Sweet Life in the City

I had a pretty crazy day today. When I woke up this morning I had an email from a lady who is interested in hiring my as a nanny for her two children. I was surprised to get the email because I did not apply for the job that she posted. The family lives in Albany Park, but the hours are full-time, actually longer than full-time. We are supposed to talk this week on the phone. I was excited to get my first lead for a job! Around 10:00 my phone rang but I was not able to get to it in time. I called the number back and it was for a Christian school in Chicago that I had talked with back in May when we knew we would be moving. I had a great phone interview with the HR lady, but all they had open were assistant jobs for 15-20 hours per week. I knew that I would need more hours than that, but they sent me an application anyway. I never filled it out because time got away and I got an email that all positions had been filled. I was also struggling with maybe I was playing it too safe to try t...

16" Therefore we do not lose heart.   Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly   we are being renewed   day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,   since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal ." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 It has been a crazy few days! Friday the kids and I headed back to TN and I have to admit it was kinda hard to head back South. The only thing that made it easy was that I knew I would be seeing Jeremy on Saturday. The kids did great on the way back home! They mostly slept the whole trip and I kept Lucy up front with us so we did not have all that drama again. We got home around 4:00 and although I was soo tired I knew I needed to start putting some things away in case the house needed to be shown the next day. We all go to bed early and then got up Saturday cleaned the house some more and then...

I have a great memory. Maybe a little freaky at all of the things I remember growing up. Now after going on 12 years of marriage, 3 kids, and something in the health world called Fibro Fog, my short-term memory may be lacking, but my long-term memory is going strong. There have been many times in my life where I was asked to state certain facts and so forth and I always get the same reaction, "How did you remember all of that?" When somebody asks me that I say four words: Kelly Douglas, Mega Memory. I get a chuckle but the truth is my dad made me listen to the Mega Memory course on tape one time in the car. The funny thing about this story is that I cannot for the life of me remember where we were going(HA)! Every time I come home I become very nostaligic. This house has been my home from the day I was brought home from the hospital until the day I stood holding my Mickey Mouse phone in front of our van loaded with my personal belongings heading to Nashville, TN to attend col...

This may  be my least popular post, but on the way to Illinois on Sunday God spoke to me about something and I need to share it and see what comes of it. I had 6 hours to think and pray and listen to what God might say to me. Now, I had to listen through some screaming and fighting, but I got the message. God placed Chicago on our hearts about 10 years ago. We both loved Chicago! We had talked several times throughout our married life about moving up there just because we wanted to live in such a great city. You all know that over the past few years God has turned our love for the city into a love for the people of the city. I think Emma summed up our feelings when we told the kids back in February that we would not be moving this year and Emma said, "But Dad, WE HAVE TO!" Our hearts are no longer leading us to Chicago just because we want to live there, but we HAVE to. Our hearts are longing for the city of Chicago. Last week when we were at the assessment one of the speaker...

We went back up to work today, but I did not go in at 5:30 this morning. I do not mind working, but I am very thankful that my chosen career is teaching. I could not do the factory job every day! I went in at 8:00 with my mom. I worked on my Decoy bags most of today. I think I have gotten 200 done these past two days. It was a little harder to keep the kids entertained today. Samuel and Emma were terrible today! The shocker is that Chloe was so well-behaved today! Heaven help me if they all decide to have a bad day! Emma got TWO spankings before lunch time today and that is NOT like Emma. Part of it is probably my fault because I made her sleep with Chloe last night so I do not think she got much rest. I know none of you doubt the love for children, but they just want to hang all over me. I seriously cannot sit down without all of them wanting to sit on me. We are thankful that they want to be with us, but the past few times we have been gone somewhere they all want to pile in the room...

A few years ago I said something to a good friend in a casual conversation about my life and she actaully laughed because she thought I had lost my mind. I realized that 90% of the people who have come into my life in the past 16 years have no idea about a part of my life that has shaped me into the person I am today. So, you might just learn something new about me today:) In 1982, when I was 4 years old, my dad started a company called Douglas Net Company. He makes fish nets and a various other products made from netting. It would take me forever to tell all that they make at his company so if you are interested you can visit the website http://www.douglasnets.com/home.php . There is also a little more history about the company on the website too. My dad started the company but it was a family company. We all went to work. Mom worked, Kevin worked since he was the oldest, and Kristy and I soon would learn the family business. I remember going in with mom and dad to work before I was e...

The kids and I and Lucy set out this morning to Illinois. It was a pretty uneventful trip except Lucy's cage that was folded up in the back kept falling over on her and then she would climb up on the luggage. I had to stop several times to get it situated again and then about 3 hours into the trip she realized that she could join the kids by jumping over the seat. That is where she stayed the rest of the trip. We made great time even though I had to stop several times. We were gone about 40 minutes when Emma had to use the bathroom! So, we stopped and I got all three kids out and made them go. I only had to threaten once that "I will turn this car around and go back home!" The kids kept me laughing with all the funny things they would say along the way. Samuel was my own radar detector by stating every time he saw a police car or when the speed limit would change. It kept getting on to me because "we are now in a work zone and it says the speed limit says 45 and you ...

My encouragement today: "  God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing ." Ephesians 2:10 Well, Fridays are my weight in days and I was very hesitant to weigh yesterday because the whole time we were in Vegas I did not track a thing. I tried the first day, but I did not know what how many points most of the things were that we were eating and I just kind of gave up. With great delight I lost 1.8 pounds last week. That is a total of 5 pounds since back on WW. Jeremy let me sleep in yesterday and today and I slept until almost 10:00!! That is so not like me, but my body has been so thrown off since summer began. Yesterday I took the kids out for a little while to get Jeremy something for Father's Day. We got home and I walked (in my long driveway) while the kids played in the yard. Yesterday afternoon Sam started complaining of a stomach ache and started running a fever. He seems bett...

"I have loved you with an everlasting Love. Before time began, I knew you. For years you swam around in a sea of meaninglessness, searching for Love, hoping for hope. All the time I was pursuing you, aching to embrace you in My compassionate arms. When the time was right, I revealed Myself to you. I lifted you out of the sea of despair and set you down on a firm foundation." Jesus Calling- June 14 I have blogged many times about the painful days that I have faced in my life. There are many days over the past 8 years that cause an ache in my heart, but June 14 is a date that makes all those painful days worth while. I loved the devotion from today because on June 14, 2005 I was indeed "lifted out of my despair" when Samuel Jae Riggs came into our lives and healed our heart. On this morning 7 years ago I was a nervous wreck! We had looked at the face of our precious son, but we knew that we were leaving our home early that morning as Jeremy and Kim, Husband and Wife, ...

So, some that read my blog yesterday teased me because I did not mention WHERE Jeremy and I are going for our church planting conference. So, we are going to Las Vegas!! You have permission to laugh. I would never put church planting conference and Las Vegas together, but that is where we are going. We leave tomorrow around 4:00. The kids are staying with Steve and Bev parks (Parks and "B") to our kids and they are going to have so much fun! B already informed me that she would be spoiling them rotten. I have to admit that the thought of going to Las Vegas does not appeal to me at all and I have struggled from the beginning about my attitude about this trip. I am looking forward to Jeremy and I spending a few days together even if it means we have to go to Las Vegas. This trip is an assessment trip that is organized by a organization called Launch. They help families in their church planting endeaver if they determine that you have what it takes to plant a church. It sounds k...

" Bring your most secret thoughts into the Light of My Love. Anything you bring to Me I transform and cleanse from darkness. I know everything about you, far more than you know of yourself. But I restrain My yearning to "fix" you, waiting instead for you to come to Me for help." Jesus Calling- June 8 Have you every carried around a secret? Some times it is an exciting secret that you can hardly contain yourself, but some times it is a hurt or a fear or an insecurity that you keep all to yourself,f afraid to even let those who are the closest to you see. I think that all of the changes going on in our life has brought back some familiar insecurities in my own life, I am not comfortable in my own skin. Nobody has ever said that I was not good enough. Nobody has called me dumb or insignificant. I have never felt unloved. I have, however, been called "chunky","fat", "ugly", "You mean, she is the younger sister? She is so much bigger th...

" I am all around you, like a cocoon of Light. My Presence with you is a promise, independent of your awareness of Me. Many things can block this awareness, but the major culprit is worry. My children tend to accept worry as an inescapable fact of life. However, worry is a form of unbelief. Who is in charge of your life? If it is you, then you have good reason to worry. But, if it I, then worry is both unnecessary and counterproductive. When you start to feel anxious about something, relinquish the situation to Me. Back off a bit, redirecting your focus to Me. I will either take care of the problem Myself to show you how to handle it. In this world you will have problems, but you need not lose sight of Me." Jesus Calling- June 7 I slept terrible Tuesday night. I tossed and turned all night. Jeremy let me sleep in yesterday morning, but when I woke up I was in a terrible mood. I wasn't crabby or anything, I was in a state of constant worry and anxiety. In fact, I think I f...