Praise for brothers and sisters in Christ

I am praising the Lord today for brothers and sisters in Christ. I am constantly amazed at the people that the Lord introduces me to. My husband's family is just awesome, and Sandy and Nancy who are just so helpful to me ALL the time. They are so genuinely concerned about the children and I that I am always awstruck by their generosity.
I pray that I may be as much of a blessing to them and to other as they are to me. Lord give me the strength and wisdom to shut my mouth Lord and listen to the needs of others and pass on the blessing Lord that you have passed on to me.

Must have taken it forgranted!

Saturday, normal day at the Barker house, Ex came and stayed to spend time with the boys, Danny spent the weekend, so in short, house FULL. Tyler, Blake and Danny all took showers around noon, I was doing laundry and went to do the dishes and low and behold NO HOT WATER. I had not had a shower yet and it was nearing 5. Long story short my breaker went bad, sweet heart brother-in-law came and saved the day, I have hot water again. Tyler, Blake and Danny spent the night Saturday walking for Relay for Life. My niece Laura, her fiance, Ben, and her daughter Gwyneth came over later in the evening on Saturday too. Busy weekend, exactly what I need to keep my mind off of other things right now.



Tyler has decided that he wants to play tennis, so I went to the local thrift store and bought him a tennis racket. Blake decided to walk the Relay for Life with SPIKED hair. lol. That kid is too funny. Danny helped EX move Blakes bedroom upstairs, no more fights about who made the mess. Now Blake shares the upstairs with the living room, and for the mean time everyone is happy. Gwyneth is just adorable and Blake and Danny had a blast playing with her before they left for the walk that night.

I know~

You are 100% Leo

How Leo Are You?

Praising God

This morning I am praising God for a hot shower. Running water is something that I never want to take forgranted. I had a ball game last night (we won) and have been emotionally drained and overwhelmed with the heartache of my marriage all week. So at 10:30 last night I hit the shower. Crying, letting the water wash away the stress, I praised God that I live in a country that I have a home, a shower, and hot running water that provides me the opportunity to feel as though I can de-stress even if for only a few minutes until I step gently out of the tub, back into reality.

Look at the Progress

We have lived in our home for 2 1/2 years and have not had a place to set up the kitchen table since we moved in. My kitchen is very small and there is no dining room, so when I moved in we set up the kitchen table in the basement for me to fold laundry on. I grew up eating in our living room and I hate that, so I want to raise my kids to sit around a table and talk and enjoy dinners as a family. So I took action this week.

Ever since my mom moved out the upstairs of my house has been empty. Not anymore. I moved the TV, stereo, VCR and DVD player upstairs, moved the couch in the living room and brought my kitchen table up from the basement. And look at the great results. I love it. No TV, and a great place to gather.
TODAY I PRAISE THE LORD FOR THE KITCHEN TABLE. (I think that Smores does too, naughty cat)














And a great game of Chutes and Ladders.

Happy and Sad

Have you ever been sad that a chapter in your life is closing but then you know that it is for the best and you have to do it for the best. Still doesn't make the hurt stop.

One week down

Last Monday was my ONE YEAR SMOKE FREE day. So in honor of me quitting smoking for one year, I decided to use that date to start my HEALTHY EATING. I am going to drop the weight that I gained when I quit smoking if it kills me. So after a week here is what I learned. I replaced nicotene with carbs. I love carbs, and not eating them is hard. I mean extremely hard. My neighbor gave me a Curves book that she bought when she joined and not that I am dieting or following that plan, but I just sat down and read it. I am a carb junkie, addict, dependant. I have learned in a week that finding good to eat, inexpensive, low carb foods is hard. I will not be measuring my weight loss by pounds but rather by the size of my clothes. So I will be giving updates and would appreciate all the prayers that you can send. This is a total mind transformation and laying down of myself to Christ and being submissive to His will.
It is no wonder that we as a country are so out of control with our weight when it is cheaper and more convienent to swing by McDonalds and get a Big Mac and SUPERSIZED fries than it is to eat healthy.
Update on how I feel. I feel good. I can tell in my clothes and how they fit that I am losing weight already. Lots of water and lots of chicken and broccoli. Cucumbers and salads. I am not holding back if I feel I want something, just controlling my portions. It feels good, and I don't have near the cravings for those nasty carbs now as I did one week ago. That in itself feels great. I will upload photos from the weekend.

Praise be to God

Today I am thankful that the Lord has shown me the path of righteousness and that I don't have to wonder about where I will spend my eternity.

Psalm 5
1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

Coming Soon!!!

This is my niece, Betsy, and as you can see she is pregnant. She is in the hospital today, induced into labor. YEAH.. So coming soon a beautiful baby girl, her name to be Ella Rose. Below is a picture of Betsy's husband, Justin and their first child Noah at Noah's 2nd birthday party. I am so excited for the new baby girl to be here~

Clarification on Husbands

Sorry, I forgot to be more clear. Keith is my ex-husband. I was married to him at 18 and divorced from him at 21. My oldest two children, Tyler and Blake, are his children. Bill is my current husband, he is in jail and fights an addiction to crack. Dalton is his child. It has been a long road to where I am, and I have a long road ahead. Looking at the photo of Bill gives me so many overwhelming emotions, but most of all breaks my heart. (Sorry about the goofy look on Dalton's face, they were both caught off guard... HE HE)

Pictures from the 4th

Ha, we had so much fun this 4th. The boys (Tyler and Blake) dad came over Monday night and we took all the kids including Danny to go see the fireworks. Here are some highlights. Notice my little gymnist with the sparkler in his hand.
Keith (the EX) stayed the night and took all the boys to breakfast yesterday morning. I am glad that after the bumpy road through seperation and divorce that we can finally be friends. We stayed up until 3 am just talking about silly things from the past. He has finally started to grow up in the past year and realize that the kids should come first. I no longer call him donor. I am sun burnt from yesterday and tired from the long weekend, but we all had a great time. I will post more photos later. Maybe even one of me.

How True

You are a Believer

You believe in God and your chosen religion.Whether you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu..Your convictions are strong and unwavering.You think your religion is the one true way, for everyone.

What's" Your Religious Philosophy?

Scary, I have talked about writing books....YIKES

You Are Likely an Only Child

At your darkest moments, you feel frustrated.At work and school, you do best when you're organizing.When you love someone, you tend to worry about them. In friendship, you are emotional and sympathetic.Your ideal careers are: radio announcer, finance, teaching, ministry, and management.You will leave your mark on the world with organizational leadership, maybe as the author of self-help books.

The Birth Order Predictor

I knew I was Type A

You Have A Type A- Personality

You are one of the most balanced people aroundMotivated and focused, you are good at getting what you wantYou rule at success, but success doesn't rule you. When it's playtime, you really know how to kick backWhether it's hanging out with friends or doing something you love!You live life to the fullest - encorporating the best of both worlds

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

And yet another, these are surprisingly true

Your Life Path Number is 3

Your purpose in life is to express your unique self. You are a creative and artistic person with an interesting view on life.Witty and outgoing, you enjoy sharing your crazy ideas with anyone who will listen.A total social butterfly, you're the life of any party. In love, you inspire and enchant your partner. You are often an object of fantasy and desire. While you are very talented, you sometimes lack the ambition to put your talents in play.And while your wit carries you a long way, you occasionally use it to mask your true feelings.Your natural abilities can bring you all the success in the world ... if you let them

What Is Your Life Path Number?

Ha Ha, playing with all these silly tests

Your Personality Profile

You are elegant, withdrawn, and brilliant.Your mind is a weapon, able to solve any puzzle.You are also great at poking holes in arguments and common beliefs. For you, comfort and calm are very important.You tend to thrive on your own and shrug off most affection.You prefer to protect your emotions and stay strong.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Blog Things, just having fun today~

How You Life Your Life

You have a good sense of self control and hate to show weakness.You're laid back and chill, but sometimes you care too much about what others think.You tend to have one best friend you hang with, as opposed to many aquaintences.Some of your past dreams have disappointed you, but you don't let it get you down.

How Do You Live Your Life?

So I chilled!

Ok, this weekend was just crazy.
Friday, go home, hustled Blake some money (at Danny's) to go to the movies, took Tyler and Aaron (his best-friend) to Aaron's house, oh yeah, forgot to add, I picked up Travis while at Danny's, went to Wal-Mart (love that place), headed home.
My entire weekend was all planned out, and then it all changed. Supposed to spend time with the EX and the boys, plans changed. Supposed to go camping, weather looked bad, plans changed.
Blake called, not going to movie, going to river to fish. Travis, Dalton and I stayed up late watching movies and hanging out.
Slept in until 9:30 on Saturday, got up, cleaned out the garage. This was hard, there were lots of rubber-maid totes full of misc things (tools, nails, screws) that Bill had just dumped in order to sell his tool boxes. I have been putting off sorting them out because I felt it was his mess. So clean I did. Felt good to go through all that stuff and organize, kind of letting go I suppose. Anyway, I pulled all the stuff to the front lawn (for sun purposes) and got to sorting. Called Jeff (a good friend) and said "come over, I have FREE stuff for you". I think Scottie beamed him there, he was that fast. Mission accomplished, stuff sorted, took Travis, Dalton and dog for a ride. No camping, so Dalton, Blake and I went to Danny's All-Star game in Bridgman, came home and went to sleep.
Sunday, again due to weather, no cookout. So I stayed home and cooked. Dalton helped me to make cupcakes, jello and my homeade potatoes (yummy).
Oh, and the part that makes me go AAAARRRRGGGHHH. I made three pounds of Taco meat last night. I went to drain some of the fat off the top and my skillet broke, dumped the meat all over the floor. Thank God the dog (garbabge disposal) was out side. She would have ended up with gas to kill all of China. So much for tacos. Nikita would have been in heaven though.



Watched Chronicles of Narnia with Tyler and Dalton, then watched Failure to Launch with Tyler. Went to bed and now up and at em at work. Long weekend filled with no real excitement, and yet I loved it, and Praise God for weekends filled with nothing.