Hello???

I don't think anyone still reads here but if you do, hang on. I am starting a totally new blog and it's taking awhile. We have A LOT of stuff going this week so it will be at least a couple of weeks until I get it up and running! Miss everyone and I miss blogging! See you soon!!!! And, say "Hi" if you drop by here, please!! :) ♥♥♥♥♥

♥Jules♥

Blogging is just so hard to do...

For some reason I am having a MAJOR case of blogging brain freeze right now so all you get is my explanation and an apology and hopefully, this will work itself out soon! Still no luck with my other blog so I guess this is the only blog I will have now.

If anyone still reads here, please email me at mama2clairelily@gmail.com with your email address and contact info so I can keep in touch. I lost all of you with the email hacking thing.

Lots of Love,
Jules

blogging blahs...

I have soooo many things that I want to blog about but I am just to lazy to take the time to do it or to upload pictures to go with the posts that I want to write. I don't even want to link to anything. Just typing this is making me tired. So, if I haven't commented on your blog it's not because I don't care or I am boycotting you. lol It's because I am soooo cotton pickin' tired!!!

So, because of this major case of blogging blah's I am having...I will be on blogging hiatus until after Easter Sunday. Honestly, with all I have to do to get ready for that, I just don't have the time. Hopefully, I will come back refreshed and renewed and with lots of Easter pics to post and talk about!

We get to go shopping tomorrow with my Mom and I am looking forward to that! And, we are LOVING this beautiful weather.....80 degrees and SUNNY today!!! No wonder I don't want to blog! :)

~See you after Easter& have a wonderful weekend celebrating and remembering the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ.


HAPPY EASTER!!!!!

♥Julie♥

♥more patience♥!

I am almost done with the new blog design...just a few more tweaks to the sidebars (the width is not quite right) and I will be done!!! Stay tuned...and if you haven't tried this out for yourself, you must!! Blogger now makes this easy for you to do...look in your inbox for an update or go to your blogger dashboard and you should see "blogger draft"..I will try to explain in more detail, later this afternoon!

Have a blessed day!


♥Julie♥

Excuse the mess, please!

Please excuse the mess while I do some bloggy housekeeping! I am working on a few things but it takes time and with you know, life, happening....well, let's just say it may be awhile until I get it all cleaned up and purty!! :)


Have a happy Wednesday!!

♥Julie♥

~Blog work in progress~

Hi and thanks for stopping by! Right now, my daughter Claire & I are working on a new blog look so if you are alarmed by the mess, don't be! We will have it back to beautiful in no time at all1 In the meantime, enjoy your look around!

♥Julie♥

pictures from Christmas...

This is a test post because blogger is freaking out on me!! It says my pictures are uploaded but it won't post them...AGHHH!!
please ignore until I can get it fixed!!

Blogs I read and enjoy!...

*I lost quite a few links when I changed up my blog! So, if you are not listed and would like to be or if I somehow forgot to add you back, please let me know! I tried to list everyone I could remember but I am SURE I forgot someone!! It was not intentional, I promise! 


Praying Mom of 3 (my sister)

In Light of the Truth (Sarah)

Learning 4 Fun (Sarah)

Shortybear's Place (Denise)

Free to be Me (Denise)

Blessed Beyond Belief

Oceans From the Rain (Rebecca)

Are We There Yet? (Amy)

Embracing the Journey: Experiencing the Joy (Kelli)

The Lajeunesse family (Jenn)

Minnesota Mama (Darcy)

Knee-deep in Munchkin Land (Jenn)

Bring the Rain

Kelly's Korner

Big Mama

BooMama

The Nester

Cultivating Home

Meg's Favorite Recipes

Life in 4-D

The Kenney News

(In)Courage

McMama

The Pioneer Woman


*This is still a work in progress! I have to go and get ready for our GOSPEL MEETING tonight and all of the fun stuff afterwards (hayride, stuffing our faces, singing)  =D   If you are in the BB area, and you know where Cypress Lake is, see you there!!! If you don't and need directions just give me a holler!

I'll be back later to finish updating this page. Meanwhile, you will find it on my sidebar for your convenience!

bloggy housekeeping..

I am doing a lot of bloggy housekeeping today so it's going to look really whacked for awhile! So, if you come by and can't find something, just be patient and I will try to have it fixed soon! =)

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Julie

If and this is my 800th Post!!!! Wow...

If

by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

~Always loved this poem and thought it fitting for my life right now, although obviously, change man to woman!! lol

Welcome, Fall......

I am loving this weather. It's cold here, today, and by cold where we live, it's around 68 degrees...I know that is summer for some of you but it's cold here! I am sitting in my flannel pj's and we are having chili for supper tonight! It's in the crock pot. Can't wait.

Yesterday, we put out our fall decorations and I will post pictures as soon as I get a chance to take some. I have my pumpkin pie candles burning and our pumpkins and scarecrows out on the front porch. And, today when we get home from P.E., we are going to make some paper scarecrows...I absolutely love Fall and I wait on it all.year.long!!

This Sunday will be the 12th anniversary of the day Charlie and I met and I am just in awe of how much God has done in both of our lives since then and how he has made two separate lives into one. What a glorious God we serve!!

I am doing a couple of things I want to post on soon. I am reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and I am learning so much from that book so I will share some of my notes with you soon and if you haven't read it, YOU MUST!!! Also, some decorating ideas and the answer to Chris' question as to how I changed the font on my blog and some other bloggy questions but I am not sure exactly when I will be able to post these. Just stay tuned!

For now, I am off to fold one last load of laundry, try to do about 30 minutes of school and then we are off to P.E....praying I won't be late today!! :)

Have a great Fall day!!

~Julie~

Welcome!!......

If you are new here and just starting to read this blog...here's a little history for ya! I started this blog almost 3 years ago when I was pregnant with Lily. I started it to document our family life and I also use it as sort of an online "journal" if you will. I am one of those people who must write, lol. Don't worry, my writing is not real deep or anything! lol Most of the time, I just use this blog to document things and make lists...a lot of times if I write something down, I won't forget it! So, that's a lot of the reason I blog and I have made numerous good friends through blogging!!

There's my reasons for blogging and the reason behind the title (According to HIS Power) is because Ephesians 3:20 is the verse I clung desperately to in the darkest time of my life. When we struggled with infertility for 7 years, God constantly and consistently placed that verse on my heart. So, it became sort of my "motto", I guess you could say!

Anyway, a little history behind the blog there! Hope you enjoy reading and looking around!!

Talk to you soon,
~Julie~

Going Private...

My husband and I have decided, for various reasons, to make this blog private. If you would like an invitation, please email me at mama2clairelilydrew (at) gmail (dot) com. (that's with the appropriate symbols, of course)

Many things have went into this decision but most of all, it has been my sitemeter. Maybe I will go into it more at a later time.

~Love~
Julie

Under Construction, still...

If you notice a lot of switching around, it's because I am using my blog for a little experiment I am doing....if you haven't noticed, well, I don't know what to do about you! lol

I am still working on getting the 3 columns exactly like I want them so for now, it's back to 2 columns. Be patient and maybe when I figure it all out, I can do yours!! :)

Have a great weekend!

~Julie~

Under Construction...

The blog is going to be under construction for a few days. Please be patient with me as I move things around and get everything where it needs to be. Some things also got deleted by accident (again) so I will try and get those added back, if I can. Thank you for your patience!

~Julie~

Oh, I love a rainy day...

Not so much a rainy night because then the girls don't sleep because they are afraid of storms...lol Anyway, today was a good day, considering Claire has been running about a 103-105 temp off and on and vomiting. We took her to the emergency room and stayed there for almost 4 hrs. yesterday and they fixed her up with antibiotics so she should be better soon!! So, we have not been sleeping much at all the past few nights. However, last night, Claire slept almost 11 hrs and just got up twice to vomit. So, Hallelujah!!, we got SOME sleep!!

After all of that vomit talk, if you are still reading, bless your heart. :) Today was just a rainy lazy day. We stayed in and watched movies and played games and I did some laundry and mopping and some baking. I baked 3 dozen cookies (for snacks and for others), 4 loaves of bread (2 white, 2 whole wheat), and we made some Autumn Chowder for lunch and had leftovers and fresh bread for supper. What a yummy treat!

In a few minutes, I am going to head out to the chicken pen and gather our eggs and feed and water (if Charlie hasn't done it already) and then later this evening we are going to watch a movie while the kids sleep and then turn in early ourselves. Hopefully, we will get a good full night's rest.

I am sorry that I have been terribly lax in commenting on your blogs. It seems that our life just gets busier and busier and sometimes I feel as if I can't catch my breath! I can't promise anything, especially as I feel that God is prodding me, more and more, to slow down, to just grab what life I can while I can. I watch my babies grow more every. single. second. and I am aware of time/life rushing by. I feel it literally sliding out of my fingers as I try desperately to hold on....

So, I must slow down and I must reevaluate & prioritize. I am not through with blogging but I may be around sparingly for a time. Please forgive me if I am.

Have a blessed weekend!

~Julie~

Thinking of....

Shutting this blog down. I would still email pictures and updates to family and friends and blogger friends but I really don't have the time to maintain it anymore. Also, I feel like I have to be positive all of the time(I put this expectation on myself, no one makes me feel that way) and I just can't do that. My life is not perfect. It's great, it's amazing, it's blessed but it's not PERFECT.

I just really need to have some time to ponder things so I probably won't be posting for awhile, at least. I have SO many things that I need to pray about and work on. I am feeling a little overwhelmed right now, in good ways and in stressed out ways but just overwhelmed! I need to take a break for a while and refocus.

Also, I think not posting on here and sending the updates to people instead would force me to have more contact, to reach out to the people that I need to reach out too. If that makes any sense? I think that sometimes I hide behind my blog because it is easier. There are many reasons that I do this and they have a lot to do with depression and anxiety but the reasons should not become excuses for going into hiding. I need to face things and deal with life. I have watched many family members and people that I know, hide behind their depression and I do not want to be that kind of person. I want to face my junk head on! That's what God wants from me.

So, I am on a break. I don't know for how long. Maybe from now on. Just until the Lord tells me different. Until I see some clarity in the things I need to deal with. If you want to, you may email me at mama2clairelilydrew@gmail.com

Hope to talk to you, person to person (through email or phone, that is!), soon!!!

Love,
Julie

update (again)...

We are all better, FINALLY!! Praise GOD!!! :) Hopefully, it continues! I thought I was going to die and I am not joking. The girls were (especially poor little Lily) SO very sick and needing their mama. Drew was a little sick (so far) which was such a HUGE blessing because he is such a wee little babe and most definitely DID NOT need to be sick and I needed all of the energy I could get for the other sickies and myself. Charlie was sick for 3 days off and on (mostly on) and he worked through it all (only stopping to throw up or you know..) I love my husband so much! :)

Then he came home for a relaxing weekend and ending up cleaning up vomit and taking care of kids while I took my sick turn. FUN times. Poor man, he really deserves many kudos!!! :)

Anyway, thank you so much for your prayers ,comments ,sweet emails and calls! LOVE you all !!

On another note, I had some unexpected and very unusual time by myself this morning while the kids slept (even after my quiet time) so I did some Christmas crafts and I wrote some posts and set them to publish throughout the week as I will be busy getting final things done for Christmas eve/Christmas day. So, I won't be on the computer much but you will still be getting my cookie recipes and other things. I know, aren't you so lucky? haha. :) Seriously, just some things that some people have asked me to post, so I am doing it this week. Hope you can use them, as well.

Merry Christmas ,everyone!!!

Julie & family

work in progress

I will be working on my blog layout a little bit at time in the next few weeks. In the meantime, please excuse the cluttered mess! Thanks!

Julie

RECIPES!!!! REALLY GOOD ONES!!!

As I was searching one of my favorite sites today for crock-pot recipes (I am getting ready for Fall), I asked myself if I had shared this amazing link of wonderful recipes with my blogging friends? I don't believe that I ever have! I am so sorry and I will be sure to remedy that today! =)

This site, Razzle Dazzle Recipes, has SO many mouth watering recipes! She now has recipes up for Halloween candies and Fall menu ideas. I LOVE this site because no matter what you want to cook or bake, there is more than likely a good recipe for it! And, every recipe of hers that I have tried, has turned out amazing! =)

So, head on over and spice up your menu with some new recipes! If you need crock pot recipes, it is definitely the place to go!

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Love,
Julie