Deb's Everyday

Changes

2011-07-26T17:52:00.001-04:00

While we are in the beginning stages of planning a wedding for our oldest daughter, we are also within 6 weeks of moving our middle daughter away to college and a month away from our youngest child starting his senior year of high school. And we are moving my mother to our town from her current home in North Carolina.

I feel old.

Lots of changes going on around our place, some easy, some hard. But that's ok. It's taken me a long time to get ok with changes, but through His strength I know I can face anything that comes our way. It's all about Him anyways :)

Dinner For One

2011-07-18T20:28:00.000-04:00

What I had for dinner...

Leftover spaghetti sauce...no noodles, just sauce. I thought about making some Ramen noodles without the spice packet to pour the sauce over but Hayden ate the last one.

Just one of those nights

A Quote

2011-07-18T06:06:00.004-04:00

From the book "Radical"

God delights in using ordinary Christians who come to the end of themselves and choose to trust in his extraordinary provision. He stands ready to allocate his power to all who are radically dependent on him and radically devoted to making much of him.

~David Platt

Another Blog...What Was I Thinking

2011-07-17T18:01:00.001-04:00

I've started a second blog...yep I know, I don't keep up with this one...how in the world can I think of starting a second...but I figured I'd give a whirl!

it's all about planning my daughter's wedding...all the crazy ups and downs...the fights, the joys, the bird seed wrapped in purple tulle...

check it out at-

themotherofthebridechronicles.blogspot.com

Hope to see you there!

Another Step On The Path To Independence

2011-07-04T19:00:00.002-04:00

"Wanna move to Alaska?"

Heard those words spoken by my future son-in-law to my daughter this afternoon.

On a lazy fourth of July afternoon, after the cookout, the marathon game of Risk and a couple of episodes of "Teen Mom" on Netflix (that's a hard one to admit) I walked into our family room to find my fsil looking online at houses in the Alaskan wilderness, a place he wants to sweep my oldest daughter away too once they are married in six months. Yep, that's the plan this afternoon.

Yippee.

Happy 4th of July!

Our Weekend Away: The Farmer's Market

2011-02-09T22:01:00.002-05:00

One of the things Mark and I did on our weekend away was to stop by the local Farmer's Market...interesting place.

After being ushered to a parking spot by a young lady wearing a "Staff" t-shirt and a head full of blond dreads tucked under her kerchief we made our way pass the cute warning sign...

...and on to the market...

where we saw beautiful flowers...

and artists...

antiques...

different foods (we bought garlic cheese curds)

...and musicians

pretty neat place :)

Our Weekend Away: Driving and Dinner

2011-02-07T20:59:00.001-05:00

Mark and I had an empty nest this past weekend so we thought we would take advantage of this rare event and take off for a weekend away (so rare in fact that there have been more solar eclipses during our almost 25 years of marriage than weekends away...)

So we headed to a coastal town near our home and spent a couple of days doing nothing.

nothing. nada. rien. nichts. niente.

no laundry. no dishes. no cooking. no paying bills. no refereeing. no reminding young adults to turn off lights. no telling teenagers to pick up their dirty clothes. no driveway that looks like a used car lot.

*sigh*...it was heavenly

We took off on Friday as soon as Mark got home from work and headed into the big city. And on our way we saw this guy...

Now it had been foggy and misty all day long last Friday and by 5:30 in the afternoon it was starting to get a little chilly outside so you can imagine how cold and wet this poor guy was by the time we came upon him on the interstate. And to be willing to sit on the back on truck that 1. has no sides to keep you in, and 2. has you surrounded by things that could quite possibly impale you should your driver stop quick, makes for an interesting dude. Plus you add the weather, traffic, weird chicks taking your picture and that he probably had been up since the crack of dawn, you kinda feel sorry for the guy.

Oh and he was smoking. Yep, as we passed the truck and its water-logged stowaway I looked over and there he was, just a puffin' away on his soggy cig. How he kept that thing lit, I'll never know.

So we left our wet willie and headed towards our first night's dinner date. "The dinner" that came with a gift card. "The dinner" that began with the words, "how many in your party?" and wasn't answered with our usual "table for 19 please"

"two please, a table for two"

I'm giddy just from the memory of it...

And finally "The dinner" that ended with this...hubba hubba

I think our weekend away was off to a pretty good start...

Candy. That Is All.

2011-02-03T23:16:00.001-05:00

I have a candy dish that sits on my desk...all day...every day...

...we have a love/hate relationship

I keep it filled mostly with chocolate candy and an occasional "hard candy" (as my granny used to say) and most days my hands stay out of it...but not today.

I found lots of reasons to indulge in my little pottery bowl of sugary goodness...

The phone ringing? Peanut butter cup please. The copier jammed again? Two pieces of Hershey's Dark. The books we ordered didn't come in? A handful of M&M's.

I can see a day when I might have to ditch the dish...maybe when I retire.

Life With Hayden: The Favorite Factor

2011-02-03T09:34:00.000-05:00

I have a white board at my office, where I write all sorts of reminders to myself...because apparently that part of my brain no longer functions at its former capacity. But that's another blog post...anyway I have this white board and as you can see, lots of notes and scribbles...

But when I came into the office on Monday morning...I found this little treasure, tucked away at the top, written to me by my baby boy...my 6 ft 4 in, gallon of milk every day and a half drinkin', spaghetti-o eatin', ukulele-playin' baby boy

and that's why he's my favorite child...this week ;)

Two Guys and a Ukulele

2011-02-02T21:37:00.001-05:00

The last Sunday night of each month, our church has what we call "Celebration Night". Our church body gathers together for supper, and then we have a time of testimonies, songs, readings, and such. And usually we finish the evening with Believer's baptism. It's a great time of fellowship and we really enjoy it.

This month, Hayden and Jesse worked up a cover of "O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing". I think David Crowder recorded this hymn too but I don't think his cover featured the ukulele...

yep.. the ukulele

So I thought I would share their performance on Sunday night...the video is from my camera so the quality stinks but a better version (of them practicing) is on my Facebook page :)

I Hope I Don't Wind Up On Regretsy

2011-01-20T20:08:00.003-05:00

Today I took the plunge and listed something on Etsy.

oh man, does my stomach hurt...

I've always liked to do crafts and I've always been so-so at them. Truly, so-so. Not a real great way to advertise my Etsy page but that being said, you can imagine why one of my most proudest moments in life came when I sold 6 crocheted dishcloths at my friend's mercantile. 6...in one day!

I know...lame.

Anyway, I've had an Etsy store for about a year now with no listings. None. And this week I asked the cute guy that keeps hanging around our oldest daughter to stop holding her hand for 5 minutes and take some pictures for me. He grabbed the metalic pink point and shoot I got for Christmas and within 4 minutes (he didn't want Kaitlin's hand to get lonely for his...or cold) I had half a dozen pictures of a beaded bookmark I created about a year ago. Yes, a year ago.

And now the waiting begins. Waiting to see if anyone buys my bookmark. Waiting to find out if anyone likes my so-so crafts. Waiting to refund somebody's $2.75...

Sleepy Time

2011-01-06T11:56:00.000-05:00

I have to go nighty-night somewhere strange this evening...

I'm doing a sleep study tonight due to the ginormous sounds that emit from my throat each night. God bless Mark for almost 25 years of nightly roaring coming from my side of the bed. So I hope to have some good news tomorrow about breathing and sleeping at the same time...it's a good thing :)

Guess I'll go to Walmart and buy some pajamas...don't think they want to see me in Mark's old green t-shirt and my bleach splattered sweat pants...

Television, You Bewitched Me, Body And Soul

2011-01-04T22:52:00.000-05:00

We've lived over a year now without TV. We still have a TV that we watch dvds and Netflix on but as far as cable/network television...nada. And after spending a few days with relatives that have TV I can now say with great confidence it was the best decision we made in late 2009.

I thought it would be absolute torture not to have the really fake housewives make their weekly visit each week. A day without Paula Deen? How would I know what to make for dinner? If I didn't watch Oprah, how would I know which book to buy and then not read because I was too busy watching Oprah tell me which book to buy? And don't get me started on the crab fishermen...missing out on their fun-filled "in the morning, in the evening, ain't we got fun" Kathie Lee Carnival cruise adventures each Monday night was unthinkable.

But a remarkable thing began to happen. The things we decided to watch began to become very, very selective. And after a few weeks, the void I thought TV would leave was filled was some really good stuff.

Conversations
Books
Board Games
Writing
Listening
Cooking
Friends

and best of all...Jesus...more of Him.

My Sweet Loving Family...Just Don't Cross 'Em

2011-01-04T00:00:00.002-05:00

This evening as I was rounding the corner to go down our hallway I was greeted by this sight...

That would be Kaitlin, standing next to our hall closet, the closet that keeps all our towels, blankets and sheets neatly organized...

and apparently now it has also become a crime scene.

Those long lanky legs belong to one of Kaitlin's dolls. She got him on her 8th grade field trip to Colonial Williamsburg and she named him Bobo. Yes, Bobo.

Bobo has lived in Kaitlin's room the last six or seven years in relative peace. Yes he has on occasion been found buried under a mountain of dirty clothes. And there was that time the dog somehow managed to get him outside for a week before she noticed he was gone. But other than those few embarassing moments, he has lived a good life.

And now he's become the victim of a violent crime. Just another nameless statistic. Well, ok he has a name. Bobo.

I don't know who she made mad...but I'm guessing Bobo wishes he was still sitting on that gift shop shelf back in good ol' Colonial Williamsburg.

One Thousand Gifts

2011-01-03T21:23:00.000-05:00

A new year...a new day to give thanks...linking with Ann at A Holy Experience

this day I am grateful for...

~ Jesus ~

~ written words ~

~ the sound of our piano being played by Kaitlin ~

~ that the only man I've ever kissed has worn my ring for 25 years ~

~ coffee with friends ~

~ new loved ones He has brought into my life last year ~

~ the dishes already done when I come home ~

~ fresh starts ~

~ technology ~

~ our parents wedding photos ~

Someone New

2011-01-03T00:09:00.000-05:00

Now that the holidays are over and I've broken my one and only resolution (only took 11 hours to break it this year...a new personal best!) it's time to share something new around our homestead...

Well, it's not a "thing" really...it's a "he"...and he's not really new, say like a new puppy or a new haircut...he's been around for a few months now...and we like him...not like a new puppy or a new haircut...but in a even better way...

Kaitlin's got herself a fella named Jesse. And I have to admit, they're pretty cute together. So I figured I'd break him in gently to this blogging thing, nothing embarassing or too personal (I'm saving those posts for later) and just put up a sweet picture of the two little lovebirds...

cute together, right? oh...and he washed the dishes yesterday...I think I like him more than Kaitlin now.

Psalm 121

2011-01-02T13:27:00.000-05:00

A Song Of Ascents

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;

he who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

The Lord will keep

your going out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

Dating

2011-01-01T00:29:00.000-05:00

What dating used to look like...

and what dating looks like today...

IMing while sitting 6 inches away from each other...

Changes

2010-12-31T15:11:00.004-05:00

My friend Sue's blog post this afternoon is a wonderful reminder of our unchanging God, specifically His faithfulness. After a year of many changes, great and small, easy and hard, to know that He is unchanging in His EVERY attribute is a tremendous comfort.

The key is keeping our eyes upon Him in the midst of change. When we take our eyes off of Him, we can become like Peter, sinking into choppy waters. Throw in a difficult change, and diverting our eyes from Christ can feel like a millstone fastened around our neck...sinking, sinking.

But if we can stay focused on Him during changes, and rely on Him for strength to handle what comes our way, the changes might still be difficult but we have a Fortress. A Refuge. A Dwelling Place.

With all the changes that come with each new year, what peace can come from knowing the One who never changes. His love for us never changes.

"For I the Lord do not change;"

Malachi 3:6

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

2010-12-29T22:29:00.003-05:00

It's come to this...

...our Christmas tree has a set of mugshots...

cause my decorating skills are crime!

(ta-ta-dum..rimshot)

This year I wasn't exactly Martha Stewart when it came to decorating the house...in fact I wasn't even close. Our tree ended up with what I like to call "the wind swept effect"...also known as...

"Hurricane Buddy came through our living room

and our tree was in its path"

Globs of red tinsel thrown here and there. Tree watered once and only once. Strings of lights sagging. Ornaments hung backwards. Forgotten garland still in the box. And droopy limbs. Oh the droopy limbs!

But worst of all, our cute little country star suffered the most humilating offense...shoved up against the popcorn ceiling.

The kids decorated the tree this year and I didn't notice the star right away. But when I finally did, I asked one of the kids to cut the top branch a smidge and fix the star. And unfortunately I asked when they were all in the living room together. And I didn't name a name.

I left that same afternoon to go out of town for a few days and when I came back guess what?

Our cute little country star. Still shoved.

Now the first couple of days I was home, I was too tired to fix the tree. Then a week passed by. And by then I had forgotten about fixing our cute little country star. And as I write these words there he sits on the top of our Charlie Brown 2.0 tree.

Helpless. Scrunched. Humilated.

We'll be putting the tree out of its misery this weekend. And our cute little country star will find its way back to the storage box where it can stretch out and enjoy the company of the little drummer boy ornament I made in the 3rd grade and the bell with Hayden's preschool picture on it. Packed away for another year.

Until the shoving begins again...ta-ta-dum

A Do-Over, Oh How I Love A Do-Over...and Giveaways!

2010-12-28T23:52:00.004-05:00

***********We Have A Winner!!!*************
Congratulations....Donna!

So...it's been awhile.

Wow, glad to get that one off my chest. Took the bedsheet off this thing and saw how dusty it was...not a pretty sight.

Wondering where this thing might take me this time...trying to find the right fit...who's knows if this one will stick...could look alot different tomorrow.

Been a tough year, could be tougher next year, could be sweeter...but either or, I'm still so thankful for my Savior and His steadfast mercy and grace.

So...I was talking with Kaitlin earlier this evening and we were discussing "love languages". You know, what's your love language? How do you receive/give love? Are you a "words of affirmation" type of gal? Physical touch your thing? How about gifts? And then there's quality time...Now I know that some people swear by them, and others think it's all a bunch of hooey...but we took the test anyway and it turns out that Kaitlin and I share the same love language...gifts.

Big surprise. We're all about the presents, baby.

We love to show love by giving gifts and apparently the only thing that can prick our prickly hearts is a big ol' box of something. Doesn't really matter what's in the box...just that there's a box/gift bag/envelope/canister/plastic shopping bag with our name on it.

And actually it's kind of embarassing...this is how I feel loved? If you bring me a bag of pretzel M&M's I'm yours forever? Heaven help me if Mark bought me a new car...

But the other gifts just don't do it for me. If I want to hear words of affirmation I'll go back to Weight Watchers. And physical touch around our place ranges from wrestling over a bag of Oreos (I won the last round...maybe I should go back to Weight Watchers) to getting fist-bumped by Hayden because I bought him some strings for his ukulele.

So I guess I'll stick to my love language of gifts... receiving and giving... which is why I'm kicking the end of 2010 off with a giveaway!

So, here's the giveaway...

(1) $25 Itunes card

(sheesh...I am the worst photographer in the world!)

What was your favorite gift you GAVE this Christmas?

(thought I was gonna ask you what your love language is,
didn't ya? Ha!)

So get those comments in...the giveaway ends at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, December 29, 2010.

And so I leave you with the immortal words of Detective Kojak himself...

"who loves ya baby?"

Loose Ends Vol. 1 No. 24

2010-06-04T09:03:00.001-04:00

Haven't posted in a few weeks...lots going on around our place...

Kaitlin is home for the summer from college. Our laundry room still hasn't recovered yet from the shock...

Taryn graduated from high school last Friday night and we celebrated with 10 other seniors and their families at a party on Saturday afternoon at our church. We cooked, decorated and set up for two days...then on Wednesday evening at our weekly fellowship meal, the ladies who volunteer in the kitchen found a huge pan of macaroni & cheese we left in the oven...we were wondering why the kitchen smelled kinda funny...

Hayden is getting his driver's license next week. His permanent, legal, "can drive without his mother fussing at him from the passenger seat" license. Ugh.

And then finally, Taryn leaves on Sunday, day after tomorrow, for a year long mission trip to Honduras. She will be putting off college for a year to serve in the mission field, along side our missionaries from our church. She'll be assisting with the teams that come in for weekly trips, helping around the IMB property, and going into a local school to help teach basic English. She'll come home in November for the holidays and then head back until May.

Please pray for Taryn and the ministry of IMB (International Mission Builders)!

The Honeymoon Part 3

2010-06-04T08:38:00.001-04:00

As we pulled into the parking lot of the ski resort that clear April morning, one thought began to run through my mind...

"I have to put on ski pants"

Mark and I had finally gotten to our honeymoon destination, after spending the first night in a hotel room that not only came with complimentary shampoo and a shower cap, but was also generous enough to provide a free delousing kit.

Earlier, as we drove up the mountain, the passenger side window had decided it had had enough and it just wasn't going to roll back up. No matter how many times I begged it. And with no way of fixing it, we decided to chance it. We found a parking space that was a little secluded and found our way to lodge.

I feel the need to mention at this point that Mark and I had never skied. Never. We had both grown up 10 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico and Mark had water-skied as a teenager, but my size 11's (and that's not a typo) had never graced a pair of fiber-glass planks. Ever. And so, realizing our lack of experience on skis, we decided that the best course of action would be to enroll in a four hour skiing class.

Now I also feel the need to mention at this point that while we grew up 10 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico, we also grew up living at sea level. The highest point in our part of the world was a mound of slag my grandfather perpetually kept in his driveway.

And now we were standing on the top of a mountain at about 6 million feet above sea level. And I had gained 10 pounds from all the stress of our wedding. I started gasping for air walking from the lodge to the bunny slope.

And then he appeared. Our 70 year old former Olympic skier/now instructor came striding towards us. Fit as fiddle with a skier's tan to match. He wore snappy sunglasses with a fabulous cord holding them securely around his turtlenecked neck. Pearly white teeth that matched his pearly white ski pants. Bright red ski vest and black ski boots. The man looked like he had stepped out of a Pepsodent commercial.

15 minutes into the lesson I asked "when do we get a break?" Pepsodent man was not amused.

I gave it a valiant effort *cough, cough* but at the 45 minute mark I found myself sitting alone under a pine tree along side the bunny slope. At that point Pepsodent man told Mark he couldn't give him a refund on my half of the class fee. So I spent the rest of the morning, watching Pepsodent man, my new husband and three 7 year olds learn how to fall, how to stop, how to turn...well, you get it...

We ended the class, went to lunch and just when I thought we might forget about actually skiing and maybe go hang out in the gift shop, my new husband said, "Let's find the ski lift!"

Coming up...Day 2's afternoon spent in the Ski Lodge ER...

Are My Ears Burning? Is That A Giveaway I Hear?

2010-05-07T15:55:00.007-04:00

***********We Have A Winner!***********
Congrats...Heather! aka Ham1299 :)
Confession time...

I don't own an Ipod or MP3 player...I don't even own a Walkman or Discman...and I'm really embarassed by it.

Our kids own Ipods, and I think Mark might have grabbed an old Shuffle from one of the kids rooms recently, but alas I am Ipod/MP3 poor.

But it's not because I don't like music...I love music, lots of different kinds of music (I'm listening to the Pride & Prejudice soundtrack on Youtube right now as I type). I'm just afraid of these...

yes, I'm afraid of earbuds.

And I've got good reason...

Kaitlin came home for her fall break from college and as usual she brought with her every possible item from her dorm room that could be shoved into a washing machine. As since I missed her soooo much I decided to help her out with her laundry. And around the 11th or 12th load, as I was turning out her pockets, I found a pair of earbuds. And having never used a pair before, I got curious, found my laptop, plugged in and stuck those cute little things right in my ears.

And I spent the rest of the week, using the cute little things whenever I got on the laptop. Sunday came and it was time for Kaitlin to drive back to school. And as she was finishing packing her car the earbuds sprung to mind. I ran into the house and grabbed the cute little things and said, "Kaitlin, here's your earbuds, I borrowed them, I hope that was okay." and Kaitlin turned to me with a quizzical look on her face and said, "Earbuds? Those aren't mine. Oh wait! I remember now, I found those in the bathroom before I left to come home and I must have forgotten to turn them in to 'Lost & Found'. I don't know who's those belong too."

The bathroom on her dorm floor. Shared by 20 or 30 other girls. Found somewhere (I don't want to know where) in the bathroom.

Ugh...

So after I had been on the antibiotics for a few days, I decided that I would buy my own pair of earbuds...old school style...

I might get that discman after all...

So to celebrate antibiotics, music and all you wonderful moms out there...I'm having a giveaway!

here's the giveaway...

(1) $25 Itunes card

(sheesh...I am the worst photographer in the world!)

and here's the question...

"what kind of music did/does your mom enjoy?"

My mom? Elvis...

I remember her sitting on the floor in front of the television
when I was little girl, watching "Elvis Live from Hawaii"
...she really loved that guy!

So hurry up and get your comment in...

giveaway ends on Saturday, May 8th, 2010 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern

"Defender (Call Upon The Name)" - Thomas Road Baptist Church

2010-05-06T20:46:00.003-04:00

Love this new song, written by Travis Doucette, a student at Liberty University. And at the 4:30 minute mark, who is that beautiful brunette in the glasses? I think I might know her...

It's Another Random Dozen

2010-05-04T23:38:00.003-04:00

Time for another Random Dozen...click the delicious looking doughnuts to find Linda's blog...

1. What was the last thing about which you procrastinated?
Last week's Random Dozen...its still on my Edit Posts page

2. How long does it take you to fall asleep, and do you sleep through the night?
I haven't sleep through the night since I turned 40...what is it about that number? can't sleep through the night, can't see signs when I'm driving at night, can't remember what I left the room for, can't remember to finish blog post questions...

3. Which decade would you choose to exemplify your favorite fashion styles?
I love the 1940's but my daughter told me recently that I'm beginning to dress like a bohemian (I'm thinking the fake Birkenstocks and the peasant blouse I bought at a flea market a couple of weeks ago might be pushing it a little)

4. What is your personal best dish to feed a crowd?
I make a pretty good mac and cheese...worst dish to feed a crowd would have to be the whole pig we roasted in the ground for three days at Thanksgiving a few years ago...our entire extended family got food poisoning..."Black Friday" took on a whole new meaning for us that year.

5. Are you an impulse shopper? What was the last thing you bought on impulse?
6 toothbrushes (we're a family of five), a bag of onion hamburger rolls, a four pack of Mocha Starbucks and a roll of duct tape. I went into the store to buy a Sunday newspaper. Which I forgot.

6. What is one wish you have for your own funeral?
That when they pass by my open casket, people will say..."she looked so young, you would have never known she was 103"

7. If it's true that joy is in found in the simple things in life, what does your joy look like today?
Mark, Kaitlin, Taryn, and Hayden

8. What is your favorite type of bread?
if its got yeast, comes in a twist-tie bag, hard crust, soft crust, hot out of the oven, or day old...I like it.

9. What trait do you fear developing the most? (Laziness, greediness, grumpiness, etc.)
bitterness...with unforgiveness a close second

10. What trait would you like most to develop?
wisdom

11. Which room in your house best reflects your personality? Why?
our family room...comfortable furniture, family pictures, candles...I'm pretty laid-back...I think its the fake Birkenstocks...

12. How do you maintain balance in your life regarding, work, family, church, other organizations and activities, and blogging?
I use a long pole...

The Honeymoon Part 2

2010-05-04T22:16:00.008-04:00

I must have misplaced this thing...

The Beginning of the longest 3 days of my life...

In the short span of about 36 hours Mark and I got married/had our reception/opened gifts with family/repacked our already packed suitcases with opened gifts/convinced parents to instead bring opened gifts when they came for Christmas/repacked suitcases for the third time/cleaned out overnight bag that was now filled with whole box of corn flakes that a certain unnamed family member thought would be a "cute" surprise/said tearful goodbyes to family (except for certain unnamed family member who put said cereal in overnight bag)/flew 3000 miles/and finally, drove 1 1/2 hours from airport to our lovely newlywed apartment...whew.

(and the name of our 30 unit newlywed apartment complex where we would live for the next two years? "The Snooty Fox"...not Snotty...Snooty...included in our rent each month was the unobstructed view of a cariacture of a fox wearing a crown...a fox, by the way, who was a little misguided in his snootiness, considering the fact that he was drawn on the outside wall of a 35 year old beige colored laundry room, along side a "Clean Up After Pet" sign).

Having reached our newlywed dwelling at a very late hour and with another very long drive ahead of us, we quickly repacked...and began our star-filled drive into the night...

Scene fading from car whisking into the night...scene opening to the repacked previously corn flake-filled overnight bag sitting by itself on the bedroom floor in the newlywed apartment...the bag I wouldn't realize was missing until we were 5 hours away.

You gals know the type of bag I'm talking about...make-up, unmentionables, curling iron, toiletries...all the basic staples of newly married gals...way back when we were still shaving our legs...

We arrived in the wee hours of the morning, to check into our reserved room. The reserved room in our honeymoon package. The reserved room with the beautiful view of the mountains. The reserved room that forgot to include in its brochure description "every room complete with mini-bar, jacuzzi, and unknown substance-stained walls!"

It was shortly after we had spent 15 minutes discussing the pros & cons of staying the night in our 'honeymoon/shoulda had a big red "Quarantine" sign on the door' hotel room, that I asked Mark, "did you bring up my overnight bag?" Mark: "the one with the corn flakes?" me: "yes, but I emptied the corn flakes back at my mother's, is the bag still in the car?" Mark: with a look of confusion "you wanted to bring that bag?"

That night I slept on my coat in the bathtub.

Dawn of Day 2 of the longest 3 days of my life...

For our honeymoon, we had decided to go to a skiing resort near Reno, Nevada called Mount Rose. Beautiful scenary. Lakes, Alpine forests, snow-covered mountains, ski chalets...truly like a postcard. And on the drive up the mountain, it got a little stuffy in the car (Mark's beloved Corvette) and so I thought I would roll the electric-powered window down on my side. But then it got a little too chilly. So I thought I would roll the electric-powered window up. Pressed the button. Nothing happened. Pressed it again. Still no window. And after a minute or two of pressing the window button as casually as I could fake it, Mark says to me, "hon, could you roll the window up? it's getting kinda cold in here" I nervously giggled and said "teehee, teehee, it won't go up...teehee...teehee" (unfortunately I really giggled like that, I sounded like a deranged squirrel the first 6 months we were married)

At this point we were nearly at the top of the mountain, having driven on one curvy road for about 45 minutes. Mark found a small overlook area to pull into and tried his best to get the window up with the tools he had...a pair of tweezers and some dental floss that were at the bottom of my purse. But it wasn't happening. The window just wouldn't budge. So we decided to forge on ahead to the ski resort and take a chance with the window...after all the morning sky was bright blue with not a cloud in sight...what could happen?

Coming up...The Afternoon of Day 2 of the longest 3 days of my life...

The Honeymoon Part 1

2010-04-23T00:03:00.003-04:00

I recently posted about my one and only marriage proposal and the true story of how, in course of one short week, I ruined what could have been the most romantic night of my life. The Proposal Part 1 and The Proposal Part 2 are a testimony to what can happen when you don't keep your big mouth shut.

I took full responsibility for the disaster that was my one and only marriage proposal. I was completely and utterly to blame. But I'm not gonna cop to this one...oh no, not this time...it was all Mark's fault...oh yeah, that's right...I'm talking about...

The Honeymoon

Now our wedding was wonderful...we were married in the church Mark grew up in, exchanged our vows in front of a couple hundred guests (some of them we actually knew), we had a lovely reception with dancing and food...a really special and memorable day.

And then we left for the honeymoon.

Mark and I were relocating to California for his new job, and so the day after our wedding, we boarded a plane and flew to our new home in the lovely San Joaquin Valley. And since it was a new job, Mark only had a few days for a honeymoon. No matter, we had that post wedding glow...we didn't need a long honeymoon...we had each other...whatever time off we had didn't matter...we were just happy being happy...together... *sigh*

Looking back I think we had jet-lag.

We stopped at our new apartment to repack our bags and head out to our honeymoon destination...Mount Rose near Reno, for three fun-filled days of snow skiing. We got to our apartment pretty late and since we wanted to get on the road as soon as possible, we repacked quickly and skipped hand in hand downstairs to our car...I told you we were jet-lagged...

And as we drove into that cold early April night, looking out into the star filled sky of the Sierra-Nevada, the thought never occured to me to ask my new husband if he had grabbed my quickly repacked bag from the bedroom of our new apartment. The quickly repacked bag that contained every single toiletry/make-up/undergarment item I owned...not to mention some unmentionables...I guess I shouldn't mention them.

And that was only the beginning of the longest 3 days of my life.

Another Random Dozen

2010-04-21T00:00:00.005-04:00

Time for another Random Dozen!

1. Ever had any run-ins with the "library police?"
No, but I have had several run-ins with the "video rental police". They keep calling and wanting their copy of "Smokey & The Bandit 4" back.

2. Do you have a special organizational plan and place for wrapping paper, gift bags, etc., or do you just purchase whatever you need as you give gifts?
Since the majority of my gift-wrapping happens in the car on the way to whatever event I'm going to, I'm going to have to answer "as needed"

3. Have you ever been in (first-hand witness) a natural disaster?
My husband's cousin's 3rd wedding.

4. What's your favorite Barry Manilow song?
I knew this day would eventually arrive...so I'm coming clean..."Weekend in New England"...ugh

5. What's the best costume you've ever worn?
I wouldn't exactly call it my best costume...

yes, that is a garbage bag...and no, I don't know what I was thinking...

6. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
does typing in a word on the google search bar to see how it comes up count as using a dictionary?

7. What's your favorite breakfast food?
Shoney's Breakfast Buffet...if it's under a sneeze guard, it's my favorite.

8. Have you ever purchased anything from an infomercial?
got something in the mail this week actually, the laptop lap pillow thing...the one with the convient cup holder and flexible reading light! I got 2 laptop lap pillow things for the amazing low, low price of only $29.95!

9. Have you ever crawled through a window?
Why? What have you heard? I don't have any idea what you're talking about...window? what window?

10. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Absolutely...even if it takes a year or two to realize it

11. How man pairs of jeans do you own?
none in the size I wanna be...

12. If someone were going to bake a cake to honor/represent you, what would it be? (Think creatively, like Duff and Crew on "Ace of Cakes.")
a cake in the shape of Frisch's Big Boy

And What Did You Do This Weekend...?

2010-04-20T13:37:00.005-04:00

Well, this year just keeps getting more and more interesting to say the absolute least...

I'm writing this post with my feet propped up on my husband's hospital bed (hey, a gal's gotta be comfy when she posts...)

We've been here a few days, nothing life-threatening, just waiting for test results and another 25 second visit from the doctor (it's amazing how quickly they come in and out of a room).

Thankfully, he is comfortable and he's ready to go home. And we're ready for him to come home too...

Number 12 Was My Favorite Aisle

2010-04-16T16:29:00.011-04:00

********* We Have A Winner!*********

Congratulations...Mary!

I have been reminiscing about my favorite grocery store all day...

(I need to get out of the house more)

Anyway I've been thinking about the grocery store today and how in a strange way I was really connected to it, especially growing up.

I thought about the produce guy who was a friend of my grandparents (he and my grandpa were in "the lodge" together). He was THE vegetable & fruit man. His picture hung over the swinging door that lead to the storeroom and he had a way with the sprayer that nary a drop of water ever fell to the floor.

His name was Pinky.

Pinky was a proud man. He stood about 5'3" and always wore a tie under his green apron. He sometimes forgot to wear a shirt (too many unwashed apples) but he never forgot a tie. Pinky loved to talk about the latest "in season" vegetable, the exotic locations that the fruits were shipped in from (like Sacramento) and how he held the grapefruit stacking record for 6 and 1/4 years...until, he liked to say, he "was robbed at Nationals in '74!"

I thought about how each Thanksgiving, my grandmother would take me, my brother, and my cousin to pick our turkey. We would find our frozen Butterball and then take it to the checkout lane.

And then we would have our picture taken. In line. With the cashier. Posing with the turkey.

I thought about standing by the front door of the grocery store in my gold double knit polyester band uniform (in the afternoon, in Florida, in the middle of August) trying to collect enough money for NEW gold double knit polyester band uniforms.

I thought about the first time I got sent to the grocery store by myself (I was eight) for a head of lettuce for "Taco Night" and came home with broccoli. "Taco Night" was never the same again. Broccoli and refried beans made a terrible combination...

I thought about the second time I got sent to grocery store by myself (I was thirteen, I guess they figured I could tell my foods apart by then) for a pound of hamburger and got distracted by the display of Tiger Beat magazines and ended up buying the one with "Shaun Cassidy's Favorite Love Songs of All Times!" on the cover. No meatloaf that night but I knew what song to play on the 8-track if he ever stopped by...

Which brings me to this...since I can't shop at my favorite grocery store from childhood, and that kinda makes me a little sad, why not have a giveaway!

so here's the giveaway...

(1) $25 VISA gift card

(sorry no picture this time)

go to the grocery store and make some memories...

maybe have your picture taken next to the coffee bean grinder...

here's what you need to do...just leave a comment to the question below (just one comment per person please, and if you leave a potty mouth comment a.k.a. something inappropirate, it'll get deleted) and when time is up, I'll ask Pinky to pick a number...no, wait...he's practicing his stacking for this year's Nationals...I'll just pick a number out of my recycled grocery bag...

and here's the question...

"what kind of shopper are you?"

do you run in and run out?

take your time and visit with folks?

coupons or no coupons?

Giveaway ends on Saturday, April 17th at 11:00 p.m.

Hurry and get your comment in!

Random Dozen

2010-04-14T00:16:00.003-04:00

It's time once again for a Random Dozen! Click on the doughnuts to see Linda's blog!

1. How do you feel about "Gladiator" sandals, also called "Roman" or "Jesus" sandals? A fashion yea or nay?

Depends on who's wearing them...my 20 year old daughter? sure, cute shoes! my 93 year old grandmother? Eh...notsomuch

2. What is your favorite pizza?

The one the Dominos guy brings to my front door

3. There are plans in the works to sell roughly 1,000 items from Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas. This means you could buy Picard's chair for your family room. If not a Star Trek item, what prop, background, set, etc. from what TV or movie would you buy if you could?
[Ex: Hurley's "I Love my Shih tzu" shirt from LOST, the plantation home "Tara" from Gone With the Wind, or Tracy's tambourine from the Partridge Family.]

Considering my 17 year old daughter recently asked me to glue on her Spock ears, I'm guessing anything remotely connected to Star Trek. I see a comic book convention and a son-in-law dressed like a Wookie in my future.

4. Name a local food or restaurant that your area is famous for.

We have Ronie's. And then there's Connie's. Oh, and The Swamp. All three had Sunday breakfast buffets. The Swamp even has a guy who walks up and down the median of Main Street, holding a sign that says "$9.99 Breakfast Buffet at The Swamp" He usually has the arrow pointing in the wrong direction.

5. What is your current favorite snack?

Anything that includes the words "Hydrolyzed Corn Protein" under its list of ingredients

6. Hypothetical: You are required to be a reality show contestant. Which show would you choose based on your probability of success? (You cannot choose "none.")

A. Dancing with the Stars
B. Biggest Loser
C. Survivor

How about "Surviving a Dance with a Big Loser"?

7. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being uninhabitable and 10 being cleanliness that meets the standards of OCD, how clean is your vehicle's interior?

It's about as clean as it usually gets...except for the 16 buckets of sand my teenagers left in it from the beach

8. It doesn't feel like Spring until _________.

until I take my first Claritin

9. Something that made you laugh really hard recently is ____.
my 15 year old son came into the kitchen, and poured himself a huge bowl of cereal right before dinner...me: son, we're about to eat dinner. him: *sigh* I'll eat that too.

10. Tell me about a goal you're working toward.
getting off the computer before midnight

11. Share a thought-provoking or inspiring quote this week.

you never have to apologize for doing the right thing

12. Name one thing that you do as a parent that you absolutely know will make your kids happy. If you're not a parent, feel free to substitute "friend" or nomenclature that works for you.

I don't try to talk like, dress like or act like their generation...especially in front of their friends. oh, and I let them eat cookies...

The Proposal-Part 2

2010-04-13T23:12:00.007-04:00

When he asked me...as tears streamed down my cheeks, I whispered softly...

"yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!"

I got a bowl of clam chowder, a Super Bird sandwich with thousand island dressing and a Mr. Pibb...

What? He asked me if I wanted to go to Denny's...like I was gonna pass that up. There's only so many Filet O'Fish sandwiches a gal can stand.

So Mark was home on his work break and I was itching to get a proposal...in my 19 year old mind it was now or never...I wanted a November wedding like there was no tomorrow and it was March already. I had six months to plan a wedding and I wasn't about to let a little thing like a marriage proposal get in the way.

Why did I want a November wedding you ask? Well, I had a very good reason. No, there wasn't any special anniversaries or family memories connected to that particular month, other than Thanksgiving (and that's a whole other story, when we poisoned half our immediate family by serving them dirt pig for Thanksgiving dinner). No, the reason I had made perfect sense to me.

It was before December. And January. And February. Starting to see a pattern?

I wanted to marry Mark. That was my reason. And he was not cooperating.

But little did I know, he had a plan. I just happened to ruin it.

We came to the Friday night before he would be leaving for another three weeks. He told me was taking me to a French restaurant on the beach near the causeway...I think it was called "Pepe LePews"...actually I can't remember the name, for goodness sake it's been 25 years...anyway, it was very fancy and very French.

Escargot, crab bisque, lobster and cham...um, sodas...

We started our main course and that's when I decided that is was the perfect time to let Mark know that I thought we should really consider getting married in November. Subtle, thy name is not Deb. And so after a few minutes of whispered arguing, the bomb was dropped. Right into my linen napkin covered lap. And it went a little something like this...

me: whispering, leaning forward across the table, "I just don't understand why we can't get married in November!"
Mark: whispering, leaning forward across the table, "I haven't even asked you yet!"
me: whispering, leaning forward across the table, "well at this rate I don't think you ever will!"
Mark: speaking as clear as a bell, and sitting straight up in his chair, "I was going to propose to you tonight"

Notice the word "was" in his last sentence...

We never got to the creme' brulee.
(don't fret...there's a happy ending)

The last thing I remember at the restaurant was the waiter standing next to me, asking me if I would like my lobster to go...I guess even fancy French restaurants have those styro-foam containers...so with a quivering bottom lip I mumbled, "ok".

No moon-lit walk on the beach, no handsome young man on bended knee, no violins playing...just a very. quiet. ride. back to my parents house. Of course the quiet was periodically interrupted by my wailing. But nevertheless, a quiet ride back home.

Saturday. No proposal. Easter Sunday. No proposal. But then again a proposal would have been a little difficult considering neither one of us was speaking to the other. And then it came time to go the airport to say goodbye for another three weeks.

As we waited downstairs at Mark's parents house, he ushered me into a small office his mother kept next to a guest bedroom. As we sat on the small couch, he asked me if I wanted my Easter present. I jumped a little when he spoke, not from excitement but because I hadn't heard his voice in 48 hours and it spooked me a little. Anyway, out came the little black box and finally the words I had been so eager (and a little crazed) to hear. My one and only marriage proposal. And it went a little something like this...

Mark: "would you marry me?"
me: "I guess"

No, not really...but I'm gonna keep that part to myself...

The Proposal-Part 1

2010-04-12T21:29:00.015-04:00

I co-teach a young women's Sunday school class, along side my wonderful sister/friend Sue, (you can find her blog here at Who I Am Instead ). Recently we have been studying the Book of Ruth and this past Sunday morning, we looked at "The Proposal". In Ruth 3 we find Ruth resting at the feet of Boaz, while he sleeps on the threshing floor.

9 He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer." 10 And he said, "May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear, I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

An impossible love story, made possible by a sovereign God. Brought out of the ashes of a life that had been taken to the brink of utter desolation. A pagen woman, sojourning to a foreign land, widowed and living with her bitter mother-in-law. And then she meets her kinsman redeemer. As John Piper calls Boaz, "a God-saturated man".

Amazing.

As Sue started the lesson Sunday morning, she asked our class if anyone would like to share their "proposal" story. Our group of young women are such a blessing. As a couple of girls shared their proposal stories, with smiles on their faces, you could sense the joy and happiness each one had in the telling of her own love story. Sweet, precious stories of walks on the beach, recreations of "first dates", handsome young men on bended knee...

And so I wanted to share with you the story of my one and only marriage proposal...I can tell you're on the edge of your seat...was it a flurry of poetic words like those found in Ruth? maybe a moonlit walk? surely there had to be a teary-eyed, breathless "yes, I will marry you!"...

Eh...notsomuch...

Now I need to preface this by saying that everything that went wrong with my one and only marriage proposal was completely my fault. Completely. My. Fault. I take full responsibility for the utter wreckage that was my one and only marriage proposal that thankfully, ultimately ended with a spring wedding.

But I still blame Mark.

We had been dating for three years. Steady. No breaks, no break-ups. We saw each other every single day. But during our third year of dating, Mark began working as a contractor and he was on the road three weeks out of every month. So our time together when he was home was very special and meaningful to us. We always put alot of thought into our "dates". Those priceless moments spent together... waiting in line at the $1 theatre to see "Raiders" for the 23rd time, watching "Magnum P.I." with his parents in their living room, endless loops around the bowling alley parking lot...*sigh*

During those first three years, we had a few discussions about our future together (they consisted mostly of me dropping subtle hints like, "you know what I'd love for Christmas? A subscription to Bride magazine!") But during one break in March, when Mark was home at Easter I just felt it in my bones. We were really going to have a serious talk. You know the kind of talk I mean. Marriage, family, a life shared together for all eternity. A serious talk, like most 22 year olds and 19 year olds have together. And it went a little something like this...

(we're sitting in his blue TransAm, Reo Speedwagon is singing something about "fightin a feelin" on the Kenwood car stereo and my pink Casio watchband just broke...it's 1985)

me: "great, I loved that watch...hey babe, do you ever think about our future?"
Mark: "you wanna go to Denny's? It's clam chowder night."

End of discussion.

I know what your thinking, not off to a great start...but wait it gets oh so much better...

Tomorrow: Part 2 of my one and only marriage proposal...a French restaurant, a little black box and a lobster in a to-go box all conspire together to make a night of misery.

Saturday Morning

2010-04-10T11:08:00.007-04:00

My Saturday morning so far has included the following events:

1. Getting up late (9:00 a.m. this morning...and when did that happen? when did I start considering 9:00 a.m. late? probably on the same day I uttered the words "pocketbook" and "I need a sweater to take this chill off" )

2. Upon waking up, it took me a good 4 minutes to figure out what day it is. And I still got it wrong.

3. Walked into the kitchen to get coffee, and heard groaning and feet shuffling, turned around to see who was making all the racket and then *sighing* realized it's me.

4. Listened to my husband talk for 10 minutes about the enormous size of one of the eggs our chickens layed this morning. He even got out the eggs from yesterday and compared them.

5. Spent 20 minutes saying, "Taryn, it's 10:15, get up, Tayrn, it's 10:20, get up, Taryn, it's 10:30, get up..."

6. Was asked by Taryn, after finally getting up at 11:05, "why'd you wake me up so early?"
(see #1)

7. When asked "what do you feel like doing today?" the thought, "I wonder how many episodes of season 5 can I squeeze in today?" was the first thing that popped into my mind. Followed by my wonderful, egg-loving husband saying, "Please, no "Lost" today." How'd he do that? I guess mumbling, "they have to go back, they have to go back" in my sleep last night might have been a clue. Plus the glazed over look on my face probably didn't help.

8. And finally, ate 16 pieces of turkey bacon for breakfast...but no eggs. I just couldn't. I felt sorry for the chicken.

April Showers Bring May Flowers...And A Giveaway!

2010-04-08T08:56:00.011-04:00

***********We Have A Winner!**********

Congratulations #5....Amanda!

Since Spring has officially sprung around these parts (I know this to be true because most of my friends either have a tissue box strapped to their side or sound like Snuffaluffagus...one friend even made one of those candy necklaces out of antihistamine tablets) and because most everything on our porch and garage is covered in yellow pollen...it's giveaway time!

Everything around these parts in is full bloom and I've heard talk about folks getting their gardens ready for planting (although Mark finally put his foot down about a garden...every year I say I want a vegetable garden...and every year my wonderful husband helps me put in a garden...and every year I stay interested about 2 weeks and then the garden goes to pot...so last week when I said, "you know, I'm thinking about putting some toma..." that's as far as I got before he cut me off and said, "no way").

so here's the giveaway...

(1) $25 Lowe's Giftcard

buy yourself some vegetable plants, or some petunias, or a set of gardening tools...

or a new hammer for your sweet husband who finally said no to being a part of the senseless massacre of a bunch of helpless tomato plants.

here's what you need to do...just leave a comment to the question below (just one comment per person please, and if you leave a potty mouth comment a.k.a. something inappropirate, it'll get deleted) and when time is up, I'll ask my personal gardener, Mark, to pick a number...no, wait...he quit...I'll just pick a number out of my cute straw gardening hat that I never wear...

and the question...
"What is your experience with gardening?"

The good, the bad and the ugly!

The giveaway ends Friday, April 9th at 9:00 p.m. Eastern so hurry and get those comments in!

Random Dozen

2010-04-07T11:05:00.003-04:00

Time for another Random Dozen! Click the doughnuts to check out Linda's blog!

1. Define a great relationship.
Dorothy and Sophia...sad, I know...but I watched a little too much "Lifetime" channel when I was a young mother at home.

2. Why is it called a "drive-through" if you have to stop? (Real question: What was the last food/drink you purchased at a drive-through?)
I pulled through "The Pitt Stop" (yes that's with two t's...and the store is shaped like a barn) for a sausage dog and a 32 oz. Dr. Pepper...for breakfast.

3. As I type this, the Butler Bulldogs are getting ready to play in the NCAA championship game. Every Hoosier is hysterical about this except me. So in honor of the Bulldogs ... what is your favorite breed of dog? (I tried.)
the kind that doesn't pee in the house

4. If you had to move to a state besides the one you currently live in, where would you move?
Montana. I also would pick Montana as a name for a child, the kind of minivan I used to drive and my favorite US quarter.

5. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?
the glamour, the fame, the fortune...who knew the damage it would do to me as an adult?

6. Who's the funniest person you know?
my granny, Phyl...she could make crocheting funny

7. Did you get enough sleep last night?
Considering I watched 11 episodes of "Lost" on Netflix last night, I'm guessing "No"

8. What's the first thing you thought about this morning?
"I'm gonna get fired" (I woke up late...see question #7)

9. Grilled or Fried? --HONESTLY
I live in the South. I ate fried celery at our last church potluck.

10. Are you afraid of the dark?
no, but I am afraid of the small family of trolls who live under my bed (I had a mean aunt who liked to tell scary stories before bedtime)

11.When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
not sure exactly what I wanted to be, but I knew whatever I became as an adult, it had to include the following: tree climbing, hole digging and fort building...and amazingly those three activities were listed in my current job description!

12. If you had one word to describe yourself , what would you choose?
today? splotchy...

Loose Ends No.1 Vol. 23

2010-04-06T09:20:00.003-04:00

I'm staring at 14 inch tall chocolate rabbit as I write...with missing ears.

I've been trying for the last day or two to redesign my blog on my own...I've looked at countless backgrounds, clipart, banner makers...and I've realized something about myself. I need to use a pre-made blog. Click, click, click and you're done. I'm not a "web-designer/graphic artist/whatever they're called" kind of gal. Even though I want to be :(

I've eaten so many eggs this past weekend...deviled, boiled, saladed (is that a word?), casseroled (how about that one?), and scrambled that I do believe if I got a mirror back there, I'd see some tail feathers. Mark did ask me earlier about the red spiky thing sprouting on the top of my head.

I just ignored him.

Why the long pause between posts? Life, I guess...some things got pushed front and center...some things got stored on a shelf...and some things got sold in a yard sale. I hope to be a more faithful blogger going forward.

For the first time in 20 years of mothering, I didn't prepare Easter baskets for my kids...and this afternoon, two days later, I heard about it. I did buy them a treat (the previously mentioned ear-less bunny) but no baskets. But after the tongue-lashing I received today...next year...baskets for everybody!!! (Taryn just forced me to write that last sentence...she threatened to make me eat a purple Peep)

I've started couponing again...in the past I've gotten a little carried away with stockpiling deals. How many tubes of toothpaste can a family of five go through in a year? I don't think 93 is the correct answer...

The other day, I was so distracted in the kitchen, that I put our hot coffee pot in the refrigerator...and then spent 10 minutes looking for it.

debseveryday

2010-04-05T22:24:00.002-04:00

A new day, a new look...

Loose Ends No.1 Vol. 22

2010-02-19T08:44:00.006-05:00

*tap, tap, tap*...is this thing on?

Sheesh, where'd all these cobwebs come from? Guess I'll take off the dusty sheet that's been covering up my blog...*cough, cough*

So I started watching Lost. There I said it. I didn't want to admit that for some reason, but I just finished watching Season 1 (I'm always behind the times...I didn't start wearing Izod shirts until 1995...they were the height of fashion in 1983) We turned off our cable about 5 or 6 months ago but we have Netflix to watch movies and the like...and the girls were always talking about it...and I started reading other bloggers that talked about it...and well, okay, I tried one episode...just one! I promise that was it! Just one! But I soon found myself watching another, and then another...

I'm gonna start Season 2 today...maybe someone will explain the polar bear...

The Aging Process...Ain't It Fun?

2010-01-19T20:14:00.006-05:00

Signs I'm Getting Older...

1. I spent this afternoon running errands and became so engrossed in the conversation I was having with myself, that I ended up two blocks from home before I realized I was supposed to be going back to work.

2. Yesterday I wanted to take a nap at 10:00 a.m.

3. Lately I have started *grunting* when I get out a chair...*groaning* when I get up from a lying position...and *sighing* when I have to go back for what I forgot...

4. "that'll give me indigestion", "turn it down!", and "what'd you say?" have become my new catch phrases.

5. I've begun comparison shopping for fiber suppliments.

6. I want my bathroom remodel to include one of those tubs with a door.

7. My pink duster/muumuu has suddenly become "too flashy".

8. I bought a pair of navy knee-hi's last week.

9. While in a hospital waiting room a few weeks ago, I asked the receptionist if it was okay if I turned up "Matlock".

10. I've already forgotten what I wrote for #1

Psalm 67

2010-01-17T00:00:00.003-05:00

Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us.

that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!

The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us.

God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!

Loose Ends No.1 Vol. 21

2010-01-16T11:28:00.002-05:00

Our kitchen table is piled up with clothes, blankets, pillows, toiletries, books and one stuffed penguin named Ping...Kaitlin is packing up to go back to school...her Christmas break went by too quickly...

Taryn had her wisdom teeth pulled yesterday...ice packs and mashed potatoes have become her new best friends...I did have to take the little silver bell away from her after she rang it for 45 minutes nonstop...

Hayden saved up his allowance and is buying a ukelele today...it's shaped like a pineapple...he asked me yesterday if I knew the words to "Tiny Bubbles".

Our Bassett hound, Daisy, also had surgery this week (she gets lumps...no one can explain it, not even the vet...*sigh*) She has a couple of places shaved and stitched...Kaitlin said we'll tell everyone she got into a fight and "you should have seen the other dog"...I don't think that will fly though, considering she jumps when the refrigerator door opens...

First Giveaway Of 2010!

2010-01-09T10:28:00.008-05:00

**********We Have A Winner!**********

Congratulations....Mary!

(Comments Are Now Closed!)

Finally home...

My dad is home recovering from his stay in the hospital and from surgery. I'm so thankful for the prayers, calls, messages and comments. Life is about each other, caring and concern for one another, and I have been immensely blessed by the people that the Lord has placed in my path.

So 2010 is here...why not start the year off with a Giveaway!

***Confetti falling from the ceiling, whistles blowing, horns tooting, applause applause***

If you check out my blog list (that's that long list of websites on the right side of my blog), one of my favorite blogs is The Pioneer Woman. Her name is Ree Drummond and I found her blog through a couple of clicks of my mouse one Friday afternoon a year or so ago. She has a great blog/website with a lot of amazing pictures, recipes, and stories about her life as a rancher's wife and mother of four. Ree also wrote a cookbook this year and it's great! Her recipes are accompanied step by step with pictures and we have tried out quite a few here at home...

So here's the Giveaway...

(1) One copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks Cookbook

and because you can't really enjoy a new cookbook unless you actually cook something...

(1) $25 Walmart Gift Card

use it to buy a new sifter, or some asparagus...or, if you're like me, a digital kitchen timer because you haven't been able to figure out the timer on the stove you've had for four years...

or the timer on the microwave either...

So here's what you need to do...just leave a comment to the question below (just one comment per person please, and if you leave a potty mouth comment a.k.a. something innappropirate, it'll get deleted) and when time is up, I'll ask my personal chef, Jacques, to pick a number...no, wait...he's got the week off...I'll just pick a number out of his chef's hat...

So here's the question...

"What did you eat too much of this past holiday season?"

My answer? Spinach dip...morning, noon and night...

The giveaway ends Sunday January 10th at 9:00 p.m. Eastern so hurry and get those comments in!

January 2nd....Good Grief...I Missed New Year's Day

2010-01-02T14:17:00.004-05:00

With a moment of wireless as I sit with my parents and Mark in my dad's hospital room, I wanted to write a quick post...

First, Happy New Year! (I know, I know, that was yesterday...but the only person other than Mark that I got to say it to yesterday was some lady with a black eye that I shared a elevator ride with on the way down to the hospital cafeteria...I was afraid to ask about the eye...)

My dad is doing well. He is scheduled for a procedure on Monday morning and prayerfully he will be released later in the week. He is in good spirits and the hospital staff has been a blessing, so kind and helpful.

The Lord is so good, even in these moments of hardship and trial. He is my steadfast Rock, my loving Redeemer, my peaceful Rest.

Linking Up with 2nd Cup of Coffee

2009-12-30T13:58:00.011-05:00

this is my first attempt at linking to someone else's blog post...so here goes...

1. Do you find it gross to share drinks with family? Friends?

all I can say is...yuck

2. What have you learned this year? (You didn't see a question of that weight coming, did you? At least not for #2.)

that my time here is micro-dot on the line of eternity. that worry and fretting are a complete waste of the precious time I have. that a man can touch a thousand lives for Christ by simply being obedient to His calling.

3. When do you dismantle the Christmas decorations?

we start December 26 and finish on the 1st. it's a work in progress...and because I'm kinda bossy, no one is usually speaking to me by the 1st.

4. Something you wish to accomplish before the end of 2009 is:

considering we only have about 48 hours left, I'm guessing dropping that extra 85 pounds I'm carrying is out of the running...so I'll say cleaning out the hall closet...I'm just saying that...not really gonna do it.

5. How do you feel about winter (after Christmas)?

I live in Florida. What's winter?

6. Have you participated in after-Christmas sales?

I went to Walmart yesterday and bought two boxes of battery operated candles for my kitchen windows...and 16 boxes of chocolate covered pecans (turtles).

7. Do you have plans for New Year's Eve?

Watch night service at church, followed by 2 bottles of sparkling grape juice, followed by resolution to stop eating, followed by the eating of 16 boxes of chocolate covered pecans.

8. Is there anything special awaiting you in January?

geez I hope not...(that's me fretting that "special" means bad...I guess I need to reanswer part of #2)

9. If your life this year was a movie, what category or genre would it be? (Romance, Comedy, Drama, Thriller, Suspense, Farcical, etc.)

an Abbott and Costello routine pretty much sums it up

10. How much time per day do you spend blogging? Please do not lie. I will know.

well, I'm not really sure...I've never timed myself typing...I do spend time looking at other blogs (which usually makes me feel both woefully inadequate and kinda weird) and I like Facebook (I have a nosy nature) and I have been noticing that when I talk to other people I sometimes say "happy face" at the end of sentences :) so to answer the question...idk

11. Who runs your household?

Power struggles don't happen to often in our household...He controls it, always has, always will...we try to wake up each morning with thankfulness on our hearts and minds to Him for another day (whatever that day happens to bring) and try to remember that blessings always follow obedience.

12. Share one hope/dream for 2010.

to be a seeker

well, that was fun...I always want to change my answers after posting/emailing one of these kinds of posts but I think I'll stick with what I answered...for now.

Think, Think, Think

2009-12-29T09:34:00.002-05:00

As we approach the new year, I've been pondering...it's hard not to ponder when you have so many things to ponder about...

and as I ponder over these things in my mind and heart, an assurance that He is in control of all these things I'm pondering about washes over me...

He puts people in my pathway that give confirmation to a question. He reveals His will in His word, leaving me without doubt. He speaks through His people those words of affirmation and strength.

Pondering can be a good thing...

Loose Ends No. 1 Vol. 20

2009-12-28T10:06:00.006-05:00

Confession time...what better way to spend the last Monday of 2009...

1. I miss tv...I feel guilty about saying that, but it's true. Last night Kaitlin and I were sitting on the couch and I looked over at the space where our tv used to sit and said, "sometimes I really miss having television" and her eyes flew open and she exclaimed, "me too!!!" and we both laughed...we laughed and laughed...and then we sighed...

2. For the past three days I've eaten spinach dip for breakfast. With Triscuits.

3. I'll be putting my Christmas tree out of its misery later today. I can't stand it anymore...it looks so sad...it makes Charlie Brown's tree look like the one in Rockefeller Center. The leaning, the burnt out twinkle lights, the one side that didn't get any ornaments...plus it looks like it has...*whispering*..."the mange".

4. I didn't send any Christmas cards out this year cause...ididn'twantoo. That was a hard one to confess. For the last 23 years, I have sent out Christmas cards. I go the day after Christmas and buy up the most beautiful cards I can find that are 50% off (might as well confess it all) and then the following year, around the first week of December, I assemble and mail out about 75 cards. Not this year. I got the boxes of cards out that I bought last December 26th and put them on the kitchen table...and there they have sat all month. Each time I've walked by them, I've heard this annoying little voice, "we're wwaaiitttiiinnnggg!" But I chose to ignore it...and it felt kinda good...

5. Since Christmas Eve, I've only gotten out of my pajamas for the following reasons:
a. to go to church
b. to shower and change into clean pajamas

Whew...that felt good to get those off my chest.

The Day After

2009-12-26T10:31:00.006-05:00

Christmas has come to an end for me...I'm doing all the elves laundry.

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 28

2009-12-25T11:05:00.006-05:00

Biggest hit of Christmas morning? Spock and Kirk Bobbleheads...

Merry Christmas!

Go Tell It On The Mountain...That Jesus Christ Is Born!

2009-12-24T22:54:00.004-05:00

As Christmas Eve comes to a close, my teenage children are in their beds, and my husband is fast asleep. The house is quiet, and there is no other place on the planet I would rather be.

This past year has been one of the hardest I've ever experienced in my life. And with the news I received today from my folks, next year might be even harder. I've been saying for weeks now, that I can't wait for this year to be over...and I know first hand there are others who feel exactly the same.

But the thing is...no matter how hard this year has been or next year might be or even ten years from now may be...I have hope. I have joy. I have peace.

A hope that is eternal. A joy that is endless. A peace that is everlasting.

"How can you have these things in the midst of all this world throws at you? All the pain, hatred, turmoil, depression, trouble, death?"

Because 2000 years ago, my King was born. My Savior. My Lord. Jesus Christ, born in a stable, laid in a manger, worshipped by shepherds and wisemen...this same Jesus is my hope, my joy, my peace. And He can be yours too. What better gift to receive at Christmas is there than the gift of eternal life?

As Shepherds Received The Glorious News...

2009-12-24T09:43:00.007-05:00

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,

keeping watch over their flock by night.

And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,

and the glory of the Lord shone round them;

and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,

which will be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,

which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you;

Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,

lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel

a multitude of the heavenly

host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass,

as the angels were gone away from them into heaven,

the shepherds said to one another,

Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,

and see this thing which is come to pass,

which the Lord hath made known to us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph,

and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad

the saying which was told them concerning this child.

And all they that heard it wondered at those things

which were told them by the shepherds.

Luke 2:8-18 KJV

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 27

2009-12-24T09:01:00.002-05:00

It's here...Christmas Eve...

And I spent 2 hours last night wondering around the grocery store, trying to figure out what to feed us for the next couple of days...along with every other person in our county of 30,000.

I saw more people last night than I have in a month of Sundays. We (I dragged Mark along) ran into friends from home, friends from church, friends from work, friends from school, friends from the neighborhood, friends from...well, you get the picture.

Although after the first hour in the store, Mark began to lose any Christmas spirit he had left...and the mumbling and grumbling started...but we pushed through, got everything we needed, and made it home.

And then like locust, all the teens and twenties at our house decended upon our grocery bags...

I might have to go back out to the grocery store today...I feel a grumble coming on...

Love This Poem

2009-12-20T21:34:00.002-05:00

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th’ unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor does He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1864

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 23

2009-12-19T10:13:00.010-05:00

Having suddenly come down with a cold that has landed me on the couch for three days has put a little bit of a damper on all things Christmas around here...but as the pioneers of old pushed forward so must I...Tally Ho! (it's the fever talking...)

Let's talk about baking...at least what baking looks like around these parts...

this is Taryn baking cookies last Christmas...our baking skills haven't changed much in the last year, so I thought I would use some vintage photos (plus my camera doesn't work now, we haven't baked any cookies yet, and I'm convinced there is a "avoid the sick woman planted on the couch at all cost" theme running throughout our house)

anyway, I want you to notice something, or rather someone in the picture with Taryn...the woman in the purple robe sitting behind her...that would be Grandma...a very smart woman...

see the mess Taryn has made? and where is Grandma? like I said...smart cookie...

so these are pictures of Taryn making sugar cookies...reindeer, snowmen, stars and angels

and of course gingerbread men...

unfortunately around here that means gingerbread men with mortal wounds...

honestly, I don't understand it...and I'm a little afraid to ask...

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 19

2009-12-15T23:13:00.002-05:00

Our Christmas tree has taken a turn for the worse...

Twinkle lights out, needles falling everywhere, tree stand as dry as the Sahara, and it's lost its "pine forest scent"...and then there is the leaning...lots of leaning.

In fact it's leaning so much, you have to lay on the couch with your head turned slightly to the right, and then lowered, with two small pillows (one large pillow is too much) underneath your right hip, so you are angled "just so"...then the if you squint your right eye tightly...the tree looks almost straight.

As I looked at the tree tonight, I also noticed alot of the ornaments aren't on it this year. Which is kinda strange because I was in the room when the kids decorated it so I thought I saw them put everything on it...but they apparently only put on about 1/3 of what we usually...

I guess they got tired of hearing me say, "no, don't put it there...put it here...no, don't put Rudolph next to the Grinch, they don't belong together...no, don't put Grandma's star next to Aunt Val's snowman, they don't get along..." (Grandma and Aunt Val...not the ornaments)

So our Christmas tree is looking a little rough right now but there's still time to regroup and make some alterations...speaking of alterations...

our tree skirt needs to be let out...those Thanksgiving pies do it every year.

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 16

2009-12-12T08:34:00.009-05:00

On Friday, I had a moment where I became Buddy the elf, trying to get on the escalator at Gimbel's Department store...I hate the mall.

(Ok, ok...we don't say "hate" around here..."dislike immensely")

I went to the mall (by myself...I gotta get some friends) to get a little bit of Christmas shopping done on Friday. It was the first time in about two months I'd been to the mall (which is about average for me...that's also the reason I'm sometimes mistaken for a bag lady) and things got a little overwhelming.

I looked like I had never been out of the house...mouth agape, walking around in tight circles, like a dog looking for a place to lay down, mumbling to myself...and that happened just on the first escalator.

I went into a major department store looking for something specific (I had a list...I wanted to get in and get out) so I went up the escalator. And as I reached the top, I realized I was headed in the wrong direction...so I stopped dead in my tracks, right at the top of the escalator, turned around to go back down the very same escalator (that of course only went "up"), realized that the escalator only went "up", turned around in place three times, all the while mumbling to myself..."umm, umm, umm...where should I go?"

Outloud. People could hear me. And probably wishing I'd go back to Walmart.

I finally got where I needed to go, with the help of a mall cop on a Segway (I thought that was only in movies), got my one specific item, and high-tailed it back home...

Maybe I'll go back around Valentine's Day.

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 14

2009-12-10T16:12:00.007-05:00

Confession time...sometimes I listen to Christmas music in July.

It's a sickness...but one that usually only lasts a day or two...listening to Karen Carpenter sing about a winter wonderland in 103 degree weather with 99% humidity gets a little depressing after a couple of days.

But once the Thanksgiving dishes are done, out come the Christmas cd's. I can't seem to wait to hear Bing, Nat and Alvin (as in the chipmunk...gee, I feel kinda bad lumping Bing and Nat in with one of the most annoying cartoon characters ever created...)

And since I'm in a confessing mood, here's another revelation...one of my most favorite Christmas cd's is...John Denver and the Muppets Christmas Television Special.

Yes, I'll admit it...I'm in love with a Christmas carol-singing piece of green fabric, shaped like a frog...and the folk-singing dude with the long hippie hair (who as my grandmother liked to say..."sings outta his nose")

Love it so much that I started out with a cassette tape, worn it out, bought another cassette tape, moved up to a cd, scratched it, bought another cd that is now currently in the minivan.

There is just something about hearing Rolf the dog sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" that gets to me. Or Miss Piggy, Scooter and Gonzo singing "Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat..." How about the entire gang singing "Silent Night"? (in German, no less) And my favorite..."When the River Meets the Sea" (although I don't think it's really a Christmas song)

So here's a little snip of what my children have had to endure each time they have gotten into our minivan each December...every single December of their lives...Enjoy!

Psalm 8

2009-12-08T10:56:00.003-05:00

O Lord, our Lord

The Holy One of Heaven
is mine...and I am His

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

the giant, towering redwoods,
the vast, endless oceans,
the massive, snowcapped mountains...
none compare to the majesty of His name

You have set your glory above the heavens.

imagine what the angels must see.

Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.

He uses
the small,
the weak,
the unlikely...

to silence
the haughty,
the proud,
the arrogant...

When I look at your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

With the simple words, "Let there be..."
the night sky became filled with brilliance.

what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

and yet He is not blinded by that brilliance...
He sees man, the creature made for His pleasure,
and His thoughts rest upon us.

Yet you have made him a little lower
that the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

We who have received abundant kindness
and undeserved favor from the King,

You have given dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,

must turn always to Him for wisdom...

all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens;
and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

in the entrustment of His creatures, great and small.

O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Grand and Lofty
Royal and Splendid
Regal and Noble
...is His Name.

Love This Song!

2009-12-08T00:21:00.001-05:00

And We Have A Winner...

2009-12-05T22:55:00.002-05:00

*******Congratulations....Lindsey!********

You won the $25 AMC Enterainment Card!

I'll get it to you ASAP!

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 9

2009-12-05T16:51:00.014-05:00

Well, we're home from our town's annual Christmas parade and it was freezing outside...as freezing as it gets in Florida...probably in the mid 40's...Mark even wore long johns...we're pathetic, we wouldn't last through a 3 day weekend in Montana.

So to kick of this post, I'll preface it with...

I AM THE WORST PHOTOGRAPHER ON THE PLANET

(and I hate my camera)...
that being said, here we go...

that's me eagerly awaiting the start of the parade...yes, I appear to be sleeping but that wasn't the case...I was just resting...yeah, resting

One of the things I love about living in a small town is Main Street...

here is small glimpse of ours...

Although one of my closest friends (who shall remain nameless) says everytime she and her husband drive down our Main Street during December, they start to sing "Viva Las Vegas".

Our Christmas parade always starts off with fireworks...beautifully framed over the Family Dollar store...another glowing testimony to my photography skills...

the fireworks lasted about 15 minutes and this was the only shot I got...the other 28 I took of the fireworks looked like this...

Anyway, our parade always gets started with our local Sheriff's Department's Honor Guard and lots of police cars...

and fire engines, old and new...

then comes the politicians and cartoon characters...

fast cars, hot rods, and golf carts...

marching bands and twirlers...

church floats...

...and business floats

Bar-be-que and Beauty Queens...

....Bikers and Babes

The Grinch and Santa Claus...

...and best of all...nice people who hand you free candy

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 8 + A Surprise! (It's a Giveaway...but don't tell anyone!)

2009-12-04T07:40:00.015-05:00

We like watching Christmas movies around our place...

Movies like "It's A Wonderful Life", "The Santa Clause" and "Elf"...Hayden even gets up in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve to watch "A Christmas Story" fifteen times before the rest of us get up...

And we started a new tradition a few years ago, watching "The Nativity Story" together every Christmas Eve.

Those times we can sit together and laugh, saying lines along with the movie, ("Buddy the elf, what's your favorite color?") eating popcorn and the like are alot of fun...

Just having a treat during the hussle and bussle of the season is fun too...so I'm having a Giveaway!

Here's the Giveaway...

(1) $25 AMC Theatres Entertainment Gift Card

Go to a movie (I hear "The Blind Side" is really good), get some popcorn or Jujubees...or maybe my favorite...Sno-caps and a blue Icee!

Here's what you need to do...leave a comment to the question below, just one comment per person please (and if you leave a potty mouth comment a.k.a. a comment that is inappropriate, it'll get deleted). And when time is up, I'll count how many times Clarence's bell rings and that's the number that wins...no, wait...he's still busy with George Bailey...I'll just pick a number out of the hat...

and the question?

"What's your favorite holiday movie?"

The giveaway ends at 9:00 p.m. Eastern
on Saturday, December 5th, 2009.

So get those comments in and remember what Santa says...

"You'll shoot your eye out!"

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 7

2009-12-03T11:29:00.007-05:00

As the first few days of December have come upon us, I've noticed a few wrapped gifts suddenly appearing under our tree...

The kids love to get their shopping done early for each other and for us. Even at 15, 17 and 19 they still make out a list of what they would like for Christmas. And since their mother has swiss cheese for a brain and can't remember anything, the lists usually stay in my purse for most of December...and then in January, when I finally find their lists, I have to ask one of the kids, "are these the lists for last year or next year?"

When the kids were little, Mark and I would get a babysitter on a Friday night in December and hit the big blue box or Tar-shay to get the kids presents bought in one shot. We would spent about 3 or 4 hours going up and down each aisle in the toy section...Mark putting the toys that he wanted to play with on Christmas morning into the shopping cart and then I would take all the toys Mark wanted to play with on Christmas morning out of the shopping cart. It was like a little cat and mouse game we played each year...

Then after all the shopping finally got done, we would go to Outback and have our yearly dinner out without 3 pairs of hands grabbing, spilling, or hitting...it was glorious...so glorious in fact, occasionally Mark would have to bribe me with ice cream to get me into the car to go home.

When it comes to gifts for each other, Mark and I don't exchange Christmas gifts anymore...not since the pizza pan incident.

Yes, there was an incident...

We had been married a few years and the first of three kids in four years had begun to arrive so we weren't exactly concerned with getting each other something "lovey dovey". But we still planned on getting each other "something". So when Mark asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I said the following 9 little innocent words...

"whatever you pick out will be just fine, honey!"

Big mistake. This is now my patented answer to any new bride who asks me for advice...don't ever say those 9 little innocent words...ever. EVER.

Because the first time you do utter those 9 little innocent words, you'll find yourself unwrapping a 24 inch aluminum pizza pan (with the $8.99 price sticker still on the back) in front of your parents, children, in-laws and friends.

The ride home from his parents house that afternoon was very, very quiet.

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 4

2009-11-30T18:15:00.006-05:00

Something happens to my children and their father when it comes to decorating the outside of our house for Christmas...some kind of decorating frenzy over takes them and once that happens, there's no reasoning with them.

You know how people always compare the lights on their neighbor's homes to the Griswald family? The house in the Christmas movie that had so many lights it caused power grids to shut down?

Let me tell you a little secret...the movie guys got the idea for the Griswald Christmas house from us.

And my children and their father are twinkle light junkies...

There... I spilled it...no more secrets...whew, I feel better...

Every tree, bush, rock, window, roof line and door post around our house is covered in twinkle lights...if it's stationary for more than 2 and a half minutes, it's got a string of 100 wrapped around it.

Once my mother sat in a lawn chair to watch them put up lights...within 4 minutes she looked like the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in New York.

It all starts with the four of them climbing up into the rafters of our garage to bring down the 83 plastic storage boxes of lights we keep up there during the year. They argue over who gets to go up first, they argue over who got to go up first last year, they argue over who comes down the ladder the quickest...

Then they spent the next 2 hours testing EVERY. SINGLE. STRAND. WE. OWN. And they even have a special box for extra bulbs and fuses (it's painted blue with a green light bulb and a red light bulb hand painted on the lid)

And then, they're on the roof...they spend hours upon hours on the roof...stringing and securing and moving and adjusting and picnicing and...you get the picture, they're up there forever...and let me tell you, they aren't exactly light on their feet if you know what I mean...when they walk across the roof it sounds like Santa and the reindeer have come in for a crash landing and have brought an extra 50 elves with them.

And finally our landscaping (the trees and bushes the first owners planted) gets the royal decorating treatment...our huge oak tree actually sagged for most of December last year. I thought it was a goner until Mark took down the last strand of lights off it and it snapped back.

So each year, after a long day of stringing thousands of twinkle lights, my bunch walks to the front of our house and takes in the sight of their masterpiece...and that's usually the same day I receive my yearly "Thank You!" card from Florida Power & Light.

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 2

2009-11-28T17:53:00.017-05:00

Traditionally, we put up all our decorations, inside and out, on the Friday after Thanksgiving (one year we waited a week and Kaitlin went into a tailspin) so yesterday we started and we finished up this afternoon by decorating our ONE tree.

I write ONE because a few years ago, we had no less than 6 decorated trees in our house...that was also the year I left one of the kids in the church nursery and didn't realize she wasn't in the car until I pulled into the driveway at home (that might also explain the decorating tailspin).

But we always start with our Nativity scene which Mark and his mother made together when he was a young boy...Taryn puts it out each year in our family room...under armed guard and my constant hovering...

"careful, Taryn...the middle wiseman looks like he's standing on one leg...where's the donkey's ear? what happened to the donkey's ear? ok, who glued the donkey's ear on backwards?...careful, Taryn...the little drummer boy is drumming sideways..."

I've got to give it to her though, she's a trooper. Each year she's right there, willing to put up with my babbling for 20 minutes about how the camels should be facing east...

And then we get to the family tree. Christmas trees can be tricky...I used to try something new each year with our family tree but they never seemed to work out...the theme tree (I tried that once with an all snowman tree... I couldn't keep it from melting and shorting out the lights)...the all-one-color tree (the Grinch green tree I put up made everyone nauseous)...the skinny tree (I resented it)...the upside down tree (every time I went into the family room, I felt the need to walk scrunched over with my arms out for balance).

We've had live trees and artificial ones too. We've bought them at grocery stores and in parking lots. We've cut them down at Christmas tree farms and once inherited a 1960's model from Mark's parents. We've gotten a few half off on the day after Christmas sale and we've had one that cost more than our presents that particular year. (I didn't hear the guy in the flannel hat with the toothpick in his mouth correctly...I thought he said $65, not $25...and he apparently thought the extra $40 I handed him was a tip)

We've had multi colored lights, all white lights, all red lights, all blue lights...one year I spent 2 days stringing real popcorn with a yarn needle and thread...glitter garland, beaded garland, no garland...silver tinsel, tinsel so long the girls wore it around the house as a wig, and tinsel we've extracted from the cat (trust me, you don't want to know). You name it, we've probably decorated with it...(although we did throw the cat tinsel in the trash)

Naturally, our family tree has had different ornaments throughout the years. Mostly our tree is decorated with ornaments the kids have made at school and church, ones with their names and the year on them, the special ones from family and friends...

and then there is the newest ornament to adorn our family tree, one that Kaitlin brought home this week...

it's a grizzly bear with a salmon in its mouth...

yes, I know...everyone is going to want one now, but I'm sorry...that special place where she purchased this gem will have to stay a family secret...for now.

coming up...our outside decor

The Christmas Chronicles...Day 1

2009-11-27T21:07:00.011-05:00

So I thought I would chronicle the next few weeks until Christmas...what our family does to prepare for Christmas, how we celebrate, where we go to look at Christmas lights, how many times I'll hear the following..."who drank all the egg nog?" "he gave you that for Christmas?" "I can't believe they didn't send you a Christmas card!"

Precious, tender, heart-warming moments...

To kick things off...let's talk about Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving actually.

We usually host Thanksgiving at our place and we've been to know to have as few as two and as many twenty-two for dinner. But this year, my WONDERFUL sister-in-law volunteered to host the family.

I didn't have to clean the bathroom.
I didn't have to cook a 24 pounder.
I didn't have to find new places to hide our dirty clothes.

We traveled down to my WONDERFUL sister & brother-in-law's, enjoyed a fabulous meal, played with our great nieces & nephews, took some bad photos (I hate that camera), kissed my WONDERFUL sister-in-law goodbye and got home around 10 p.m.

And then this morning...Black Friday appeared on the horizon...dum dum dum (dramatic music)

I don't do Black Friday. I think standing outside in the cold for hours, getting pressed against the fingerprint-smudged glass doors of the local discount store, and being pushed down by the woman behind me in the lime green stretch pants, only to be the number 17 in the line for 16 Chatty Cathy dolls is depressing. I have that kind of luck.

So like I said, I don't do Black Friday.

I ask Mark to go.

Yes, I have somehow convinced my WONDERFUL husband in the past, to go out in the wee hours of the morning into the middle of all that craziness...on his day off. His mission? To try and wrestle away from the clutches of those lime green stretch pant wearing women the bike, computer, or doll "our baby just had to have!" And he has said yes when I've asked him to go...in the past. Didn't happen this year.

This morning I had to go myself. But I decided that if I was meant to have that laptop (that laptop advertised at a frenzy-inducing price, the kind of price that by just seeing it in the newspaper it makes you feel faint) it would be still be there on the shelf of the local discount store at 8 am this morning.

Apparently that's not how it works on Black Friday. When I pulled into the parking lot, it looked like a deserted street in a ghost town. Deadly quiet...empty plastic shopping bags rolling around like tumble weeds...a slight humming noise coming from the neon store sign...the only person in the parking lot, a slightly dazed shopping cart guy, listlessly pushing a mile long line of carts back towards the store.

"Did they close the store?" I thought to myself. "No, there's the gal ringing the bell at the red kettle. They have to be open."

I walked inside and grabbed a cart (I didn't want to disturb the shopping cart guy, he seemed to get a little agitated the closer he got to the front door of the store). I started toward the electronics department when I noticed some thing out of the corner of my eye. Something was swinging. It was a rack of plastic hangers. As I watched them swinging slowly, I ventured closer to see if any evidence of what once was there was left. Then I saw it. An extra small green and gold Christmas sweater for $14.99 dangling off the end of one of the hangers (I checked the tag...you never know...)

I made my way to the electronics department and to my utter shock, the laptop I wanted was sold out. As I stood, looking from shelf to shelf, mouth wide open, a sales clerk suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as if an angel. As she walked by me, she said, "Honey, those things were gone in the first 4 minutes." And then as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone. (I later saw her at the snack bar)

So I slowly turned my cart around and headed toward the exit. Defeated, I thought, "Well, I guess I wasn't meant to have that laptop." I made my way through the store, got sidetracked in the yarn department, bought an Icee and headed home.

And as I told my family the story of shopping among the ruins, the sad tale of shopping cart guy, the account of the angelic sales clerk, and the ultimate loss of the new laptop, Taryn said, "Why don't you just go online?"

The laptop will be here Thursday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T22:17:00.008-05:00

Just wanted to share a few of the faces that I am so very thankful for this Thanksgiving (and everyday)...

my brother and sister Dale and Chris

(technically they're my in-laws but I claim them as my very own)

These precious three...our nephews and their families

On the left, Mike and his children, Brooke & Ryan...Mike leaves for Kuwait in January and will be gone a year...please pray for him

On the right, Christian and Leigh and their baby girl Allison (aka Squirrel)...celebrating their first Thanksgiving together as a family
(and drove 9 hours to be with us)

And on the bottom, Walt and Keri and their children, Arraiol, Casen, Levi and baby girl Kale...I had to throw in the extra picture of them below...
all arms and legs and smiles...

and then there is this bunch...my bunch of bananas...

who fill me with utter joy every day.

and finally, Nellie...who came with her parents Christian and Leigh
to see Aunt Deb
how can you not be thankful for a face like that?

She's Making A List, She's Checking It Twice...

2009-11-25T18:37:00.005-05:00

Insane...that's all I can write...insane...

(well, not really ALL I'm gonna write...I'm just being dramatic)

I must be insane because I'm actually considering going out to a store on Friday...Black Friday.
(and why do they call it Black Friday? I mean I know it's an accounting term but can't we think of a better name? Like Danger Friday or FindMeIfYouCan Friday or Midnight Friday, something with a little suspense...)

There is a laptop for sale, and I've been saving my pennies in a giant pickle jar (really, it's true, in fact I'm gonna have to wash all that change before I take it to the store cause it still smells like vinegar in the jar) ok, where was I? Oh, the laptop...so this laptop is on sale and the sale only lasts until 11:00 a.m. Friday at our local discount Blue Box.

So I have to consider...just how badly to I want this thing? Am I willing to risk any of my body parts for $50 off? How do I feel about sneaker prints up and down my back for a free carry case? Or what if I get caught in one of those human tsunami waves that can happen around the front doors right before the store opens? Or worst of all...

do I want to get up that early on my day off?

lots to consider....maybe I'll send Mark

Gobble Gobble

2009-11-24T21:38:00.004-05:00

My love for all things Thanksgiving continues...

I've been cooking all afternoon and we aren't even eating here Thursday...I just can't seem to help myself.

The pilgrim salt and pepper shakers. The Peanuts gang eating toast and popcorn. The plopping noise the cranberry sauce makes when it slides out of the can. The stuffing, my oh my, the stuffing. It's all just a little too much...I'm feeling light-headed...

Going out to the grocery store last night to pick up some canned pumpkin and a whisk was even a little exciting...seeing all the other shoppers...watching the first-time Thanksgiving meal makers go from aisle to aisle in a trance-like state. One poor girl had a frozen 22 pounder in her cart...it looked like it could take down the Titanic. I passed her on a couple of aisles and it just seemed to get bigger and bigger. As did her look of panic...

I understand that panic...the thought of a half cooked turkey throws me into a cold shudder...

But by Thursday afternoon, my love for Thanksgiving and all its fixin's will begin to slowly fade into the sunset...and my heart will begin to flutter, thinking about Christmas.

I wonder if I can watch last year's Macy's parade on youtube?

Loose Ends Vol. 1 No. 19

2009-11-23T20:18:00.005-05:00

Trying to lose serious, serious poundage during Thanksgiving week is not exactly the brightest thing I've ever done...and walking around with a 32 oz water bottle welded to one hand and a weight watchers calculator in the other makes for a wonderful holiday experience.
We've gone without cable and network tv for almost two months now...just dvd's and the internet for news...and no one has run from house screaming yet...or been thrown into rehab.
Our dogs actually have their own Christmas lists...thanks to my crazy first born child. She claims they told her what they wanted when she took them for a walk last night.
As I type this, Mark, Kaitlin and Hayden are playing "Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition". Next they want to buy "Monopoly Skyscraper" where you actually get to build city skylines.
I want "Monopoly CleanMyHouse".

I Love Giveaways

2009-11-21T11:08:00.008-05:00

*************We Have A Winner!************

Congrats....Sherry!

ok, so like I was saying...

To kick off another attempt at daily blogging, and because my favorite holiday is this week, and because my children are all home and safe, and because I'm soooo ready for this very difficult year to be over (I'll leave it at that)...I'm having a Giveaway!

Truly, Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday...I love our family coming together, the cooking, the baking, the Macy's parade, the Publix commercials (even though we don't watch television anymore, I still sneak on youtube to watch them). I even bought an inflatable turkey for the front yard a couple of years ago (Tom is in most of our family pictures on Thanksgiving).

And I love turkey. And stuffing. And green bean casserole. And pumpkin pie.

We could be here all day...

So here's the Giveaway...

(1) $25 Winn Dixie gift card

Buy a turkey, a pumpkin pie, some Oreos...whatever makes your Thanksgiving meal special.
Here's what you need to do...leave a comment to the question below, just one comment per person please, (and if you leave a potty mouth comment a.k.a leave a comment that's inappropriate, it'll get deleted). And when time's up whatever the total is on my Winn Dixie grocery receipt, that's the number I'll pick--no wait, that won't work, I put my gum in that receipt--I'll just pick a number out of the hat...

and the question?

"is there anything unusual/unique you serve (or eat) for your Thanksgiving meal?"

Giveaway ends at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, November 22, 2009

Our family has to have two kinds of cranberry sauce...grandma Dryer's and Ocean Spray's. And some of us like to put Ranch dressing on our turkey. Oh, and one year Mark and I gave everyone food poisoning with our dirt pig (we cooked a pig in the ground for 3 days...I don't suggest it)

Glimpses In The Rear View Mirror

2009-11-18T13:35:00.009-05:00

My friend and pastor, Gene Graves, passed away last night, after an 11 month old battle with cancer...

He was a man's man, who stood around 6'4", and when he entered a room, you knew it.

Wrangler, Carhartt, Georgia boots and a white cowboy hat were his choice of style. Sometimes he wore a John Deere baseball hat and he was never without the red bandana he kept in his pocket. He was a farmer, a hunter and a business man. He drove a truck, a tractor, and in his younger days, a motorcycle.

He was a husband, a daddy, a son, a brother and a Papoo (that's grandpa).

But the most importantly, he was an Evangelist and a Pastor. He was a Disciple of Christ who loved the Lord so greatly, and was so focused on serving Him with his whole being, that it propelled him into a life of missions in a foreign land...

to a place called Honduras...

He worked, sweated, and preached his way through the big cities and roadside shanties. He drove thousands of miles along dusty country lanes, dangerous mountain roads and congested city highways. He led hundreds of fellow believers into the fields, white with harvest, showing us how to share the Gospel with others. He ministered to thousands of men, women and children of Honduras, not only by preaching the Word of God, but also by helping build the churches in which they could worship.

He was a man of integrity, who knew he wasn't perfect. He was a man of purpose, who knew how to laugh. He was a man of God, who now knows our Lord face to face.

The Gals

2009-10-24T21:16:00.011-04:00

One of the great joys in my life is laughing with my friends, I call them "the gals". I'm not a "talk on the phone, do lunch, window shop" kind of gal...never have been, probably never will be. But find me a spot with a bunch of women that love to laugh and I won't move all day. Throw in coffee or cake, I could take root and never leave.

Finding those women can be tricky sometimes, espcecially if you're new to the social scene. But thankfully, I found my gals quickly, the ones I knew I could count on to get me into trouble whenever we go out into public. Nothing too severe, just the occasional side glance or glare from another woman when we get too loud. I unfortunately snort sometimes when I laugh, hasn't happened in a while, but I have been know to rattle a window or two when it does.

Of course my children are usually nowhere to be found when I'm with my gals, unless they are trapped in a car with us. But usually they disappear the moment I connect with my gals. The embarrassment is too great for them to handle. But I have the peace of knowing that they too will someday embarrass their own offspring, so it doesn't really bother me too much.

I don't think husbands appreciate our relationships with other gals as much as they really should. Just think about what our homes would be like if we didn't have those gals in our lives. I shudder just thinking about it...the chaos, the weeping, the utter devastation...okay, it wouldn't be that bad. But having a good ole "laugh till ya snort" moment every few days has to be good for your constitution. And his.

So find that gal or gals in your life that make you laugh till you cry (or snort, whichever the case may be), grab a cup of coffee and plant yourself for awhile. Your husband and children won't mind too much. And if that lady in the booth next you starts giving you the "evil eye", just smile and ask her to join you...she might not have any gals of her own...

He Is.

2009-10-16T08:46:00.007-04:00

This morning I opened the Word to hear from my Lord personally. That sounds kinda strange but for weeks now, I've been reading the Word not in a relational sense but as a goal, which is to read through the Bible in a few months. While that is worthwhile, I have found myself focused on that goal instead of reading and applying the Word personally. Not so this morning. I turned to His Word this morning to hear Him speak to me. Just He and I. No goals, no distractions. Just me and my Father. I went to Psalm 16, written by David...

Perserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

He is my Sheltering Wing under which I am protected.

I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."

He is my Portion and my Pardon.

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

in whom is all my delight.

He is the Giver of my precious blessings of family and friends.

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

or take their names on my lips.

He is Mighty to save.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

you hold my lot.

He is my Sustainer and Stronghold.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

He is my Hope.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

He is my Constant and Faithful friend.

I have set the Lord always before me;

because he is at my right hand,

I shall not be shaken.

He is the Armor I wear daily.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

He is my Joy and Comfort.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheoul,

or let your holy one see corruption.

He is Trustworthy and True.

You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

He is my All in all.

Loose Ends Vol. 1 No. 18

2009-10-11T22:01:00.006-04:00

Since Hayden is in band, all the parents have to take a turn working the band concession stand at the high school football games...and our turn was this past Friday night. Besides selling hamburgers and Orange Crush sodas, I also got to see a fight that the cops had to break up, was coughed on 17 times, and actually sweated through my jeans. I made it through the evening though...I discovered that muttering under my breath, "I love my kid, I love my kid, I love my kid" seemed to help...I actually started chanting that phrase during the third quarter when the gallon size can of processed nacho cheese sauce fell on my foot. After that, all the other parents in the concession stand seemed to avoid me. They all gathered at the other end and at one point I thought I heard them whispering about "that weird woman with the wet pants that keeps talking to herself". They pretty much left me alone with my squirt bottle of ketchup and my hot dog tongs for the rest of the game.

October in Florida stinks. It's hot and it's humid. Putting up autumn decorations in 93 degree weather really stinks. Just thought I'd lay that one out there.

Kaitlin is back at school after a week at home for Fall break...she called an hour or so ago to tell us she forgot to bring her dorm room key back with her and she wants to drive home to get it. It's only 10 hours give or take.

I love it when the Lord refreshes old friendships.

I need a vacation from my brain.

Taryn and The Cake: Adventures In Baking

2009-09-26T14:22:00.005-04:00

Mark's birthday was yesterday (his 47th...*sigh*) and every year he requests a homemade cake. So I asked Taryn if she'd like to bake one for her dad and she said happily, "Sure!" Mark likes carrot cakes so we purchased a "Decadent Carrot Cake" mix from the grocery store and a couple of those frosting-in-a-squirt-can with the plastic tips, to decorate with...

And that was the last thing I had to do with his cake. Until I found it on the counter Friday afternoon.

Apparently in the cake mix box, there contained a packet with shredded carrots and raisins in it. And Taryn doesn't like raisins. So she threw out the packet. The packet with the carrots in it. Because there were raisins in it. (This is just about how our conversation went later on that afternoon when I found the carrot/raisin packet in the garbage)

She mixed together the carrot cake (now without carrots) and couldn't find two of 238 cake pans I keep stacked in the cabinet so she used two pie pans. Into the oven they went, cake batter level with the rim of the pie pans and no cookie sheet underneath them. Oh, and the pie pans were two different sizes.

Next came the icing. Taryn said she wanted to make a cream cheese icing so I got her a couple of bricks of cream cheese and powdered sugar. She printed out her recipe for the icing and started mixing everything in the handy Kitchen Aid. I'm in the office with the door open next to the kitchen when I hear this question...

"What's confectioner's sugar?" "Um, that would be the powdered sugar we bought." "Oh, well I put in regular sugar, is that gonna mess it up?"

And then a few minutes later, as Taryn was icing the cake, I heard this...

"Oh no! I printed the wrong recipe! This is royal icing for gingerbread houses!"

Its Saturday afternoon, the carrot-less carrot cake has now begun to sink in the center from the weight of the white cement sitting on top of it and Mark can't wait to cut into it.

I just love that guy.

Keep It Up Gals!

2009-09-21T17:40:00.006-04:00

We begin a new Bible study this week at church and I'm looking forward to getting together with other women and hearing what the Lord is doing in their lives. There is nothing sweeter than the testimonies of His children. We experience that blessing quite often on Sunday nights at our church. Our pastor encourages people to get up and "brag on Jesus".

Last night we heard from so many different people, testimonies about a recent mission trip, how a presentation a few weeks back from "Voice of the Martyrs" touched someone, what the Holy Spirit revealed to some during our revival last week.

That's one reason I like blogs so much. Instant testimonies. I can read about a friend's new insight from the Lord, or celebrate an answered prayer. I learn how people are serving others from nursing homes to jail cells. By reading the words of others, I see how He works in ways I could never imagine and His glory is spilled across my computer screen daily. The God stories of others never cease to strengthen and encourage me.

The Internet can be a good thing...

Taryn and The Road Trip: Next Time, Shorter College And The World's Biggest Ball Of Yarn

2009-09-20T13:24:00.021-04:00

We took Taryn to Birmingham, Alabama this weekend for a preview day at Samford University. She has this college on her short list so we decided to take off Friday morning and head to northern Alabama (and btw, Birmingham and the small towns surrounding it are beautiful! who knew there were rolling green hills and mountains in Alabama? I sure didn't!)

Anyway we got to the college on Saturday morning, bright and early, and what an amazing campus! Grand Georgian buildings, stately gardens and landscaping, bell towers and wrought iron fences...stunning. Just what you'd imagine from a prestigious college campus. Here are some photos...

Notice someone missing in all these pictures? That person would be Taryn. She didn't want her picture taken along side the ivy, bricks and columns of higher education...no, she wanted her picture taken along side these gems...

The Golden Peanut in front of the Visitor Center of Doltham, Alabama

The AT&T Peanut of Doltham, Alabama

The Krispy Kreme Cowboy Peanut of Doltham, Alabama

The Four Branches of our Military Peanuts of Doltham, Alabama

and finally, the Patriotic Peanut in front of the Doltham, Alabama State Bank.

Yes, we have all the confidence in the world that Taryn is going to have a wonderful college experience, where ever the Lord takes her.

And Another College Search Begins...

2009-09-18T10:21:00.003-04:00

We're taking Taryn on a little road trip this weekend, to take a tour of a college she is interested in...

and last night we ordered her senior pictures...sniff, sniff.

as time goes by...sniff, sniff...

naw, not gonna go there...

A Couple of "Tweets"

2009-09-16T16:11:00.007-04:00

from Ergun Caner...

"Surveys & polls don't measure truth,

they measure response.

Jeremiah's poll numbers were always low,

but he was RIGHT."

and from Priscilla Shirer...

"Forget about what happened.

Don't keep going over old history.

Be alert, be present.

I'm about to do something

brand-new."

Isaiah 43:18-19

Next Time I'm Writing My Congressman!!!

2009-09-15T16:18:00.006-04:00

I wrote a letter of complaint today...
(an email really)

and I actually sent it.

With my stomach in knots, my fingernails chewed and a worn spot on the floor from pacing, I composed an email about a concern I have about an problem at the kids high school.

But this post isn't about the problem, its about the email.

and it all boils down to this...I absolutely hate confrontations.

I was a people pleaser for alot of years, and if I'm not careful, I can easily fall right back into that same pattern. It has only been because of His grace, and the work of the Holy Spirit in my life that that bondage no longer has me in chains. But I still struggle with confrontations. I've been equipped by the Lord to handle any thing life throws at me but in this one area I still make the choice to allow fear to control me. He has equipped me. And yet I still fear.

But I even choose which confrontations I'm going to fear...weird huh? Certain situations, like dealing with pushy salespeople, I handle fine. But a face to face with a friend that has hurt me? I'm a quivering bowl of lemon jello. Or confronting someone in authority? I feel a little faint just writing it.

So I'd like to think that writing this email today was another small step towards being the daughter of Christ He knows I can be. I just have to keep reminding myself of who I am in Him. And as our senior pastor says, "you never have to apologize for doing the right thing"

From Bill Sturm

2009-09-14T22:53:00.005-04:00

Am I a "Good for Nothing" church member?

That was the question posed to our congregation tonight as we came together for the second night of our revival.

And there are a few questions to ask ourselves to find out if we are one...

how faithful is my attendance?
am I tithing?
am I telling others about Jesus?
do I cause trouble at church?
what's my lifestyle like outside the church walls?
is it all about me?

Tough questions from a tough man...but ones that needed to be asked. And answered.

Life With Hayden: Hey, I Had Slippers On!

2009-09-12T15:28:00.007-04:00

I've got great kids. As their mother, it seems as though I rarely freak them out, or embarrass them. Of course, I've been known to be delusional on occassion and this might be one of those times. Maybe they've been embarrassed so many times, they've mastered the art of hiding it from me. I don't know if that's true, but I do know that during the course of their lives, there have been an ample number of possible embarrassing moments.

For example...

last night I picked up Hayden in my nightgown and robe.

After every home high school football game in our county, a lot of teenagers go to a local church to hang out, eat pizza and play basketball. It's called "Fifth Quarter" and Hayden usually goes and meets up with friends, and stays until about midnight.

And since I'm the only night person living in our home at the present time (Kaitlin's the other), I got the blessing of picking him up last night at 12:10 in the a.m.

and I just couldn't bring myself to change my clothes.

Now the church is really only about a mile from home, and it's easy to get to by the back roads. But still, thoughts like the following did cross my mind...

1. what if I break down/run out of gas/hit a deer? (all valid concerns considering what I drive & where I live) The police might have to come get me and I'm driving the minivan in my nite-nite clothes...

2. hey, where'd I put my phone? Just in case I break down/run out of gas/hit a deer...

3. oh man, Kaitlin has my phone!

4. that girl had better get her act together and mail my phone to this week, I swear if I didn't remind her 50 times a day...

5. Is that a flashing blue light? (heart rate now at 159)

6. ok, ok its just a pair of headlights...ok they're turning down that side street (heart rate now slowly decreasing)

7. ok, I see the first entrance to the church parking lot...wait, are those cops standing outside the pick up door? (heart rate now climbing)

8. maybe if I go into the second entrance, Hayden will see me and he'll just come out to the parking lot and jump in the car...

9. what are you doing?!? (I'm mouthing this to the tired looking dad in the SUV pulling out of the second entrance) great, now I'm gonna have to circle around (now I'm smiling at the tired looking dad in the SUV as we pass each other, because I recognize him from church)

10. ok, finally, the right entrance...where are you son? c'mon son, I know you outside waiting on me...I know your not still inside, mingling, eating, whatevering...I wish I had my phone so I could call him, I can't believe she hasn't mailed my phone back to me, she is gonna hear about this in the morning...is that him? yes! alright, come on and get in the car...no! don't stop to talk to him! get in the car! getinthecar, getinthecar, getinthecar...

door opens, Hayden gets in, door closes.

"have fun tonight son?"

"yeah it was alright."

All the way home, he never once asked about the robe and nightgown. The boy is gonna be a great husband someday.

Love This Song!!!

2009-09-10T21:35:00.001-04:00

A Question

2009-09-10T16:50:00.006-04:00

from Francis Frangipane's "The House of the Lord"...

"The priority is this:

Will we lay aside our ideas,

return to the Gospels

and obey what Jesus commands?

Will we become objectively desperate

in our search and hunger

for God?"

Can You Buy Slimfast By The Pallet?

2009-09-08T22:55:00.004-04:00

When will I stop eating?

...ok, I know that one day, that's it, no more eating, breathing, blinking, no more anything...that's not what I'm asking tonight...

no what I'm asking tonight is...when will I stop putting food in my mouth when I'm not hungry? will that day EVER come? when will be the day that enough is enough? next Tuesday? a week from Saturday? March 5th, 2027?

I don't think I can wait that long...the grazing has got to stop...if they still wired jaws shut, I'd consider it...maybe I can hire a guy to hit me with a bat every time I open the pantry door...or wire the fridge so that when I open it past 7:00 p.m., I get a REAL zap, not one of those rub-your-feet-on-the-carpet-and-zap-your-little-brother kind of zaps.

maybe that bald chick from the early 90's, Susan-somebody, the "stop the insanity" chick, maybe she's available to come yell at me...

nah...think I'll try Weight Watchers again, they're pretty nice over there, and they always remember me every time I join...

Amazing...

2009-09-07T11:32:00.003-04:00

The internet is an amazing tool...what so many people use for bad, can be used for some very wonderful things...

Like...

hearing great music
looking at beautiful pieces of art
reading the words of a first-time poet
seeing your daughter's face

and finding a sister

David's Prayer of Gratitude

2009-09-06T22:14:00.003-04:00

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said,

"Who am I O Lord God,

and what is my house,

that you have brought me thus far?

And yet this was a small thing in your eyes,

O Lord God.

You have spoken also of your servant's house

for a great while to come,

and this is instruction for mankind,

O Lord God!

And what more can David say to you?

For you know your servant

O Lord God!

Because of your promise,

and according to your own heart,

you have brought about all this greatness,

to make your servant know it.

Therefore you are great,

O Lord God.

For there is none like you,

and there is no God besides you,

according to all we have heard with our ears.

And who is like your people Israel,

the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem

to be his people,

making himself a name

and doing for them great and awesome things

by driving out before your people,

whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt,

a nation and its gods?

And you established for yourself

your people Israel to be your people forever.

And you, O Lord, became their God.

And now, O Lord God, confirm forever

the word that you have spoken concerning

your servant and concerning his house,

and do as you have spoken.

And your name will be magnified forever, saying,

'The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,'

and the house of your servant David

will be established before you.

For you, O Lord of hosts,

the God of Israel,

have made this revelation to your servant,

saying, 'I will build you a house.'

Therefore your servant has found courage

to pray this prayer to you.

And now, O Lord God, you are God,

and your words are true,

and you have promised this good thing to your servant.

Now therefore may it please you

to bless the house of your servant,

so that it may continue forever before you,

For you, O Lord God,

have spoken,

and with your blessing

shall the house of your servant

be blessed forever."

2 Samuel 7:18-29

Taryn And The Big City: Why Bother With Shoes?

2009-09-04T20:40:00.006-04:00

My middle child has inherited a trait from her paternal grandmother (we called her Ma)...it's an aversion to footwear...if Taryn never had to wear another pair of shoes, her life would be just about perfect...

This afternoon Mark got home early from work (love those three day holiday weekends!) and since Hayden was going to the high school football game (which is away this week), we decided to take Taryn with us into town (the big city).

We needed to get a couple of things...
a front porch swing and a pinata...truly
(its never normal stuff with us)

Anyway, we were driving down a busy road in the big city and Taryn says, "Hey! That's the place you MADE me buy a pair of shoes from!" and she points to some shoe store I'm sure I've never been too. "What are you talking about Taryn?" I ask, and she says...inhale...

"you know, when we went bowling that time and I opened the door of the van and my shoes fell out and I didn't say anything so when we got done bowling and we were going to eat I said I didn't have any shoes so we stopped at that store and you made me use my own money to buy a pair of shoes at that store."

and exhale...

Now the only time I remember a situation close to this is about 7 years ago. I loaded all three of the kids into the minivan and drove 40 minutes to a craft store that I rarely went too. Interstate driving, traffic for miles, and August in Florida all made for a lovely afternoon drive. But we finally arrived and as we started to get out of the minivan, I hear a voice from the back say,

"Mommy, I don't have any shoes."

Now I don't remember the first 5 minutes after I heard those words, because I think I might have blacked out. But when I came too, I said, "Taryn, why don't you have your shoes?"... inhale...

"I didn't bring any, I didn't think I had to go in the store, I thought I could stay in the car."

and exhale...

The big city, 112 degrees outside and I'm gonna leave her in the car.

So as most moms would do, I piggy-backed my child, barefooted, into the Payless/Shoe City/ Famous Footwear store that was next to the craft store and bought some flip-flops (which, yes I made her pay for...aren't you glad I'm not your mom?)

So fast forward 7 or 8 years and this afternoon we hear the story of the missing shoes at the bowling alley...and I say to Taryn, "hon, I don't think that happened. I think your thinking about the time we were going to the craft store and..."

and she says, "no, I'm remembering right, it just happened twice."

A Quote...

2009-09-02T21:16:00.007-04:00

from Eddie Griffis...

"It's kinda hard to worry joyfully.

Your either joyful or worrying,

you can't be both."

...from this evening's Bible study

of Philippians 4:4-7

at Raiford Road Church

A New Blog! And No, I Didn't Start Another One...

2009-09-02T15:51:00.004-04:00

I wanted to recommend a new blog that began yesterday...
http://www.theharbordevotions.blogspot.com/

Long story short...

Our church has started providing a new daily devotion guide and in the back is a "Read Through the Bible in a Year" calendar...so as a church we are reading through the Word together. And we started a blog on our website for people to comment on the daily Scripture reading!

It is so cool knowing that you are reading along with your church family, and also having the added bonus of hearing how the Lord is speaking to them through His Word!

So if you get a few minutes today, check it out!

A "Tweet"

2009-09-01T08:52:00.002-04:00

from Priscilla Shirer...

Jonah-
the pagan sailors obey God,
a fish obeys,
a plant, worm and wind obey.
Even the Ninevites obey.
Only disobedient soul-
is the preacher.

Anyone For Another Piece Of Pumpkin Pie?

2009-08-31T19:33:00.007-04:00

I need help.

Every September I do this and it just gets worse every year...I thought I had it licked this year but then one of my kids pushed me off the wagon today.

My problem?

I'm addicted to autumn.

I could kinda tell I was weakening last week when I bought $58 worth of plastic pumpkins at the dollar store, but when I talked myself out of buying a new pair of matching 6 foot Mr. & Mrs. Scarecrows I was sure all was good...

but then this happened today...

Kaitlin called home this afternoon to let me know that she had to wear a jacket this morning on her way to class.

That one phone call threw me off the wagon and into the ditch.

Now granted, Kaitlin spends the majority of the year in western Virginia, with its glorious four seasons and I spend the majority of the year living here on the surface of the sun. And as an added plus, where I live we have a humidity level that almost equals the Amazon rainforest. So I am well aware of the differences in our climates. Nevertheless, my brain functions in the following manner:

We both live in the United States, therefore if Kaitlin is having autumn-like weather, so am I.
Makes perfect sense right?
So out came the cinnamon/pumpkin/cider/whatever scented candle I've been storing for the last 10 months. Out came the yellow/orange/red leaf wreath from underneath the cabinet. Out came the old Mr. & Mrs. Scarecrow couple from the rafters in the garage. I think this year is their 12th anniversary, they're a sweet couple.
I need help.

'America Has No More Stars, Now We Call Them Idols' Kirk Franklin

2009-08-30T22:36:00.007-04:00

I'm reading two books right now about idols (don't be impressed that I'm reading two books at once, I have to use the edge of an index card and put it underneath each sentence I'm reading in order to focus...and then I still have to go back and read it again)

anyway...

Our pastor just finished up a series on the 10 Commandments, or the 10 sayings of God as they are also known, and the commandment that has really hit home for me is the first, from Exodus 20:3...'You shall have no other gods before me.'

And since Brother Johnny preached on that commandment, and with these books I'm reading, I've been thinking about all the people, things, places, events, emotions, ministries, holidays I've made into other gods or idols...and the scary part is that most of the things on this list are good things, happy times, joyful experiences.

And to anyone looking at my life, you can't really see my idol-making...

there's been no backyard altar built,
or lit candles and incense around a shrine,
I haven't been chanting 4 times a day...

But I've made some of these people, places and things idols none the less...I've made them idols in my mind. And in my heart.

So now as I begin to break down the altars and blow out the candles of my internal idols, I'm thankful for His grace and mercy, and for pastors that preach the truth boldly, and that the scales are once again slowly falling away.

A Quote

2009-08-28T09:06:00.003-04:00

When you believe that nothing significant

can happen through you,

you have said more about your belief in God

than you have said about yourself.

If you feel weak, limited, ordinary,

you are the best material

through which God can work.

Henry Blackaby

from 'Experiencing God'

Life With Hayden: Beaches And Bacon

2009-08-24T16:52:00.008-04:00

What do the beach and bacon have in common? Nothing really, it's just been awhile since I blogged about Hayden so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone...

This is how Hayden likes to spend a sunny, summer afternoon at the beach...buried so deep in sand that only the Hubble telescope can make out his head...I had to put up that yellow crime scene tape around him so people would stop stepping on him. And just for the record, when he finally got out of his self-inflicted sand pit, he had sand in places I didn't know existed.

And the bacon? Well, this morning was the first day of school and Hayden's request for breakfast included but was not limited to the following:

Bacon

Sausage

Eggs

Pancakes

Eggos

Cereal

Milk

and Poptarts to take with him

on the 4 and a half minute drive to school...

just in case.

Kaitlin's Journey: What A Difference A Year Makes

2009-08-21T21:27:00.007-04:00

Last year when we drove our oldest daughter to college (10 hours away from home), at one point during our time on campus, we had to literally call out to friends for prayer. We got one of our closest friends, Mike, on the phone and together we prayed. We needed that prayer because we didn't know if we were going to be able to leave her at school...she was distraught. She couldn't stop crying. But the Lord strengthened us and shortly we were on the road home with Kaitlin safely tucked away in her dorm room...

fast forward a year...

Tonight as I write this post we are staying at the same hotel as last year, same trip to Target for all those "essentials" (like poptarts) that we forgot to bring with us, same lines at the bookstore, same girls on the dorm floor, same little red Saturn car stuffed to the gills with clothes and books...

but we brought with us a different girl.

No longer a weeping, scared, high school graduate. Now a young woman, a little sad to be leaving home, but excited about the new semester. Someone who instead of clinging to us, lets go and runs to embrace a old friend in "the hall". Someone who couldn't see past her tears, but now sees clearly the opportunities that await her.

The changes in Kaitlin's life are another example of His Grace. The evidence of santification. How He used something in her life that was painful and scary to bring her a step or two closer to Him. That's how He works. It was a really hard lesson, one she's not completely done learning, but one we all needed to learn.

My Friend Brother Sam

2009-08-17T20:26:00.002-04:00

Our friend and mentor, Sam Fowler, passed away yesterday, surrounded by the singing voices of his beloved and cherished family.

Brother Sam meant alot to our family, he and his wife, Miss Jackie. During a time of struggle in our marriage, both he and Miss Jackie mentored Mark and I for about 6 months. They helped us through that painful period by partnering with us in prayer, sharing advice and wisdom, and patiently listening to our concerns and fears.

Brother Sam started the mentoring program at our church a few years ago, and thru that program, many men and women, mature in their faith, have been equipped to disciple younger Christians. Coming along side each other, supporting, teaching, and guiding one another.

Brother Sam left his family, friends, and church a legacy. He loved his Jesus more than anyone or anything. And he shared that love for his Jesus with every one he met.

Stepping Out

2009-08-15T19:32:00.003-04:00

This morning I had the honor of attending the first "Stepping Out" Ladies Conference in Lake City. What a blessing to be among 20 or so women of faith, all from different backgrounds and denominations, but with the unbreakable thread of the Holy One linking us together.

My sister/friend Sue was asked to speak at this year's conference and I was so proud to be there to hear her. Now I'm gonna brag a little bit...she did a great job! Her message was entitled "Stepping out for God" and Psalm 119:132 was the focal verse...'Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.'

Sue spoke about the many steps we each take in our lives, and she also included 5 suggestions before stepping out for God...

1. know where your going
2. know why your going
3. know the dress code Eph 6:13-18 armor of God
4. know what's holding you back
5. know your potential through Jesus Christ

and Sue also asked us this question...

"What would you do for Jesus if you knew you could not fail?"

what would I do?

what is holding me back?

what am I afraid of?

It's alot to think and pray about. I like to think that I don't let my fears and 'what ifs' hold me back from being all for Jesus, but truly I think I do. I let fears and strongholds keep me from stepping out and being all that He desires me to be. That's a hard one to admit...

So I have to ask myself, what steps am I taking right now? Which direction am I headed in?