Some Wounds Time Never Heals

FTC disclosure:   This post may contain affiliate links.

Photo courtesy Kelley Bittner Photography

October 7th.   Just another day in the life for most people, but on this day in 2006, I will never forget seeing my dad alive for the last time.  I held his hand, told him I loved him, and sang "Found a Peanut" to him.  (He used to sing that incessantly when I was little, and it was my turn!)  It was before I had a cell phone, most people didn't at that time, and my mother was talking to her sister.   I knew the moment my dad passed away.  I recount the story in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Messages From Heaven so I won't go into the story here, but when Mom got off the phone, there was a message for me to call Dad's nursing home.

Time doesn't heal all wounds.  It's a nice cliche.  I think this last year has been the worst with missing my dad since he passed away.  I have cried many an evening and have said, "I wish I could talk to Dad."   I got married -- a lifelong dream of mine -- and I had to settle for a photo of my father being walked down the aisle.  No matter how close the friend is who gave me away "on behalf of her parents", it's not the same as having Dad there.   Dad was big as life and twice as loud.  I can only imagine how loud he would have laughed at the master illusionist we had as our wedding entertainment instead of dancing.

Earlier this year I entered a contest where I won a $500 jewelry gift card.  I had to take a photo of a piece of jewelry that is special and tell the story behind it.  My dad's class ring which he lost when he was fighting a fire in the early 1960s which was returned to him in the mid 2000s was the subject of my entry.  I bought my husband's and my wedding rings with that gift card.  It was like Dad gave us a wedding gift.  But I still wish he would have been at my wedding.

Although, as I mentioned in the post I wrote entitled Our Slice of Eternity, it felt like we were in the midst of a great cloud of witnesses.  Some who went before us, some who will come after we are gone.  I could see my parents' grave from where we got married, and it felt as if their love was present that day.   But I still wish I could have had Dad walk me down the aisle.

Keeping Your Child Safe This Halloween

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 


One aspect  of safety that is on everyone's mind this month is Halloween.  That means Trick or Treat for younger kids!  I remember how fun it was when I was growing up even if I never got any chocolate treats.  Everyone gave out hard candies because there were so many trick or treaters.  But it was fun to go door to door asking for candy.  For older kids this month means Halloween parties -- and sometimes mischief, but hopefully less mischief than my friends got into when we were growing up because now with cell phones you can check in on your children easier than our parents could -- especially since 47% of parents have a child with a cell phone and the average age for the first cell phone is 12.

4 Ways to Reach a Small Financial Goal

FTC disclosure:  This post may contain affiliate links.

I often hear people say, "I would like _____ but can't afford it".   I have never been one to think that finances should stand in the way of a goal if there is something you honestly want / need.  I am not saying to go into debt, but I am saying GET CREATIVE.

Here are some things I have done:


1.  Find a way to make do without the item, at least temporarily.   Right now I have my eye on a Samsung Wireless Monochrome Printer (SL-M2020W/XAA)  at $127 and with me having an eBay business, it seems like it's a reasonable want/need, right?   Well, here is my plan.  I am going to keep an eye on this and see if it goes down in price (that's one thing an Amazon wish list is great for!)

What sold on eBay videos

I have long been a fan of the "What sold on eBay" videos.  I decided to do one myself.   I'm going to post it here, but be sure and go follow me on youtube to see more of these in the future.

Blog Tour: The Finishing School by Valerie Woerner

FTC disclosure:  I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I've always loved non-fiction books, especially those in the self-help and how to genre.  I have read hundreds of them, and when I heard there was a book by someone who also had my same passion for non-fiction, and she wrote a book about it, I was excited to read it.

How To Monitor Teen Drivers on the Road When You Aren't With Them

FTC disclosure:  This is a sponsored post by U.S. Cellular.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

I don't have kids yet -- but we are hoping to adopt.  We'll likely adopt an older child, so I'm already thinking ahead to my (not yet with me) child driving in a few years.  It's a lot to grasp on many levels. But I am glad that my phone provider has a service called U.S Cellular's Vehicle Monitoring System. The moment a child of mine has a driver's license I'm going to sign up for this.

So why would I feel so strongly about it?

The Non-Prepper's Guide to Prepping for Winter

FTC disclaimer:  This post may contain affiliate links.

I live in West Virginia.  As far back as I can remember, we always prepped for winter, although we used to call it "stocking up".  We didn't go all out, but made sure we had enough no matter what the winter might bring.  Some of our worst winter situations were:

Being stuck in the house for 19 days straight.  

Losing electric (and heat) during Hurricane Sandy and us being hit with a blizzard.

Losing power (and heat) when the wind chill was sixty below zero.

Water pipes froze and we had no water for almost 2 weeks.

Even in the best case scenario, I don't like dragging a bunch of groceries in the house when it's cold, snowing, and icy, so I always do some prepping for winter.

High School Memories

The building was added on to after I attended school here.

Yesterday my husband and I went to the building where I attended high school to return some chairs we borrowed for our wedding.  I hadn't been there in almost twenty years.  A converted farm house into a Christian school, it holds so many memories for me.  We had 16 students in our school, all the girls being in high school.

Adoption (non) update

It's been a week since we got the news every prospective adoptive parent fears -- and so far we haven't heard anything more.  The agency isn't sure what is going on, and of course we're just as clueless.

We fell in love with a specific boy, and that's why we started the adoption process when we did.  But now it's looking like we won't be able to adopt him.

People have asked me specifics, but it's like I told someone, "In the even things do work out and we are able to adopt him, it's his story and he should have the ability to share it or not share it, whatever he chooses."   I don't feel I can make that decision for him.

We've started Adoption Paperwork!

I've been a bit quiet this week, but I've been super busy.  We started paperwork this week to potentially adopt a child!



Classes start in October.  We've been remodeling our home for a while, and it's a wreck with everything everywhere.  (For a while we moved our living room into the office, etc.)  We have lots of work to do, because the house isn't quite ready to pass the home study yet (that will be pricey in and of itself.)  Plus, we're pursuing a private adoption, and that is pricey as well.

Next week we get fingerprinted, and I have an inch of paperwork we need to fill out.

Exciting times!