tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73880690414658808752024-02-02T11:48:28.342-08:00Everything That I NeedAmber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-85112501948951571012019-07-09T12:19:00.004-07:002019-07-09T12:19:55.980-07:00Releasing this life<div style="text-align: center;">
In 2003, I stopped in a small town on my way to Bonnaroo and spoke life into, "This is where I want to live someday." 7 months later, on a trip to Pennsylvania, I met and began dating someone who I later realized was actually from that little Tennessee town called Hartsville and spent the next four years dreaming of moving there and vividly dreaming about working helping youth and somehow working with food. Fast forward 15 years, thank God the boyfriend is a distant memory, but I find myself living in my dream home on my dream property in Hartsville, owning a food truck and coffee business and teaching life skills to the youth here in the schools. Add in my dream of a husband and 3 babies and I am telling you, some nights I would wake up in sweat and hyperventilating waiting for something to come crashing down. </div>
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It is my go to saying, because how true it rings. I have spent the last year ranking my priorities completely backwards and putting my identity everywhere else but in Him. How could I have everything I ever dreamed of and not be spending every bit of my time praising him? In my mind my identity went as follows:</div>
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Mom</div>
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Business Owner</div>
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Coffee roaster and caterer</div>
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Wife </div>
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Teacher</div>
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Gardener</div>
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Micro Farmer</div>
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Traveler</div>
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Kayaker</div>
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and somewhere towards the bottom of that list the only thing that matters: God's child</div>
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And slowly, or not so slowly, a few weeks ago- He said enough. And I released my grasp more and more and He spoke into my heart what I was to hand over starting with my food truck. And the first step of obedience was actually easy but then came more and when I finally lost my precious dog and then felt the pull to relocate back to Lebanon, my instinct to dig in my heels came. Thoughts like, "I am not a subdivision dwelling, HOA rule following, neighborhood gal", flooded my head. "I am a farm loving, gardening, Hartsville, simple small humble home kind of lady!" And the conviction set in. And do you know what I am? I am a child of God, Amber Freeland, who loves pouring into people and loving my family despite whatever environment we are in kind of person. I begged my husband to move us into a camper for years, to live basic and travel and make every day about one thing: LOVE. And even if it doesn't look like that dream, (a two story newer home in a development is actually something I have never ever considered), God is clearing my plate and giving me days not filled with food trucking, not filled with property to take care of, animals to watch out for and business relationships to put so much time into but giving me the greatest gift of all: TIME. Free days, not dropping my 2 year old off for 8 hours with sitters so I can increase our income and rushing my kids bedtime routine so I can get out in the food truck and prep.</div>
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I have cried a lot. I have avoided going in my backyard where I usually spend my summers because it is the most sore spot for me. I put a lot of work into this yard and my beautiful garden. I made this home exactly what suited my family and spoke life into all it's rooms with art and decor that represents us well. But I have refused to let myself second guess any of it because it is not our decision to make. It is our path to follow as God leads us. </div>
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I pray my kids remember that their parents were never afraid to leap and never afraid to say yes to the unknown. I know too many people who have worked jobs they hated, lived in places they despised and never taken a risk for 20 30 40 years because they are afraid of change. I refuse to be that. I also pray my kids will look back and see that their parents valued their time together, their activities and making their home a space of welcoming for their friends so much so that they gave up their idea of paradise. And that their mom was a rip off the band-aid kind of person who knows how to not only make the best of every situation but to fall in love with every step of this journey. I guarantee a year from now I will love every part of our home and new life. It is a choice to make. </div>
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Through all of the loss I am gaining time and with time comes the opportunity to be with friends, to serve others, to get to know new people and to pour into my old faithful group of people in this life. That is a welcome to all of you to come by for the best cup of coffee you will ever have! And for after dinner walks through the neighborhood, meals at our home and a place for all those kiddos to come spend time. </div>
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When I spend time before God at this end of this life he is not going to ask me about my income, my square footage, how my garden produced, what I drove or what kind of sales my business did that year. He is not going to care if I was fashionable, trend setting, had thousands of social media followers or even how great my coffee tasted haha! He is going to ask what I did for His Kingdom and for His people. And He has basically opened the gates to let me fulfill that purpose. I stand here grateful and in awe of His goodness and His provision and His faithfulness and ready to take on this next part of my small journey here on earth.</div>
Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-21996628383530635972017-08-07T09:59:00.000-07:002017-08-07T10:40:49.865-07:00Look upI had the rare moment last week to spend some one on one time with my oldest child. We were driving and sharing a delicious peach shake, passing it back and forth from front seat to back. The windows were down as we sang along to the radio until we came to a red light. And then my simple, quiet seven year old son looked at the driver next to us and said something so profound, "Mommy, why does everyone always stare into their phones. It's not like the whole world is in there. They need to look up more."<br />
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We are going through life at such a rapid pace that I think as adults we don't notice it much, but if we take a moment to peer through the eyes of a child, it must look odd. Sunsets, trees, old buildings, people and living in one of the most beautiful places in the world and so many are staring into a screen looking for fulfillment to jump out of a device. We can't even sit at a stoplight taking in the view around us without so many feeling that pull to check text messages, email or some form of social media. It hit me, convicted me and has stuck with me so much.</div>
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My kids are growing rapidly and I don't want snapshots posted to Facebook to ever overtake the feelings those memories give me when I close my eyes and can put myself right back into a place in the past where their smiles melted my heart or their cuddles made me feel right at home. I don't want anyone to feel like they own my time and that their email demands time over what is happening around the supper table. I hate the thought of my husband and I sitting side by side silently as we scroll through the lives of others and ignore the beauty our life provides. </div>
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One thing I have gotten my kids to do is when we try a new or particularly delicious food, we close our eyes and try to distinguish the flavors and ingredients without our eyes. I want them to create a life filled with more knowledge from their own senses than from what the world is throwing at them. I want them to have the freedom that seems so rare to others as the world is becoming slaves to technology. This week let's all take the time to appreciate the beauty around us, breathe in slowly, smells the roses and spend more time just looking up.<br />
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Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-34074528562127123962017-08-03T18:17:00.005-07:002017-08-07T09:57:15.903-07:00Something it seems only we have...I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and randomly ended up here in Hartsville for a summer in 2003. It seemed everyone I talked to here was so interested in getting out of dodge and checking out places like where I am from. For me, I felt like I had hit the jackpot in this two stoplight town. I dreaded the end of that summer and having to leave this place.<br />
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I spent the next few years in Illinois working and starting college, all the while dreaming of Tennessee. What tugged at my heart the most? Those stars. Nowhere I had traveled had a sky quite like the one over Trousdale County. It is the kind of sky that you look up and forget the rest of the world because you are so transfixed in that moment. <br />
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That sky drew me back in 2007 when I moved to Lebanon to finish my degree and while most of my friends at Cumberland University graduated and moved closer to wherever home was for them, I fell in love with my future husband and we both decided that after graduation, our life would continue in Tennessee. We lived close to the school on a five year plan that turned into longer, busting our tails to make our dreams come true. What was that dream? A humble country home on a piece of land under that sky that captivated us.<br />
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Here we have been for a year now with dreams having become reality. As I write this, the moon is full and clear surrounded by a countless amount of stars that don't seem to be the same ones shining even just a city over. The bugs and frogs are performing an orchestra and the air is rejuvenating my lungs after a busy day. This place is a slice of heaven on Earth. I know that you can find beauty anywhere you look for it, but I truly believe we don't have to look far at all for those of us who call Hartsville our home.Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-58702314385408979622017-01-01T18:59:00.000-08:002017-01-01T18:59:21.966-08:00What you don't see...<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;">We live so much of our lives behind a screen: posting the best, taking twenty shots before one looks just right, able to edit our words to turn out just right when in real life we babble nonsense all the time wishing we could use that edit button over our mouths. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">People have told me how perfect my family is, my marriage is, my life is. And I feel guilty because if that is what people are seeing through their phone screens, I feel like what I am portraying is a lie. Let me tell you what you don't see. Mamas I know so many of you can relate.</span> </div>
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<span style="color: red;">What you see is a woman who seems to do it all and keep a smile on her face.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">What you don't see is someone who feels like the clown in a circus, spinning so many plates and trying not to let one drop. Someone who gives every single ounce of herself to her family and still lays her head on the pillow at night feeling guilty for not mustering up 110% that day. Who feels like criticizing eyes are around every corner waiting for her next failure. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">What you see is a woman who some days feels like the most beautiful creature on earth, empowered by the fact that I carried three lives in my own body, that my breasts hold the power to nourish my child with everything she needs and that I can keep up with my three children with energy to spare. But what you don't see is a girl who is consumed sometimes with not eating "too much", who walks into a workout class knowing I have the stamina to far outdo most women in there but still immediately recognizes that I am the biggest one compared to the tiny frames surrounding me. The one who spends countless amount of moments cursing herself because all of the clean eating and working out isn't making a large dent in the scale and will never fully believe her husband when he tells her she is the most beautiful woman he has ever laid eyes on.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">What you see is a quiet, well-behaved child who stays to himself and loves his mama with all of his heart.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">What you don't see is a mother who dies inside every time her boy isn't able to do things other kids can, can't comprehend the world like everyone else and struggles at things that should come easy. A mom who has to hide her face in the front seat of the car and sob in her jacket when her firstborn tells her the neighborhood kids called him dumb or different. A mother who spends hours meal-planning, researching and working with her son so he can learn and feel and behave to the best of his ability.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"> What you see is a super intelligent child with a vigor for life like no other.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">What you don't see is a boy who comprehends the world like an adult should, not a child. Who wakes up screaming from nightmares on the regular and cries for orphans and prays for the homeless daily. A boy who can't sit still and who's behavior has sent his parents to the point of praying face-down on his floor so just reaching their hands out: one covering him in prayer and one reaching up toward God asking for answers for his obedience.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"> And a beautiful baby girl who has brought so much joy into the world. But who has also brought much fear- raising girls is scary stuff in a world driven by sex and power and what feels like predators lurking around every corner. A girl whose Mama prays to raise into a powerful, loving, Christ-filled woman who knows who she is and forever remains her best friend.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">And finally, what you see is two people who love each other fiercely, who can joke through the hard times when they want to wring each other's necks and who are best friends.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">What you don't see is a couple who are working so hard to pay down student loans that some days they see each other for a total of 15 minutes, trying to keep love alive through text messages and brief phone conversations. Two people who had a rough first few years that probably could have easily ended in divorce but they kept putting it in God's hands and praying for better until it came true. Two people who have broken each other's hearts countless times but have chosen forgiveness each time and have busted their tails to be in the relationship they are in today. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJdqghCa7sutHM0xR2jiPYYV2fxPM8UPDIykhEKelqqRqGRXhn4hOd833e-cCaKzy1yphTw_0MbG1QdD0SKBaJOL2-cMaIxG-D4xOZkQyzDNBnRAHWrAfAri-aiXDGRhK678eCDPsGk4q/s1600/39c715df22ec1f238fe89a8d0a7e215a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJdqghCa7sutHM0xR2jiPYYV2fxPM8UPDIykhEKelqqRqGRXhn4hOd833e-cCaKzy1yphTw_0MbG1QdD0SKBaJOL2-cMaIxG-D4xOZkQyzDNBnRAHWrAfAri-aiXDGRhK678eCDPsGk4q/s1600/39c715df22ec1f238fe89a8d0a7e215a.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;">When we moved into our new home, the neighbor kids drove me nuts. They are far more "worldly" and know way more language and things than I am ready for my kids to know. They can be mean and ugly and I got to the point that I was banning them from our yard. But it hit me- I decided to love them anyways and see where it went from there. And I have seen big things happen from inviting them into our lives, our church events, our homes. Huge things. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;">And just recently it hit me- yes it's easy to love on children but why am I not doing this with adults too? We all have junk, big time stuff that we hide behind our pretty poses and status updates and fake smiles. We quickly judge and make up our mind. We don't take the time to get to the root of who a person is and just easily write them off. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;">I was working with a group of about 20 elementary age students the other day and I asked them, "Who in here is struggling with something that no one else knows about right now?". Every single one of them shot a hand up in the air. These are little kids. I am guessing us adults can take most of those problems and multiply them by ten to equal our own. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAr6FDsZIqfOs6MUQbaJbpfcoB1A5OlK1hDIXoxHUcB-Eyg9iUhX6QfIafICq0Mq-Vkaf_naTiNtHuryU3dpSk2QydyPagEqhv79cw5rvlRFDNdvMjqkodWRpmAG_Np2sWC1sfBD4y8OO/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAr6FDsZIqfOs6MUQbaJbpfcoB1A5OlK1hDIXoxHUcB-Eyg9iUhX6QfIafICq0Mq-Vkaf_naTiNtHuryU3dpSk2QydyPagEqhv79cw5rvlRFDNdvMjqkodWRpmAG_Np2sWC1sfBD4y8OO/s1600/download.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;">So do I write all this for you to understand me better? No I want you to understand every person better. What you see is NEVER what you get. Let's step out of our comfort zones and be vulnerable. Let's open up and be real and let others do the same. And when we are all big, messy, honest, broken pieces-let's love each other big time and watch our shattered selves slowly mend back together. I have watched 2016 be filled with more hate and greed and judgment than my heart could handle. Let's fix it. Let's outdo all that hate with love so big our world can't contain it. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;">Who's with me? </span></div>
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<br /></div>
Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-54443647401249994162016-11-18T12:04:00.001-08:002016-11-18T12:05:18.186-08:00The Greatest Lesson<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Here we are. My boys
and I. I have taught them so much in the time we home-schooled. I
taught them how to read, mathematics, all about the planets and the
names of the oceans and continents. They have learned in depth about
23 of our states, the role of our government and the foundations of
our country. We have written poems together, developed their language
and practiced the basic poses of yoga. But today, as I give up being
their school teacher and turn back into their full-time mom, I am
teaching them the biggest lesson of all of those I have so far.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am teaching them
that listening and obeying God is the most important thing they can
do. They are seeing a woman being completely dependent on God and
jumping in faith against everything her flesh wants. I have been
patient and praying for an answer for months. What is it I need to
give up because something's gotta give. First, He spoke to me and
said anything my heart isn't on fire for. While I love Plexus
products and still believe in their health promotion and take them,
it wasn't a passion for me like homeschooling, the coffee business
and our farm is. So I obeyed and cut off the time I had spent there.
But I knew more was coming. And when He spoke Sunday into my heart,
God asked me to give up my passion and number one love- educating my
children. Really? Couldn't it have been my job, Cory's second job or
something I didn't grip onto so hard????
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
But I
realized I had made it my identity and my everything. And while my
boys were well advanced knowledge wise, it had turned into finishing
worksheets while I bounced Scout on my knee to stay content and some
nights we weren't finishing until 9 pm. This meant I wasn't able to
turn off teacher and be mom for even a minute of the day to them and
they deserve so much more. So I jumped and took them to register
early Monday. Unaware of the financial cost, the emotional cost and
without thinking for myself I obeyed. And then I cried for three days
straight, all the while knowing God me in his hand and it was
going to turn out alright in the end.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am
teaching them that when they are adults, their marriage needs to be a
priority. I have put mine on the backburner since the beginning-
skipping date nights and connection to pour into my kids 24-7. And my
loving husband has always let it be, knowing one day they will fly
the coop. He is my best friend and my kids need to see a rejuvenated
woman who is eager for time alone to connect with her spouse. And
when my husband held me while I cried on the pantry floor, not saying
a word just letting me go through all of the emotions this has left
me with, I knew more than ever that he deserves me to be a wife who
knows how to be all things at their appropriate time- to put off my
mom cap when the babies are all asleep and be the woman he first fell
in love with.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am teaching them
that using busyness to escape thinking it so hurtful in the long run.
I laid on the hammock yesterday staring at the sky and being alone
with my thoughts and I realized that it is the first time I have done
that in over 7 years. Life is messy and there are hurts and pains and
healing to be done. And instead of working through any of it- I have
busied myself to a point that I haven't had a chance to, afraid of
what it may lead to. So I go through my days in a whirlwind of
working, teaching my children, taking care of them, cooking,
cleaning, working out and doing more in a day than I should be doing
in a week. And now, I am sitting here in silence except for the
heartbeat on my baby girl's sound machine. And it is deafening but I
am going to learn to love it.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Finally, I am
teaching them to love themselves by showing them what that looks
like. I am learning to love myself and do it fiercely and
passionately. To get back to the girl who sang and danced and created
art and was going to be a famous writer. That girl who felt so alive
that she blazed with emotions and loved big time. The girl who
reveled in her friendships and dreamed so big. I have mourned that
girl, but she is not dead she has just been waiting to reappear. And
my husband has been patiently waiting on her.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And I can't wait for
my kids to meet her. </div>
Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-32056836268933322352016-11-18T12:04:00.000-08:002016-11-18T12:05:03.499-08:00The Greatest Lesson<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Here we are. My boys
and I. I have taught them so much in the time we home-schooled. I
taught them how to read, mathematics, all about the planets and the
names of the oceans and continents. They have learned in depth about
23 of our states, the role of our government and the foundations of
our country. We have written poems together, developed their language
and practiced the basic poses of yoga. But today, as I give up being
their school teacher and turn back into their full-time mom, I am
teaching them the biggest lesson of all of those I have so far.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am teaching them
that listening and obeying God is the most important thing they can
do. They are seeing a woman being completely dependent on God and
jumping in faith against everything her flesh wants. I have been
patient and praying for an answer for months. What is it I need to
give up because something's gotta give. First, He spoke to me and
said anything my heart isn't on fire for. While I love Plexus
products and still believe in their health promotion and take them,
it wasn't a passion for me like homeschooling, the coffee business
and our farm is. So I obeyed and cut off the time I had spent there.
But I knew more was coming. And when He spoke Sunday into my heart,
God asked me to give up my passion and number one love- educating my
children. Really? Couldn't it have been my job, Cory's second job or
something I didn't grip onto so hard????
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
But I
realized I had made it my identity and my everything. And while my
boys were well advanced knowledge wise, it had turned into finishing
worksheets while I bounced Scout on my knee to stay content and some
nights we weren't finishing until 9 pm. This meant I wasn't able to
turn off teacher and be mom for even a minute of the day to them and
they deserve so much more. So I jumped and took them to register
early Monday. Unaware of the financial cost, the emotional cost and
without thinking for myself I obeyed. And then I cried for three days
straight, all the while knowing God me in his hand and it was
going to turn out alright in the end.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am
teaching them that when they are adults, their marriage needs to be a
priority. I have put mine on the backburner since the beginning-
skipping date nights and connection to pour into my kids 24-7. And my
loving husband has always let it be, knowing one day they will fly
the coop. He is my best friend and my kids need to see a rejuvenated
woman who is eager for time alone to connect with her spouse. And
when my husband held me while I cried on the pantry floor, not saying
a word just letting me go through all of the emotions this has left
me with, I knew more than ever that he deserves me to be a wife who
knows how to be all things at their appropriate time- to put off my
mom cap when the babies are all asleep and be the woman he first fell
in love with.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am teaching them
that using busyness to escape thinking it so hurtful in the long run.
I laid on the hammock yesterday staring at the sky and being alone
with my thoughts and I realized that it is the first time I have done
that in over 7 years. Life is messy and there are hurts and pains and
healing to be done. And instead of working through any of it- I have
busied myself to a point that I haven't had a chance to, afraid of
what it may lead to. So I go through my days in a whirlwind of
working, teaching my children, taking care of them, cooking,
cleaning, working out and doing more in a day than I should be doing
in a week. And now, I am sitting here in silence except for the
heartbeat on my baby girl's sound machine. And it is deafening but I
am going to learn to love it.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Finally, I am
teaching them to love themselves by showing them what that looks
like. I am learning to love myself and do it fiercely and
passionately. To get back to the girl who sang and danced and created
art and was going to be a famous writer. That girl who felt so alive
that she blazed with emotions and loved big time. The girl who
reveled in her friendships and dreamed so big. I have mourned that
girl, but she is not dead she has just been waiting to reappear. And
my husband has been patiently waiting on her.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And I can't wait for
my kids to meet her. </div>
Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-16700693631017521662013-12-31T20:16:00.000-08:002013-12-31T20:16:45.090-08:00What Little Boys Don't UnderstandIt is the 4th birthday of my first born child and also the end to 2013. I feel like I have grown so much this year and watched my babies grow even more but I am leaving this year in hopes of more. One thing I need more of is patience and understanding of BOYS. Believe me, two boys entering my life in less than 13 months, I got a crash course in them but the more they grow, the more I think "why do they do what they do??!?!?!". Which made me realize today that there is so much on the opposite end of that. Here are a few things little boys don't understand about us mamas...
1. Your destructiveness will never make sense to us. While we accept that anything nice we own will probably end up in pieces, we will never understand the need to throw, stomp and destroy whatever you can get your hands on. Not out of anger but out of sheer joy in watching things "come undone". I know, I have watched your faces light up as you shatter flower pots, throw rolls of toilet paper in the toilet water and pee on my new couch.
2. No girl will ever be good enough for our babies but we really fear those girls that have mothers making them so high maintenance by 3 years old that their wardrobe costs more than our family vehicle and a constant pout is plastered to their spoiled faces. Our prayers for you have many versions of "please Lord bring them humble, down to earth wives" in them. When you do finally decide to date at 30 years old, I have fantasies of earthy, talkative girls who come from families of 10 or more children that know what it was like to share rooms with multiple siblings and cooked and cleaned for their parents throughout their lives. Lord please!
3. Looking at you makes us fall more in love with daddy. My boys look just like me. When I look at their faces I see me through and through. But their mannerisms, their expressions, the way they breathe is so much my husband. And is it possible to watch these perfect beings doing what they do as children and not love their dad more because he made them half of who they are? 4. Your small acts of kindness fill us with such hope and pride. Opening a door, picking a flower for us, kissing our cheeks... Nothing swells our hearts or gives us hope that chivalry will continue in the future quite like these things. 5. Your bodily functions are just as bad as anyone else's. I remember the days when it didn't bother me because they were my sweet babies and it was just poop. But suddenly something changed and now I have as much fear sometimes of wiping your butt as I do of letting you do it on your own and the mess that entails. In other words, this is only going to get worse so please don't try to increase the gross-out factor on your mom the older you get. 6. Being a mom to multiple sons is a whole different world and we secretly hope you get this payback plus some someday. As my boys whipped circles around me at the grocery store today, one fell hard and hit his face on the dirty floor and the other was busy bunching up a loaf of bread on the shelf. I in no way downplay what being a mother to daughters is like... that is something I do not and may not ever know with the tears and drama that come along with it. But being a mother to more than one son is absolute insanity sometimes. I regret ever looking at moms in this position before I had my own and thinking "why are you letting them do that?!?!?!" because boy oh boy am I getting my payback. 7. No matter what you do or how hard the day is, you have taught me a love that exceeds any other type of love I know. I could stare at you forever. Every time I hear one of my friends is pregnant, I secretly hope it's a boy because there is nothing quite like the bond of a mother and her sons. Being a mother to you boys is such a blessing and what I have realized is that you get out what you put into it just like anything else in life. This is the most important job I have been given and I treat it as that and cringe when I see others treating it like a burden or a joke. I know my boys have no clue what it takes to be a parent but what I do hope is that someday they do and not for selfish reasons but so their children can be raised right. Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-2160652855516092342013-06-14T12:11:00.001-07:002013-06-14T12:11:09.161-07:00Home is wherever we are together<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It seems the perfect answer to us for wanting more is simply... less. I'm surrounded by a world of more: more square footage, more cosmetic beauty, more money, more travel, the list goes on and on. We pretend that we're not idolizing it, putting it above God, but at the end of the day sometimes I know my pinterest app was open a lot more than my Bible as I search for more things to want and desire. When I put down the phone and snap into reality this is truth: we are rich. We have more love, more fun and are making more memories daily than some do in a lifetime. I am not that girl.. the shopper, the one who lets my belongings define me and spends more time in a mall than in the woods BUT I have found myself being influenced into it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Another truth: Debt, in the form of student loans, is holding us back. We have acquired a hefty old lump of them and they've caused more arguments, bitterness and low-down feelings in this marriage than I ever want to admit. We tried to pretend they weren't going to pop up on us soon as we strived for the "American dream" and here we are a house, 2 kids and 2 cars in the drive later and those loans continue to haunt. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our dreams are simple when we don't let the world view of what's normal impact them. A farm, a very self-sufficient life aka living off our land, homeschooling our children and basically living on love with the wonderful people we are surrounded with. We recently found ourselves looking to buy this piece of land and new home and through our prayer and search we kept ending up in similar places. Apartment parking lots and the like. Once we opened our ears and realized what God was leading us towards it brought us to our current state and we had big decisions to make.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Living in this debt is not only uncomfortable, I believe it is sinful. Don't get me wrong, WE ARE NOT SPENDERS! This is simply student loans we have acquired as we continue to live an anti-credit card life and we live far within our budget. After much praying we have decided to not only sell our home like we had planned, but instead of that farm we want now, we are choosing to put it off for three years as we live renting someplace very small, simple and cheap. We have a goal of 3 years maximum as we will take every extra bit of money we save through this process and watch our debt eliminate into nothing. Oh, the feeling that the final zero dollar fee will bring us is unimagineable. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now, I know this post sounds completely positive but don't get me wrong... I love my house, I love my yard, I love my stuff. I want nothing less than to see it all go into boxes or be sold as I move into a place where a hide-a-bed sofa may be my sleeping arrangements. But isn't that the problem with us people?!?! We want want want more and we love our stuff so much that it places a higher priority on us than Jesus, than living life, than so much more???</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So, here we go, sign is in the front yard and if what we are doing is honoring God's plan for us, hopefully we'll see our home turn into someone else's quickly. We plan to keep everyone up to date on this because we want this to be inspiring to people who feel theyre swimming in a sea of money issues that they can't escape. We ask for prayers and support for us and hope that we can exemplify what Jesus wants us to and that's loving people and using our lives in a way that is not evolving around belongings but instead around the beauty of people and this Earth God has given us.</span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-55254558689912204902012-12-31T22:33:00.000-08:002012-12-31T22:33:01.923-08:002012<div style="text-align: center;">
2012 has been one of the very best years of my life! So, as a reminder, I am going to roundup some of my favorite moments over the past 365 days!</div>
<br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: red;">My beautiful babies turned 1 and 2 and changed so much this year! Rocklyn finished his first year of pre-k and in August both boys went to Immanuel Baptist for the WEE program! This has been the year of both of them really beginning to speak, pottytraining and breaking off into more independent little men : ( !</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfgvAdqViCNdN127z5Z0dp1fFh8O1RR9QCMzB5YmwsgkhjL11HUdem2nJOkZ48n7zVmenOPeFD6arcFC0mn6ihuV5sEimCOWtGINu5D6ylB_qpwDV9fq6KysOHh3K0U3m_HrjBBz-b0kD/s1600/send9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfgvAdqViCNdN127z5Z0dp1fFh8O1RR9QCMzB5YmwsgkhjL11HUdem2nJOkZ48n7zVmenOPeFD6arcFC0mn6ihuV5sEimCOWtGINu5D6ylB_qpwDV9fq6KysOHh3K0U3m_HrjBBz-b0kD/s1600/send9.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE1CSno1kOIwfh92GGrEgZ5ZsMW2aZprM45xf85q87PnDv-1vQwLr0W965crCUlfvXvpcKJJnCePovtCUDApDXSxNfYNaIsM96bwMAOd9iLYRYg3RordrqsaF7PTiJ-Z-qwQ6P1wx7R1S/s1600/familyphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE1CSno1kOIwfh92GGrEgZ5ZsMW2aZprM45xf85q87PnDv-1vQwLr0W965crCUlfvXvpcKJJnCePovtCUDApDXSxNfYNaIsM96bwMAOd9iLYRYg3RordrqsaF7PTiJ-Z-qwQ6P1wx7R1S/s320/familyphoto.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">HEALTH: I had some big changes in my health this year! I had my tonsils removed (worst experience of my life!!!) and dropped 30 pounds. I am continuing to strive to lose more in the New Year but am pretty darn proud of my progress so far! Below is a before and after!</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">JOBS: Cory got hired on with Mid-Cumberland as a Crisis Counselor and has also been substituting for LSSD and teaching bible at the preschool. I am continuing to work for VIP bring drunk driving awareness to offenders. I also began teaching at Immanuel in the WEE program with the cutest group of kids and best of all in the same hallway as both of my boys classrooms! I recently started working at Lulu's clothing boutique on the square and am loving it! Between the two of us are six positions but we are soooooo grateful in this crazy economy to have work and six jobs that we love!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">FUN: The boys were put in a country music video for Cathy Louvin and it was such an amazing experience! We also had some other fun times including a trip to Missouri, two weeks spent back home in Illinois, multiple zoo and waterpark trips, football games, hikes, movies and more! I am loving the ages they are at and being able to do so many new things whether it is a simple hike in the woods or them now understanding concepts like trick-or-treating and Santa Clause.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000;">Some more big things in 2013: Our dog Rex became a part of the family and he is so loved and has made our family even more complete. I had some trials and some hard decisions to make this year but in the end, I am so much more happy because of them and have continued to walk closer and closer to God through them all. I have made some big decisions about what exactly I want to be doing as far as future career plans and am excited to see Cory begin doing what he loves, teaching, after he is done with his education. God has been so good to us and I am so grateful for everything. Ready to welcome 2013 and see where it takes us!</span></div>
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Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-53234976374658540652012-07-15T12:03:00.002-07:002012-07-15T12:03:32.212-07:00Today, the sermon at church was focused on Matthew 19:13-15 and the topic of children. I was so excited for this message because the focus of so much of my time, is in fact, children. A brief overview of the main points of today included Jesus' love for and focus on the importance of children and how we need to be aware to not lessen the value of these humble, wide-eyed, pride-less beings. We are all born sinful and need the love of Jesus and children are no exception. From catechism to family worship nights to bible studies with our children; these things are of so much more value than television shows and sports games. We have such a small amount of time with our children and it is gone in the blink of an eye. I for one, do not want to be one who regrets the faith I have instilled in them. That being said, I left feeling very proud of the job Cory and I are doing as parents. Even the resources our pastor mentioned are ones we have in the home and I know at the end of every day that even though I am far from a perfect parent, they are in a home where they are praying often, learning about Jesus and learning what love is all the time. Cory has done an amazing job being a spiritual leader in our home and we both know there is always more ways to improve and improve in this area. <br />
But then it hit me... yes, my children hear bible stories on the regular, yes we pray before bedtime and meals and in between, yes we do devotionals every night and worship nights often and yes they live in a home where they see two parents who love eachother and their kids and work daily at making this all happen but they also have a mother who has put so much focus on these things along with their meals, daily activities, art projects and all the chaos of motherhood that she has forgotten to nourish her own soul more often than not. Most days I am running so hard and fast to keep up with my family that by the time bedtime comes, I am dozed off before the boys are even into a rem cycle yet. Naptimes consist of laundry, dishes, couponing and the like that the Bible or even time for prayer is nowhere near my mind.<br />
In my attempt to become the exemplary mother, I have become the opposite, even a fake if you will. Yes, I can talk all day long and read bible stories until my voice is gone but what I am doing with my life is going to speak volumes and volumes louder than any of this! How I treat people, how I speak of people behind closed doors, the television shows I watch, the books I chose to read and every other area of my life is what is going to have major impact, especially if it doesn't coincide with what I am teaching them daily. When my children enter Heaven's gates at the end of their lives, I want to be there waiting for them. I want my husband and I to be open-armed and full of joy at their arrival and in order for this to happen we need to be putting God at the focus of every area of our lives, even as tough as it is for us moms who want to make everyone else's life great and tend to forget ourselves. <br />
Today's message was an eye-opener for me in a completely different way than maybe our pastor intended, but exactly in the way that God has intended for it to be. Let us not forget what we are here on this earth for and what a blessing these children are even in the most difficult of times. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGS9okK535MhiE6c6Kl2XGWeZUI-DOMZD2IU1FS9ick6i5JrkAtRQfYrRWnhqhAj98k74yjeizAUrWg9OW9YhKMnhuR1dHeoqeZklE-nVa0cecQn8fEg_YxNcJxUqUnyskuyOa7ZvgXhTC/s1600/praying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGS9okK535MhiE6c6Kl2XGWeZUI-DOMZD2IU1FS9ick6i5JrkAtRQfYrRWnhqhAj98k74yjeizAUrWg9OW9YhKMnhuR1dHeoqeZklE-nVa0cecQn8fEg_YxNcJxUqUnyskuyOa7ZvgXhTC/s320/praying.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-57415274494868613472012-03-20T15:30:00.003-07:002012-03-20T15:39:29.406-07:00ART!<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAx-kFCx9VuZ_yoIeN1j6K5viWXjEpJqw8UG6UUmcA1KGsbx6wlx0PA2_9s7U5fVj438KOyoLFCq5hzhTkCS1Wsgs0AAz7cFYDBQ4_XyYPsmoN7VbEgGDhbXt8GSonsB85e7JFR7R1afOZ/s1600/art3.jpg"><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 221px; height: 166px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722110771059444674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAx-kFCx9VuZ_yoIeN1j6K5viWXjEpJqw8UG6UUmcA1KGsbx6wlx0PA2_9s7U5fVj438KOyoLFCq5hzhTkCS1Wsgs0AAz7cFYDBQ4_XyYPsmoN7VbEgGDhbXt8GSonsB85e7JFR7R1afOZ/s320/art3.jpg" /></a><span style="color:#ff0000;">We recently redecorated our master bedroom and I could not find any art for the wall we face when in bed. Everything seemed to have either quotes I find tacky or was just plain boring and ugly. I decided there is nothing more I would like to look at than family art! Above are the boys small canvases they painted. Cory and I have yet to paint ours but I have great ideas! Rocklyn's painting is the left canvas and Ryder's the right. I was super impressed at both of them but especially at Ryder's ability at 1 year old.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGeH6ubqtuNQr9oJZ_XMl8U5SZlG8SZTNdAkyUShtoHf0rE4bcFLd3jTBL0hCXm9toF9HYaN2D5XuIJHnxvwtgKNY5ssztP8hRE0gu_PSuVHl8igi3YnRNYSO14waIzOz5dV7s4uDYx9w5/s1600/art2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 221px; height: 166px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722110764561460210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGeH6ubqtuNQr9oJZ_XMl8U5SZlG8SZTNdAkyUShtoHf0rE4bcFLd3jTBL0hCXm9toF9HYaN2D5XuIJHnxvwtgKNY5ssztP8hRE0gu_PSuVHl8igi3YnRNYSO14waIzOz5dV7s4uDYx9w5/s320/art2.jpg" /></a>After we finished the canvases we let them finger paint on cardstock paper with paints and karo syrup. It was so messy but they loved it. Ryder ended up picking up his paper and licking the paint syrup mixture up because, well, it's Ryder and if he can eat it he will lol.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFa5cvmZNnXxGMDEXRdaGK2OvCS4bP_NltVUC4qznZg6uDWC8V_gBuunNhy2tjEzbGPdGSfOeIpiLuFKbp1EQJuW3hH5LvW2ggM9KGSodctUcC5iPQ1pa3Blf5PeAaFv2mditCaT1nzFK/s1600/art1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 221px; height: 166px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722110761951630322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFa5cvmZNnXxGMDEXRdaGK2OvCS4bP_NltVUC4qznZg6uDWC8V_gBuunNhy2tjEzbGPdGSfOeIpiLuFKbp1EQJuW3hH5LvW2ggM9KGSodctUcC5iPQ1pa3Blf5PeAaFv2mditCaT1nzFK/s320/art1.jpg" /></a>Here is Rocklyn painting who is always so precise and not one for messiness. He prefers the paintbrushes over his hands by far!</div><div> </div><div>It was so fun and the canvases are something that brightens me up whenever I look at them!<br /><div></div></div><br /></div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-70842987519928491602012-02-28T09:54:00.002-08:002012-02-28T10:08:34.383-08:00More Paula Please<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzxjD1ae5Iy56nC__Qroqv7nl9TPHowEfMJNyofylTrRp8APh9BL_YEV0sP0q_DnpL27skBPcrEpr0bylSeGiY7fyPkpKBo1zI8JC4YtgX7STolGV9iJd3fLvdlGJIKLeR1qjmuEvjhhY/s1600/paula.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 211px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714246736362886242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzxjD1ae5Iy56nC__Qroqv7nl9TPHowEfMJNyofylTrRp8APh9BL_YEV0sP0q_DnpL27skBPcrEpr0bylSeGiY7fyPkpKBo1zI8JC4YtgX7STolGV9iJd3fLvdlGJIKLeR1qjmuEvjhhY/s320/paula.jpg" /></a>I was walking around a local bookstore recently and was browsing as the boys continued to pull books off the shelves and send the cashier into a mild panic attack and before I headed to the cash register with some Yo GabbaGabba coloring books I kept being drawn back to Paula Deen's Memoir "It Ain't All About the Cookin'". I was almost embarassed to even check out the back of it because, having never watched the show, I had this opinion of the woman formed in my head. <br />So, I put it back on the shelf for the fourth time and headed towards the register and as the man scanned my last book I made him wait and ran back to grab this book. I swear it was as if I did not have control over it, I just had to have this book for some reason. </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">I now must say, this woman is like a soulmate I have never met! You know those very few people who come into your life and you just know they are meant to be a part of you forever? That is how I felt after getting to know Miss Paula in this book. I actually took such a long time reading this book because I never wanted it to end. </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">I am amazed to learn how she suffered from agoraphobia for more than 20 years and yet became this cooking superstar with more personality than most. She was tired of where she found herself in life and gave it her all and made her dreams come true. Not only her dreams, but beyond anything she could imagine. Miss Paula's book came into my life in a time when I needed this most and her honesty in this book is appaling and much appreciated as she reveals family fights, sex advice and more. </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">All this being said, I got a big slap in the face to never judge a book by its cover because this woman I once assumed to be an annoying, loudmouth slob is now a woman to admire and I hope Cory will bring me down to visit her restaurant the Lady and Sons this year and maybe get a chance to meet the Lady herself! Highly recommend this woman's story as I now feel she has a place in my heart forever.<br /></div><div align="center"></div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-84759264900566481432012-01-22T11:12:00.000-08:002012-01-22T11:27:03.313-08:00STORY BOARDS<div align="center"><span style="color:#cc0000;">A quick and easy learning tool I have been putting together for my kids </span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#cc0000;">is finally complete!</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Cookie sheet learning story boards!</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#cc0000;">A very simple use is to learn counting and alphabet with magnets without having to be at the fridge with a distracted child!</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Rocklyn is up to counting to five now and we are working on letters!</span></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjn57j5xYy7ndC7ct2_5gT_CYZgpN77YPdEw-v5xEgaj8s4QnilgmBL2hJMq4IdOAXTp5B5Ugr8qhFif2_aLRfBGd0R2aD31UUZlXzGV38H1Zje4ga-N0AjSkqyfGS9rTnXrj1S6VD55KI/s1600/b4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700537175425836690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjn57j5xYy7ndC7ct2_5gT_CYZgpN77YPdEw-v5xEgaj8s4QnilgmBL2hJMq4IdOAXTp5B5Ugr8qhFif2_aLRfBGd0R2aD31UUZlXzGV38H1Zje4ga-N0AjSkqyfGS9rTnXrj1S6VD55KI/s320/b4.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#cc0000;">Another great activity for the cookie sheet learning boards is laminated photos with magnets on the back!</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#cc0000;">We use these to learn animals by their names or by the sounds they make to identify.</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7890Mrdgh-hrb-zXmzFWUL2NTZfdKZV6YNjYuQ-H07JL4Ls2I6jzaD0wtHfc82EbXvR1xWULmSJDpRdYmyDGyzBeEcwbwAK_mSnSTWc-tC1K6ZBbUX_WN1H4u2RcACD8U18-YXFpLgtK/s1600/b3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700537169812864226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7890Mrdgh-hrb-zXmzFWUL2NTZfdKZV6YNjYuQ-H07JL4Ls2I6jzaD0wtHfc82EbXvR1xWULmSJDpRdYmyDGyzBeEcwbwAK_mSnSTWc-tC1K6ZBbUX_WN1H4u2RcACD8U18-YXFpLgtK/s320/b3.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#cc0000;">We live far from all of our family and so these laminated photos are great to learn and remember the names of people and we use people we know as characters in stories we make up!</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9RWisUZAFEJlPMqyz7iRyTNAQ2TTvmjLIKWU7mv2eciDzfnfsoISby779Bx2Qn1fbcGqPIgeBtT7QK2fay5AI4WNOQFxl_RllNP_o_U1_56bz8csK-sM4MdqCHcr-BE_NMQ1R-1RfEoh/s1600/b2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700537167793074674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9RWisUZAFEJlPMqyz7iRyTNAQ2TTvmjLIKWU7mv2eciDzfnfsoISby779Bx2Qn1fbcGqPIgeBtT7QK2fay5AI4WNOQFxl_RllNP_o_U1_56bz8csK-sM4MdqCHcr-BE_NMQ1R-1RfEoh/s320/b2.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#cc0000;">I found background photos in magazines, such as a window in a kitchen or a beach. I put the boys or people they know into a story such as Great Grandma visited us and surprised us at the kitchen window with her dog and cat! I also have photos of knights and footballs and more to let my kids use their own imagination and to provide visuals to our make believe stories!<br /><br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvb6NEbUFTo4kVHSoZIbQo34YurPjo-3Av881wQPmsFYbt4k8owORJfSY_JcQBwqA2Qq6cKeHl6cpCk3Ha8VZlPS9nRKkHIXgIVnvhoaf9GWlET-SYH-OJ7XBQqCJaTZgP3GDekPI_QU4/s1600/b1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700537159476516258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvb6NEbUFTo4kVHSoZIbQo34YurPjo-3Av881wQPmsFYbt4k8owORJfSY_JcQBwqA2Qq6cKeHl6cpCk3Ha8VZlPS9nRKkHIXgIVnvhoaf9GWlET-SYH-OJ7XBQqCJaTZgP3GDekPI_QU4/s320/b1.jpg" /></a><span style="color:#cc0000;">When I was young, I had a great imagination and I want my children to develop (and maintain!!!) this too and I think story boards are an excellent way to do this!</span></div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div><br /></div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-13145897471860965532011-12-03T12:28:00.000-08:002011-12-03T12:36:20.234-08:00Two New Favorites<span style="color:#009900;">For my vegetarian friends, here are two recipes that have been delicious and simple as can be in our home over the past few weeks:</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsDTe-1Yvtl-wPvxyIgBZxUCjOc3CnA6ujnNhXQ2pBX54u2Fu7x0Vchh5pHwIg3uev11ZO7POVG61t4XNkxVxbcXKL_S84QGM4k0RMlb4DcNQF703nBPVv8KCBmYajQ_PvydGkg52D2xr/s1600/tempeh.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 160px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 106px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682002332786397410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsDTe-1Yvtl-wPvxyIgBZxUCjOc3CnA6ujnNhXQ2pBX54u2Fu7x0Vchh5pHwIg3uev11ZO7POVG61t4XNkxVxbcXKL_S84QGM4k0RMlb4DcNQF703nBPVv8KCBmYajQ_PvydGkg52D2xr/s320/tempeh.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#33cc00;">CHILI WITH TEMPEH:</span><br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">SOAK KIDNEY BEANS OVERNIGHT. PAN-FRY CUT UP PIECES OF TEMPEH AND ADD TO BEANS, TOMATO SAUCE, CORN, TOMATO PASTE AND ANY OTHER VIEGGIES YOU WOULD ENJOY! SIMMER FOR 25 MINUTES, STIRRING THROUGHOUT AND TOP WITH SOUR CREAM AND CHEESE. </span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UGR5a7PGzgA37SejdNXTp8yXANIyIQufRDUh4aU1-3otWQg82Lrc8A5roW7U-B2MBa38e5xJ3gRTohkMCbJMYjl8ocpr-L0DmUQG5DLPSUj8-sentn6skcesZ-MAHwRqZ5SvG8hvxIjy/s1600/tofu.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 275px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 183px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682002038619256498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UGR5a7PGzgA37SejdNXTp8yXANIyIQufRDUh4aU1-3otWQg82Lrc8A5roW7U-B2MBa38e5xJ3gRTohkMCbJMYjl8ocpr-L0DmUQG5DLPSUj8-sentn6skcesZ-MAHwRqZ5SvG8hvxIjy/s320/tofu.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#33ff33;">STIR FRY WITH TOFU:</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#33ff33;">PAN-FRY TOFU IN CUBES WITH OLIVE OIL. COOK BROWN RICE, STEAM BROCCOLI, CARROTS, SNAP-PEAS, PEAS AND OTHER VEGGIES YOU ENJOY. MIX ALL TOGETHER AND LET SIMMER WITH A SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER AND SOY SAUCE AND VOILA!</span></div><span style="color:#33ff33;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#33ff33;">SIMPLE AND QUICK!!!!</span> <br /><div><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div></div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-54567879508876619912011-10-19T10:06:00.000-07:002011-10-19T10:17:51.833-07:00Growing Deeper With Christ<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIdhtbxSLzmVwSRHA4-tkI86Y7FtJ2NIAvfpT5oe0XwyMkwlckeJ2iUyZUHq4DNieTgXASgMx234bmUFVUuRWrH5mMWoAI7ifkUYO7pMM6AceenWaIcY9UP01Te86I6WovgX4daxwSQQn/s1600/christ.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 144px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 122px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665253610084209714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIdhtbxSLzmVwSRHA4-tkI86Y7FtJ2NIAvfpT5oe0XwyMkwlckeJ2iUyZUHq4DNieTgXASgMx234bmUFVUuRWrH5mMWoAI7ifkUYO7pMM6AceenWaIcY9UP01Te86I6WovgX4daxwSQQn/s320/christ.bmp" /></a><br /><br /><div>Lately I have been running in to so many incidents with fellow Christians and people in my life. I have had so many things said to me that have hurt me more deeply than I have been by words before and have been brought to a place emotionally that I do not like to be. I have been asking God and searching for why these incidents have been brought before me all in such a small period of time. I have been struggling with not wanting to attend church lately and wanting to close up into my home with just my family and avoid the outside world even. Through these trials I began by rejecting Christ and closing off and have slowly turned to embracing my love for and relationship with Him more than ever before. Three weeks ago I could not even pay attention to the message on Sundays and fidgeted in my seat the whole time and a few weeks later I am more in a state of worship on Sundays than ever before. I stayed awake praying the other night and it hit me that this was the plan all along. I was putting more emphasis on the church and works than on Christ Himself. Somehow I had slipped into this pattern and this thought process that the church was there to somehow fulfill what only God can. Our church is a wonderful place but it is full of sinful people as are all churches and is not there to fill in you what only God can. I had to realign my faith and my thoughts back to what they originally were and realize this in order to grow deeper with Christ and to understand why I was feeling so down about those I was surrounded with. So I challenge you to take a step back and re-evaluate where you are standing in your faith and where you are putting your need for fulfillment... is it with church? family? a job? Or is it where it is supposed to be, in God? </div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-70923479763969148452011-09-21T10:47:00.000-07:002011-09-22T07:35:32.380-07:00Mother Knows Best<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OqWNVhRT14khHzT0RaYh_CiJn9waMsRj2D6d10Y4LwpW5LGQddI7ZYtK2QQ2khyRnujs6GYGklixBS2_9y1_rF3HpXPVLxkcPhpOoWBt0a5az8xEM6NhvBYAFdtXHu542Zaz3NTJmO5Q/s1600/prego.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655188832932540594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OqWNVhRT14khHzT0RaYh_CiJn9waMsRj2D6d10Y4LwpW5LGQddI7ZYtK2QQ2khyRnujs6GYGklixBS2_9y1_rF3HpXPVLxkcPhpOoWBt0a5az8xEM6NhvBYAFdtXHu542Zaz3NTJmO5Q/s320/prego.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#009900;">We grew our children inside our bodies and we know them as we know ourselves. God has blessed us with a mother's instinct that goes far above and beyond what any doctor, teacher or relative can tell us about our children. Rocklyn has been struggling with a severe cough and wheezing for almost a year now and it has been a battle. Since the early stages I knew it was asthma and have been spending months trying to tell pediatricians otherwise yet no one would listen and kept prescribing antibiotics (of which the prescriptions would end up ripped up in the trash after the second one had not worked). It recently got to a point that I became so angry with thesee doctors that I demanded they see him immediately and diagnose this. God answered my prayers big time with a new pediatrician who spent five minutes with us and knew it was clear to see he is asthma. He now has to do two breathing treatments a day and has an emergency inhaler and in just three days it has turned around <span style="color:#009900;">tremendously</span></span><span style="color:#009900;">!</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;"></span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;">The point of my writing this is to give mothers and women an encouragement to trust their instincts. God speaks to us and gives us a gift that doctors do not possess and while they may be more educated, when we feel something is wrong we are more than likely right. While pregnant with Ryder, I continuously told my obgyn that my uterus was ripping open and she kept writing off what I was saying. I called I made extra appointments and I knew what was happening to my body yet she ignored it. I had a c-section two weeks before my due date and thank God I did because my uterus had ripped open and if I had gone into labor it would have ruptured and Ryder and I would have bled to death almost immediately. </span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;"></span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;">As women, we possess powers that we need to trust and have amazing capabilities so whether it is second opinions or taking matters into your own hands, sometimes it must be done. Trust yourself.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-9546524394361749752011-09-14T11:10:00.000-07:002011-09-14T11:35:18.106-07:00Simple Realizations<div align="center">I have had a few friends recently come to me for advice about family and about raising children. Why they come to me, I have no clue! I feel like I am in a constant state of reaching out for an answer to what to do in the situations I find myself in, especially as they get older. How funny that at one point I thought those newborn days would be the hardest; boy was I wrong!<br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652281795622818482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnV3jIcv0JV9kPRM38DXpevoPP2tWp3Y3sIxbk1uX8veYMLUY4hiKTjP8-aqgXeVgSe5OWBWQL2P8DbzUZtIiUoy0ZkHeL2Wp24-OrpR25mGgmVNiIRrRNswvebo21jochlNdzwFcPAGN4/s320/baby.jpg" /> <br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">How sweet was Rocklyn just curled up in my arms?!?!</span></p><br /><p align="left">Anyways, I have been thinking of the most important advice to give a new mother and while it is annoying when being bombarded with "you need this type of bottle" or "never let them cry" or "this is the best diaper rash cream" and other little tidbits, I think the advice a mother needs comes in two simple statements:</p><br /><p align="left">1) Put God first in all you do and life will fall into place a lot more smoothly. Your marriage, your patience, your children's behavior will all fall into place. Why? Because when God comes first, you live your life in a way pleasing to Him and by doing this you are assuring that you are treating your spouse well, discipling your children, loving everyone, spoending time in the word and in prayer and so many other things that are so necessary!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652280392937083490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SAk9bMz4Rc1xKhmujGNJ7WAgRB-mcko1hQyD0mxKe5O12MfNIwxcoIH58WCHDNdoij5HNbVUbdl3AyhcC8M2LZORYstATiW9sVIcbjQAaZ5E8Oi8yh0fzIzXpJNUMFl8LQEecuWcPE8b/s320/untitled.bmp" /></p><br /><p></p>2) NEVER EVER EVER, no matter how hard it is, judge another mother for her parenting style! (Unless, abuse is happening and steps must be taken for safety) "Her kids watch television all day long and I don't agree with that", "They eat junk food constantly", "Their kids were at the store throwing the hugest fits I have ever seen. Probably because she never spanks them", "You know those daycare kids, I will never put my kid in one". I have heard all of these and more so many times. If I can tell you one thing for sure, when you judge another mother for something like this IT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU! You'll have a rough week and sit the kids down watching tv all week, you'll be too busy and have no time so you'll throw the kids some fast food, your parenting style will be NOTHING and I repeat NOTHING like you say it will before you have kids and have no clue what it is like and there may come a time that you will need childcare because you need to work and you will realize just because a kid is in someone else's hands all day they won't turn out bad. I do things a certain way in my home but I have learned to not judge any other mother for her ways. If you are worrying about how much television is being watched in someone else's home you have too much time on your hands! And when you stare with your mouth hanging open at that kid throwing the world's biggest tantrum in walmart, don't look at that parent in judgment because believe me, someday it will be you and your child!<br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 74px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 84px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652280893123853874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjoIXW5kORwukP0By_zSGRNhe1Ytg9kCcazI98WjPZ5MGw2IEGqdI8KP8e2QPwdALm-_7ZwNAPnCkdbbPodGYwzjyEHWM5m9AuR-KqkfgbFuEGLhOefjGDrxyN6AiNJMoCYnXY0rBdDiy/s320/tantrum.jpg" /></p>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-10850865532057922272011-08-08T11:02:00.000-07:002011-08-31T13:19:36.102-07:00In the Mirror<div align="center"><span style="color:#ff9900;">This morning I had to write a few emails while Rocklyn was sleeping so I put Ryder on tummy time in front of a mirror. I was soon distracted from working by his adorable interest in that little person he saw in the mirror! <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 166px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 221px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638559826299493394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzBdx4eFf-qmqozf995APB57TF3STBQ8IDuG8araQ-ea_RtWZQqlSnzHmJbvfNeGLyvyyuE6S2Uz6BlzpqfgdlVLmaHYUgsbVHYUnJyKUcacM5snkHMxgmkSda1a3Krea0dXAUKlovFy2/s320/mirror.jpg" /></span>Ryder, 7 mos.
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<br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">He was laughing and smiling and even turning over backwards (see above) to get a look at himself! Trying to reach out and touch that person and absolutely enthralled by him.</span>
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<br /><span style="color:#ff9900;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 242px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638559820016658082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1YlImPWWUQf51xzcdS2MxDuqBWKnD7ZhsgXuG19-BqYd1TtZ7DnAHYrKuSHT9nDUELjDr5MG6UW55nuYMDa4CECR81L4R6A7eya8VVzEUJAj3sDBll-mQy7PwDqqG7M7ZRQPHtP4N84x/s320/mirror1.jpg" /></span>
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<br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000000;">Rocklyn @ 7 mos.</span>
<br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">It got me thinking about how quickly, especially nowadays, we go from amazement at ourselves and what we see in the mirror to critical distaste and even hatred at what appears before us. I have had many friends tell me that their young daughters ( even at 5 years old!) are commenting on their weight or "fatness" and it convicted me in huge ways! I am blessed with sons but in today's world, they are struggling with image immensely as well. The comments I make negatively about my body, especially the post babies body!, do impact them. Not only are they bombarded with half naked media and horrible messages around every corner, they have to hear it at home too?!!? So I am vowing to stop negative comments about my image and even if all the healthy attempts to get in shape are taking so much longer than they use to I will appreciate exactly who I am. How would our children benefit if us parents starting viewing ourselves with the awe and amazement we had as babies in the mirror? Better yet with the love and feeling God has when he looks at his creation of us exactly as He planned it since the beginning of time?</span>
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<br /><span style="color:#ff9900;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638559821894269250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HQXot7V___x7Q3bs_27d86TMXIITE3GhtaIR7tv8GUwCV3OAQ1dUKHAbutnWiiAEsRKF46zjyaxNHq-PBf6NQqeYZd1WjoA4DlHikpIqYj89hfd-9zNwKw8s8wsVYspaIg0mv-NWFHkT/s320/mirror2.jpg" /></span>
<br />Ryder, 6 mos.
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<br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">So, no matter what age we are let's start taking a different view of that person in the mirror... and maybe even turn our critical comments into a laugh instead (see below image lol)</span>
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<br /><span style="color:#ff9900;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638559816612974978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZ9VESW9C_1PMGXIws1CPrwlvhGkSdRr6IH4EhswQIh7uGGQImgTURtkVn07mwaBIPeduWSnvXZ7HdalMTBjoC-J9X_TK9837WGkq90gM6vhh0HM2A8ZV4bGBdKHxu6otckiLIE2hMVXt/s320/mirror3.jpg" /></span>
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<br /></div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-32932356904415357492011-08-03T11:42:00.000-07:002011-08-03T12:01:10.268-07:00Smoothies!<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkUiWladOazpMle5w48aDXzgcDPkenxg42UekwVbY6KDsjg4VqcNdKYE-mI6FwPvoNrorFlnpZvr4rwR0cHF-P56F7h7GKfY5YPRl7LICnEPvEmFzMpiHjW3SlAr-6l-eg-E8HlqgiqNA/s1600/smoothie3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 215px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 234px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636702950260089650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkUiWladOazpMle5w48aDXzgcDPkenxg42UekwVbY6KDsjg4VqcNdKYE-mI6FwPvoNrorFlnpZvr4rwR0cHF-P56F7h7GKfY5YPRl7LICnEPvEmFzMpiHjW3SlAr-6l-eg-E8HlqgiqNA/s320/smoothie3.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#993399;">My sons are as opposite as night and day and it is clear to see within moments that Rocklyn has taken after his mama in most every way! He can't sit still and his energy has him bouncing off the walls, he is loud and talks on and on and he is as stubborn as can be! This has really been affecting his eating lately: if it's green, has a unique texture, is unfamiliar or just about anything healthy except fruit it is a big NO WAY!</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#993399;"></span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#993399;">That being said... he has become the smoothie kid! </span></div><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJSylU6nnp6m6KRHGunImB5hLLSm3xGgqWlatUe6g_0F7_-x2cTloY1RiZDwfkXeo_Bhj5W1pCpsHl70NwQKd-6KvXvKKC_47xkVar78t7V7P6Ird5KeNKdWSwUkX9LGFD-6uHKdX_6kT/s1600/smoothie2.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 114px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 171px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636702943538102242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJSylU6nnp6m6KRHGunImB5hLLSm3xGgqWlatUe6g_0F7_-x2cTloY1RiZDwfkXeo_Bhj5W1pCpsHl70NwQKd-6KvXvKKC_47xkVar78t7V7P6Ird5KeNKdWSwUkX9LGFD-6uHKdX_6kT/s320/smoothie2.bmp" /></a><br /><span style="color:#993399;">Since he loves all things fruity, thinks he is too cool when he gets to use a straw and pretty much thinks he is getting a dessert when he gets a smoothie, I have been serving them religiously! The trick is what I have been hiding in that blender to be masked by his favorite pineapples, peaches and strawberries!</span><br /><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGb2w-s_QYEE9uncHePNu8wxXceGMYxNnLAN8Uk9DjY1EuNoTsDDrIakE5pp8WPhe-_8X_AWyYnqT6wlkJDieDS7X_ntNcB2cJHefRjvN4nVI2DncPC-DN0j_YH4TyFm3rS4vzUjvty9r/s1600/smoothie1.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 132px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 147px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636702944807238706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGb2w-s_QYEE9uncHePNu8wxXceGMYxNnLAN8Uk9DjY1EuNoTsDDrIakE5pp8WPhe-_8X_AWyYnqT6wlkJDieDS7X_ntNcB2cJHefRjvN4nVI2DncPC-DN0j_YH4TyFm3rS4vzUjvty9r/s320/smoothie1.bmp" /></a> <span style="color:#993399;">Flax, tofu, veggies galore, nuts, lentils and anything else you can name have been enhancing this little man's diet without him having a clue. He gets what he thinks is a dessert and I get peace of mind! Easy enough!</span><br /><span style="color:#993399;"></span></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#993399;">Yesterday's smoothie included: yogurt, peaches, pineapple, watermelon, canteloupe, almonds, bananas, kidney beans, carrots and celery!</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#993399;"></span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#993399;">What do you put in your smoothie????</span></div><br /><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div align="center"></div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-10868201030500925962011-08-01T11:55:00.000-07:002011-08-01T12:04:39.317-07:00Gnomeo and Juliet Party-Part 1<div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;">For those of you who I haven't told yet, I have been working on starting a party planning and event catering business specializing in children's events! It has been a dream of mine for a while and I am sick of waiting for things to just happen because they never do it that way!!!</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;">On Friday, we had some good friends join us for an outdoor movie theater party where </span><span style="color:#009900;">we watched</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000000;">GNOMEO AND JULIET</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;">on the big screen in our backyard and where they were able to taste some of my food and see some ideas I have for parties!</span> </div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;">While we were on a limited budget for this party and I couldn't nearly create the atmosphere and food I dreamed of, it was still such a good time and a summer night to remember.</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;">Here are a few shots of decor and food from the night!</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKw3DjO7n8tyhSZYb8gNp1iZF2eFRXrckKM5kNojsqfDmJ8lUlUreqHcnO8bo7Q-jyveVKBxnNVqaW0ZdDmMLwTAf7FAcBSkEiq3YYJN-zcsfhCbqP3E8_Ery7QUwGUSlRqRuWlsh2Hma/s1600/85.jpg"><span style="color:#000000;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635963488627226130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKw3DjO7n8tyhSZYb8gNp1iZF2eFRXrckKM5kNojsqfDmJ8lUlUreqHcnO8bo7Q-jyveVKBxnNVqaW0ZdDmMLwTAf7FAcBSkEiq3YYJN-zcsfhCbqP3E8_Ery7QUwGUSlRqRuWlsh2Hma/s320/85.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> <span style="color:#cc0000;">Balled out watermelon and canteloupe with fruit and rice krispie skewers</span><br /></span></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRr74Sn0Don6WEWIJYHAOEwvbPjn1yFISVSSPY8MeWnTHNmdiSuBPoIQrBFpbdx6UUnx4FN3Kiqw_C-DZn5xGy5vTcnJh7LuUrZT5yyvb2efM3SXKE_hU1zpM8LBXXCuE1M-vPjoH1riy/s1600/84.jpg"><span style="color:#000000;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635963483355830850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRr74Sn0Don6WEWIJYHAOEwvbPjn1yFISVSSPY8MeWnTHNmdiSuBPoIQrBFpbdx6UUnx4FN3Kiqw_C-DZn5xGy5vTcnJh7LuUrZT5yyvb2efM3SXKE_hU1zpM8LBXXCuE1M-vPjoH1riy/s320/84.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> <span style="color:#cc0000;">The big screen!<br /><br /></span><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-e7yK7weSu-74MqhubYPaDExDrVckE9BchDvskokkzfPyeFePCki9Ls7u3rqosV8A8l9miOmlCFQloV8TM4DtJLyEATqUtXWMd4IwUkVC9j6jeCS_9PMoeDCeXzQrn1KR86FIH8vToIN-/s1600/83.jpg"><span style="color:#000000;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635963482801694178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-e7yK7weSu-74MqhubYPaDExDrVckE9BchDvskokkzfPyeFePCki9Ls7u3rqosV8A8l9miOmlCFQloV8TM4DtJLyEATqUtXWMd4IwUkVC9j6jeCS_9PMoeDCeXzQrn1KR86FIH8vToIN-/s320/83.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;">Popcorn boxes, mushroom tablecloth and the cupcake stand I decorated to hold mushroom cupcakes!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6dWu3PtfvyH4nyZR0rN9vLOWF2Q9zslM4gSeweCjCioFYiwoE4zTdgzBrpalSQKbaqN1sVd3cGpk-zaDRCz34TfVH_fJNdmlYXAnLCXtmzEbkF_OUaKvixmvqXtoylqXiWz9QFcMQsKV/s1600/82.jpg"><span style="color:#000000;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635963478953209474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6dWu3PtfvyH4nyZR0rN9vLOWF2Q9zslM4gSeweCjCioFYiwoE4zTdgzBrpalSQKbaqN1sVd3cGpk-zaDRCz34TfVH_fJNdmlYXAnLCXtmzEbkF_OUaKvixmvqXtoylqXiWz9QFcMQsKV/s320/82.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;">Strawberry swirl cheesecake which was a hit because I never got to taste even a bite of it! </span><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><div><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Nate and Kendra Uhl were here to take some professional pics for my website and advertisement so big thanks to them!!! I will post those at a later time and will post pics of some of the kiddos and the night in the next blog!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><div></div></div></div><br /></div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-8873187589359013282011-07-23T10:41:00.000-07:002011-07-23T10:46:15.527-07:00Portions<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pYc_HKcx_hD0iS4sPYqxi_5zLNexdOBQWqvfCAiyOg1hyqGVELQ_xH5zvcADlYAIu1ppincbOFw9jKoceKv10PxxOm8f0-FFBZYgPaxREFouE0P25JbOf5uu7s14SbCoQGoAdmc02wjy/s1600/myplate.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632605434047415010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pYc_HKcx_hD0iS4sPYqxi_5zLNexdOBQWqvfCAiyOg1hyqGVELQ_xH5zvcADlYAIu1ppincbOFw9jKoceKv10PxxOm8f0-FFBZYgPaxREFouE0P25JbOf5uu7s14SbCoQGoAdmc02wjy/s320/myplate.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>I eat pretty well and with two children I don't get much of a chance to slow down yet the weight won't seem to go away! I was rapidly losing after I gave birth to Ryder and now at a standstill for too long! Soooooo I am going to blame it on portions! If I like something I am eating, I will eat until bursting point and even if its as healthy as can be that is still a bad thing. Time to employ Michelle Obama's portion plate for the family and eat the right portions (minus the meat for the boys!) of each type of food! Hope this helps you out too because I have many friends unsure of what and how much to feed their children!</div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-30750173185331413032011-07-18T09:19:00.000-07:002011-07-18T11:50:27.636-07:00Baby In A BarI am that mom. The one who dotes on every little accomplishment her kids make, who brings her kids into adult restaurants and pisses of other customers, who has to fight the will to wake her kids up a bit early from naps because I miss them... And I don't apologize for it. Thing is, I gave life to these beings, so other than my husband, who else would I want to be around more??? When I receive invites to weddings or events where kids are not allowed, I am quickly wondering how it will be as good of a time without my little ones shaking it on the dance floor. When I think of how my parents took vacations a lot and did not bring us with I picture how I would be texting and calling back home every five minutes to hear their voice or see their face in a photo. Time without my kids baffles me, except for the occasional dinner or movie out with the husband which is usually brief. I am taking some more time away from them lately by enrolling Rocklyn in preschool two days a week and having a friend watch them every so often so that I can get very important things done I have been putting off for... well 18 months now hahah but when it comes down to it, I enjoy my kids. Of course I love them like every parent does and just as much, I LIKE THEM as well! They are pieces of me and the man I love patterened together in these unique, amazing, inspiring little people! I can't imagine them spending their days with someone else and am so blessed to have a husband who makes it possible for me to be with them at home. Basically, I have been given a ton of crap about this lately and I just wanted to make it known that 1) I don't judge any of you for your parenting ways and 2) It's not gonna change so ya might as well quit wasting your time. And if by the very rare chance I were to be in a bar anytime in the future, I'd most likely want my kids there with me... put that in your pipe and smoke itAmber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-668594813577901292011-07-12T18:19:00.000-07:002011-07-12T18:47:33.287-07:00Thank Heaven For Little Boys<div align="center"><span style="color:#663300;">Since most of our family is located in Chicago and Kansas, our friends have gotten to know the boys even more than their relatives have. So for those of you "back home", here is a much overdue update of the boys these days...</span><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628644623602235282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eDWiGbU064BschlGbCbdKlGbW2YzeiaLB5WrrNU9EATvTKm33SXzrftCzpPeF_FPlyxYzYRpfiSJD73zbYLZlves-cBWEGr443kPGo2tQm1mDhajWOiYkEoSuToG-4UqA6DpcraCXfjk/s320/drumming.jpg" /> <br /><p align="center"><span style="color:#663300;">Rocklyn is on the go! He never ever ever slows down and has more energy than he knows what to do with! He is stubborn, loud and as much like his mama as he could possibly be but every so often you get him to slow it down for a bit and show his sweet side. He loves dancing, his drums, and babbling on and on and being outdoors these days. He is soooo sweet to his little brother and the little jealousy he has shown has not affected how he treats him at all. He squeals baby when he sees him in the morning and pets his head, too sweet! He is also quite the ladies man walking up to girls and saying "hey baby"... wonder who taught him that one!<br /></p><br /><p></span></p><br /><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628644460420860514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn75_QkYsnIzVksiNs3Kgjpa4nWaLntmlGy1sPNEwvgMFgGEG2WuatpFtQpiKpJht57aJugO5jKdNwFnmGQe42bEbn32LkTWkK6d80vhjftCGa8SATBt89NYv1oEJqJuOKMkph8pfKwqjO/s320/mail.jpg" /> </p><br /><p align="center"><span style="color:#663300;">He is also sleeping in a bed these days! Woohoooooo!<br /></span><br /><br /></p><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628644322993891602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapQXWy3HBiGM_dt0cs72Tlh0YZgKt10gV-dAOvVscACWPPqF9MZOXzgo_-zmmy0uCpa4mjsJG9I4q4UgGnfGBal9_8DmYTTr7qMq4fcyYjRuUDwThGbagA46wIStb2anjwCS2v4GVecSU/s320/perfection.jpg" /> </p><br /><p align="center"><span style="color:#663300;">Ryder is our giant six month old sweetheart, could that face get any more angelic???? He is the happiest baby ever and never wakes up without a beaming smile on his face. He has the most hysterical laugh and he thinks Rocklyn is too funny! He is definitely our lazy boy and so much more laid back than most babies. He is just a giant and mama is sure hes going to be in the nfl someday!<br /></span><br /><br /></p><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628644202171835890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiV_-JBY1wHFEIHpGBndopzCCpHNkazmfMAWenIPFw4WAmHWHYHlZrw3yjOdkkC8Ji8lr0-TdNA-C_HEqFP2r__tw1LWJhnnXNjx0pH0ac8uPRP-FmKu5TXG8Rx3iXPyzrpBE-8tx4RdT6/s320/babes.jpg" /> </p><br /><p align="center"><span style="color:#663300;">Here he is looking at a Bible story. I can't get enough of him he is so sweet!</span></p><br /><p align="center"><span style="color:#663300;">As for Cory and I, we are making some big changes here lately as Cory moves into a sales position and I am beginning my children's event and catering business! We are both still pursuing our graduate degrees as well! </span></p><br /><p align="center"><span style="color:#663300;">That about sums up life at the moment! Miss all our long-distance family and friends and love you!!!!!!!<br /></span><br /><br /><br /></p><span style="color:#663300;"></span>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-72358592540081501972011-07-05T07:22:00.000-07:002011-07-05T07:28:29.085-07:00BROTHERLY LOVE, PREPARE TO LAUGH<div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">OH BROTHERLY LOVE, HOW SWEET IT IS...</span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;"></span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7ELf4ktTu7C6cuygFvnB8jE09iNhVz0lX__pQfSHcy1ouOvxgy9pf2fwRFCCUUJhQJ66oOxPCchU3-SSbXdoZR-I9bGRjZ12CkJuXPIhymoB2biBVpcxBVS3A3kvTG7CAdsS0j3o48u0/s1600/bro2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625874317393446994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7ELf4ktTu7C6cuygFvnB8jE09iNhVz0lX__pQfSHcy1ouOvxgy9pf2fwRFCCUUJhQJ66oOxPCchU3-SSbXdoZR-I9bGRjZ12CkJuXPIhymoB2biBVpcxBVS3A3kvTG7CAdsS0j3o48u0/s320/bro2.jpg" /></a> <strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">JUST ENJOYING THE COMPANY OF ONE ANOTHER AND MAYBE</span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">TELLING A GOOD STORY IN THE BEAUTIFUL GIBBERISH</span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">ONLY THEY UNDERSTAND...</span></strong><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOpME3FDEAo8Z67TqmgjDSJNqT0SCFFCj4WI1jp7v4LTLnAbF7b-hh956CGTHMgk4OPf5yLNVTqb2OcJAPVUQ8akAUUp4AdjWiiL0P9p3Ig9AWYEVuZ6rbmxaymld73HPcr8HVCyixBdxp/s1600/bro1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625874313197501650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOpME3FDEAo8Z67TqmgjDSJNqT0SCFFCj4WI1jp7v4LTLnAbF7b-hh956CGTHMgk4OPf5yLNVTqb2OcJAPVUQ8akAUUp4AdjWiiL0P9p3Ig9AWYEVuZ6rbmxaymld73HPcr8HVCyixBdxp/s320/bro1.jpg" /></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">WAIT A SECOND... HAHAHAHA</span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">ROCKLYN: "OH HOW I LOVE YOU BABY BRO"</span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">RYDER: "GET HIM AWAY MAMA, GET HIM AWAYYYYYYYYY"</span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzW84DTAbE8V08tNeV2k213ISVX6yk51XxMaLBDjyB8sFNbcFL-1HHU2D7hexV_RPC825B-ZVM_ez7kQDiDBhn0pJ9M5BQtAtjDGefcoZZ3bE2G_fcY7Zcs79JIvgSo8h4X-JLmxF0ODH_/s1600/bro3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625874227663707890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzW84DTAbE8V08tNeV2k213ISVX6yk51XxMaLBDjyB8sFNbcFL-1HHU2D7hexV_RPC825B-ZVM_ez7kQDiDBhn0pJ9M5BQtAtjDGefcoZZ3bE2G_fcY7Zcs79JIvgSo8h4X-JLmxF0ODH_/s320/bro3.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">MAYBE THE LOVE WILL GROW ON EM... </span></strong><br /><br /><br /></div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388069041465880875.post-91381797318380144562011-06-29T08:42:00.000-07:002011-06-29T09:11:52.162-07:00Rock-n-Roll Bedroom<div align="center"><span style="color:#000099;">As the boys are nearing the beginning of sharing a bedroom (YIKES!!!) and Rocklyn is transitioning to a big boy bed (DOUBLE YIKES!!!!), we have finally completed their bedroom and I could not be happier with the results... and yes I have a dream that they will be musicians-obviously...</span></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aESkjd3uVGJTOJb7Hlz80A1Z_RDK_2yDbMWL_pzIGDoOg0Um6XJjzLXYVpnDshPTzFMxcjW7p-6XnVQLAD2CA_c6OXnExlD7Yfg6Q5Xwc5W3IqaXSjQj93TqwDvWfef6nsUQ5m6Cqjvj/s1600/room11.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623669966759150770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aESkjd3uVGJTOJb7Hlz80A1Z_RDK_2yDbMWL_pzIGDoOg0Um6XJjzLXYVpnDshPTzFMxcjW7p-6XnVQLAD2CA_c6OXnExlD7Yfg6Q5Xwc5W3IqaXSjQj93TqwDvWfef6nsUQ5m6Cqjvj/s320/room11.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#663300;">Records, records records from Mary Poppins to Fleetwood Mac to of course Zeppelin and records as the border of their ceiling that my husband spent so many hours painting two years ago when I was pregnant with Rocklyn!</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSIVjmvfI9xBqgZ5rC1QvHmvE4Z8PrsnSlI12dDUbopl8n6PMOzsCpiAYejm75OXus6KgR4Easdd3uZmsr5bWfbub3Ry_qjh9LneBGRgSUA3VzNzxiL91i_qz-4rmrBy82VNsAVswhpFP/s1600/room10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623669959987367394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSIVjmvfI9xBqgZ5rC1QvHmvE4Z8PrsnSlI12dDUbopl8n6PMOzsCpiAYejm75OXus6KgR4Easdd3uZmsr5bWfbub3Ry_qjh9LneBGRgSUA3VzNzxiL91i_qz-4rmrBy82VNsAVswhpFP/s320/room10.jpg" /></a><span style="color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Little pictures I found at Hobby Lobby to go above the crib!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFU3Yck1gDhi2HonB19D5fI1EOU_XKcK0mvJoD8QWk4bR0P8qEyZCIUWsCu5ktafFJg_stIW2vl8qXYHhxwtd8p8sJDypm7uOkd84CUQrtJwv-ePzmm3PbndLAerDO3q5CIBYrSfFEk_2/s1600/room9.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623669957390978210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFU3Yck1gDhi2HonB19D5fI1EOU_XKcK0mvJoD8QWk4bR0P8qEyZCIUWsCu5ktafFJg_stIW2vl8qXYHhxwtd8p8sJDypm7uOkd84CUQrtJwv-ePzmm3PbndLAerDO3q5CIBYrSfFEk_2/s320/room9.jpg" /></a><span style="color:#330000;"> </span><span style="color:#663300;">Guitar tab chart and their coat/bag/anything else I need to put somewhere rack I got for 50 cents at Goodwill and painted brown. Helps out a ton!<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623669946788545010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkrh_S4ag9yl8-avnERMhXubP4mLY5Esoj1XV9y2Q9TjIpJfxqnzB4F3YVdVN7aF_h9zi9TVau6OWNM1BplWvVykiudldLvDP4TN8L5cY1Ow59qL-_WK3AVjQGqWfwrVcqlqD9mzFW_1gN/s320/room7.jpg" /><span style="color:#000099;">Drum set and amp (used for a karaoke machine for now)</span><br /><span style="color:#000099;"></span><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623669944799523746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0DPqBdV6I6M9SVAKYhL_3vz1IEiDP8tfTYX0bRItaNR2D7DfmDG7fRJlYc3VgYP5uRFnx1ICJTaLPYY6-GhZwEvQQ01_SURHZhwqSqjRdoP95D2wo6NYmJAPEuhp8LwEjR1nKj1ulPiv7/s320/room6.jpg" /><span style="color:#663300;">Pictures, pictures, pictures and a mini guitar!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623669028802583602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cUp681W9WeKFxBpsBOEoxVpgzuf3usNvEYvshERMiSfOBZoVDBX1La-OTVF2CNVutTkYw_nDVg5AYDW7dueCykxH1_kLWlpTdcPa7QvE2TopDrarQIpw2lwEvN6nZ-aVfmLRHUUayoL1/s320/room8.jpg" /><span style="color:#000099;">Ryder's soon to be crib!</span><br /><br /><div><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 166px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623668600223944306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEnkGZl5Kfa6OMntiiwz5m42ciBcYNvAX6pbbLgYE9vM8pUHk97y85AF8OIF0hjMFH0Wtux86VrrEsxOSFx7D8uZEz7dtQ6EYM3suB9oc5Pttn4IUIcq7Hh2KwmfA7EjP2ZnBa0FKoDcOG/s320/room1.jpg" /><span style="color:#663300;">Rocklyn's new big boy bed! (And the fifth set of blinds in the house he has destroyed...is it even worth buying new ones at this point??????)</span></div><span style="color:#663300;"></span><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="color:#000099;">The last piece to the complete bedroom will be these guitar key hooks we found that will hold back the curtains to let the sunshine in but we have to get back downtown to buy them soon! I have to admit I teared up a little when I saw the big boy bed because time is flying too fast with these precious little angels God has blessesd us with!<br /><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div></div></div><br /></div>Amber Starr Freelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07942030698246213865noreply@blogger.com0