My Beautiful Day

I'm sure you may have noticed by now that once again my comments are not working on my last post.  I'm getting fairly sick and tired of these problems I'm having with Disqus.  I'm irritated that I contacted them four days ago and they have yet to get back to me.  I'm irritated that my blog comments just aren't working.  UGH. Hopefully I figure all this out soon ...

There was a park ... At this park were four fabulous children and their crazy step-mom.  There were the older boys (who didn't appear in many pictures, as they were off playing football most of the day): There was the youngest boy: There was the oldest child, and the only daughter in this particular bunch: There was the crazy step-mom: There was playing: There was mountain climbing: And fun was had by all.  Once upon a time, our story was told.  Now our day at the park is over. The end.

Today, in honor of Stellan, I am sporting my "Unfolding" Tshirt from Wild Olive Tees and Colin is sporting orange (because, lets face it, orange is not my color!): We're thinking about you and we love you sweet baby boy. Get better soon!

Alright everybody, that sweet little boy should NOT have to spend his first birthday in the hospital yet again. As many of you know, the MckFamily is near and dear to my heart and it is just heart wrenching to know that darling Stellan is back in the hospital once again. I think it's time that we start praying a different prayer for him - not just for his healing, but for a completely NEW heart. Jesus already took this sickness when He died on the cross, and it's time that we bridged the gap for Stellan and started praying for a new heart. That sweet little babe should not have to be spending his first birthday in the hospital clinging to life. Pray with me? Father, You and You alone know the outcome of the situation that Stellan is in. I thank You and I trust You for his healing. The Bible says that where two or three are gathered, You are there, and I believe that even pertains to our blogging world. Please Lord, reach down with your healing power and breathe new li...

Colin is very accustomed to his bedtime routine - so much that, if ever his routine is forgotten or done out of order, it sends him into a funk. Some days this is completely frustrating, as there are moments when I just want to get him in his PJs, get his teeth brushed and let him go to sleep! However, his routine also includes story time and a bedtime prayer. Tonight was NOT a rushed through evening - in fact, I very much enjoyed bedtime tonight. Colin told me around 8pm that he was ready for bed, so he went potty and I brushed his teeth, then we went to his bedroom to change into pajamas and to get his story read and get him tucked in. As I was getting him into his pajamas, I was singing a bedtime song to him. He chose out his bedtime story - tonight's choice was "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly". Once upon a time I sang this story to him, and ever since then his request is always: "no Kami, don't just read it, SING IT pleeeeeeease!" How ...

Alright, so the comments in my "I don't have commenting ability on my site" post seem to be working?? I'm not sure. SO - I'm trying to figure this out - can you do me a favor and leave a comment on this post so I can see if it truly works or not? Thanks!!

Somehow in the transition from old address to new, I have lost my commenting system. I'm well aware of this and hoping that disqus gets back to me soon on this! If you need to contact me, feel free to email me at: kami@mybeautifulday.net Sorry for the inconvenience .. it's driving me crazy!!

This morning has been a crazy one already. I got up early and put a French Toast Bake in the oven, spent some quality time with my hubby while that was baking. I ate said French Toast Bake with my family 40 minutes later and realized it was disgusting. Gave permission to all family members to throw the nasty bake in the garbage disposal. Showered and got ready. Watched my husband try to repair our Wii. Searched online for diagrams as to HOW to reassemble said Wii. Failed to figure it out. Bid farewell to Monte and Iain as they headed out to winterize our boat (all the while the Wii is currently on our countertop completely disassembled and we have been given strict instructions stating "DO NOT TOUCH THIS!"). I watched the family eat lunch, and realized that I have yet to do so myself. This will happen in just a few minutes, of that I am sure. While it has been a lazy Saturday morning here, it also seems to have been an exhausting Saturday morning! Why is that? Wh...

You may have noticed, or perhaps you didn't notice at all, but I've recently made some minor changes to my blog that I want to share with all of you! First and foremost is that I've registered my own domain! What does that mean? Well, it means that you will now be able to access my blog by visiting http://www.mybeautifulday.net instead of going through my blogspot address. While the former address (http://kamrajoy.blogspot.com) will still get you here for a few days, it's much easier with my new address. Also, my email has changed! Anybody who may have my former email address can certainly continue to email me there, but because I'm getting more blog-related email, I decided to create an email specifically for my blog and blog followers! You can now contact me at: kami@mybeautifulday.net With that change, the only thing that did not change over was my blog list (found on the right side bar under "My Heart Loves to Read About"). I had to recreate...

This "Thank You" is LONG overdue!  If you've been following my blog for any amount of time you're probably well aware of the fact that our house is currently listed on the market for sale.  Our goal in selling is to move closer to family, as right now we are just over an hours drive away from them.  While I know that isn't too far of a drive, when you're going to visit them several times a week, it puts a LOT of miles on the vehicles!  Over all, though, we just want to be closer.  So, in attempts to get some attention on our house, we held two different open houses this past weekend.  In preparation for said open houses, I came up with an idea that I was just thrilled about - why not have cookies with our address on them so people will remember our house?!  Who better to make those cookies than Amanda?  If you've followed her blog at all, you likely know that Amanda is an AMAZING baker and her creations are not only tasty but they're beautiful as...

I had my appointment.  My OBGYN did a quick exam and drew some blood.  Then he had me schedule an appointment for a fertility exam.  He explained that I will receive an ultrasound, an X-ray and a pretty invasive exam on that date.  He explained that the fact that I haven't had a period in the last seven months is something that needs to be addressed whether I'm going to have babies or not.  Evidently it's not a good thing to not be able to hang out with Aunt Flo every month!  So as of right now, I really have no answers.  I don't know if my body is going to be able to conceive and carry a baby.  I don't know that it's not.  I do know, however, that I will not go far into fertility options.  I go up and down with the way that I feel about the situation, with wondering whether I really want to have a baby of my own or if I'm happy being a (step)mom to the four wonderful kids that I have now.  I wonder if maybe God has another path for...

This is a really fun "getting to know you" event and I'm happy to join in! Visit Lynnette's Blog to find out the details! 1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while you're blogging? I'm not really a snacking sort of woman - it just doesn't really ever hit me that I need something to snack on.  Every once in awhile I'll have yellow corn chips or Goldfish crackers, but not that frequently.  However, I am almost never without a cup of Teavana tea when I'm on the computer! 2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without? Being that the question asks about a thing and not about a person , I would have to say either my computer or my telephone, entirely because it's my means of communication to a whole lot of people that I love!  3. Beach, Mountains or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice? When I thought about it, my answer really surprised me, but I would have to say a farm. Not that I love animals, no...

Can I really admit to the fact that I am so much of a nerd and so excited to send out our Christmas cards this year that I have already ordered them?!  That's right, last night Claire and I spent quite a bit of time designing and ordering Christmas cards for our family to send out .... and I am SO EXCITED about it!  I will admit that, while living with family on and off for the last six years, I had more than my fair share of jealousy over not being able to send out Christmas cards.  For me, this was associated with the fact that I was not married - I had no husband or family to show off pictures of, and I couldn't justify sending cards out with me and pictures of my brother's dog (as he suggested)!  Something in me always longed to be able to send out Christmas cards.  Guess what?  This year I get to do just that!  Last night, we placed our order and I will be addressing them over the course of the next month (let's face it, I did give myself too much...

While over seven months have passed since I wrote this post , somehow I feel like I'm back at square one.  I feel like I'm back to that night when the cramping began, back to the moment I began to bleed, back at the moment when I realized that my greatest fear since I found out I was pregnant was slowly coming true: I was miscarrying my baby.  I don't know if it's because of the fact that my heart has longed to be pregnant again, I don't know if it's because it's October 15th that is chosen to remember all babies who were stillborn or miscarried, I don't know if it's because I've been a step-mother for ten months and I'm now realizing that not one of them will ever call me mom.  I want to be mom.  I want to pee on a stick and have it tell me that I'm pregnant.  I want to know the joy of holding my own newborn baby in my arms.  I want to know what it feels like to watch my tummy grow as my baby grows. Today, my heart hurts.  Today, the t...

I love them - simply love them.  While I have never hosted one myself, I love to participate in them.  So, my post is entirely to let you know that Mama M at Five Crooked Halos is hosting a great giveaway for a beautiful piece of Etsy jewelry.  Check out her blog to participate!

"Kami, when water turns into ice and ice turns into water, that's called reversible change." Holy moly when did my three-year-old get so smart?!?!

My sweet blogging friend, September , has given me the Kreativ Blogger Award!  I stumbled upon September's blog through a mutual blogging friend and have been hooked ever since!  Her heart for God, her love for her family, her ambition in life and her fabulous ability to write are what keep drawing me back to her blog!  September, thank you so much for deeming me a Kreativ Blogger :) One thing I love about this award is that, not only do I get to receive it, but I get to give it away as well!  Want to know how it works?  Here are the "rules": - Tell a little about the person who gave you the award and link back to them. - Copy and paste the award and include it in a blog post. - List seven (7) interesting things about yourself that people may not know. - Pick seven (7) Kreativ Blogger friends to pass the award to.  Link to their blogs in your post and ask them to follow these "rules" in accepting their award! Seven Random Facts About Kami: 1....

This past weekend I learned about a few people who are followers of my blog, and I truly had no idea that they were!  One of them is someone I have never met in person, but her husband is one of our family's favorite people - entirely because he owns the restaurant in our small town here!  So here's a shout-out to Scotty B's wife - I'm very happy to know that you follow my blog! Another person that I've recently learned follows my blog is my friend, Sarah.  While Sarah and I don't know each other all that well, our husbands are ride-share partners, business partners and friends - and they have been for years!  Sarah recently sent me an email that truly touched my heart and blessed me completely.  In this email, she complimented me on several areas of my life (and let's face it, everybody loves a good compliment every now and then!), two of which were my ability to articulate my emotions and feelings as well as my faith in God.  She truly gave me the bigge...

Not Me! Monday is a blog carnival started by MckMama . Visit her blog to see what things others have not been doing this week! My husband and I most certainly did not think that it would be a good idea to bring all four of our children with us when we went to look at a house yesterday. Whatever would make us think that doing such a thing is a good idea is definitely NOT beyond me! While looking at said house, my children did not run around it like wild apes and I certainly did not have to punish them for this. My children are always perfectly behaved and would never think to misbehave in a home that is not their own! This past week, my sweet Ellis was certainly NOT forced to wear a hospital mask for four straight days as he fought the flu. I also did NOT wear a mask every time that I went downstairs to be with him, give him medicine, check on him or even walk by the room that he is in. I am in no way so susceptible to catching illnesses that I willingly wear a hospital mask w...

Five Question Friday is a blog carnival started by Mama M - head over to her blog and see what she and others answered to their Five Question Friday! 1. What is the one thing that you reach for the most in a day (excluding phones, computer or children's butts for spankings)? Bowls, cups, oatmeal, brown sugar ... the things that are in our cupboards that are above the kids' heads! 2. What is the farthest you have been from home? We honeymooned in Kaua'i, Hawai'i ... it was fabulous!  Granted, out of the ten days we were there, we only had about one full day of sunshine and nine days of monsoon-like rains ... but it was still a great time! 3. What kind of cell phone do you have? Love it or hate it? I have a Blackberry Curve.  I'm fine with it - I don't dislike it at all, but I can't really say that I love it (not because I don't like it, but entirely because I don't LOVE things like phones!). 4. Coke or Pepsi? Diet Coke.  But how...

Ode to my nieces! Meet Breanna: She's sassy and sweet and lots of fun!  A Christian girl with a heart of gold, determination to love and beauty that is all her own.  Through the years we have become far more like friends than like an aunt and niece.  She's an amazing girl and I love her so much! Meet Lexie: She's a fun loving, sweet little girl who always has room in her heart to love!  She's rambunctious and wild, yet soft spoken and cuddly .. it just depends on the time of day.  This little girl has captured my heart and I love her so much! Meet Khloe: Sweet little Khloe I can't wait to meet you!  She is the precious baby girl that my sister's family is adopting and I can't wait for her to come home and truly be an interacting part of our family!  I love you sweet girl! Meet Abby: Beautiful, lovable, sniffable (you can't tell me that you don't smell newborns every single time you hold them!), adorable and lovely.  I'm...

While I was in the midst of a conversation with Claire on Monday evening, we were talking about what she had learned in church the day before. She was asking me why God tells us that we are not supposed to hang around with people who aren't Christians. I was explaining to her that, while we can be friends with those people and SHOULD show them the love of Christ, if we spend most of our time with them, it's quite likely that they will take us away from our Christianity as opposed to us bringing them to know Jesus. I told her that it's like having a bad piece of fruit in the midst of fresh fruit. That one bad piece can turn the other fruit rotten in a hurry, whereas the other pieces cannot take the rotten piece and make it whole again. She nodded to show her understanding and then said: "Nobody can ever take me away from my Jesus!" Bless your heart sweet girl - that is my prayer for you always. May you never be taken away from your Jesus!!

"It takes no courage, effort or achievement to be unhappy - rather, being unhappy is choosing the easy way out." -C.S. Lewis My pastor recently did a two-part sermon on happiness, and it got me thinking a lot! How often are we wrapped up in the circumstances of our every day life and allow them to control our emotions and our moods? For me, this is something that I've been working on for quite awhile - yes, that's right, I have a goal not to be moody! What kind of woman can accomplish a goal like that - aren't all women moody?! I'll tell you this: a woman who's life is driven by Christ can accomplish that goal. We are equipped in happiness! Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy , peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." If we are walking ...