love, defined

At church our sermon series is on Love, Defined. I am excited....i will post about it i am sure... and if you dont live in the area and you would like...each sunday they record the sermon and i would be more than happy to pick it up for you. The bible has tons to say about love...."In this life we have three lasting qualities: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love!" 1 corinthians 13:13. In 2 John God commands us to love. In 1 Corinthians 14:1 he says "Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it - because it does!"

You say you love but do you show you love? Are your actions showing your love? Love is giving without never getting or wanting back. God wants you to love...not to just say you love but love....so do you? I am a bad lover just as many of you who are reading this are....I am guilty of loving to get something in return....but as the sermon on Easter sunday said....i am walking through the door to live like God commands me to...taking the key and unlocking whatever is keeping me from living like He wants....Pastor Craig said these words that have just stuck in my head...."better things have happened on this day..." he was talking about walking through the door to a new life...unlocking the door with the key that will let free whatever burdens you....whatever is keeping you from living the life that God has planned for you. Basically saying....compared to what Jesus did on Easter Sunday...whatever it is he is true....it doesnt compare. So in your reflections today...i would ask you to do what i am doing...are the things that are weighing heavy on your shoulders keeping you from loving, and living....are they worth it? Cast all your cares....upon the Lord....for He cares for you and He knows what your going through...why dont you...cast all your cares...upon the Lord.

Love you~juls

i am back...

Hey all...i am back....not at 100% but i am back...the girls were so excited to see me last night....even the 4 legged ones! I was missing them too....(even the 4-legged ones). They both filled me in on all the details of the time spent without me....it was fun....then bedtime came...tucked them both in to bed and then i went to bed soon after.....i was tired! Traveling wears you out....

The weather was a little chilly in Omaha and Iowa.....the time spent with all my relatives was great but we all said that we'd wished it were under different circumstances. The town of Westphalia lost a great man....I am so glad that i was able to make this trip to be with my family to celebrate his life.

THIS is who i am TRAVELING with!?!?! YIKES

This is my silly youngest brother....he works for MPD also....he is who i am traveling with ... i am thankful that it is not both because sometimes with they get together....save me! Anywho...here he is climbing on a rock wall WITHOUT being strapped on....let me tell you that it was about 10 inches from the ground...it is a kiddy wall at a playground in his neighborhood. Anywho...this is the last post for awhile....i will shout with you all later.

a rare moment....i promise.....

I promise that this is a rare moment in our home....when all four dogs are in one room.....but usually when hubby is in the kitchen...they all come around once just to see if he will give them a sliver of turkey bacon....that is their treat....anywho. Macie is the Yorkie-she is dog #1 she is the oldest at 12 and is the boss over everyone of the dogs in the picture! Pixie is a Maltese/Shitzuh mix...mostly shit so we call her a Shitese. She is 8 and dog #2...she is more like a fly by the seat of your pants kind of dog...she wears her feelings on her shoulders and loves her mama. The other two are jake & zoe and you have met them. Now...the only other creatures in the house is the bird...who we have named Rita...she was rescued by me 3 years ago during a tropical storm called Rita...hence the name. I will post pics of her later.

Zoe needs some lovin too!

I felt bad for posting a picture of Jake and not of Zoe. This is the 3rd dog....Zoe....she is a Belgium Malinois. She is a great dog too. (i say this about all our dogs though...sorry). She is 3 years old and is just the most loving and protective dog. At night...she will get up on the bed and almost spoon you....honestly in the winter she is my electric blanket....with her on one side and Pixie (#2 dog) on one side.....i am as warm as ever.

A death in the family....

My Uncle Delbert died yesterday...that is him 2 years ago...next to him is his daughter...across from him is his wife (dark hair) and then my Aunt (his sister) across from my cousin....sad thing his death is......our family has got great genes we live a LONG time....he was 73....he was ill...several things were wrong however death is tough to accept....i can hear his laugh....he was funny the way he laughed...i think that my cousins (his sons) laugh the same way....my cousin (his daughter) was the caretaker of the family....why is it that us daughters feel compelled to become our parents..well...parents...?...my mom will be the first to tell you that i am ALWAYS calling them to check on them...and they are totally capable adults....i dont know what that is....but my cousin (his daughter) i am sure is taking this hard....i know that in her shoes that i would be too....i am leaving to go to Iowa on Saturday....i will return on Tuesday for any of you who are out there wondering where i am....but...in order to prepare myself to make sure that i am able to be the best support that i can be for my cousins...and aunts & uncles...i googled (yeah..i see all of you rolling your eyes about my googling....but hey....it is better than an encyclopedia!...) how to give meaningful support after a death. Here i go with what i learned...you can x out of my blog if you dont want to know this ... i will post something interesting tomorrow... Who knows the right thing to say to someone mourning the loss of a loved one? No one does. That's because there aren't any words that can change or improve the situation. It is a delicate situation and many people either overreach or go to the other extreme and disconnect. There's nothing you can do to eliminate the grieving process, but there are a few things you can do to help them get through it.

• Extraordinary compassion


• Intuition to know when to be present and when to back off


• Sense of humor


• Understanding of the grieving process

Need a little wooing? Here is a list to print off and leave for him!

• Call your partner from work for no other reason than to say, "I love you."
• Hold Hands
• Slow-dance at a restaurant -- when there's no music playing
• Say "I love you" at least three times a day.
• Pick flowers for your partner from the side of the road.
• Every once in a while, kiss her hand with a flourish. Note: The proper way to kiss a woman's hand is to lower your lips to her hand. You don't raise her hand to your lips.
• Place a little love note or poem under the driver's-side windshield wiper of her car.
• Write "I love you" on the bathroom mirror with a piece of soap.

Jake Ryan? You know Jake? Jake's my boy!

This is Jake...man i love this dog! This is our 4th dog...he is the working dog. He works with my husband for the Memphis Police Department. This is a great picture of this dog! I mean he really looks this good in person too! Shannon & Jake won Officer of the Year for 2007. This is the first time for Jake however Shannon has had this honor once before in 2005. We are so proud of them both.

PS....i am on post overload i think!

Keeping the peeps working......

Check out those peeps...working hard.....yeah....they are crafting their little hearts away. Kudos to the one peep who was able to finish her project....she knows who she is....she is such an overachiever! I am proud of you peep! I wasnt able to spend as much time with my peeps this weekend as i would have liked as i was tending to my Stampin' Up! booth....which by the way did great! Thanks so much you peeps for understanding....you know what the saying is......if all peeps ain't happy....no peep is happy! Love you girls! Muwah!

Me and that Ann lady!

i was searching for a great picture of me....i think that i am just going to post a picture of my hand! Geezie Petes! Anywho....here is a picture from last weekend when my good buddy Ann & I attended a crop at Eclectica. We had fun....just giddy we were....i think that we were on crop overload as we had attended the Youth Villages crop that day......What great times!

me....taken with Samsung BlackJack II....YIKES

So...i am at work....and the word is...because i change my hair color so much that i am hard to recognize.....i went to a crop this weekend and that was the first thing that people who know me but havent seen me in awhile said...."your glasses....your hair.....you are darker....." then they always do what mom said...and say..."it looks good...i like it"....only special friends love you enough to tell you to get it fixed.....so far...nobody has said anything....i hope that means that they like it....OMG....i am not worrying about it...you all know me....next week i could change it....it could be brown with blonde & pink highlights....hmmmm...thinking about it.



OK...you have heard all the hype about how awesome the Samsung BlackJack II is...right...i love it...it plays great music....i can get emails....i send emails...i google....i do it all with this little phone...but today..i checked out the picture quality....yeah....i am not getting rid of the Kodak! I guess in a pinch....it will do....but....please know that this picture does not show you the real me....i really look more like Cindy Crawford....i dont know who the girl above is....darn that camera phone!



Toodles & deedles to you all!
juls

Where have i been?

i have no excuse....i mean...i am busy....i work full time....i clean the house full time...i do laundry full time....then there is the kids......the fun stuff...the scrapbooking, watercoloring ... and stamping...that is my sanity.....but i honestly have lost the month of February and most of March....where did it go?

I am posting a picture of the outside of the album that the group of gals from the Youth Village crop and myself put together for Camden Marshky. Please pray hard for this sweet little boy... http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/camdenmarshky .

later taters...thanks for reading

Six killed, including 2 children, in Memphis home

Who wants to hear news like this around our city? How horrible! You all know my husband is a police officer and he has told me from what he has heard about the scene he was glad that he couldnt make it to the location of this horrific event. This is his area and his stomping ground so he is ready to go to work today and find out something! Somebody in this neighborhood knows something.
Take a minute or better yet...take more time to pray for all the victims of this tragedy. Pray for the children, the parents, the brothers & sisters.....pray for those that lost their loved ones and those that are standing near hospital beds begging for God to let their baby's pull through this....pray for the response team....what they saw was something that is only seen in horror movies! Please friends....pray for them and pray hard.

Taking Members right now!!!

Do you "stage" pictures so you can scrapbook them? Do you dress your kids to match patterned paper? Do you call glue "adhesive"? Do the names Ali, Heidi, Becky and Lisa mean anything to you? Have you considered naming a pet after either of them? Do you spend your spare time visiting blogs of total strangers? Have you ever scraplifted? Would you starve to get your favorite scrapbook tool? Do you own a scrapbooking tshirt? Does crop mean one thing to you? Well...then you have come to the right place. We are starting a group and we need you.

Hello....my name is Juli....j...u...l...i.....and I my friends and a scrapaholic.

Email me if you would like to be a member of the club and if you would like to meet to crop.