Seven tattoos & Counting ...

I have seven tattoos, as I'm sure most of you already know.  I have pictures of them posted on my facebook.  They all mean something very special to me.

The first tattoo I got when I was in my early 20's, a sun on the right side of my abdomen.

I love suns & I got this one with green eyes, like me.  It reminds me that I can shine as brightly as I want to.  No one can put out my shine, except me.

My second tattoo was on my lower back.  Yes, I have a tramp stamp.

I <3 Butterflies !! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them !!  Anyone who knows you can attest to that.  They are so free, so beautiful.  They remind me that appearances can be deceiving & that it is what is inside that matters.  Butterflies don't start out being beautiful ...

My third tattoo is on the back of my neck.

Green is my favorite color & I have always been partial to Shamrocks, even though I don't believe in all that "luck" stuff.  I believe that our lives are pre-determined by God & that He already knows the path that we are going to take in life.  However, Shamrocks or "4-Leaf Clovers," as I grew up calling them, remind me of my childhood.  I would spend HOURS searching for the elusive 4-Leaf Clover.  The happiness & the carefree attitude of a child is something that we shouldn't forget when we become adults.  And, of course, my hubby is Irish ;D

Fourth, came the tattoo on the top of my foot.  I went with my BFF, Angie, to get this one.  It was INCREDIBLY painful, but only because the nimrod doing the tattoo kept talking, and every time he would talk, he would lift the needle.  GRRR .... Talk about frustrating !!

Again, in green, and with my Butterfly theme.  This one is a little more "girly."  And I LOVE the Japanese Kanki which states simply "Butterfly."

For tattoo number five, I went with two of my best girlfriends & we all got the same tattoo just above our left ankle.

The butterfly design matches a dragonfly design on my BFF, Anastasia's foot.  The writing above says "Best" & the one underneath says "Friends."  Angie & I are the only ones who still have this tattoo, as Anastasia added to hers:

My father passed away on February 2, 2009 & I immediately wanted to get a tattoo in his memory.  Thus, tattoo #6 came about. 

This one is on my left forearm.  It incorporates the faith in God that my father & I have, my love of butterflies & the belief that my father is now free from all the pain he was in and is free like a butterfly.

My seventh tattoo is on my right wrist.  It is a simple black butterfly.  Angie & I both love butterflies & wanted to get matching tattoos to signify our friendship, so that is what we chose.  We are going to add to it & tweak it a little bit because we weren't entirely happy with the outcome.

Now, I'm ready for my 8th tattoo ... I want this tattoo to represent my life as a mother ~ the most important job I have & will ever have.  It will probably go either on one of my shoulder blades OR on one of my sides, under my heart.  It will look something like this:

My sister, Robyn, is working on a better sketch than this.  Brandon's name will be down the middle.  Then, starting on the right side (if you're facing my body, it will be on the left):  Nicole on the right bottom wing, Shae on the top right wing, Madalyn on the left top wing, and Dylan on the bottom left wing.  Then, @ the bottom of where Brandon will be, I might put my initials & Tim's initials.

I also want to get a small tattoo in memory of my cousin, Jana, who died from breast cancer with her initials in the butterfly somewhere:

Any thoughts or ideas ??

I Never Thought I'd Say It ...

When I was a child and would get into mischief, my parents would offer some dreaded words of admonition that I swore to myself I would NEVER in a million years say to MY kids ...

Well, THAT didn't happen !! LOL

One of the "nails-on-a-chalkboard" phrases:  "Because I said so !!"  "Mommy, why can't I watch 30 more minutes of TV on a school night?"  "Because I said so !!"  Or, "Mommy, why can't I take your permanent pink Sharpie marker & draw on the white wall in my bedroom anymore?"  "Because I said so !!"

Here are some more famous lines:

* You don't know how good you have it ... we didn't have video games and the internet, we had books and the backyard! We actually had to LEAVE the house to see our friends! And we TALKED to them on phones that were attatched to the phone by a wire... IN THE KITCHEN!!!!!


* Do you think money grows on trees?


* If you do that again, I'm gonna knock you into next week!


* I'll give you something to cry about!


* Don't sit so close to the TV or you'll ruin your eyes.


* If you keep doing that to your face, it's gonna stick like that!


* Don't come crying to me if you break a leg!


* You're skating on very thin ice!


* This will hurt me more than it will hurt you!


* Shape up or ship out!  (Really?  Where did they think we were gonna go?)


* Not while you're living under my roof ...


* You are in BIG trouble, Mister (But Mom, I'm a GIRL!)!


*  Because I'm the Mommy, that's why!


* No sweets before dinner or you'll ruin your appetite!


* Don't ask why!  Just do it!


* Don't make me count to 3!


* That's it!  I've had it!


* One more peep out of either of you and I'll pull this car over!


* Stop that or you're going to bed RIGHT NOW (at 12 in the afternoon)!


* I'm going to call Santa if you don't stop acting up and tell him to skip our house!


I guess it's true ... We DO become our parents when we grow up AND if our kids are holy terrors, it's payback for what we did to OUR parents !!! LOL

Overcoming Evil

Psalm 44:6-8
I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.

Over the past almost 6 years (and even longer), I have dealt with outright, unadulterated EVIL.  There is no other word to describe it.  It has been repeated attacks by the devil to break me down.  At times, it almost worked ...

Like all other Christians, I am human.  In the past, I have tried to deal with these bouts of evil alone.  I didn't trust God enough to handle the situations for me.  I thought to myself, "I can take care of this if I just keep trying."  WRONG !!!!!

Deuteronomy 20:4
For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."

Thankfully, God is very forgiving & He allows us the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and get it right the second time around.  So, I am reaffirming to myself tonight and to God that from now on, I am relying on God to deal with these adversities.  People can only hurt you as much as you allow them to.  Instead of letting them anger & hurt me, I will be praying for them from now on.  Obviously, they are not happy in life if they feel the need to try to hurt me and make my life miserable and cause trouble for me & my family.

John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

 

Amen !!! Why worry when you can pray ?!?!  God has got it under control & I know this from personal experience.  So, I'm gonna let go & let God !!!  How awesome is it that God already overcame all the problems that could EVER come my way when he died on the cross for our sins ?!?!?!

This does NOT mean that I will ever be perfect or better than those who try to come against me.  It simply means that, with God by my side, the evil inside my enemies will NOT win out.

Ephesians 4:22-24
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.