Day 137 ~ Praying For Shelly

Praying for Shelly
Tues.  Oct 24th

Just as there is happiness in life, there is sorrow too.  


A friend of mine will be going into surgery on Tuesday.  The surgeons will be removing a "benign" tumor that is resting on an auditory nerve.  As would be expected, there are a few risks, one of which she may end up with permanent hearing loss in the one ear... and another being that there may be partial face paralysis [on the same side.]  


I do not know that she would like to be mentioned in my blog, so I will only mention a first name... 


I am asking for your prayers for Shelly on Tuesday.  Her surgery will be anywhere from 6 to 8 hours, it could even go longer.  Her sister and I will be fasting on Tuesday, the same day in her honor.


On a happier note... Today was a day for spending time with family and friends... I especially love it when "the day" comes around [each year] that we get to celebrate the day one of us was blessed upon our family.   Today we celebrated the birthdays of Calley, her 5th, Dominic (my cousin,) his 18th  and Dean's 46th !

Funny... I was just thinking... [no funny comments now...] (wink wink)... each one of them are entering what seems to be such different stages of life, however as different as they are~ they are alike.  Meaning, that each of them are about to experience very special times in their lives.  How exciting for each one of them!  

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.    ~ Matthew 7:7-8

 Blessings to all!!

228 days to go...

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.

Day 127 ~ A Gift From God

Five years ago, a long time wish of mine came true... my daughter was born.

Leading up to this day, I remember several times being at my wits' end... I remember as if it was yesterday... I was crying... praying... to Jesus... feeling as if I had no hope... feeling that my biggest desire would never come true... I remember thinking ...  "I guess this is it... I will never know what it will be to be a mother of a little girl... you know what is best for me dear Lord..."

Before I knew it...

The day came that my daughter would be born... so many things happened that day... first off we were told to be at the hospital by 2:00pm only to find out that my doctor, Dr. Cooper, who also delivered both of my sons... and YES he was still alive... had made a mistake and should have told us to be at the hospital by 6:00pm.  We were given the option to come back the next day... however, Dean and I had decided that in my father's memory, we wanted our little girl to be born on her grandfather's birthday, who had passed away when Mommy was four and a half months pregnant.

Once our little girl was born... our world was complete... Daddy was ever so protective over the both of us... and did not leave us alone that night, not even for a minute.

Daddy had gotten so grouchy... it did not help that the maternity wing was all being re-designed and re-built, under construction.  Therefore, our room did not have the normal amenities that it should have had... all we wanted was a bed or chair for our daddy.

Regardless... as far as we were concerned... we were complete... our family was complete.

Thank you Jesus!

Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!  ~Albert Einstein

Family:  A social unit where the father is concerned with parking space, the children with outer space, and the mother with closet space.  ~Evan Esar 

You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.  ~Desmond Tutu 

Blessings to all!!

238 days to go...

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.

Day 94 ~ I Can Move On & Prevail!

There have been days in my life that I have felt so alone... having a family does not necessarily mean "you have a family."

I sit back and look at myself, and how I have ... "coped" ... "endured" ... "managed" ... "bumbled" ... "mourned" ... "celebrated" ... "fought" ... "made peace" ... "struggled" ... "surrendered" ... "cried" ... "laughed" ... "battled" ... "agreed' ... "defended" ... "attacked" ... "engaged" ... "dismissed" ... "scrambled" ... "organized" ... "learned" ... and "experienced" ... and I have had to do it all, right or wrong, learning along the way, all by myself!  


[No father; no mother; sister or brother; grandmother or aunt; uncle or grandfather; let alone cousins to help or be there for me, a shoulder to cry on, or maybe a hug? A little loyalty or camaraderie?]


It's no wonder I am a little rough around the edges.  ;)

As I look back on all the chapters of my life, trials and tribulations, mistakes, accomplishments and achievements...


I've done okay!  I have a few more things I want to do... and will continue to do ~like my blogging...


As long as I keep moving in the right direction, forward, that is... keeping my goals in sight... working towards them a little each day... I will prevail... I will prevail!  I WILL PREVAIL!!!

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.  ~ Winston Churchill

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many -- not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.   ~ Charles Dickens

Act as if it were impossible to fail.  ~ Dorothy Broude

Don't run from lessons; they are little packages of treasure that have been given to us.  As we learn from them, our lives change for the better.  I now rejoice whenever I see another portion of the dark side of myself.  I know that it means that I am ready to let go of something that has been hindering my life.  I say, "Thank you for showing me this, so I can heal it and move on."  ~ Louise L. Hay 

Blessings to all!


271 days to go

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.

Day 82 ~ Life Happens Here...

courtesy of Bing images

With all that is at hand ... I wanted to share some quotes that I have taken a liking to...

A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.
Charles Darwin

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Buddha 

Every man dies. Not every man really lives.
William Wallace 

Life is half spent before we know what it is.
George Herbert 

Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!  ~Albert Einstein

You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.  ~Desmond Tutu

  

 Blessings to all!!

283 days to go

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.

Day 72 ~ With Structure Comes Implementation...

courtesy of Bing images

Now that I have a game plan... that's all fine and dandy!   (sounds of fingers tapping on the table top...)

SOLUTION:  The key... the secret ... One word... IMPLEMENTATION!

PROBLEM:  To get my arse moving!!!

Ok... so all of this sounds really simple.  I know what I want ... and I know what I have to do to accomplish it...

HOLD the BUS!! (sounds of screeching tires!!)  

Then if it's so simple, why can't I "get 'er done?"  Oh my gosh... why does something that sounds so simple seem as if I have to climb Mount Everest!?!

IDEA!!:  I think there's a possibility of this having an overwhelming affect on me...  So I am going to take a different approach to this.

I am going to tackle this step by step.  HOW? you ask... well...

courtesy of Bing images

Step 1... move Vision Board to a more "in your face" spot that is more accessible...  hence this will have more of a positive affect on the "scheme of things" ... like actually doing it's job!!  lol!!  [a lot of good it does to have a "vision board" if it's not really being used/ being effective]  Then make a couple of updates to it (moving, spice store, online business and jobs ).

Step 2... update "honey do" list.  

1. finish house remodel:  master bath, Calley's bath, paint Calley's room, master bedroom and living room
2. work on schedule for Calley's homeschooling and "life" in general
3. work on online business goals
4. work on sending resumes out
5. look for perfect west coast location for our life (ties in with number4)

Step 3... In this step... there's a saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" ...  well hopefully the following clip art will say it all...

courtesy of Bing images

The point to today's post... well sometimes it is easier said than done.  However...and I mean a Big HOWEVER on this...  sometimes it good to be flexible and in my case... I think I need to get into a routine, (once I know what the goals are that is,) and don't stop until its done!!  In other words... don't think about it... Just Do IT!!

courtesy of Bing images

I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.  ~   Philippians 4:13

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Howard Thurman 

"Trust in what you love, continue to do it, and it will take you where you need to go.”   ~ Natalie Goldberg 

 *  Here's a quote I came by, which isn't really relevant, BUT I just have to share it with you!!

“Cooking is like making love, you do it well, or you do not do it at all”  ~  Harriet van Horne

  

Blessings to all!!

293 days to go.

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent
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Day 25 ~ Reading the Fine Print in The Stages of Life

One minute I am standing in my kitchen talking to my friend enjoying the end of a quick summer downpour... she mentions it's kind of warm out... I agree... and next thing before I knew it... as if someone literally opened a faucet... the sweat was just pouring off of me!  Absolutely CRAZY! 

I have achieved yet another milestone in my life... a true, legitimate hot flash!  Out of nowhere!

Okay... no one prepared me for this!  This is absolutely N U T S!...  I did not sign up for this!  

courtesy of Bing images

First, as girls, we have to experience a most uncomfortable and inconvenient menstruation- and what's worse is that this beast has a mind of its own.  At first just when you start getting the hang of it and you think you know when it's coming to town, and low and behold... it pulls the rug right out from under you and then has the audacity of showing up whenever it wants too!  Dances, weddings, special vacations... you name it!  No occasion is too fancy or special for our dear friend!

Then... what for moments is the most painful experience a person can undergo, yet we fondly look back on it as one of, if not the most wonderful experience we  have the privilege of living... giving birth to our children.  And, of course this is only the beginning of what we will live through for our children!

A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.   John 16:21

Finally, if we have not gone through enough... it has been bestowed upon us women, to denounce not only to us. but EVERYONE that lives with us, that our flowers will no longer bloom (ovulation no more,)  in such a way that it affects EVERYONE you come in contact with (and I mean everyone!  Animals aren't even safe!)... menopause! Only after having gone through its evil partner, perimenopause!!   really?!

Frankly, as I try to be fair about this...  Do we as women have it bad?  ...  Or ...   Or is it the men, who have to deal with the Dr. Jekyll/Miss Hyde persona in these three stages of our lives?

At this point that's as tolerable as I am going to get... from my perspective, I really do not give a damn!  I am hot!! If you don't like it ... well, then may I suggest putting a sweater on? ...  And, don't you dare touch the thermostat!!

One is not born a woman, one becomes one.    ~Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1949

Blessings to all!!


340 days to go.




All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.