Beef & Biolage

While my middle and youngest were outside blowing as hard as they could on my oldest's predator calls (they are whistles that are meant to sound like animals- they are supposed to 'call in' animals when one is hunting- If I were the animal trying to be called in by one of these 'calls' I would cover my ears and run for the hills......besides someone playing a violin who does not yet know how to play (Jodi) there is not a more annoying sound on the face of this earth)...........I was making the 16 hamburgers for our 4th of July camping trip- As I was mixing the beef all together in a bowl the thought occurred to me that beef rocks :)
Roast rocks
Hamburger rocks
Stew meat rocks
Steaks rock
Round steak rock
All beef rocks

Right after the beef rocks thought it also occurred to me that there is no better 'all around' shampoo than Biolage (Matrix).  Every Biolage product has touched this overly processed hair of mine over the last 20 years and I have yet to find one that is not outstanding.......

Beef and Biolage...............It don't get any better than that :)

Happy Wed!!

Ed & Clara Plates AND Scandalous photos :)

It was the every 2 year Chamberlain Family reunion this past weekend-  All 115+ of us meet at an organizational camp ground about 45 minutes away (the camp has cabins, a chapel, and a large eating hall). 2 Years ago our Ellie was born the week before so we were not able to make it up.  4 years ago we had just moved to Hawaii so again, not able to make it.  All that being said.......it's been awhile!

At the Chamberlain reunions a fundraiser is done to help off-set the cost of the next reunion.  The talented members of the family will make things to be sold and the not so talented will bring family memorabilia (pictures, etc...) to be auctioned- The auction format is first a silent auction where various things are auctioned by way of a paper taped in front of the item (which is sitting on a table) with slots to write your name and how much you want to bid on the particular item-  second is the live auction........Scandalous (smile) things like a blown up picture (that my brother Levi had made just to shock my aunt and uncle at the auction) of my aunt Anne and uncle Reid when they were dating (1972ish) posing by the lake.....my aunt standing in her bikini and my proud uncle beaming from ear to ear standing beside her goes for $100. at this live auction (bought by my uncle Reid).

6 years ago I bought an apron my nana had made- It was sold at the live auction..........

This year I bought 2 plates.....The Ed and Clara plates from the silent auction....

Ed Chamberlain married my great grandma Clara in 1912- I really do not know a lot about their history except that my great grandma Clara was called Na-Nan.  During their marriage, they had many children.......one of them being a son they named Ray.  Ray married a woman named Harriet Hagen (who to this day is one of the classiest women I know) and they had 3 Children........A son first that they named Rick Edward and two daughters- Petra and Anne.

Rick married a woman named Ellie and they had 2 girls........ the first daughter they named Jodi Rae (after Rick's dad, my grandpa) and the second birth is where I came into the Chamberlain Family...........63 years after my great grandpa Ed and my great grandma Na-Nan were married I was born.

In 1962 Great Grandpa Ed and Na-Nan celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  I am not sure if my na-nan decorated 2 plates (for wall hanging) in celebration of their 50th (forget decorating the plates na-nan...you should have decorated yourself with 2 plane tickets to somewhere tropical for a 50 day vacation!!!) or if they were given the 2 wall hanging plates as a gift for their 50th..........

The plates have a bit of an Asian feel and are decorated with fabric.  Written at the bottom of 1 plate is 'Ed' and at the bottom of the other is 'Clara' and they were up for grab at the silent auction.......

A piece of my great grandparents history now hangs on the wall going from my living room into my dining room-
A piece of their history that is celebrating 50 years of their marriage!

I LOVE MY ED AND CLARA PLATES and I LOVE MY CHAMBERLAIN FAMILY!

Nothing is Impossible, Nothing can separate, and nothing can Hinder (with God)

I mentioned a couple of posts back that I write in my Bible- I write out prayers by certain verses and I also write certain verses that stand out to me and are some personal favorites in the front pages (and back pages) of my Bible........These are verses that I have repeated over and over to myself (and speak out to God) when life circumstances (or hormones) have thrown curve balls my way- Verses that offer so much comfort and so much hope for whatever comes our way.

When the leather bound front cover of my Bible is flipped you will see sprawled across the first two pages the following verses:
(NIV Life Application Bible is what I use)

• 2 Chron 20:15- 'Stand firm and the Lord will fight for you.'
• Heb 13:5 'Never will I leave you- Never will I forsake you.'
• Ex. 33:17 'Show me your (Lord) Glory'
• Matt 6:43-45 '...For out of the overflow of the heart his mouth speaks.'
• 2 Tim 1:7 'For the Lord did not give us the spirit of fear but of power, love, and sound mind'
• 1 Cor 15:33 'For God is not a God of disorder but of peace'
• 1 Cor 15:57-58 'But praise be to God who gives us victory in Jesus Christ. Therefore my brothers STAND FIRM'
• 2 Cor 1:3 'God comforts us so that we can be comforters'
• Gen 15:6 'Abraham believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness'
• 2 Cor 3:17 'Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom'
• 2 Cor 4:8 'We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed'
• 2 Cor 12:8 'My grace is sufficient for you'
• 1 Sam 17 'For the battle is the Lords'
• Heb 4:12-13 'For the word of God is sharper than any double edged sword'
• Eph 4:27 'And do not give the evil a foot hold'
• Psalm 34:18 'The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit'
• Psalm 141:3 'Set a guard over my mouth O Lord'
• Luke 4:18-19 'The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me...'
• Deut 30:11 'Now what I am commanding you today is not difficult to reach'
• Gal 6:9 'Let us not grow weary in doing good'
• Phil 4:12-13 'I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength'
• Isaiah 26:3 'You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is on you'
• 2 Cor 10:4 'The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world.  On the contrary they have the divine power to demolish strongholds'
• Isaiah 16:7 'The Lord looks at the heart'
• Phil 1:6 'Being confident of this that He who began a good work in you will carry it out until the day of completion'
• Neh 9:10 'The joy of the Lord is my strength'
• Psalm 46:10 'Be still and know that I am God'
• 1 Sam 14:6 'Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving'
• Isaiah 30:15 'In repentance and rest is your salvation.  In quietness and trust is your strength'
• Rom 4:20 'Being fully persuaded that God has the power to do what He has promised'
• Phil 4:6 'Be anxious about nothing but in everything by prayer and petition make your requests known to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your minds and hearts in Christ Jesus'
• Deut 1:29 'Do not be terrified and do not be afraid- The Lord your God who is going before you will fight for you'
• Judges 6:12 'The Lord is with you mighty warrior'
• Luke 1:37 'Nothing is impossible with God' (AMEN!!)
• Psalm 55:23 But as for me...I trust in You'

Thank you so much Lord Jesus for the comfort and hope you offer us through your written word!  Thank you that nothing is impossible with You, nothing can separate us from You, and that nothing can hinder You- I love you Heavenly Father

Know What I Think....

You know what I think?

I think I LOVE my $4. second hand shoes!

P.S. Fraap!! :)

Happy Neil, Tate's Shirt, and Tid Pup

From a 2 year olds spoken vocabulary:

• Happy 'Neil' is said excitedly as we are in the drive thru line at McDonald's- She can hardly wait for her Happy Meal
• Since Ellie's little eye's first took in the sight of the green and blue tie dyed shirt that we got for her to wear to her little friend Kate's Cystic Fibrosis Walk several weeks ago she will talk about it often...I will ask 'what do you want to wear today Elle's?' to which her reply is almost certain to be 'Tait's Shirt'- Even as I type this she is wearing her 'Tait's shirt'- Added in permanent marker to Elle's little shirt under Kate's name is 'Tanner'- another friend we have who has CF- When Elle's can understand more words she will know that it is her 'Kate and Tanner Shirt:')
• Eli is known as 'kid' or 'kid pup' around our house- A nick name he picked up when he was a year or so old.......Ellie uses his name often but to her he is 'Tid' or 'Tid Pup'

Happy Friday!!

Look what Ellie's Tid got her....a Happy Neil :)

The Start He Has Allowed.....Happy 2nd Birthday Ellie Marie

Dear Ellie,

Happy 2nd Birthday Baby Girl!  It has been mommy's practice, since long before you were born, to write in my Bible- I will write out verses that stand out to me. I also write out prayers to the Lord thanking Him for either answered prayers or things that I am praying about now and still waiting on answers for.  I do this Elle's because I want to always remember God's workings in my life- I also want to leave this as a 'reading' legacy for you, Eli, and Ryan- you see, a majority of the prayers are over all 3 of your precious lives..........someday, you will get to read through most of mommy's Bible's (I have given 2 of my 'written in' Bible's away. One to my sister Anne Loree and one to a precious teen named Kayla) and read these prayers and prayer requests- There is no doubt in my mind that you will be impacted greatly when you read for yourself through the prayers mommy has written in regards to your life both before you joined our family and after- It will not be because of Mommy writing the prayers that will impact you the most but instead because God has shown himself mighty in the way he has orchestrated your life this far (and I know into the future).  You will need to know this sweetie- Not just hear it from mommy and daddy as you get older but know for yourself that God's plan for your life was and is perfect for you...The start He has allowed to your life gives you a unique and distinct advantage..........You will be able to share God's love and speak God's healing truth to those who are struggling because their forever family and home was or is not theirs biologically.....To those who like you have been adopted.

As mommy grabbed my Bible tonight, the one that say's 'Steph Loves Matt' on the front, I opened to the third page from the front and let the 2 years ago memory come flooding into my mind...........

I was sitting on the bed in your hospital room- you were just hours old...After holding you until you fell asleep, I laid you down in the portable bassinet that the hospital provides and dug through my purse for a pen....I turned to the third page of my Bible to write out one of the most important prayers in our families life's history...

'6/18/11- Thank you so much Dear Lord Jesus for your answer to our adoption prayer.  Ellie Marie Buma was born 6/18/11 @ 11:46 a.m. weighing 5 obs. 3 ozs. 17 1/2 inches long!  To you Lord Jesus be the Glory for her life!'

We love you Ellie....
Your birth family loves you.......
But most importantly your Heavenly Father Loves you.....

Happy Birthday!

Grace for Gideon

Our Sunday School class is going through the Bible over the course of several years- We are currently in Judges and went through Chapters 6-8 this past Sun.  I have read through the story of Gideon before and cruised right through, but this past Sun. I could feel my heart stirring as our Bible Study Teacher Ed had us look at it a little closer.  Sun. night when all my kids were in bed I grabbed my Bible and started reading back through the story..........

Judges 6:

¹¹ The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. ¹² When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said,

“The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

¹³ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied,

“But if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?

Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’

But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

¹⁴ The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

¹⁵ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel?

 My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

¹⁶ The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

¹⁷ Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.'
 

Before Gideon obeyed the Lord and went to battle against Midian he asked the Lord for 4 different signs.........4 different confirmations.............4 times of the Lord responding to Gideon's request of proof.

The question was asked in our Sunday School class whether or not Gideon was wrong to ask God for a sign (or several signs) that it was indeed HIM calling Gideon.

I believe God answered that question for us as we read farther..........The rest of chapter 6 describes the signs Gideon asks to be confirmed and shows God answering with a confirmation each time....

God answered Gideon.....
not with a lightening bolt or a case of leprosy for his doubt
not with a harsh response that would make the already low self esteemed Gideon shrink back and tremble

God answered Gideon with Grace!
God's unmerited favor beaming down on a doubting man...

 As the 'grace' light bulb went on in my head I glanced back through the story with my awareness set to purposefully notice God's grace.........

• The Lord challenged Gideon's doubts about himself (I am the weak and least) and called him Mighty Warrior.....God's Grace!
• The Lord called out strength in Gideon (strength that Gideon did not see in himself)..'Go in Strength'...God's Grace!
• He challenged Gideon's belief that he and his people were abandoned by God by assuring him that He(God) was with him (16)...God's Grace!
• He gave Gideon a new direction- from threshing wheat to thrashing the Midians :)....God's Grace on not only Gideon but on Gideon's people!!

Thank you Lord Jesus that you desire relationship with us based on your grace.  Thank you that you have allowed us to see your grace through this story of Gideon and that the same grace you gave to Gideon you give to us.  Thank you that we have the opportunity to show grace to others because of the grace you show us.  I love you Dear Lord Jesus...
 

 p.s. Gideon followed the Lord's leading and defeated the Midianites.....'The battle belongs to the Lord' (WHOOP WHOOP!!!)