesn't make sense sometimes, He has a plan, He is in control. Good CAN come from this.

If nothing else, let this teach you that our days ARE numbered. Don't take today for granted. Tell your loved ones you love them. Live with no regrets. We don't know what twists and turns lay ahead. We don't know what trials we will be asked in endure. But we do know that God is in control. He loves us deeply.

And if you are reading this and don't know if you will go home to be with God when your journey here on earth ends...please say this prayer, ask God to save you and come into your heart. He will be there, He will answer your request.

"Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."

*Update on teeth*

We went to the dentist yesterday and they cleaned Emma's teeth and did a thorough inspection! She has no cavities, which is awesome!

He looked at her big teeth that have come through and inspected the baby teeth and much to our surprise the baby teeth have begun to wiggle! WOO HOO! Praise God! The prayers have helped. The teeth were not loose at all last Thursday. People were praying for her and lo and behold they are moving. So he has decided to wait 2 months before he pulls them out. We go back on August 1st and if they have fallen out on their own all will be good. If not, then he will pull them! So that's good news all around. Firstly for Emma, because she doesn't handle these things well and she was so happy to hear she has more time. Secondly, selfish reasons. We don't have dental insurance and if they don't have to get pulled then we save some money. Obviously this would never prevent us from getting ANY medical treatment if necessary...it's just great to rejoice in being able to save that money for something else!

Thank you all who said a prayer for her! She is very appreciative!