Dear Friends of AM~Erica (the hard post)

So anyway...

Many of you know that March was a very difficult month for our family. It still hurts from time-to-time. But, below, I am posting a version of what I posted on my FaceBook & MySpace pages recently about it:

"Hello to all of my friends.

I want to thank everyone who has shown concern for our family situation the last couple of weeks, as well as the prayers.In a tragic string of events that have come to light, Chris' 17-year-old daughter, Chelsea, has made the decision to move back to Las Vegas with her mother. It has been a gut-wrenching time & a lot frantic moments have been spent, a lot of tears have been shed.

I want to make a couple of pleas to those reading this:

1. to all of the teenagers who read this, your family loves you no matter what. They want to help you through any hurts & problems you may have or encounter. You are not alone. You are trying to show your independence by making adult decisions, but you must realize you still need guidance in doing so sometimes. We all make mistakes; no one is perfect except for Jesus Christ. Even if you don't want to admit it, your family is there to help you through no matter what it is. Pray through your decisions. If it feels wrong, or you know it's wrong...then...it's wrong. If you stumble, ask your family to help you back up. You are or will be a role model to at least one person or more whether you like it or not. Be the role model that you would like to have. This is my plea to you.

2. to all of the parents & adult mentors - it is a difficult job, but we love our children no matter what. Remind them ALWAYS! Never assume they are doing just fine - check, often. Get to know the friends & parents of your kid's friends. It may prove to be an important asset to posess. If your child gets into trouble, hopefully the other parents will have your back if they know the situation to let you know; and if you believe one of your kid's friends are in trouble, make sure their parents know. It is NOT ok to cover up the situation in ANY circumstance! Be as involved in your kid's life, even if they are teenagers, as possible. It won't prevent heartache, but it should help prevent a heart from breaking. This is my plea to you.

Continued prayers are appriceated for all involved: Chelsea, family & her friends. She will realize one day what she has done, and will have to face up to the hurts & wrongs of her (not-so)"adult" decisions.

Hugs & Blessings to everyone. It is now in God's hands."

We are so grateful for the support our friends have shown our family as we continue to get through this & heal.

Some of you may know that I love doing some of the random quizzes on FaceBook. I came across one about "What God wants you to know"....so, whatever - some random thing to read. I did it, and I would like to share here what was on my screen:

"Erica got a message that on this day, God wants Her to Know...
... that it is time to finally forgive yourself.You've carried the guilt, the shame for long enough. You've kept your wounds open for long enough. The time has to come to let go, to heal. Keep the lessons and let the pain heal. Yes, you know what we are talking about it."

Wow...that one hit hard. I have been talking about this still being a "wound". So, here is part of my attempt of "healing" as I continue to loosen my grip & let God just take it. Why is it so hard to let go??

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

What's Goin on with AM~Erica?

So, anyway...

I have a few things to put into this post. So, just bear with me.

Let me jump back a few nights ago to our church's annual auction (formerly MUMC Youth Auction, now Missions Auction which still helps the youth PLUS missions). This is an insane, fancy event! My hubby & I went to our first one last year, and we couldn't believe the amount of $$$ being put out there for items. There was a silent auction for a TON of stuff, then there's a oral auction with an auctioneer - a REAL one! We were so out of our league last year, we mostly went for the food & hoped we could participate in the silent auction. We did win a pair of tickets to see High School Musical at the Muny for my daughter's b-day...that was it. We spent the rest of the time eating and smiling & nodding (plus we enjoyed the company of the people at our table).

This year was different...very different. First, it was VERY scaled down & low-key. We are in a recession, so I know that had to hurt this fabulous even quite a bit. Plus there was a lot of other things going on during the weekend, so even the attendance was much less than in the past. No silent auction this year (WHAT...that's how we got to participate last year!), but still an oral auction with the same auctioneer - who, btw, has done the MUMC auction all 16 years it's been in existance. But there was a great change! People actually got to BUY for missions! The 4 major organizations our church supports had booths set up with displays of what they needed - then people could buy one of those things, or give toward it. Wow - it was so much more meaningful to actually see what you were doing for the organizations first hand. In return, you could get tickets, depending on what you spent, to go toward a donation RAFFLE. There was a few neat things we were deciding what to put our tickets toward - including the unbelievable safari package that contained jungle games, books, toys, stuffed animals, A YEAR'S MEMBERSHIP TO THE ST. LOUIS ZOO & BEHIND THE SCENES PASSES TO GO WITH IT. Amazing. We definately wanted to try for that one...especially with the kids. We put in a couple of tix for the "Girls Night Out" package that included 2 tickets to Hairspray at the Fox Theatre. I would take Liz, of course. Then, God Bless Betsy. Betsy is a wonderful woman of God with a GIANT heart. She & her hubby bought several items for the organizations & had more tickets than they knew what to do with...they were GIVING THE TICKETS AWAY!! She gave us about 12 more. So...we put a BUNCH more into the zoo bucket, another in the Hairspray bucket, and then a couple more into one called "All About Me" - a spa package. Why not...

We had a pretty good meal, the oral auction didn't have the money flowing as abundantly (it was all still too much for us), but we still had a fun table & glad we got to participate & get all dressed up. You will love to know that I wore a gorgeous dress that is bright turquoise with a touch of sequin & beading detail - an $8 find at Goodwill. I got more compliments in that crowd than I would have imagined. Glad I wore it! OH...and I, of course, had a scarf for my hair that happened to match.

As for the raffles, I won the "All About Me" package...you know - the "afterthought" one! YEA! Oh, darn - now I have to find sometime to USE it! OK - I have a year. There's bound to be a little time in there somewhere to get a pedicure & a spa treatment of sorts, right? We didn't get the others we were really pulling for, though. Oh well. It was a fun night! And, don't worry, I did thank Betsy for the spa package since it was her ticket that got it for me.

Today is Earth Day & also Administrative Professionals Day. Since I'm an "administrative professional", the guys at work got me flowers (which happend to match my outfit today - FUNNY) & they are taking me to lunch at the Brickhouse. YUM! I love my job!

And, I have caught a bug...the Twitter-bug! Seriously...you can follow @ http://twitter.com/iTweetAM_Erica. And it's connected to my FaceBook status updates.

This is what I have for now. I am trying to work up the courage for a much harder post. Pray for God to give me strength for that post to help with my healing. You will understand once I can get it posted...next time...

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

PS ~ you can follow me on my blog & on Twitter! Just hit the "Follow" button on either if you have an account or after you set one up. It's easy to do on BOTH! See you there!

AM~Erica is GOOD!!!

So anyway...

Today is a great day! My hubby & I have been married for 13 years strong!! Actually, the story of how we met is part of my testimony. You should ask me sometime!

What a busy day today, too. Church, of course, and we made sure to grab dinner (without the kids) & then a show ("Celebrate Life" musical from 1972 put on by the MUMC Chancel Choir). Wasn't that nice of the choir to celebrate our anniversary?

My gift FROM my hubby was, well, time: it started with 1 cute butterfly cuff watch, then since my hubby knows I like to accessorize, he brought out 5 more just like it...but in different colors. I was laughing hysterically! I loved them! Then he wanted me to have one more thing...a GORGEOUS Fossil watch that is brown & looks like a chocolate sunburst! I know - it sounds strange, but it is BEAUTIFUL!! So sweet!

Then, my turn to give my gift to him...

Let me first preface that it is a difficult thing to get my hubby ANYTHING. Either he already has it, doesn't want it, or (no matter how obsure it is) just plain figures it out. It so frustrating! This time, I had the most stellar gift! It is out of this world - just ask him!

I got my hubby an acre of land on the moon (seriously - the deed & all), had a star named for him, and gave him a small piece of moon rock! Needless to say (but I will anyway), I got him. He never figured it out & was enjoying studying the maps of where the plot of land was on the moon AND where to find the star in the sky. I am GOOD!

OH, after the concert...we are going to enjoy some yummy Starbuck's...without the kids!

I LOVE YOU, HONEY!! SHMILY!!

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica's Backseat Driver...

So anyway...

I went to KC with the family over the weekend to see...family. On the way back home, we brought back two vehicles, so I obviously had to drive one. I had Lizzie & Christian with me.

My hubby was leading the way, but it was hard to keep up from time-to-time due to obstacles slowing me down...like other drivers cutting me off. It happened often. Grrr...

I think I must have sighed really big at one point, when from the back seat, I heard a "little" voice yell, "STUPID CARS!" What??

Yes, the little one was developing road rage as the trip was going. Everytime I'd sigh, grunt, growl, etc. everytime I was frustrated with yet another car cutting me off as I was ready to reset the cruise control, I'd hear a voice..."STUPID CARS!"

Then, when he realized that my hubby was in the other lane, he was yelling at me to get over into the other lane!

So I thought you might be entertained to know that, yes, I have a 4-year-old backseat driver with road rage. Awesome.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica