Hot Topic: Duggars commemorate their stillborn child

Before I head off the computer to work on my "living simply" I want to share something that came across my Facebook newsfeed. I clicked the link & read the article. I would send you a link to the article, but, in the past, when I've done that on here to share something with you, the link has been deleted or the pictures are no longer working, so I will try to copy & paste as much as I can to share it on here with you {while crediting the site}. Okay, so, it said:

In November, to the surprise of many, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar announced that the couple’s 20th child was on the way. As the Blaze reported, they encountered a fair amount of criticism, considering the large size of their family, past complications and Michelle’s age (she’s 45).

Sadly, just one month later, the Duggars told the world that they suffered a miscarriage. On December 8, during a 19-week checkup, it was discovered that the child no longer had a heartbeat; Michelle miscarried naturally three days later.

This week, the stars of TLC’s “19 and Counting” held a ceremony for the child, whom they named Jubilee Shalom (she allegedly weighed just 4 oz. and was 6 c.m.), in Springdale, Arkansas. Friends and family converged to help celebrate the life that would have been.

The ceremony apparently included hundreds of attendees. While some might see the family’s actions as a bit odd, others would revere the notion that they valued the life so preciously that they sought to commemorate it.

Photo Credit: TMZ

Following the event, Amy Duggar, the family’s cousin, created a stir when she tweeted a note and picture commemorating Jubilee’s life (she later deleted the message). It read, “RIP precious Jubilee Shalom Duggar! Can’t wait to meet you someday, thank you Lord for giving our family peace.” Mail Online has more:

The photograph shows Michelle reaching out to touch daughter Jubilee’s tiny hand, with the juxtaposition of size deeply moving.

While Michelle obviously displays a fully grown adult hand, Jubilee’s is incredibly tiny, with her palm half the size of her mother’s finger tip. [...]

Photo Credit: TMZ

At the ceremony, a selection of photos – which some might find distressing – were distributed to guests, with one image showing Jubilee‘s tiny feet on Michelle’s hand, with the message: ‘There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.’

A representative for the family has purportedly defended the photos, saying they were never intended to reach the public (although one of the images is now on the family’s web site). Also, Michelle released an audio letter to the baby, which can be heard below:

Jubilee Shalom Duggar from John Andersen on Vimeo.

The Daily Beast’s Maria Elena Fernandez has more regarding the negative response that has followed these actions:

“It just seems too public and almost seems like, ‘OK, we’re stars, everybody wants to know abut us,’” said Susan Newman, a social psychologist who has taken the Duggars to task for continuing to procreate in two columns forPsychology Today. “From what I know of parents who have lost children, it’s horrific. It’s not something you want pictures of. There are people who will argue with me and say it’s a way of coming to terms with the death. But given the Duggars’ history, their television show, and the way they exploit their children, I just find this a cog in the same wheel. I find it rather distasteful.” [...]

But the cofounder of the nonprofit organization that photographed the stillborn baby at the Duggars’ request said that thousands of grieving parents have turned to the group for its free services, because the photographs help to console them during the worst time of their lives. Cheryl Haggard, who had a son who died after birth because of a condition that went undetected during pregnancy, cofounded Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep with a photographer she hired.

You can read more about the debate here. Regardless of how one feels about the family’s method of handling the loss, suffering a miscarriage is certainly tragic.

Michelle has understandably said that she feels “a great sorrow and grief” though she has peace in her heard. Jim has expressed similar feelings, saying, “we know we will see this child in heaven one day.”

(H/T: Mail Online)

Check the site out here if you want. 

I will say, whoever thought of the idea to take pictures of your stillborn child to help you cope with the tragedy of losing a child {because that's what it is} is a genius! I personally find these images moving and inspirational. Look how TINY a HUMAN LIFE can be! It goes to show you that NO MATTER HOW SMALL, God has formed a PERSON from SECOND ONE of conception! That almost fully-formed hand is HALF the size of its mother's FINGERTIP! For those who want to criticize the Duggar family, they need to take their negativity elsewhere! The family might be a little crazy, or, the parents might be, but who isn't??

I've said it before {on Facebook} and I'll say it again:

While I think she's addicted to pregnancy (for real), people need to lay off the Duggars. They live debt free in a house they built themselves, homeschool their children, and teach their children teamwork, the value of a dollar, Christian principles, and responsibility for their actions as well as to care for others. No lie, the world wouldn't hurt from a few more Michelle Duggars.

 More power to her them! Who are we to judge??

Live Simply

DISCLAIMER: This blog post is going to make me sound like a horrible, materialistic person who can't tell you the difference between want and need and who has zero self-control. Don't judge me. Just sayin'.

I must admit. I do not "live simply," although that is something I strive to do. I want to embark on a personal journey to live more simply. I'll be honest. My life is chaotic, and I'm always running, and even though I HATE {with a passion} clutter....it surrounds me! I blame it on space. Or, well, I used to. I do wanna give myself props because after moving for the TENTH time in six years, I started throwing things away. Of COURSE I accumulated crap over the years. But now, my closet's tinier than ever before and I am just sick sick sick of so many little things overwhelming my life!

Basically I need to reevaluate what I have "room" for in my life. Unnecessary stress is not needed nor welcomed in my life...and it's something I MUST get rid of ASAP to make more room for the things that are truly important! I know this process will be a baby-step-kind-of thing, but I am willing to make it happen! ;)

NOTE:  These are just a couple things I strive to do in the near future. This list is mostly personal, and is a part of a {more than likely} never-ending list. Again, please don't judge me by my list. ;)

Step 1: Get rid of stupid negativity on social networking sites. Tonight, as silly as it seems, I deleted a bunch of negative people & celebs from my twitter account because I did not want to crowd my life with negativity of all things! So, step one: complete! ;)

Step 2: Organizing all my jewelry that seems to land all over my bedroom and bathroom. I can not wait for Santa Claus to give me my jewelry armoire! We found it at Sears for $85... yes, Santa & I shop together! ;) I can not wait to put all my jewelry in ONE place and keep it out of the way!! Step two is half-way checked of....just gotta wait until December 25th!!

Step 3: Operation Makeup Organization!  My makeup is SUFFOCATING ME! It's literally overtaking my bathroom and I KNOW I don't wear all that makeup! It's time for a purge!! I am wanting a makeup train for Christmas. I need to research the best prices for a good one! Like I said before, I want to have a makeup set I keep in my bathroom, and a makeup set for travel. There's no reason for all this makeup crap to stress me out as much as it does....and getting rid of it {all} is not an option! ;)

Step 4: Minimize the closet. Gastonia is getting a Plato's Closet! I LOVE Plato's Closet in Charlotte & can't wait for their Gastonia Grand Opening! I am going to take a bunch of clothes I don't wear & purses there to consign! And what they don't take I am going to try to sell on eBay. I am doing great at selling stuff I don't use anymore. Facebook has been great for that!!

Step 5: Turn the TV off at 10:00pm. Whatever's on past 10:00, can be watched at a later time thanks to the best invention ever: DVR! I know this might sound silly, but I know this is something I need to do to unwind at the end of the day. I'm not someone who can listen to the TV while I fall asleep. And I'm not someone who instantly falls asleep. I know this is something I need to do to ultimately get more sleep.  By 10:00, I should be hanging out in silence. If I'm not sleepy, that sounds like a great time to work on my to-read list. :)

To be continued....

Do you have any {realistic} suggestions for me on living more simply??

If so, please share them with me! I seriously want to hear them.

Update on my Pawpaw

If you are my Facebook friend, you may know that this Friday, my Pawpaw was admitted to the hospital.  I appreciate those of you who have reached out and asked how he was doing or told me that they were praying for him. That really means so much to me. I spent my Saturday visiting him in the hospital, then came home, napped, and did a bunch of girly things...like colored my hair & tried on my new makeup. Alex and I went out to eat last night & I spent the rest of my night browsing makeupgeek.com. In the time between me leaving the hospital Saturday morning and Saturday evening, Pawpaw was transferred to the Critical Care Unit {Intensive Care Unit as most people call it}, as his symptoms had become life-threatening. This bothered me, but I was not spending my evening worrying {as you can tell} and I give most of the credit for that to my Lord Jesus Christ. My Pawpaw has gone through the Intensive Care Unit before and came out better than ever. {Ok, so that was an exaggeration....but following his time in the ICU, rehab, physical therapy, and a new strict diet, he was better than ever!} I wasn't as worried as I probably should have been, but I just KNEW in my heart it was going to be okay. I can't describe that peace. I was trusting in God to get my sweet grandfather through this, so why did I need to worry?

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. {Isaiah 26:3}

I will admit that since I woke up this morning, I've been worrying a bit. Last night was a really rough night for my Pawpaw. He is so uncomfortable and just wants to go home. So that, on top of fact that that is NOT happening in the next couple days is frustrating for him, especially hooked up to all kinds of machines and tubes and wires. The man just wants to be in the comfort of his home! My heart broke for him as I had to tell him to relax and quit trying to get out of the bed or to take his mask off.

I'm going to be honest -- If anything ever happens to that man, the best man I will ever know, then I don't know what I'll do. I am trying not to focus on that option, because I still have 100% faith that God knows what He's doing and will pull my Pawpaw out of this mess, and in time for Christmas! God works in such mysterious, all-knowing, powerful ways and it's not something that I even want to try to wrap my head around.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. {Proverbs 3:5}

For example: Pawpaw's blood test came back around 6:00pm on Friday. The doctors called and told him he needed to go to the Emergency Room. He was completely physically able, coherent, talkative, and was able to get ready & go to the E.R.  Two days later, while giving my Mawmaw an update, his doctor said that he would not have lived two more days if he had not come to the hospital, and we would not have known the cause of death. How amazing is it that the medical staff took their time at 6pm on a Friday night to investigate his results & get in touch with us and advise us with urgency to seek medical attention?! THANK GOD they aren't nine to fivers or I would have lost the best man I know!!

Right now my Pawpaw has fluid around his heart & lungs, pneumonia in one lung, congestive heart failure, and renal failure. If you are reading this, please, stop what you're doing for five seconds and lift up my grandfather in prayer. Specifically, right now, he needs peace and comfort to be able to relax and work on his breathing so the medical staff can do their job. He, of course, needs a physical healing that his organs are able to fight off their infections and his potassium level needs to decrease dramatically.  I pray that the Lord sends an angel to his hospital room to help comfort him in his time of discomfort. Please join me in praying for my Pawpaw. He's the most deserving person and I know he'd do anything he could for any of us if we were in the same position. I am, without a doubt, leaving this up to God because I know He can handle this and I cannot.

With God, ALL things are possible. {Matthew 9:26}

Also, please pray for my Mawmaw. She is staying so incredibly strong. She herself is coping with a nasty cold/cough crud & was actually trying to rest in the bed when the doctors called to send Pawpaw to the E.R. on Friday. She is running on little sleep and especially after last night will be camping out at the hospital. That's never fun, or comfortable, so please y'all pray that she herself quits coughing and gets over this crud and is able to devote her energy to Pawpaw and helping him in whatever way she can. Bless her heart, she is the most amazing woman and she is constantly overdoing herself. She needs REST, Lord...I pray she is able to recuperate  & rest!!

Come unto me, you who are weary and overburdened, and I will give you rest. {Matthew 11:28}

Christmas 2010

'But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the LORD. {Jeremiah 30:17}

Tis the season...for new makeup!

I went for a good month probably without wearing eye makeup to work, because, quite frankly, I got lazy and thought I could substitute wearing eye makeup for eyeglasses. Hey, it worked for me! But, I accidentally snapped my glasses in half...yep, right between the eyes...totally ruined them. So, there went my brilliant idea! Good thing I'm back in the makeup mood!! ;)


DISCLAIMER: Yes, I still sell Mary Kay makeup. No, it's not a crime to sell one brand of makeup and love others as well. ;)

Side note: My friend & co-worker, Ashley, introduced me to this FABULOUS website, Makeup Geek, and I'm currently spending my Saturday night watching tutorials online & learning all kinds of girly things! I love it! Also, if you're looking for a good tutorial site, check out Makeup By Tiffany D. I learned so much from her site as well. What I love about these two girls if not only do they use nice, expensive makeup brands, but also things you can find at your local drugstore or you know, at Wal-Mart if you live in a small town like me!


Mom took me to Ulta last night to get some Christmas shopping done! First, let me say that I am so glad that I work in a city where there is an Ulta! Living in a small town has its perks but being able to find great makeup usually isn't one of those perks. The following was definitely on my to-buy list:

Hoola Bronzer by Benefit Cosmetics

Hoola Bronzer has changed its packaging since I last had to purchase it! I am digging the improvements...The lid flips up instead of having to be removed completely {like that's a hassle or something} but I am super digging the new mirror that is included on the new lid!! Great idea, Benefit Cosmetics!

ULTA Eye Shadow in Sable

Ashley told me to help smudging my eyeshadows I need a nude-colored eyeshadow & she recommended ULTA brand eyeshadows for this. ULTA had them Buy One Get One Free so that was great! I got two in Sable, thinking it'd match great. It did on my hand, but it's looking a little dark for my winter white skin! I appreciated the sale because I really want to work on having two makeup kits: one for my bathroom that I can keep organized & one to keep for in the car, or in my purse, or for travel. I know I can return the Sable shade, but I think I'll just go test another shade & get two of those while this sale's going on...that way I can just add my {growing} collection. ;) I used this eyeshadow tonight though and LOVED it. Ashley was right: it's a great, highly pigmented inexpensive eyeshadow! I like eyeshadows that are packaged separately from other shades...I hate colors getting mixed in with one another when you keep them all together. That's a problem I'm having with my Mary Kay mineral eyeshadows. I know there's a solution...I just haven't gotten motivated enough to implement my solution yet! ;)

NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in dark brown/brown

Ashley recommended this AWESOME product for shading in your eyebrows!! I got the "dark brown/brown" shade instead of the "brunette" because I knew I'd be coloring my hair soon & didn't know how dark I'd need. The fact that this comes with two colors, mini brushes, and a wax for $5.99 is AMAZING!!  AND ULTA was having a Buy One Get One 50% off sale...so I got two! ;) Ashley is really convincing me that shading your eyebrows is a big deal & makes a world of difference. For someone who has never gotten their eyebrows professionally done, and have tweezed their eyebrows MAYBE three times in their entire life...you can see how this is a big deal for me. But, I took the first baby step in buying this product!! Next up on the list that I will HAVE to buy is Anastasia Beverly Hills' Eyebrow Stencils. Otherwise I would have an all kinds of jacked up pair of eyebrows!! I am NOT an artist, y'all!!

Also, this wasn't on my to-buy list, but after chit-chatting it up with homegirl at ULTA, this very well be my new favorite makeup product ever:

Lancome Aquatique

This stuff!! I can not rave enough about this stuff!! Homegirl at ULTA showed me a demo of this product and I would have not bought the stuff without the demo. {I would have purchased Benefit's Stay Don't Stray, which I've used & loved before, & was coincidentally homegirl's #2 choice.} This stuff only comes in one shade for us white people, but it's okay because shade of the primer isn't going to alter the color of your shadows; it will actually enhance the color! Homegirl applied this stuff to her hand, then put some pretty but very bright purple eyeshadow on top of the Aquatitque. She then went, applied some water on top of the shadow & rubbed. That stuff did not move! I was shocked! I told her I should have videotaped her doing that to show my blog readers. {All five of you.} But, I didn't videotape it- so I'll just tell you now. The stuff if amazing! I am six hours into wearing my eyemakeup and it hasn't budged a BIT!! {Yay!} For $25ish...you can't beat that!! For as sparingly as you have to use this stuff, even using it every day, you will go a VERY long time before you need another. Homegirl did warn me though: you HAVE to make sure the lid's on tight, because it's a water-based product & it will dry out if left open!

I think Mom bought a couple extra Christmas presents for me without my knowledge, because her total was probably $40 more than I had calculated it should be. Sneaky, her!! ;) Gotta love Santa Claus!!

What new products have you tried & loved lately?? Do share!! :)

The 90's taught me everything I know about love

So, I follow this blog called "We're Just Not There Yet" and it's pretty funny. It's basically guys talking about dating, love, whatever... and their latest post, The 90's Taught Me Everything I Know About Love   is hilarious!! You must check it out, especially if you're a 90's fan like me!! Excuse the random curse words on there. They haven't gotten the memo that cussing is not cute.

This morning's thoughts

Today it was hard to get out of bed. I was gone from 7am-8pm yesterday {more on that later} & was up late last night reading The Shack {again}. I just wanted to sleep in SO bad this morning. But I knew I needed to get my butt up & head to church to hear what I knew would be an amazing message from the Lord via our awesome pastor, Mike Devine. It was, per usual, and Sunday School was great/interesting as well. I just love our little group! :)

Now, with that said, I skipped post-Sunday School breakfast at Bo's because I just felt like I needed to come home and "get some things out." I don't know what. I just knew I wasn't going to do it at Bojangles. {Also, I had breakfast on the way to church. I can't be up for 2 hours without eating!!} So, here I am: back from church, in my comfy clothes, blogging my little heart out, and FOR SURE napping afterwards. That's what Sundays are for, right? :)

Anyways, so, as I said, I am re-reading The Shack. It's really getting me stirred up on the inside, which is a great thing! I want to share so much with all of my readers, but I haven't figured out the best way to do that yet. I'm trying to get it all down, then I can get it all.....out? Bear with me please.

Also, I have this other blog, Fabulous Fulfillment. It is a collection of my favorite excerpts I've come across while doing a daily devotional, reading a new book, or just digging into the Word! I try to categorize each post with a label so you can search for a particular subject, book, or person if you'd like! It is my way of sharing with you my inspirations so you can join me on my journey to become "Fabulously Fulfilled"! :) --- Ok, so that's that the "intro"/"about me"/"welcome" section of that blog says. Truth be told, I haven't blogged on there in almost a year. I feel HORRIBLE about that. Truly horrible. Then again, I think, should I beat myself up about this? I also feel equally guilty about not devoting enough time to ten minutes to get you through your day, or, to Christ in general. I want to share things I enjoy or grow from with ALL of my readers, Facebook friends, and everyone else I come across. But what's the best way to do that? I don't know yet. Should I just put everything together on one site. Is that appropriate? Why wouldn't it be? I originally thought it'd be good to put all my devotionalish stuff on Fabulous Fulfillment. But then I would have to inform my readers of THIS blog that I've posted something there, and that could get annoying. But really how often would I post stuff on there? But I want to share so many things so often. But I don't. For whatever reason. So what am I even still doing AWAKE right now on my Sunday afternoon?!?!

You are catching a glimpse of my though process. Just so you're aware of what's going on here... :-P

All joking aside, this is a serious thought process I have and want to gain control over. I have a call to share with all of you and I've had that urge for quite some time. For whatever reason, I have let LIFE take over & have not done what I feel in my heart I am called to do.

I'm GOING to find a solution.

Stay tuned!!!!