O2BNAZ

Book Recommendation

2011-03-07T21:23:00.000-05:00

What story are you telling? from Rhetorik Creative on Vimeo.

This book is easily one of my favorites EVER! In my opinion, a must-read!
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years - by Donald Miller

How a Haunted House Shed Light on my Faith

2010-10-29T11:56:00.006-04:00

My good friend Stewart has long had a dream to open his very own full-scale haunted house. He has pursued this obsession with much passion over the past two years. He has attended conventions dedicated to all aspects of running such an establishment. He secured a building, brought it up to code, fireproofed the walls, built scenes, bought props, made a website, posted photos on Facebook, and hired actors and make-up artists. And, even when it has been stressful, he has done all of this with a twinkle in his eye. He has invested a LOT of blood, sweat and tears in this dream of his, and although I’m a huge fraidy-cat and haunted houses are not really my idea of fun, I promised Stewart that I would go through his haunted house. Because I'm a good friend. But more importantly, because he's a good friend. Plus, who could say "no" to someone with that much excitement to share the fruit of his labors?

Bryan & Nathon went through the haunt on opening night, back at the end of September. All month long, I’ve been very nervous about the prospect of being terrorized by zombies and seeing gory images forever in my nightmares. Last weekend, I reluctantly sent Stewart a message to let me know what night would be least busy this week, and he wrote back to say I should come on Tuesday. Try as I might to get friends or family to go with me, nobody would join me. Not ONE person! (Who knew I had such wimpy friends? I guess Christians are just that way when it comes to haunted houses, but that's a completely different topic for another blog post.) My point is... I was completely on my own Tuesday night, but I wanted to keep my promise to my friend.

I was still really nervous as I drove there in the rain, but as I got out of my car, the first thing I saw was Stewart walking toward me. He escorted me through the parking lot - (They have creepy actors meandering around and interacting with the patrons) - and took me to the ticket window to let his wife, Tricia, know that I was there. Then he took me around to the front entrance and had me wait in the lobby for a minute before going inside. As I stood there in the dark, listening to the scary sounds inside, I was surprised to find that I didn't feel afraid. I was looking around at the mural on the walls, and seeing all of the texture and detail - actually APPRECIATING all the talent and effort and vision that these people had to be able to put this together. Instead of feeling fear, I just felt so proud of them and all they've accomplished.

When Stewart and Tricia rejoined me in the lobby, he showed me even more details with his little flashlight. Then Tricia said she would walk with me through the haunt. We walked together through the creeky door into the first room, which featured an above-ground cemetery and an actor who kept talking to me and Tricia like some mad, crazed zombie. He would come up behind me and make slurpy noises in my ear. He even knew my name, thanks to my good buddy Stewart. As we walked through a hallway crypt, a spinning tunnel of bones, a swamp, a spider room, a horrifying dentist's office with the Tooth Fairy looming overhead, a graveyard with the headless horseman, and a haunted mansion featuring more gruesome zombies, Tricia stayed slightly ahead of me and talked to me about different features and scenes the entire time. Any time someone popped out of a window, or jumped out from behind a wall, they got in her face first. And we LAUGHED. And, even though I had come by myself, I had a sense that I was never alone. And I was so glad that I went.

As I drove home, I got to thinking how Tuesday night was like my life. And my faith. This world can be a nightmarish place sometimes. You never know what's lurking around the next corner. Things can seem to happen unexpectedly, even though they may have been part of somebody's design. Strangers may not always be nice people. They could be chasing after you, or waiting to pounce.

(If you've never been to a haunted house, you might not know that one of the cardinal rules is that the actors aren't supposed to touch you. That did bring me some comfort, knowing they couldn't "get" me.)

Even with all the creepy sights, sounds and smells (?!), I was amazed that I did not feel afraid. As I walked through this alternate universe with the ones who created it, I had confidence that nothing would harm me. They had intended this haunted house for fun, and they were excited to share the experience with me.

So, as we walk through this beautiful crazy world that God created for our pleasure, we can have every confidence that He will protect us, that He is with us every step of the way, and that He loves us. He wants to enjoy His creation with us, walk with us through all of our life experiences (good and bad), and build a relationship with us built on love and trust. Knowing that God is good, God is faithful, and God is love helps us to trust Him when we're not so sure that we are safe.

thoughts for remembering 9/11/2001

2010-09-11T17:49:00.000-04:00

"Awake"
by Josh Groban

A beautiful and blinding morning
The world outside begins to breathe
See clouds arriving without warning
I need you here to shelter me

And I know that only time will tell us how
To carry on without each other
So keep me awake to memorize you
Give me more time to feel this way
We can't stay like this forever
But I can have you next to me today

If I could make these moments endless
If I could stop the winds of change
If we just keep our eyes wide open
Then everything would stay the same

And I know that only time will tell me how
We'll carry on without each other
So keep me awake for every moment
Give us more time to be this way
We can't stay like this forever
But I can have you next to me today

We'll let tomorrow wait, you're here, right now, with me
All my fears just fall away, when you are all I see

We can't stay this way forever
But I have you here today
And I will remember
Oh I will remember
Remember all the love we shared today

2009-11-22T13:26:00.004-05:00

Bryan found this poem in a book he's reading about becoming a professional life coach. I can certainly identify with the truth in this poet's heart, so I thought I'd share and see if y'all can too... Let me know your thoughts. Which chapter is YOUR life right now?

An Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

by Portia Nelson, 1993

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost…I am helpless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in this same place.

But it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in… it's a habit…but,

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

I walk down another street.

Where should we draw the line?!

2009-09-19T23:47:00.006-04:00

During this whole national debate on health care reform, I've listened to both sides of the argument with a (fairly) open mind. It's definitely a very emotional, controversial, politically-charged topic that will affect all Americans in some way. But today, I won't get into the gory details and talking points, because I want to write about some related questions that keep bubbling to the surface in my mind. They're not so much about the bill itself, but about to what extent our leaders will take this sense of entitlement.

Something really troubles me about this bleeding-heart Democrat mantra that "Every American DESERVES free health care." Just because they repeat it ad nauseum (hey...maybe I should see a doctor about that!), doesn't make it true. The thing that really concerns me is that the logic of this argument is riddled with fallacy. If every American is ENTITILED to free health care from the government, why stop there?! "Every American DESERVES..." (YOU fill in the blank! C'mon...This could be fun.)

Take a look at the poor and homeless in every city across America - it's a complete tragedy that people are forced to live on the streets and eat out of dumpsters! Couldn't one argue, by the same logic, that every American ENTITLED to a free home of their own, free groceries every week, and free utilities? (Hey, why not throw in free basic cable and a toaster oven?) Who is responsible to "fix" this problem in our country?
Hey...I've heard enough talk about the rising unemployment rate in this country - I say, "Every American DESERVES a job!" Better yet - Why don't we just work, and our employers could contribute our entire paychecks to the General Fund, so that our honorable elected officials can decide how best to spend it for us? Everyone would have what they need, and nobody would be burdened with too much money.
If everyone is entitled to an education, why quit after high school? Let’s make college free for everyone too! Problem is, when colleges are forced to accept everyone and the government pays, the value of the college-level education drastically decreases.
A friend of mine recently posted a statistic on Facebook that wonders “how 60 million Americans struggle with obesity, while 36 million Americans struggle with hunger.” Why isn’t the government rationing food so nobody has too much and nobody has too little?

Where else does our government feel that they need to intervene in our personal lives? If we give them an inch, will they take a mile? What will become of the principles of capitalism and free enterprise that have distinguished our economic system as one of the greatest in the world?

My husband had a really interesting point the other day... if everyone is SO concerned about people not having health insurance, then why don't we see any non-profit charities organized to provide financial aid to the 10 million "uninsurable" Americans - either to help them purchase health insurance, or subsidize their health care expenses directly? We have charities for helping the hungry, and for nearly every other imaginable social problem - why not health care? For that matter, what role should Christians play in helping those who cannot help themselves?

If we lived in this imaginary utopia where there was meant to be an even distribution of wealth, the government could just print all the money and pass out the same amount to everybody, just like the "Banker" does at the beginning of a Monopoly game. Problem is, in real life - just as in the game - some loser still runs out of money in the end. You either have to keep giving them handouts or call the game over!

homeschool funnies - language arts

2009-08-15T23:48:00.005-04:00

I know I haven't posted anything lately, but I have a little "funny" to share from our homeschool lessons this past Friday. I was teaching the girls about the three basic types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory.

First, I told them that declarative sentences just make a statement, or tell something that happened.

Next, I asked them what they thought an exclamatory sentence would be. Hayden immediately exclaimed, "A SHOCKER!!" Yeah, I think she gets it.

Then I pointed to the word interrogative on their worksheet, and asked what kind of sentence they thought it might be. Hayden tilted her head with an inquisitive (or confused) expression and responded, "Huh?" So, I told her that she was exactly right!

Talkative Baby

2009-06-17T23:43:00.005-04:00

I don't know who this is, but this adorable video makes me laugh every time I watch it! Enjoy!

passing by

2009-04-06T21:46:00.007-04:00

I was reading this post on a friend's blog, and my heart was really touched by her thoughts. She said I could share them with you here, but requested that I not link to her blog.

Thoughts while driving through Southern Morocco

Zipping by in my climate-controlled shiny silver-mobile, I catch a glimpse of you - an old, bent-over woman battling the icy winds.

We pass you by.

Riding in a car full to the brim with suitcases, books, people, car seats and more, I avoid your eyes as you stand on the road, carrying a heavy load of firewood - hoping for a ride.

We pass you by.

Going on, I stuff my face with snacks, and barely notice you, little one, holding out walnuts or weeds (for tea?) – hollering at me to buy.

We pass you by.

In a tourist-frequented village, we rest in the shade, glugging our filtered, bottled, super-clean spring drinking water down as you stumble past us under the weight of two huge jugs of muddy river water.

I watch you pass.

Back in the car - dreaming of the hot showers we will have to wash away one day’s dirt, we dodge a little boy in the road who can’t even remember being clean.

We pass him by.

Changing our cold, wet socks and shoes for fresh clean ones, I catch your eye as you wade through the freezing stream because your bridge was washed away in a flash flood.

We pass you by.

Planning to do multiple loads of laundry the minute we get home, I look up through the window and see you – precariously perched on the edge of a cliff, laying your clothes out on the rocks to dry.

We pass you by.

With pockets and a bank full of money, we haggle with you, our tour guide, who is trying to rip us off by charging an extra four dollars.

I can hardly wait to pass you by.

Our girls, carsick from reading too much, gaze out the window at grubby girls their age, babies on hips, who will never own one book.

We pass them by.

Explaining God’s love for us yet again to our questioning children, we drive through an entire village who has not heard this once.

We pass them by.

It’s not that I don’t want to help. It’s not that I don’t want to make a difference. We even try to do little things for people along the way. But there are so many on every single kilometer of road. I’m overwhelmed. If I got out of the car in even one tiny village, we’d never get home. After all, we are on a tight schedule. Where would I start? Where would it end? My heart is heavy.

But You – You got out of the car. You sheltered us, lifted the firewood off of our backs, and gave us bread and water surging with life. You cleaned us up and then gave us new clothes to wear. Your words were so simple that it was the illiterate who understood first. And you poured treasures and love into our hearts.

You stepped out of the car so long that you spent your entire life here. And most amazing of all – you even made a way for us to go where you go. And be where you are.

You did not pass us by.

Doesn't this put our daily hassles & inconveniences into perspective?

It's so easy in American culture to get wrapped up in ourselves, and yet we can see similar scenarios here in our homeland if we just open our eyes.

If Jesus had passed us by, where would we be?

But He couldn't.

And He didn't.

And we are His.

signs of life

2009-02-27T13:20:00.005-05:00

Hints of springtime are finally peeking through the dead leaves (and snow!).

This week I've seen...

- cardinals flying

- day lillies blooming

- kudzu vines creeping

- children playing outside

Praise God! Here's hoping spring comes quickly...

one more

2009-02-27T00:42:00.002-05:00

since you've been gone

from this earth,

so often

i want to call you for advice,

or to tell you the cutest thing

the kids did today --

i almost pick up the phone.

while you were here

you always gave me so much,

but maybe i'm just selfish -

because i would give anything for

just one more...

...word

...day

...joke

...vacation

...smile

...talk

...note

...movie

...picture

...phone call

...laugh

...play

...visit

...shopping trip

...birthday party

...Christmas morning

...Easter egg hunt

...family dinner

...hug
...kiss
..."i love you"

...good-bye

It's just not the same here without you, Mom.

I miss you every single day.

stars

2009-02-15T18:44:00.003-05:00

The other day, as I was running (well, driving) between gymnastics and guitar lessons, I was listening to the local Christian radio station. There was nobody else in the car with me at the moment, so I could actually hear the lyrics to the Switchfoot song "Stars" that was playing.

"Stars"

Maybe I've been the problem, maybe I'm the one to blame

But even when I turn it off and blame myself, the outcome feels the same

I've been thinkin maybe I've been partly cloudy, maybe I'm the chance of rain

Maybe I'm overcast, and maybe all my luck's washed down the drain

I've been thinking 'bout everyone, everyone you look so lonely

But when I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars I see someone else

When I look at the stars,

the stars, I feel like myself

Stars lookin' at our planet watching entropy and pain

And maybe start to wonder how the chaos in our lives could pass as sane

I've been thinking bout the meaning of resistance, of a hope beyond my own

And suddenly the infinite and penitent begin to look like

I've been thinking 'bout everyone, everyone you look so empty

But when I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars I see someone else

When I look at the stars,

the stars, I feel like

everyone, everyone we feel so lonely

everyone, yeah everyone we feel so empty

When I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars I feel like myself

I don't look at the stars enough. I watch too much TV. I spend too much time in front of the computer, wandering aimlessly through cyberspace.

When do I feel like myself? What would it feel like to feel like myself? These are questions that I need to explore... how about you?

that's one way to put it...

2009-01-05T23:50:00.007-05:00

Kirstyn was reading aloud while she was doing her Bible lesson on the computer today.

It was about the categories of the books in the New Testament.

She was reading the list, and said that

Matthew, Mark, Luke & John were called the "Gossip-les."

Boy, my kids are good at making up new words lately! I still can't stop laughing...

the theology of Santa

2008-12-24T11:10:00.006-05:00

While the girls were emptying the dishwasher this morning,

they were having a discussion about Santa:

Me: What good little girls I have today.

K: Santa is coming tonight!

Me: Is that why you're doing your chores?

K: No. We just wanted to obey.

Me: (thinking) Yeah, right!

K: Santa knows everything.

H: No... GOD knows everything, not Santa.

And then He tells Santa what people are thinking.

Interesting chain of command...

the culinary standards in our home, they are high

2008-12-17T13:42:00.006-05:00

Just now, my youngest daughter made her very own lunch,

took one "test" bite, and then declared it delicious by coining a new word:

"YUM-DERFUL!"

Yeah...Too bad she was eating Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.

here's the beef!

2008-11-26T10:35:00.003-05:00

We recently chipped in with some other families in our homeschool group to purchase a whole cow from a local meat processing plant. The processor made all the cuts and wrapped and labeled everything. They even split all the cuts evenly between the 4 families and boxed them up for us.

We ended up getting a quarter of the cow, (think half of a side of beef), and it cost us approximately$2 per pound. We got LOTS of ground meat, some stew meat, several roasts, a few different kinds of steaks, and even two livers. (Yeah... I think I'm gonna see if my neighbor wants those.)

I think I'm going to enjoy bypassing the meat department at the grocery store!

forgive us our debts

2008-11-13T22:44:00.005-05:00

Today, Hayden was copying the final two phrases of the Lord's Prayer for a penmanship assignment, when she decided to read it out loud. She said, "...and forgive us our debits as we forgive our debitors..."

She hasn't learned about the silent "b" in the word "debt," but I guess I've taught her plenty about debits. Forgive us, indeed.

fall-humbug

2008-10-28T11:46:00.013-04:00

Now that the weather is officially cooling down, I've been reading a lot of blogs and twitter updates about how people just *love* autumn. So, I thought, in the interest of balancing out all of the euphoria, I'd write a post about the fact that I do NOT like the Fall season. Not one little bit. While everyone else is celebrating harvest season, I'm mourning the loss of summertime.

I don't think it's any secret to O2BNAZ readers or my friends that I don't enjoy the fall or winter months. I don't like being cold; don't like the leaves falling off the trees; don't like pointless parties; don't like pumpkin carving or Halloween costumes; don't like dreary gray skies for weeks on end; don't like the stress of the holidays; don't like my birthday being on Thanksgiving; don't like having a brown lawn; don't like Christmas shopping; don't like hot apple cider; don't like putting up decorations, or taking them down; don't like wrapping gifts; don't like daylight savings ending; shall I go on?
(I could, you know... it is MY blog!)

From October through February or March, I'm generally not a very happy girl. Every year, I try to muster up some enthusiasm, but I just can't bring myself to get excited at the prospect of the changing season. Of course I survive, but not usually without some kind of emotional breakdown. I try my best not to complain too much - I don't want to be known as a Grinch, or a Scrooge, but I'm pretty sure I don't hide my contempt very well, either. I really do try to make the holidays fun for my kids, but on the inside, I'm hating every minute of it. I know as a Christian that Christmastime should be a very special time to celebrate Jesus' birth. (But may I remind you that He was really probably born in the SPRINGTIME? Like April!)

What's all this negativity about, you ask? I don't know, but I've definitely felt it much more intensely since we moved to Georgia. It may have something to do with the fact that fall and winter are much colder here than in Arizona. It just doesn't feel like "home" when it's so cold. Also, we moved to Atlanta in the fall of 2005, and we didn't know anyone. I felt so lonely and lost all the time. Maybe it's because I'm too busy to really enjoy the holidays - I think all they do is add more things to our schedule and my to-do list. It could also be because my mom was diagnosed with her cancer on Halloween 2005, and she passed away in February 2007, and I subconsciously connect the fall and winter months with my grief. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that we're so far away from family during the holidays that it makes them harder to enjoy. Whatever the reason, fall has barely begun and I'm already longing for spring. I just want to feel the warmth of the sun again.

So...am I the only one, or is there anyone else out there who feels the same way I do? Can any of you fall-lovers help me understand what's so great about the holiday season?

just kidding

2008-10-20T01:09:00.004-04:00

This made me laugh. All 18 times I watched it today.

strange surprise

2008-10-17T13:47:00.005-04:00

Before we left for our long weekend away to my college reunion, I had (miraculously) cleaned & put away all the dishes in the sink. However, when we returned on Tuesday night, we were welcomed by a strange little surprise. Something was peeking out from the garbage disposal.

I plucked it with the roots intact and determined that it was a canteloupe seed. Apparently the seed had gotten stuck to the underside of the drain and had enough moisture to take root and sprout. So, I planted it in a little flower pot on my deck, even though I have no idea if it's even the right season to grow canteloupe. We'll see how it does...

lost

2008-10-16T23:00:00.005-04:00

Why is it that whenever anyone else in my family loses something that belongs to them, they come running to ME and ask for my help in finding it, expecting me to drop everything and help them search, but when I misplace something and ask if they've seen it or ask them to help me look for it, I barely get a shoulder shrug and a backwards glance with a mumbled, "I don't know."

???

Cheetalicious!

2008-10-03T12:22:00.009-04:00

It's OK. You can say it.
OH. MY. WORD.

Trust me...I've said the exact same thing countless times before, as I've thrown up my hands in utter despair.

Y'all. I couldn't even walk in the girls' bedroom (without risk of personal injury) to get a "before" shot from a different angle.
But you get the idea, right?

I've tried everything. I've cleaned it for them. I've stood in the doorway and made them clean it up. I've yelled. I've begged and pleaded. I've bribed. I've threatened. I've ignored it, hoping they'd get sick of living in such filth. No matter what I do, it always ends up looking like THIS. -->

What's a mommy to do?!

Yes, I was fully expecting to find all kinds of critters and/or insect life underneath all the (dirty? clean?) clothes on the floor. I felt like a detective looking for clues to solve a mystery. Or a paleontologist excavating the scene of a prehistoric creature.
You understand what I mean, don't you?

Now, THIS is what a "Cheetalicious" room should look like! I'm really excited about how it turned out, and the girls are thrilled too!

Before, Kirstyn had a cheetah room, and Hayden had a pink/Strawberry Shortcake room. So, this is our attempt at combining the two together...or at least what I intended for it to look like when they decided to share a bedroom.

Now, Amanda obviously can't guarantee that it will always STAY this organized, but she says now that everything has a place to go, it shouldn't ever take them more than 10 minutes to clean up their room.
Only time will tell...

The BIG Chicken

2008-09-16T12:30:00.004-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I had to drive a little ways away to a special camera repair shop to get my digital SLR fixed. On the way there, we drove by an extremely famous Atlanta landmark called The BIG Chicken. It's an enormous red chicken with a yellow beak that opens and closes, and googly eyes that swirl round and round.

I mean, everybody in Atlanta knows where The BIG Chicken is. People give directions like, "We're 1 mile north of The Big Chicken," or "Go past The Big Chicken and turn left." You don't even have to refer to the actual street names around there. People just know.

Anyway, if y'all aren't familiar with The BIG Chicken, it's prob'ly cuz you don't live 'round these here parts. I'm just sayin'.

So after my camera was fixed, we were driving home when the kids realized that it was almost lunchtime. Guess what? They start laying the groundwork: "We're hungry. What are we gonna do for lunch, Mom?"

Then, as fate would have it, The BIG Chicken came into sight on the horizon. Then they pour on the guilt: "We've NEVER BEEN to The BIG Chicken, Mom. Can we pleeeease go to The BIG Chicken for lunch?!"

Y'all. It's a KFC.

So I say to the children, "Y'all. It's a KFC. You've been to KFC before."

But they persist: "But we've NEVER BEEN to THAT one before! It's The BIG Chicken! Pleeeeease!"

So I caved. We had KFC for lunch at The BIG Chicken.

And fortunately, my camera was fixed, so we also have a picture to prove it:

Don't let it ever be said that I'm not a FUN MOM!

I picked this just for you, Mom

2008-09-15T21:45:00.000-04:00

In August, Nathon went on a fabulous road trip to North Dakota with my father-in-law (his Grandpa). He took my old digital camera along, and came home with some wonderful photos to remember this special journey.

One of my favorite shots is this amazing field of sunflowers, stretching out to the horizon, as far as the eye can see. It's breathtaking, don't you think?

Well, for those of you with kids, you may remember the stage of childhood that's so sweet and innocent - right around preschool to early elementary age. This is the time when they'd come in from playing outside and hand you a flower they had plucked (from who knows where - it was probably a weed if it came from my yard!) and say, "I picked this just for you, Mommy." And after your heart melts, you just have to put it in water (no matter how short the stem is) and save it for a few days, just because he was so thoughtful and proud of himself.

Fast-forward about 8 years, and ... Nathon is a few days shy of 13 years old, and 1,500 miles away from home. He's standing next to the road, looking across this massive sunflower field, and he thought of me. He figured that they wouldn't miss one sunflower, so he whipped out his pocketknife and cut one off its thick stalk. (I guess there must be some unwritten rule that says the bigger the kid is, the bigger the flower has to be?)

He even put it in a 2-liter Coke bottle filled with water so it would live until they drove home to give it to me. And what was the first thing he did when he got out of the truck? He presented it to me with a big smile, as if to say, "I picked this just for you, Mom."

Isn't that the sweetest thing?! I just love getting little glimpses of that child-like sweetness that's still embedded in his teenaged heart.

Something tells me I need to remember those moments and hold onto them for dear life when the (inevitable) storms of adolescence hit.

Play Room Transformation

2008-09-11T22:41:00.007-04:00

I just realized that it's been a few weeks since I had posted any Project Organization pictures (or anything else, for that matter). And I thought that my silence on the issue might lead you to believe that there hasn't been any progress. Let me tell you, NOTHING could be further from the truth.

Amanda & I have been working tirelessly in various different rooms over the past few weeks. We worked in Nathon's room while he was on a road trip to North Dakota with his Grandpa B; we organized the school room (yea!); and we worked in the girls' playroom, which is what I'm featuring tonight.

BEFORE: You couldn't even walk in the girls' playroom. Because when your friends come over and get out every toy you own and then leave without helping clean up, it can be a tad overwhelming for two little girls to handle on their own. The drawers & toy baskets were practically empty because everything was just OUT. Well, see for yourself:

And before you make a comment saying, "Oh, it doesn't look so bad," or "Our playroom is a mess too," keep in mind that it had been preserved in this exact state for MONTHS ON END. And they never played in there anymore. Because when you can't find the toys you want, or you can't dance and twirl around on the floor, a junked-up playroom is no fun at all.

We made a mountain of toys in the middle of the floor and I'm telling you - we went through EVERY LITTLE THING in that room. Every scrap of paper, every Barbie shoe, every Polly Pocket, every dress-up garment, and every stuffed animal. I think Amanda was a little frustrated that the stuffed animals ALL had names... makes them too personal to get rid of, you know! And, if I'm being honest, I had just as much trouble letting some of the toys go as my daughters did. (What's that about?!)

AFTER: Other than being a little cross-eyed from scrutinizing every tiny little piece of plastic in that room, it felt really good to have it done. I couldn't believe that the girls knew what some of those teeny-tiny little pieces went with, but they did, and we got it all sorted out. I think. One can never be totally sure.

The plan is to (eventually) get a mattress and give the bed its purpose back. So, there's still a bit of decorating to do, but at least it's all organized! One step at a time, I guess.

Since we finished organizing the playroom, I'm amazed that the girls have been pretty good about putting their toys away after they've played with them. I guess the real test will be tomorrow, when they have a bunch of friends come over to play for the first time since our big playroom cleanup day. (It makes me feel a little better to know that one of the friends is the daughter of Amanda, my organizer!)

The moral of the story is: Apparently when you get rid of enough junk, you CAN have a place for everything, and everything in its place. Who knew?!

the transition begins...

2008-08-23T20:31:00.011-04:00

So, Nathon turns 13 years old today. As his mother, I've been putting off this moment as long as possible, but the clock kept on ticking against my will. I can pretend I didn't see it coming, but I've seen the signs all along. Even though I want to deny it, I have to admit that I could hear the relentless "tick-tock" echoing in my heart with every passing year, and with every milestone he's accomplished.

Even this morning when I gave Nathon his Happy Birthday hug, I warned him that he's not an "official teenager" until 9:31pm tonight. You see, he was born at 8:31pm, but that was when we lived in Arkansas, which is in the Central Time Zone. And now we live in Georgia, which is an hour later. (Silly, I know...now who's acting like a little kid, right?!)

I blinked, and somehow, the boy is already taller than me, and wears bigger shoes. I've noticed that his voice isn't cracking as much as it did even just a few months ago. The boyish features on his face are morphing into a young man's right before my eyes (even if there is an occasional blemish - sorry Nate... just keepin' it real).

I'm constantly amazed at how much Nathon can do on his own now. He helps me so much when Bryan's travelling (not always without complaining, mind you). He walked himself to swim practice nearly every morning in June. He walks the dog and goes off with his friends riding bikes around the neighborhood. He takes out the trash and mows the lawn and grills THE BEST burgers you'll ever sink your teeth into. He's becoming more self-sufficient and responsible all the time.

So, it seems that Hot Wheels, Legos, Transformers, action figures, and light sabers are on the way out. (OK, maybe not light sabers...) And while I definitely won't mourn the loss of those toys, I am sad because it means that my baby boy is growing up and leaving those things behind (as much as any boy ever really does leave childhood things behind, anyway). Those things will soon be replaced by wakeboarding, competitive swimming, deodorant, iPods, electric guitars, friends, and Facebook profiles. (...and girls. Don't forget girls. Maybe girls won't happen right away, but soon enough, I'm sure!)

He may still have a lot to learn, but he's got a smart mind, a strong, healthy body, and a loving, caring heart (even when he covers it up with his teenage "bad-itude"). He has so many other great qualities too. Like not being intimidated to talk to people, being willing to ask for things he wants, and not being afraid to express his thoughts and opinions.

I'm so proud to have Nathon as my firstborn son. I can't wait to see where God is going to lead him in life. And I'm so glad that I get to be part of it.

So, today we begin the next chapter of Nathon's life: Adolescence. The teenage years. His journey into manhood.

My heart may not be ready, but I know he is.

coming out of my closet

2008-08-18T20:21:00.001-04:00

What's coming out of my closet, you ask? I'm almost too embarrassed to tell you that there were SEVEN (count them, 7!) large, black garbage bags full of clothes! (Not to mention all of the papers and other items that didn't belong in there. EVER.) And our closet's not small. And it's still full. And I haven't done laundry yet.

I forgot to take "before" pictures of the closet, but I'll check and see if Amanda took any.

Anyway, the results are undeniably wonderful!

Look!!! Carpet!!!

Can I just say...I'm SO very glad to have that tedious task behind us now!

Getting rid of so much stuff all at once has been much harder than I thought it would be. I guess that's why my house was in such a horrible state to begin with, but I can see how the bad habits and lack of discipline that Bryan & I have developed over the years have trickled down to our children. Wait 'til you see the photos of the kids' rooms. Then you'll understand. They're coming soon, so stay tuned...

look inside!

2008-08-12T17:38:00.006-04:00

Well, I showed you pictures of what the bathroom looks like all organized. I'm happy to report that it STILL looks that way more than a week later!

Today, I thought I'd give you a little peek into the drawers & cabinets to show that the organization is not just a facade.

So, without further ado, I give you "The Dental Drawer!"

We also have a perfume drawer, a lotion drawer, a q-tip and cotton ball drawer, and a drawer for hair stuff.

This tall, skinny cabinet has always baffled me. I could've thought of a million uses for it in my kitchen - storing cooling racks, cutting boards, pizza stones, or cookie sheets. But, in the bathroom it posed a huge dilemma.

At only 5 inches wide, we couldn't fit a trash can or any kind of shelf in there. So, we decided to take the TP that I buy in bulk out of the larger under-the-sink cabinet and stack it in here. Pure genius! It was Amanda's idea. See, sometimes it just takes a fresh set of eyes to be able to see things differently.

This is the space in my closet that's supposed to serve as a "linen closet." I hate it because it's so dang tiny. We moved the sheets to my husband's nightstand drawer, and consolidated all of the medications in those bins on the top shelf. The smaller bin is for children's meds, and the larger one for adult meds. The next shelf down has little drawers for ointments & band-aids and stuff like that. Then the towels can take up the rest of the shelves.

LOOK!! An EMPTY DRAWER!!

Need I say more?!

the bathroom of my dreams

2008-08-02T23:04:00.008-04:00

BEFORE: Cluttered (& dusty) countertops, desperately disorganized drawers & cabinets

AFTER: Cleaned & cleared countertops, storage that makes sense!

1 BIG bag of garbage
1 bag of items to give away (FreeCycle)
1 bag of items to move to other rooms (downstairs)

Maybe I'll even take pictures of the cabinets & drawers so you can see a little more detail of what we accomplished.

Amanda insisted on organizing my bathroom and bedroom before doing the kids' rooms. She says people (especially moms) notoriously put themselves last out of concern for their kids, so one of her "rules" is that the master suite gets organized FIRST.

I think I like her more and more every day. Even though she's making me get rid of stuff.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I do believe I'd like to take a relaxing bath...

P.S. - We have also been working in the Guest room/Home Office, but we aren't quite finished yet, so those pictures will be posted after we get some furniture moved around. Also, we are waiting on some minor construction in the basement (school room & sitting area) before we can finish up down there. Next stop - my bedroom & closet!

it's a start...

2008-07-28T11:23:00.014-04:00

Well, I spent the whole day Saturday working with my professional organizer, Amanda. She suggested that we begin in the basement because there was a lot of stuff there that needed to get moved upstairs, and also because there are a lot of things upstairs that need to be moved to the basement, but don't really have a place to go.

Here are some "Before" pictures of the basement kitchen and the newly-built storage closet off of our exercise room. The shelf in the kitchen has all my cake decorating supplies, and the one in the closet had mostly stuff that belonged in the garage, but we decided to use it to house all of Bryan's computer parts, which are currently scattered all over the house.

So, after hauling stuff up to the garage and going through a ton of paper and computer parts, here is the result:

Now I finally have room to get cabinets in the basement kitchen! Maybe I better get it done quickly, before that empty space gets filled up with something else!

We also worked in the school room quite a bit, but the progress isn't as dramatic. Maybe I'll post pictures of the school room progress later this week, after she comes back on Wednesday night. We have big plans for the school room. The idea is straight out of Pottery Barn Kids, so stay tuned.

WFMW: (hypothetical) Sonic drink trick

2008-07-16T08:10:00.008-04:00

Let's just say that you like to go to Sonic once in a while, as you're out in the summer heat running errands, for their 1/2 price drinks at Happy Hour (between 2pm-4pm everyday). And when you go, you usually happen to have two or three children with you. Hypothetically.

So, being the generous, loving mother that you are, you offer to purchase a refreshing, ice-cold beverage for your thirsty offspring. Next, the precious children in the back seat catch a glimpse of the enticing menu at the drive-in, and their eyes pop out of their sockets when they see the ice cream treats offered up for sale. The children begin asking, begging and pleading for such things as sundaes and root-beer floats and Blasts with bits of candy infused into it.

But, alas, these items are NOT 1/2-price during Happy Hour, and being the budget-conscious wife that you are, you tell the little darlings that you're there for the 1/2-price drinks, so they need to choose a beverage quickly, because you don't have all day, and dadgum it, you've already pushed the button to place your order! This makes the kids sad, and a little scared to make eye contact.

(ahem...)

Then, a glorious light from heaven shines down onto the drink menu at your local Sonic drive-in, and you notice that they now offer the flavor shots for FREE. (woo-hoo!) FREE is budget-conscious, and extra flavorings are generous, so this is a perfect solution. Inspired, even.

Now, you may have in mind the traditional flavor mix-ins, like cherry or vanilla, but if you keep an open mind, you (and/or your children) may enjoy mixing new and exciting flavorings into your otherwise ordinary drinks. For example, you may like Cherry Coke, OR your taste buds might be tingled by something different, like Blackberry Sprite. Hmmm?? Mmmm...

My personal favorite lately is Cranberry Limeade. My son used to order Chocolate Dr. Pepper, which sounds to me like it would taste like I threw up in my mouth a little bit. (I might consider trying chocolate Coke if I was PMSing really bad.)

But, quite possibly the most ingenious idea I've ever come up with in response to the incessant requests for Ye Olde Root Beer Float is this: Add a FREE shot of Vanilla flavoring to a regular Root Beer beverage! Tastes EXACTLY the same, and it's STILL 1/2 PRICE!!

See? You get to stick to your budget AND go down in history as the Best Mom Ever! What could be better than that?! Hypothetically.

Hypothetical Disclaimer: I'm probably the LAST person on Earth to figure this out, so I apologize if I'm telling y'all something you already know.

Oh, and don't forget to go back to Rocks in my Dryer for 200+ other (non-hypothetical) tips & tricks.

***UPDATED TO ADD: This idea would definitely work at QT too, where drinks are cheap all the time. They also have FREE flavor shots (just vanilla & cherry I believe). But, add the vanilla to the root beer and voila!

AND.... DID YOU ALSO KNOW THAT SONIC SELLS THEIR FABULOUS CRUSHED ICE IN 7-lb. BAGS?!? THEY DO! (The one near us sells them for $1 apiece, plus tax.)

ALSO.... Speaking of drink tricks... Since I don't like Cherry Coke, I don't buy it in the 2-liter bottles. My daughters like it, though, but we just wouldn't go through a whole bottle before it went flat. So I buy a jar of stem-less marachino cherries and use the cherries & juice to "make" our own homemade Cherry Coke whenever they request it. It's a big hit in our house.

That is all. Class dismissed.

WFMW: Crazy Beauty Tips

2008-07-09T12:50:00.002-04:00

OK, I see that it's Works for Me Wednesday, but I don't really have anything original to contribute. However, I was reading an interesting article online today and learned a few things, so I thought I'd share.

Some of these tips I've done myself (...like shaving my legs with conditioner, or putting powder in my hair when I didn't shower), other tips I've heard but not tried (...like putting toothpaste on a zit, or curing callouses with Vaseline), and even a few that were new to me and I'm looking forward to trying (...like mixing regular lotion with baby oil, perfume or body bronzer, or freezing eyeliner pencils before using them for a cleaner line).

Hopefully they really work! Now get back to Rocks in my Dryer for more WFMW tips.

inside-out de-cluttering

2008-07-07T11:30:00.003-04:00

Lately I feel like my life is a bit of a jumbled, scrambled, rushed and cluttered mess. Sometimes I can keep it contained. And I can temporarily hide it pretty well when I know someone is coming over. But then it rears its ugly head again and I'm back to square one. "Clutter" - real or imagined, affects every aspect of my life - my home, my mind, my body, my blog...

The thing is, I'm not sure if the clutter in my home is a reflection of my life, or a result of the way I live it, or both. When I was younger, I can remember my Mom telling me that I usually made a bigger mess whenever I was "cleaning" than if I had just left the room cluttered up with junk. Still true.

I think I need a team of professional organizers (or maybe just my sisters...HINT, HINT!) to come and help me get rid of all of this clutter at once. Or maybe I need a therapist to help me figure out what all the clutter is covering up for me. But one thing I know for sure: The clutter is not going away by itself. (I've given it deadlines before, and it never seems to care.) It's going to take a lot of work on my part, and it's not going to be easy. In fact, I don't have a clue where to begin.

(Sidenote: The clutter is even taking over my blog. You may not be able to see it, but on my dashboard are about 15 blogs that I've created. Several of which are no longer really active. Then in my O2BNAZ posts, there are at least 50 drafts that have never been published, for whatever reason. Either I started a thought and never finished because I got interrupted or distracted, or I wrote something I'm afraid to say publicly.)

And, of course, since I'm not the only person in this family who contributes to the clutter, I worry about what happens once I do clean it all up. Will I be able to maintain a clutter-free existence? Will I turn into a neatness nazi? Or will I be free to live life without being held back by a chore list, or unfinished home improvement projects looming over my head? Will I be able to train my kids to comply with a new, organized system? Or will I have to yell at them to clean up after themselves just as much as I already do now? Will my mind ever de-clutter enough to sort out some thoughts and blog about them here?

So, right now I'm stuck in survival mode - wash enough clothes for the family to wear this week; do enough dishes to be able to eat off of; drive the kids to gymnastics & guitar lessons; get enough food at the store to make dinner. Things like that. Don't think too far into the future, lest you forget something that you're supposed to do today. But I'm tired of looking at it, and I'm tired of talking about it. It's time to take action.

I would really like to be able to relax and breathe deeply in my own house, exercise and take a relaxing bath; feel my emotions and twitter until my fingertips bleed. Seriously, I would love to be able to sort through some of those old blog drafts and see if there's anything worth publishing or ideas worth exploring further. . And have fun with my kids without feeling guilty. Right now, those things seem like luxuries I can't afford. But when do such "luxuries" become necessary to maintain sanity?

Coaches' Choice Award

2008-06-27T21:59:00.008-04:00

I know I've talked a lot lately about how proud I am of the girls, and how stupid our beagle can be. But if y'all will indulge me one more bragadocious moment, let me point your attention to my firstborn son, Nathon.

Friday night was the award ceremony for his swim team. Everybody who participated got a trophy, but there were several "special" awards for which they give medals. There were medals for "Best in Age Group," "Stopwatch Award" for dropping the most time over the swim season, "Rookie of the Year" in each age group, and then the "Coaches' Choice Award," which Nathon was chosen to receive! (Below is a description of the criteria for the Coaches' Award.)
The coaches chose one boy and one girl from the entire swim team (all age groups combined) for this special award. The swimmer must have demonstrated an overall outstanding performance in the water, displayed respect, and possessed a positive attitude towards other swimmers and coaches. The swimmer participated in many practices and always did what was asked of him or her without complaint. The coaches were always able to count on the swimmer to give a little extra.

We're so proud of Nathon's performances in the water this season, as well as his character toward his coaches, teammates, and competitors. Most mornings, he responsibly walked himself to the pool for practice. He made friends and had fun this season, and he performed well even though he hasn't competed for the two previous summers. He even got to "swim up" an age group for one of the meets.

He's planning to swim in the county meet in a couple of weeks, and may have an opportunity to go to the state meet if he places 1st, 2nd or 3rd in either of his events. He will be swimming the 50m Breaststroke and the 100m Individual Medley (all strokes). I'll be sure to let y'all know how it goes.

SHE DID IT!!!

2008-06-24T23:57:00.005-04:00

Well, for those of you who have been waiting on pins and needles to see if Kirstyn would actually go through with getting her ears pierced for her birthday, I won't keep you in suspense much longer....

LAST night we were driving by Claire's, and Kirstyn wanted to stop in and check things out. She brought her pen and pad with the words "check 1 - yes or no" written on it. She looked at all of the cute earrings that Claire's has for sale. She talked to the employees, and talked to us about this being her last day to get her ears pierced before she turns 8. She even chose which earrings she would like to get her ears pierced with.

Then, with a little twinkle in her eye, she declared that she might need to think about it over some ice cream. I see how it is...holding out for ice cream. Can't blame a girl for tryin'.

When I pointed out that we would be going out for ice cream with some friends for her birthday the next night, she looked at her pad of paper, pulled the cap off her marker, and checked .... NO.

So, tonight after having dinner at Moe's with our friends, we went across the street to Claire's. I figured it would be best to do this quickly and not drag things out. So, I signed the consent form and she hopped up in the chair.

(...one last "Oh no! What am I doing?" thought going through her mind, perhaps?)

... All done!

She says that it did hurt on the first ear more than the second. She is glad she finally went through with it though (no pun intended).

THEN we went out for ice cream to celebrate our brave, strong, sweet, 8-year-old birthday girl!

As we were cleaning her earrings before bedtime tonight, she said, "I still don't know if it's going to be fun to have earrings." Thankfully, she was having a little birthday sleepover, so Hayden and her friend Allie were there to reassure her that it is fun to have earrings, especially after the first six weeks. Wish us luck!

a momentous occasion

2008-06-18T14:59:00.008-04:00

I took the girls out for a special time this morning. We arrived a few minutes before our destination store opened, so we went nextdoor to Barnes & Noble to have some Starbucks drinks together first. And then we snapped a couple of photos before moving on to the main event...

I surprised Hayden by letting her get her ears pierced for her 6th birthday. She was so excited that she wasn't even nervous. She chose little pink flower studs with a white center. She said that she didn't feel anything, and I believe her because she didn't make a peep. They're adorable, and they look so cute on her! I was so proud of how brave she was. Then she told me that the girl at Claire's was "so nice and kind and sweet."

Sidenote: We tried and tried to talk "big sister" Kirstyn into getting her ears pierced too, but we couldn't do it. (She said she didn't even want to come with us at first, but changed her mind just as we were leaving.) She even watched Hayden get hers done, and not even flinch. Still no luck. I know she really wants earrings, but I guess she's just not ready yet. I said, "Hayden said that she didn't feel anything." She told me that she's afraid that "it will still hurt for me." I don't know what else to do to reassure her, but I guess all I can do is wait her out.

Anyway, I knew Hayden was so ready to do this. She's been asking about it for months. And I knew it was the right thing to do to show her that I understand that she's a big girl now, and can make her own choices (on some matters, anyway).

But the clincher (for me) was when we were walking out of Claire's and on to the next store. I told her I was so proud of her, and how amazed I was that she wasn't even scared. Then I told her that her new earrings looked really cute on her, and she said, "I just feel pretty." That put a smile on my face, 'cause there's no bigger thrill to a mother's heart than making a sweet little girl feel pretty and special, especially on her birthday.

(PS - she's not making a funny face - she's sucking on a lollipop they gave her.)

sisters & friends

2008-06-17T22:52:00.006-04:00

My little girls are growing up.

I've been noticing lately that they've become such good friends. I'm so glad to see that they don't just tolerate each other - they truly adore and depend on each other. They hug all the time, and they play so well together. They are sisters to the core - and they remind me of my own two sisters, who are also very close.

The other day I dropped Hayden off at her gymnastics class and took Kirstyn with me to pick up a few things at the grocery store. In the car on the way there, Kirstyn said, "It's going to be boring without Hayden."

he gives new meaning to the term OMNIVORE

2008-06-10T21:15:00.007-04:00

By all accounts, this beagle should NOT be alive.

Here is a list of the things (that I KNOW OF) that our dog has EATEN in the past week (besides, you know, DOG FOOD...):

1. Ant poison
2. Snotty kleenex
3. Mentos
4. Sidewalk chalk
5. Grass clippings
6. Hosta leaves
7. Lizard
8. Empty Gatorade bottle (OK, so he didn't EAT it, he just chewed it...)

You'd think we never feed the poor hungry puppy. You'd think he is left to his own devices and has to forage for his own food. But no. That is NOT the case. He eats his dog food too. But I guess everybody needs a little variety sometimes.

fitness room update

2008-06-09T09:53:00.009-04:00

LOOK! Carpet!

(click the image for a close-up)

It has burgundy and grey flecks mixed in, which goes perfectly with the color scheme of the Crossbow.

...and Exercise Equipment!

...and Lockers!

(...from the girls' locker room at my high school alma mater, Phoenix Christian HS!)

I haven't decided what to keep in them yet - any suggestions?

How fun is that?!

Now all I have left to do is get a flat-screen TV and a giant mirror installed, and put together the recumbent bike.

Have I used any of it yet, you ask? Ummm... wow, aren't those lockers great? Did I ever tell you the story about when I spray painted them with that epoxy paint and inhaled all the fumes and called Poison Control because I couldn't clean my nostrils out, even though I was wearing a bandana over my face and running the fan with the windows open? What a mess!

Anyway...I also have to decorate the walls. I'm thinking something like this or this, with motivational and/or inspirational words in that deep red color I chose. What do you think?

Any ideas for a motivational quote to use in my brand-new exercise room? (Disclaimer: Anybody except Andrew is welcome to answer this question.)

How do YOU spell TROUBLE?!

2008-06-06T17:35:00.006-04:00

At our house, it's usually spelled: O-C-H-O !

...and this is the same dog that we just spent an undisclosed (but obscene) amount of money to save from certain death mere weeks ago, when he ate the infamous pork bone that created a near-fatal intestinal blockage?! Seriously?!

Sometimes we just have to laugh to keep from crying. Good thing he's so dang cute.

unexpected visitor

2008-06-05T23:29:00.005-04:00

Guess what Nathon found this afternoon when he went to get the hose to water my flowerbeds?

I'll give you a hint:

It was coiled up on the patio (partly under Ocho's water dish)
...slithering through my impatiens! ...then across the lawn...
...through the pinestraw... ...heading back into the woods (or maybe through the fence into the neighbors' yard?)

We called our favorite native Georgian neighbor, who came right over and told us that it's probably a rat snake (non-venomous). This snake was at least 3.5 feet long! Yikes! Hope he doesn't come back and visit us anytime soon.

Come to think of it, we haven't seen any squirrels in our backyard lately.....

four things

2008-05-29T20:55:00.006-04:00

My friend Stacey at Just Me and My Guys tagged me for this meme. I know I've already done this via e-mail, but I guess I haven't posted it here before:

Four jobs I’ve had:
1. babysitter
2. credit bureau - archives destroyer
3. College work study & Admin Asst jobs @ JBU & GCU
4. Pampered Chef

Four movies I’ve watched more than once: (Trust me, I could name WAY more than 4)
1. Jerry Maguire
2. High School Musical
3. Annie
4. The Wizard of Oz

Four places I’ve lived:
1. Glendale/Peoria/Phoenix, AZ
2. Siloam Springs, AR
3. Hiram, GA
4. to be continued.....

Four TV shows I watch (don't judge me!):
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. American Idol
3. Desperate Housewives
4. All My Children

Four places I’ve been:
1. Las Vegas
2. Michigan
3. Coronado Island, CA
4. Chicago

Four people who email me regularly:
1. my Aunt Carol
2. my Aunt Marcia
3. my friend Holly
4. my friend Monika

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Peanut Butter
2. Chocolate
3. Coffee
4. any combination of #1, #2, & #3

Four places I would love to visit:
1. Europe
2. Michigan/Mackinac Island
3. Hawaii
4. New York

Four things I’m looking forward to in the coming year:
1. Vacation to FL with our neighbors
2. My Dad coming to visit us in GA
3. Teaching a creative writing course to the middle-school kids in our homeschool group
4. I'll leave this one open for God to fill in the blank _________________________

Four friends I’m tagging:
Lori
Carissa
Jami
Theresa

casting call

2008-05-26T22:49:00.008-04:00

Every time we've seen one of the Narnia movies in the theater, my husband and I are amazed at the uncanny resemblance between our son and Skandar Keynes, who plays the character of Edmund Pevensie. Seriously, he has Nathon's face.

Their facial expressions, mannerisms and voice inflections just make them all the more similar. The only differences seem to be that Skandar is a few years older, and he doesn't have red hair.

If you don't believe me, take a look for yourself:

Cool, huh? Nathon is determined to be cast as Eustace Scrubb (Edumund's redheaded cousin) in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, whenever they decide to make that book into a feature film. Guess we'll have to start working on his British accent...

American Idol FINALE - Cook vs. Archuleta

2008-05-20T20:18:00.006-04:00

OK, so the boxing metaphor at the beginning was really corny. And then Ryan said - "Big David" vs. "Little David" - that was a little patronizing, I thought. OK, on to the singing...

DAVID COOK (a.k.a - "D.C.")

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (U2) - Hot, baby! Amen, Amen! Phenomenal.
"Dream Big" - Great energy. I loved the message of this song too.
"The World I Know" (Collective Soul) - nice to see how versatile he is, and what a great performer! I could definitely see myself listening to a whole DC CD.

DAVID ARCHULETA (a.k.a. "Archie")

"Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" - His best performance yet, according to the judges. I don't see how it was any different than any of his other performances. I was bored enough to be distracted by other things, so maybe I wasn't giving him my full attention.
"In This Moment" - OK, am I the only one who's tired of his little humble act whenever the judges give him accolades? He always looks like he's gonna pass out! To me, this just shows his immaturity.
"Imagine" (John Lennon) - he's messin' with the melody too much for my taste. And he needs to work on his posture.

Who should win? Apparently, I'm not on the same page with the judges. However, I'm willing to bet my entire IRS stimulus payment that David will win, come tomorrow night.

***UPDATED RESULTS: WOO-HOO!!! D.C. WINS IT BY 12 MILLION VOTES!! I couldn't be happier for him! I was slightly worried for him last night, after the judges weren't as gushing as they were to Archie (glad Simon apologized for that tonight though), and because Archie was the pick for the votefortheworst website. But, obviously the fans SHOWED UP in a BIG way for D.C. WOO-HOO!!

the kids in me

2008-05-19T23:56:00.011-04:00

Well, the best example of the kid in me, are the three kids who came out of me. They are all part of me, and they each hold a special piece of my heart. So, I'll enter a few photos of each of them into this photo carnival/contest from 5 Minutes for Mom....

For some reason, the best shots of Kirstyn involve water.

Nathon is my biggest little kid. He's as tall as me, but he still secretly wears Scooby-Doo pajamas and plays with Transformers. And I have photo proof:

Kneeboarding, tubing, or wakeboarding... Nathon is in his element when he's being pulled by a boat.

Last, but not least, can you tell who the family entertainer might be? This little firecracker is always camera-ready!

Gotta love orange kool-aid moustaches in the summer... and gooey roasted marshmallows in the fall

...hanging out with her cousin in AZ.

Hayden Beth is a happy girl, whether she is right-side-up or upside-down!

I'm hoping some of these will catch someone's eye at 5 Minutes for Mom. If you want to play along too, post a photo or two on your blog that represents the Kid in You. Link back to your post on the 5 Minutes for Mom Mr. Linky by June 2nd, and you could win a Nintendo Wii, or a pinata full of Nestle chocolate!

mother-daughter day

2008-05-19T09:19:00.005-04:00

Yesterday would have been my Mom's 59th birthday. Since she passed away last year, there have been several milestones that I've taken time to remember her with the kids, in our own way.

Last year, on Nana's first birthday in heaven, we went with our homeschool group to see the Medieval Times show, and it was fabulous! My mom always loved taking the kids to shows and plays over the years. And it would have given her heart a thrill to go on that field trip with us.

This year, on her birthday, Bryan took Nathon to the lake to watch a wakeboard competition, while the girls and I attended a mother-daughter picnic with our Keepers group. Our picnic was at our friend Miss Ginger's family's beautiful lake house nearby. It was a blustery day, but the girls all enjoyed eating outdoors in the beautiful scenery, and then playing on the shore.

It was so lovely to get together with our friends and acknowledge all the work that the girls have done this spring with an awards ceremony.

good ol' google

2008-05-15T10:30:00.011-04:00

I just had a funny thought:

I'll could possibly have a whole new demographic group of visitors to my blog via Google searches, now that I've posted extensively more than anyone ever wanted to know about our dog's unfortunate (read: painful for him, and EXPEN$IVE for me!) pork-bone-fragment-stuck-in-rectum incident.

(UPDATE: The vet was able to break up the blockage and get the bone chunks out without doing surgery. Now Ocho has food going in one end and poop coming out the other. Hallelujah!)

So, I would like to take a moment right now to welcome all of the dog-lovers whose puppies may have digested something they shouldn't. Maybe our mishap will save another family from suffering this same trauma.

Can I see a show of paws?

tell me...

2008-05-14T23:07:00.003-04:00

...why do I always vent my frustration by writing blog posts that I would never actually post online?

"We write frankly and fearlessly, but then we 'modify' before we print."

- Mark Twain

in Life on the Mississippi

Yeah, that explains a lot.

AI Top 3 (or not)

2008-05-14T00:47:00.008-04:00

OK, so I haven't posted anything about American Idol yet. In fact, it's after midnight and I haven't even watched it yet. So, yes, I'm aware I'm too late to vote. But I will try to watch it and get some reviews posted sometime tomorrow. If not, please forgive me.

Believe me, I would have rather spent the evening on the couch fast-forwarding commercials than taking our dog to the Animal Hospital. He ate a pork bone yesterday, and now it's stuck in his, ummm, digestive track.

Long story short - We spent about 3 hours there, and ended up leaving him there overnight for them to try and get things *ahem* UN-stuck. Hopefully everything "comes out" OK, and he'll be good as new in the morning. And I'll be several hundred dollars poorer.

***UPDATE on OCHO - The animal ho$pital called me at 6:00 this morning to let me know that they gave him a couple enemas and pain meds overnight, but they were not successful in dislodging the obstruction, (although they were still happy to take my money...) so I went and picked him up to take him to our regular vet. They're keeping him today to help him pass the bone fragment. They're giving him IV fluids and stool softeners (question: WHY did the animal ho$pital vet not think to give him some kind of laxative or stool softener last night?! Duh.). Here's hoping things work themselves out today....

Thurs a.m. - Nothing worked itself out yesterday, so they kept him overnight on the IV fluids. The vet was talking about sedating him again today and trying to pull out the bone, and if that doesn't work, then $urgery. I REALLY hope it doesn't come to that. She says she's never in 13 years had to open up a dog to remove something from its colon. Because, when you think about it, whatever is stuck there has already passed from his mouth, through his ESOPHAGUS, stomach, and SMALL INTESTINE before it gets to the colon, which is much larger. So...I need to call and check on him.

proud moment

2008-05-09T17:46:00.007-04:00

As you may already know, I flew out to Arizona last weekend to celebrate my sister's college graduation. My youngest sister, Jen, walked the long and winding road to get there, but I'm so glad that she finally completed her bachelor's degree!

She's so smart and beautiful, but more importantly, her heart is so genuinely loving and generously grace-full. I really admire her determination and her ability to juggle work, family and school to finish this chapter of her story. Here's to the future, Sis!

AI Top 4

2008-05-07T20:52:00.004-04:00

I know, I know ... I've missed a couple weeks of recaps. Who knew that so many people depended on ME for their AI updates! (Karen & Jen)

I just got back into town late Monday night from a quick trip to Arizona. And, my husband left early this morning on a business trip to Florida. So, our paths crossed for a little more than 24 hours. One of which we spent watching American Idol. Sad, I know, but we did other things too ;)

Like laundry...what were YOU thinking?!

Anyway, you came here to read about American Idol, right? All I can say about last night's performances is - it will be an utter travesty if Jason doesn't get sent home tonight!

***UPDATED RESULTS - YES!! There is justice in the world! Jason is going home tonight. I think he was actually relieved...bless his heart. He even said that he didn't know what he'd have done for next week when they have to sing THREE songs. Whew!!

...and we have a WINNER (or THREE)!!!

2008-04-26T23:57:00.010-04:00

Let's just say I wish I had about 50 copies of The Shack to give away, because judging from your comments, I know you'd ALL get so much out of it. This is a very special book, and it touches many different people from many different backgrounds in many different ways. Truly amazing. If you do read it, I'd love for you to come back and let me know what you thought.

While I don't have copies for everyone (this time), I do have THREE copies to give away!! So, here are my three lucky winners, as determined by http://www.random.org/.

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

35
5
18
Timestamp: 2008-04-26 22:33:30 UTC

#5 = Michelle - http://www.northofthe49.com/

#18 = aahcoffee

#35 = meg (no blog)

Congratulations! And thanks to everyone for your thought-provoking questions. Aren't you glad that God already has everything figured out? I sure am!

Even if you didn't win this time around, I hope you will borrow or buy a copy of THE SHACK for yourself anyway. You won't regret it!

Hey wait! Don't walk away empty-handed!
Here are a couple of FREE full-length e-books from http://www.lifestream.org/ that make great follow-up reading to The Shack:

He Loves Me! by Wayne Jacobsen
So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore, a novel by Jake Colsen

And here is a FREE 8-hour audio series about the power of the cross and living relationally with God and others:

Transitions, by Wayne Jacobsen

My Bloggy Giveaway - THE SHACK

2008-04-25T20:41:00.003-04:00

To enter my drawing for a FREE copy of a fictional novel, THE SHACK,

leave me a comment with the BIGGEST question you'd like to ask God.

Here's a review that I wrote on Facebook:

"Wow! This book took what I believed about the way God works and put it in kaleidoscope form. I hardly recognized God in the way I had always been taught to imagine Him. And now I love Him even more than I did before! If you think you know God, (or if you're searching for Him), you MUST read this book! The Shack will rock your world...spiritually speaking, of course."

Click to read a preview - the Foreword and Chapter 1.

My contest ends on Friday, April 25th. So I'll be randomly selecting a winner and posting the results on Saturday April 26th. Be sure to check out Bloggy Giveaways for more goodies that people are giving away this week.

intestines in the hands!!

2008-04-24T22:11:00.002-04:00

Can I just say? SO glad Grey's is back!! Seriously!

AI recap - Top 6

2008-04-22T21:56:00.007-04:00

I've been really looking forward to Andrew Lloyd Weber night. He's a master composer with such a great repertoire to choose from. From the taped vignettes in Vegas, I thought he seemed like such a great mentor because he sincerely wanted to help the contestants showcase their individual personality, style and voice.

Syesha - "One Rock & Roll Too Many" - What a way to start the night. I LOVED this performance! It really let her fun personality shine through. Simon even thought it was sexy. So, I hope that her fan base hasn't dwindled too much to vote her through to next week. PS - she really likes being on top of the piano, doesn't she?! I think this is the 3rd time I remember her doing that.

Jason - "Memory" - First of all, it's one thing to not know a song that was written before your time, but his comment about not knowing that a cat sang this song just made him sound stupid. If I was going to meet the composer of a song I'd chosen to sing, I think I might try googling the composer or the song...something! As far as his performance goes, I'm the one who's going to sound like a broken record. I know I say it every week, but the boy needs to learn some musicality (breathing & phrasing, that kind of thing)! Can't get by on just your dreds & blue eyes forever. I know a lot of people love him, but I truly can't foresee myself listening to an entire JC CD. His voice is decent, but not superstar caliber. And his style never varies, so his songs are all starting to sound the same to me.

Brooke - "You Must Love Me" - Bless her heart. Despite the fact that she forgot the lyrics & started over (which was a good judgment call, in my opinion), I thought she definitely did this song justice. It was lovely and emotional (as always), but not overdone. She had to be SO nervous after re-starting the song, and I could tell she was very determined to deliver the lyrics correctly the whole way through. She gave it her best, though, and when all is said and done, she has a beautiful voice and sings with a very rare vulnerability.

David A. - "Think of Me" - I'm glad that Lord ALW told David to open his eyes! Tonight, I thought little David gave a decent vocal, but a boring performance. Even though he modernized it a bit, there was not much dynamic going on. And he just stood there and sang.

Carly - "Superstar" - I really LOVED this song for her too because it was upbeat and powerful without being angry. Totally her. Very fun. And her outfit was adorable. I really hope the vote fairy visits Carly tonight too.

David C. - "Music of the Night" - I'm on the edge of my seat. He actually surprised me by taking the traditional approach with this song. But it showed that he took the song seriously, with respect to Sir ALW. I thought his vocal was spectacular, as always, and it was so nice to see his versatility as an artist. He can do no wrong (in my book).

My favorite of the night - Syesha & David C.

Who should go home? (in my humble opinion) - Jason

***RESULTS UPDATE - I'm completely shocked to see Carly going home this week. She was not even on my radar. Even at the last second, I was totally expecting Ryan to send both girls back to safety and pull Jason back off the couch and send him packing (although, admittedly, that would have been extremely cruel). I'm sad for Carly because I have always really liked her voice and personality, and I think she has amazing potential. So, I hope she does well for herself.

my new photog blog...with pictures!

2008-04-20T11:04:00.003-04:00

We went to help with the lake cleanup day in our neighborhood yesterday. And I've posted some photos of our day at my new Photog Blog. Including a few shots of the two geese and their nest with FIVE eggs, and our exciting catapillar race! Come on over and see!

I'm it...

2008-04-17T12:09:00.006-04:00

I was tagged by my friend at Just Me and My Guys. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their name, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

What I was doing 10 years ago:

Ten years ago would be April of 1998. I would be about to celebrate my 5th wedding anniversary. Nathon would have been two and a half years old and entertaining the entire family as the only grandchild on both sides. I was working in the College of Education Graduate Office at Grand Canyon University at the time, and we were living in our first home. I was probably desperate to figure out some way to stay home full-time with Nathon and have another baby.

Five Snacks I enjoy:

1) Ice Cream
2) Kirkland Chocolate-covered raisins (just a minute...)
3) Mrs. Cubbison's Seasoned Croutons (I wish I was kidding)
4) Chips and Queso (can't have it too much right now because of my braces)
5) Popcorn with lots of butter & salt (also a no-no with braces)

What I would do if I were a billionaire:

1) Pay off our mortgage & Buy a second home in AZ (and/or a lake house)
2) Tell my husband to quit his job and go to grad school
3) Travel
4) Save & Invest for college & retirement
5) Give more to support our friends in missions & ministry

Five jobs that I have had:

1) h.s. summer job - Destroying old collections records at a credit bureau
2) college work-study - Placement Office @ Grand Canyon Univ. College of Education
3) college work-study - Admissions intern @ John Brown Univ.
4) after college - Admin. Asst. @ JBU and at GCU
5) Selling Pampered Chef

Three of my habits:

1) staying up too late & sleeping in
2) MUST close cupboards and doors
3) brushing my teeth (they didn't say it had to be 3 BAD habits...)

Five places I have lived:

1) Phoenix, AZ
2) Glendale, AZ
3) Siloam Springs, Ark.
4) Peoria, AZ
5) Hiram, GA

I'm tagging:

Leah @ Sweet Tea Please
Carissa @ Phyllis the Zebra
Lori @ Queen of Dirty Laundry

AI Top 7 - Mariah Carey night

2008-04-15T21:54:00.008-04:00

Mariah Carey... Isn't she the artist that the judges always warn contestants not to imitate? Oh well, I always enjoy listening to some Mariah music.

David Archuleta - "When You Believe" - Uh-oh...Mariah's duet with the other artist that the judges always warn contestants to avoid (that would be Whitney Houston). This kind of song suits his style really well. He's always consistent, great power vocals and runs (but not too many). He just still looks like a little kid to me, though.

Carly Smithson - "Without You" - I'm a huge fan of Carly Smithson, and I thought she was spectacular tonight! Her dynamics were perfect, and her melody lines were well thought-out. The judges aren't that crazy about her performance and said she should "trust herself" more. Guess they thought it was too deliberate when she changed the melody to avoid the super-low notes. But they would've criticized her more for attempting them and sounding off-key trying to hit notes that are too low for her range.

Syesha Mercado - "Vanishing" - She looks really good in that gold dress. She took on a pretty difficult song this week. I didn't hear anything wrong with her performance, and I thought she did a wonderful job on the end of it. She's no Mariah, but she didn't sound like she was trying to imitate her either. She was a'ight.

Brooke White - "Hero" (unplugged) - Playing piano alone is usually her cup-of-tea, but tonight she seemed a little shaky on the bridge. Her emotions are so near the surface, and her vocals were nice, as always. I just love this song, and I liked this "raw" version of it a lot. Brooke should make it at least to the top 4.

Kristy Lee Cook - "Forever" - Please...another gold dress? Kristy had a good musical arrangement, strong vocals, but it was a disappointingly predictable performance. She just doesn't show much personality or star quality on stage. Her time is up, I think.

David Cook - "Always Be My Baby" - I've never heard this song sung like this before! David Cook is doin' his thang again. Very cool performance! Original and very memorable. Amazing!

Jason Castro - "I Don't Want to Cry" - That little squeaky note at the beginning looked uncomfortable, but the judges continue to love his unique style. He just needs to work on his phrasing so he doesn't keep running out of breath in weird places. I didn't think this was a great Jason performance.

Best of the night? The Davids - I DO agree with Simon about the guys stealing the show tonight. Who knew that it would be easier for men to sing Mariah Carey songs than women?! Maybe it's because women are too closely comparable to the original, and no matter what a man does, it's going to be different than Mariah's version.

Who should go home? Jason or Kristy for sure. Syesha has a great voice, but she may be in trouble too, since she just didn't stand out.

***RESULTS UPDATE: I was completely confused by the groups until he told David Cook to switch sides. Oh, and I HATE when they make the last person decide which group is safe by joining them on one side of the stage or the other. Especially when it's a 17 year old kid, that's just cruel. Anyway, I definitely think "America got it right" this week sending Kristy Lee Cook home. Now she can focus on getting her horse back.***

information overload!

2008-04-14T20:40:00.010-04:00

I'm definitely a student at heart. I love to learn (and teach); I love to read; I love to listen and watch and interact with people. I love to be entertained, challenged, questioned, answered, serenaded, and inspired. There is so much that I want to take in (and share with others). Books, TV shows, articles, podcasts, blogs, news, commentary, movies, sports, conference workshops, and even sermons. I want to learn all I can about God, about people, about politics, about food and technology and nature and various art forms. I would love to learn more about cooking, photography, writing, parenting, sewing, grief, music, my cell phone plan, iTunes, organization, blogging, eBay, health & fitness, emotional issues, finances, marriage, and other random topics. I also want to learn more about myself and my family as we all grow in wisdom and explore our deeper hearts. Learning is a very time-consuming hobby for me.

Sometimes I think I have as short an attention span as your averge two-year-old, but I think it may just be that the sheer volume of information available leaves my head spinning. Ooh, I want to know how to do this; but hey, over here is another interesting topic; and wait... I forgot something I was supposed to look up online yesterday; but my, doesn't that article look compelling? Plus, my husband is always suggesting some new book to read or podcast to download. I'm either really good at multi-tasking, or just very easily distracted...

My problem is universal - I only have 24 hours in each day. And I have things to do every day that just won't wait - laundry, kids, dishes, cooking, algebra, paying bills, phonics, gymnastics, grocery shopping, guitar lessons, phone calls, doctor visits, and the list goes on. I know there is much fulfillment in living this noble role as a wife and mother. This is my life as a homeschool mom - I chose it, and I love serving my family this way. I don't regret it or resent it at all.

BUT....I always feel this sort of tension in my heart. As much as I love my life, I don't honestly feel that motherhood is ALL I was created for. Deep inside, I know I have more to offer, and I haven't allowed myself to admit my desires to myself or anyone else.

Even when my generous husband gives me a chunk of time, I flounder. There's just too much to choose from! I'm torn between the "shoulds" and the desires. (I remember when I was a new mom, and my baby would nap for hours during the day, I would agonize over whether I should catch a nap too because I was truly exhausted from being up at night with him, or whether I could put the time to better use by staying awake and doing housework. Those of you who know me best can probably guess which one usually won out!)

My point is - Both of my lists are endless. And completely at odds with each other. All too often I allow my responsiblities to crowd out my passions; either that, or I end up neglecting everything I'm supposed to do and delving into pursuing something at the expense of my family, friends and housework. And I don't feel like I do either one very well most days.

I often relate to the Bible story about Mary & Martha in Luke 10:38-42. Martha kept busy with all of the responsibilities, while her sister Mary knelt and pursued her passion for learning at Jesus' feet. Lately, I feel like BOTH of these women all rolled into one. The result is that I can have a bad attitude about the urgent demands of my home and family - so I live my life half-way; and in attempting to quench my thirst for knowledge, I merely whet my appetite and walk away unsatisfied.

Passions or responsibilities? Learning or living? I just wish it wasn't such an all-or-nothing proposition.

tiles and air ducts and lights! oh my!

2008-04-13T22:10:00.006-04:00

After hooking up the lights in our new fitness room last week, we got really motivated and decided we wanted to finish as much work as we could this weekend. I was so tired of having to keep the door closed, and looking at all of the wiring and pipes and insulation in the ceiling. (Click here for pics of what it looked like the last time I posted a progress report.)

On Friday, while Bryan was out of town, Nathon & I painted ALL of the trim in the room (baseboards, window casing, two doors and door casings) with oil-based paint. By ourselves. Twice. Can I get a high five?!

Saturday morning, Bryan dropped the HVAC vents (one supply and one return) into the ceiling grid and wired some power outlets. Our best neighbors came over to help us and hang out all afternoon on Saturday. We hung the ceiling tiles and cut the edge tiles to size and installed them. Then we all went out to dinner to celebrate!

The room looks 1,000,000% better!! I'm just glad I could share in a teensy bit of the work that we accomplished this weekend ... and also I'm a little exhausted from watching all those other people work. Guess I'll just consider it a "warm-up" ... or maybe a pre-gym workout. Baby steps...

selective listening

2008-04-10T11:29:00.001-04:00

Why is it that my kids hear every word I say EXCEPT when I'm talking TO THEM?!

AI recap - Top 8

2008-04-08T23:08:00.007-04:00

Well, since the last time I did a recap, we've lost a few contestants - Amanda, Chikezie, and Ramiele. I was going to go to bed early tonight, but then I remembered that somebody noticed I've been slacking on the AI recaps. So, I guess you could say I'm back by popular demand.

This week the contestants each chose an Inspirational song to perform:

Michael Johns - "Dream On" by Aerosmith - Hello - is that another ascot?! Ha ha. Michael's performance tonight was intense! I think he looked really confident. Confident enough to insert a little screaming at the end of the song, anyway. Simon called him "wannabe-ish" because he still believes Michael is more of a blues singer than a rocker. Votes will tell....

Syesha Mercado - "I Believe" by Fantasia - I felt like she should've dressed up a little more for this song. Her look didn't quite match the emotion of the song, to me. That said, her vocals were incredible tonight. I thought she was flawless! I don't think it was very fair of the judges to compare her to Fantasia so much, but then again, I've never been a big Fantasia fan.

Jason Castro - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" - Jason, bless his heart, is still breathing in between syllables! I'm begging you, lady vocal coach, please help him!! Jason's not a bad singer, but his style is so quirky that it could be cute. He's fortunate that his boyish charm and aw-shucks personality have appealed to so many and carried him so far. I didn't think the judges would like this version of the song. Boy, was I wrong. I'd never heard this version, but hearing it for the first time, Tiny Tim came to mind. I am not even kidding. And I'm not even old enough to remember Tiny Tim. Simon said the first time he heard that version of the song, he wasn't sure about it, but it's grown on him. Hmmmmm...maybe I need to listen a couple more times.

Kristy Lee Cook - "Anyway" by Martina McBride - Wow, Kristy was definitely determined this week not to end up in the bottom three. I agree that it was probably one of her top two performances on AI (right up there with "God Bless the USA"), but in my opinion, she's still the weakest contestant in the competition.

David Cook - "Innocent" by ???? - Cool song with a great message. David pretty much can't go wrong in my book, but I do agree that his performance tonight wasn't quite as outstanding as the past two or three weeks have been. He doesn't have anything to worry about, though.

Carly Smithson - "Show Must Go On" by Queen - Carly started off focused, and she can definitely sing anything. She has an amazing voice, and extraordinary stage presence. Simon's right that she oversang it a bit and lost control in a couple of spots. I think she just needs to kick her confidence level up a notch. Hope she gets the chance...

David Archuleta - "Angels" by ???? - Little David was in his element with this song choice. I've commented before on the purity of his voice, and tonight was no exception. I'm a little concerned about David, though. He smiles, but he's not very excitable for a teenager. Hope he's handling the attention and the pressure all right.

Brooke White - "You've Got a Friend" by Carole King - I love this song, and I think she sang it really well. In her intro video, Brooke talked about this being a "feel-good" song that would make everybody happy. But her facial expression was so serious (almost sad); she should have smiled more tonight. Awesome vocal, as always, but just a nice performance. I tried to squeeze in some votes for her tonight, but I never got through.

Who should go home? Kristy
Who may also be in trouble? Carly or Brooke

My favorite of the night? Syesha

Who did YOU like best tonight?

**RESULTS UPDATE** - Shocker!! Michael Johns got sent home.

Matt Maher's CD

2008-04-08T11:38:00.004-04:00

Today I read about this CD giveaway at Rocks in my Dryer, and also at Boomama's blawg. Let's just say I'm a huge fan of contemporary Christian music. And free things. I've never heard of Matt Maher before, but I trust Boomama's taste in music implicitly, especially after she turned me on to Monk & Neagle last year.

So, I signed up to get a free blogger's copy of Matt Maher's new CD, "Empty & Beautiful," which comes out in stores today. And then I listened to several of the tracks from this CD online. Let me tell you - he is so inspiring! The music is excellent and easy to listen to. It's very refreshing to hear piano in several of the songs, and not just straight guitar. Matt's lyrics are so honest and relevant and true. And the songs are singable. Each and every one. Which I love because I (used to) be a pretty good singer, and I still like to pretend. I'm really excited about this CD, can you tell?!

Matt Maher Music is having a CD giveaway for the first 100 bloggers to visit their site and sign up. If you have a blog with 50+ unique visitors per month, you can sign up for a free copy of "Empty & Beautiful" too.

Why are you still here?! GO NOW!

PS - If you don't have a blog, or don't have that many visitors, you can still follow the link and listen to all of the full-length tracks online. I have to say "Unwavering" is my favorite so far. Also, for a limited time, MusiChristian.com is selling the CD online for only $8.97!

how do you like my new draft blocker?

2008-04-05T10:51:00.001-04:00

...at least he's making himself useful while he's napping.

egg-stra ap-peel

2008-04-04T20:22:00.007-04:00

What's the trick to peeling a hard-boiled egg?!

(and no, this isn't a joke...I'm really having trouble with this!!)

Oh yeah, be sure to check in with the Queen of Dirty Laundry for more Advice Forum Friday questions & tips.

anniversary getaway ideas?

2008-04-03T22:12:00.002-04:00

This July will mark our 15th wedding anniversary, and I have a bit of a problem. I'm hoping you, my small but ever-faithful blog readers, will be able to help me out on this one. You see, my wonderful, handsome husband has been talking for quite some time about taking me on a getaway vacation in celebration of our marriage. Romantic and kid-free. (*squeal!*)

SO. Some basic information about our vacationing preferences might be in order...

We went to Paris (Las Vegas) for our 10th anniversary and had a wonderful time together. I love the beach, but my figure isn't quite ready for a bathing suit, and hubby sunburns too easily anyway. We like to relax, but seeing interesting sights wouldn't be out of the question either. We've only lived in the South for a couple years, so we haven't seen much besides the main attractions in Hot-lanta & Orlando. We've talked about going to Europe (for REAL this time - we do have passports!) or Hawaii.

My question for you is, where would you go to "get away" with your sweetheart for such a momentous occasion? (I have a few ideas, but I'm afraid I'm being too near-sighted, so I won't mention them here just yet.)

I'm a Comma

2008-04-03T09:59:00.002-04:00

My friend Stacey justdid this little quiz, so I thought I'd see what it said about me. Do you think it's right? Go see what it says about you!

You Are a Comma

You are open minded and extremely optimistic.

You enjoy almost all facets of life. You can find the good in almost anything.

You keep yourself busy with tons of friends, activities, and interests.

You find it hard to turn down an opportunity, even if you are pressed for time.

Your friends find you fascinating, charming, and easy to talk to.

(But with so many competing interests, you friends do feel like you hardly have time for them.)

You excel in: Inspiring people

You get along best with: The Question Mark

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

2008-03-23T16:14:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter!

He is RISEN!

AI recap - Top 11

2008-03-18T22:12:00.009-04:00

Let me just start by saying that doing a second week of Beatles' songs was a HUGE mistake. Last week's performances were so memorable for many of the contestants, and the others just weren't suited for that musical style. I almost wasn't even interested enough to blog about it. Don't forget to read Boomama's recap when you're finished here. Her insights into the entertainment industry are way more witty than mine.

Amanda Overmyer - "Back in the USSR" - Well, she only has ONE singing/shouting style, and I think the judges pointed that out pretty clearly. At which point she crossed her arms and said ballads are boring and then something about selling tickets to a show at a local bar in Lafayette. Yeah, go with that.

Kristy Lee Cook - "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" - The verse was too low for her voice and a little shaky, but the ending was good. I like her voice, but I do wish she was a better performer.

David Archuleta - "The Long and Winding Road" - The kid is back! Nice ballad choice, good pitch, good dynamics, good emotion, remembered all the words. What a pure voice he has... almost too pure for pop music.

Michael Johns - "A Day in the Life" - Mostly good, except for that bum high note. Michael needs to smile more. Wait - he just told Ryan that he was dedicating the song to his friend who passed away last year.

***SIDENOTE: May I make an observation? Of course I can...it's my blog! Contestants almost invariably do badly when they are performing a certain song "for" someone they love. I don't know if it's because they don't ultimately choose the song to specifically showcase their own voice or style, or if they're preoccupied thinking about their lost friend or beloved grandma, rather than focusing on their performance. But I digress... back to the show!

Brooke White - "Here Comes the Sun" - When I heard what song she was singing, I thought it would be perfect for little miss sunshine. Cute twirl, but after she put the mic on the stand it turned a little weird. She should've had more fun with it. She just looked like she didn't know what to do with herself without a guitar or a piano in front of her.

David Cook - "Day Tripper" (White Snake version) - Um, what is that thing on the 2nd mic stand? A voice box? OK...whatever that is. David's performance tonight was consistent and solid, but predictable.

Carly Smithson - "Blackbird" - First of all, she can sing anything. She had her shoulders hunched over for the first half of the song, and I'm not lovin' the ruffly rosey-red shirt, but I loved her explanation of why she chose the song lyrics... She identified with the song, and the audience can sense that it is meaningful to her.

Jason Castro - "Michelle" - Vocals weren't too bad, but (I'll say it again) he needs to work on his breathing!! He obviously just learned the French words phonetically, so it felt a little robotic. Had a little corny moment in the middle as he strutted to and fro on the stage. Jason is so cute, though. Always has a smile and a twinkle in is eye.

Syesha Mercado - "Yesterday" - I loved her simple rendition of this song. Beautiful, emotional performance.

Chikezie Eze - "I've Just Seen a Face" - OK, that was a little surprising. Or schizophrenic... I honestly don't know what to think or say about that performance. Chikezie definitely wasn't boring tonight, though.

Ramiele Malubay - "I Should Have Known Better" - Simon hit the nail on the head - mediocre song that didn't show the best of her abilities. I think her pesonality is cute, and her vocal skills are amazing. She just needs to learn the art of song choice. (I found it annoying that she kept breathing in the middle of the word "remind.") I don't think this was totally her style, and if definitely didn't show off her strengths.

Best Performances of the night? Syesha, Carly & David

Who should go home? Duh... Amanda!! But probably Kristy or Ramiele will get cut.

***UPDATED RESULTS: Woo-hoo! Amanda was the one voted off tonight. That means she's not in the Top 10, and she's not going on the AI Tour. NOW we can get on with the SINGING competition!

AI recap - Top 12

2008-03-11T20:24:00.011-04:00

Tonight was the long-awaited "Top 12" episode of American Idol, complete with new stage setup and new talent. I hope the talent lives up to the stage tonight. It's a big night for all of the contestants, because that stage will make them or break them.

Syesha Mercado - "Get You Into My Life" - I have always liked Syesha's personality, but I thought she looked nervous tonight. (Who wouldn't be?) She started the song kind of off-pitch, but it got better when she got into it more. I didn't think it was her greatest moment on the show. But that's just me, and I still like her.

Chikezie - "She's a Woman" - As Randy Jackson said, "Chikezie SMASHED it!!!" That dance around the stage with Ryan Seacrest was a little over-the-top, though. He is so adorable. My husband thinks he looks like Isaac from "The Love Boat." I don't know about that, but he can definitely sing!

Ramiele Malubay - "In My Life" - Well, that was just lovely. The song didn't really show her range, though. I always look for controlled voices that can add depth and contrast to a performance, and she's definitely got it. Don't hold back, girl! I think she just lost focus a little this week with her song choice, because she was so upset about people who have been voted off. (She was sobbing while Danny Noriega sang his final song last week. I wasn't.)

Jason Castro - "If I Fell" - Hippie week could've perfect for this shy boy. I liked how he sang the song, but to me, it kinda sounded the same as his interpretation of the song he did last week. He needs to work on his breathing technique, and start showing some musical versatility.

Carly Smithson - "Come Together" - She is such an all-around brilliant performer. Randy is right - she's always on pitch, she has great contrast between her light/soft voice and her power vocals, and she has amazing stage presence and moves that make her look like she's a pro. That bright blue dress really set off her eyes, too. Love her and her little Irish accent!

David Cook - "Eleanor Rigby" - You can just tell by the look in his eyes how very badly he wants to win this thing. Very Daughtry-esque performance.

Brooke White - "Let it Be" - Does anyone else know how difficult it is to play the piano and sing at the same time?! That was such a beautiful performance, and as Simon said, believable. You can tell she's so genuine. She hasn't gone to the dark side of Hollywood yet, as Simon predicted. I was glad to see her get to take a minute and "soak it all in" after the judges' comments.

David Hernandez - "I Saw Her Standing There" - I've always liked his voice. This performance was weird for me, though. I think he did over-do it a bit. He might be in trouble.

Amanda Overmyer - "You Can't Do That" - Elvis on estrogen, anyone? Oh, and can I just say that those lyrics were borderline creepy coming from a female singer?! And yet, the judges keep praising her. I'm just confused. C'mon - let's put her out of her misery already! She seems a'ight when she's shouting, but she can't really carry a tune with "light and shade" as Simon says. And, really, who can listen to a whole CD of the shouting? Not me.

Michael Johns - "Across the Universe" - A solid, safe performance of a great ballad. However, I agree with Randy & Simon - he needs to let go a little. I believe he has great control of his voice. He should show it off more by taking more risks.

Kristy Lee Cook - "Eight Days a Week" (countrified) - The hoedown beat was distracting for me, but I liked the country twist to the arrangement. The judges obviously thought she blew it, but I didn't think it was awful. It just didn't work because it made the song sound rushed, and you never could tell if she was ahead or behind the beat, or if she was actually on tempo.

David Archuleta - "We Can Work It Out" - I was a bit bamboozled-and-confuzled by his comment in his interview about not liking 60s/Beatles music, because didn't he just sing "Imagine" a week or two ago? Tonight, though, he showed his youngness and his nervousness; he forgot some of the words, giving a forced performance.

I don't normally vote for anyone until this "Top 12" stage of the competition. My favorite pick of the night would have to be Carly Smithson, but I'll probably vote for fellow Arizona girl, Brooke White too, because I want her to stay in the competition, and I'm not sure how big her fan base is. I wish Amanda Overmeyer would go home tomorrow, but she probably won't go because she's the worst. (Let's just hope we don't have another Sanjaya situation on our hands, people! I don't think I could take it!)

Who are you voting for? Who do you think should be sent home tomorrow?

**THE RESULTS**
David Hernandez is the first contestant voted out of the Top 12. Not my first choice to go, but I don't think he was a strong enough performer to make it much further than this anyway, at least compared to everyone else in the Top 12. On a side note, I did a double-take when I saw Sanjaya in the audience tonight! Hope it's not a sign of things to come...

keeping it to myself

2008-03-07T20:30:00.007-05:00

February 27th marked the day one year ago that my Mom died. Of course, this past year has been full of emotionally difficult "firsts" that our family has had to spend missing her... My parents' wedding anniversary, Mom's birthday, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, just to name a few. So, needless to say, my sadness and grief have been hovering very near the surface of my emotions lately.

Trouble is, I have been pretty private about my feelings, and this surprises even me. I've been keeping it to myself. My kids have seen me cry; I've confided in a few friends; and I talked to my Dad on the phone on the day. But, I have really been having a difficult time opening up to people about this area of my life. Even my husband, my sisters, my aunt, and some other really wonderful, loving friends. Somehow, each person only gets bits and pieces out of me.

My sister wrote a beautiful thank-you note to friends and family who have loved and supported her family; my husband called a couple of his friends and let them know again how amazed we were by their love and support when we returned from my mom's memorial service a year ago.

However, I have been so consumed with my own thoughts, that I couldn't put them together in a nice package to give to anyone. Now I wish I had made more of an effort.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though my heart still aches, it is full. And even though I haven't been sharing much, I know I'm not alone. God is good.

So, for those of you who have been there for me and my family over these difficult months (even in the smallest ways), I want to thank you and let you know that even though I don't always express it, I feel so blessed to have friends and family who lovingly surround me with their thoughts, prayers, compassionate words and acts of friendship.

I'm so glad you said that...

2008-02-20T10:10:00.006-05:00

I was talking to three other moms while my girls were in gymnastics class yesterday. And during the course of our conversation, two of them said to me, "I'm so glad you said that...."

Someone mentioned scrapbooking, and I flippantly said that I don't do scrapbooking. Ginger looked at me with raised eyebrows and said, "I'm so glad you said that because I've always felt so guilty that I don't scrapbook. I always feel like such a bad mom because my kids don't have fancy photo albums."

Several minutes later, our conversation turned to the topic of doing in-home day-care, and I mentioned that I'm really not cut out to watch other people's kids (long-term). LeAnn said, "I'm so glad you said that, because I feel the same way. I don't even watch my step-daughter's baby very much."

In the moment they uttered those words, my friend Ginger released at least a part of some guilt she's been carrying around inside, and LeAnn let go of some pressure or expectations she's put on herself for years.

I'm just glad that my admission of inadequacy served to encourage two other women. Just a reminder that sometimes it's best to let down our guard and give others a glimpse of our less-than-best side.

my Georgia hair

2008-02-15T12:37:00.005-05:00

Since we moved away from Arizona (and my favorite, trusted hairstylist, Margie), I've been resigned to getting my hair cut at SuperCuts, Great Clips and Fantastic Sam's. But all of my neighbors & friends go to great distances and pay obscene amounts of money for such services. I just couldn't bring myself to follow suit, but I was having increasing trouble admitting where I got my hair done to women who believe that if a salon has to put the words "Great," "Super," or "Fantastic" in the name, they clearly... aren't.

Enter my new friend from our homeschool group. She has been doing hair for over 20 years in Atlanta. So, I called her up and scheduled an appointment to do some highlights and a fresh cut for my tired-looking, greying hair.

Anyway, I had such a good time sitting in her basement and talking, getting to know her better. She took lots of time and I could tell she genuinely loves playing beauty shop. The price was right, and the results? Definitely worth it. It's taken me 2.5 years, but I think I've found myself a hairstylist.

I was nervous that Bryan wouldn't like it so short in the back, but he says he really does like it. However, he made the comment that it seems like a hairstyle you only see here in the Southeast. Whatever that's supposed to mean.

(Kirstyn, 7, took the pictures above when I got home, so the first one isn't very clear, and the shot of the back side is from her little-person vantage point, looking up at my head. I'll try to get a better picture soon.)

Uno, meet Ocho!

2008-02-14T00:19:00.014-05:00

I don't know how many of you watched the 132nd Annual Westminster International Dog Show recently, but the winner of Best in Show this year (for the first time ever, I think) was an adorable beagle named "Uno."

If you know our family, you may already know that we adopted our beagle for Nathon's 8th birthday when we lived in Arizona. Hence, we named him "Ocho." Which one do you think is cuter? Yeah, I think we'll keep him.

Anyway, the kids had fun watching the last few minutes of the dog show and pointing out how funny it was that both beagles had Spanish numbers for names. Coincidence?! I think not.... We were also howling with laughter whenever Uno the beagle howled at his owner admist all of the excitement of winning. Aroooo!!

all caught up

2008-02-10T22:53:00.001-05:00

I know this is going to sound completely silly to most of y'all. But here goes....

Since our most recent trips to AZ & MO (in October & November), I've been WAY behind on watching episodes of All My Children. We were out of town those two times, and then the holidays hit. Thank goodness for the good ol' DVR. All I could do was watch the episodes pile up. There was actually a point when I was more than a month behind. I wasn't sure I would ever catch up with the residents of Pine Valley.

So, one of my secret new year's resolutions was to get all caught up. I thought I was going to have to delete several episodes to reach my goal, but once I started watching, I was hooked into the storylines again and didn't want to miss a minute (except the commercials). And thanks to a lazy Saturday last weekend, and being sick today, I am now officially All Caught Up on All My Children!

Although I am grateful to have more time freed up to commit to other worthy pursuits (like reading, exercising, playing piano, or listening to podcasts), I'm afraid watching just one episode a day from now on is going to seem too short!

bonus tip

2008-02-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

As long as we're talking about shopping online, I want to refer back to a post that my good friend Desert Diva wrote a while back. I especially tried to put it to good use over the Christmas shopping season. It's about finding promotional codes online.

GoodSearch

2008-02-06T00:14:00.000-05:00

What perfect timing Shannon has! In this week's Works-for-Me-Wednesday I'm supposed to reveal my favorite online shopping site. It's so hard to narrow it down, honestly. But I just got a call from one of our church's local missionaries. This is a unique concept, no matter where you like to shop. Read on...

It's a new easy way to raise money for your favorite cause - and it doesn't cost you a dime! Just start using GoodSearch.com as your search engine and online shopping mall. Every time you search the Internet or make an online purchase at one of their partner merchants, GoodSearch makes a donation to your favorite nonprofit or school... and it's powered by Yahoo, so you get great search results!

How many times a day do you do a web search for information about some product or service? What if your favorite charity earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37% of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favorite organization.

If you don't already have a charity to support that's registered with GoodSearch, may I suggest supporting Come As You Are (CAYA) Reconciliation Ministries International? (They help feed, clothe, and provide necessities to needy families in my local area - Paulding County, GA.) Just go to Goodsearch.com and be sure to enter CAYA as the charity you want to support. And, be sure to spread the word! Thanks a bunch!

Don't forget to head back to Rocks in My Dryer to browse the other blogs with online shopping tips to try.

don't forget to VOTE!!

2008-02-05T01:13:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder to all of you living in SUPER TUESDAY states... get out there and VOTE today! I already cast my vote in advance (so I wouldn't have to stand in line with 3 kids today). And I've got my Huckabee sign out in my yard.

As we were leaving the polling place on Friday, an elderly lady jokingly asked my 5-year-old daughter who she was going to vote for. To which Hayden enthusiastically replied, "Mike Huckabee!" and gave a big thumbs-up! However, Kirstyn was still undecided. That's OK, though, because she can't actually vote in a presidential election for another 12 years. Looks like she has plenty of time to make up her mind.

Have YOU made up your mind yet?

please pray for Ryan

2008-01-30T21:59:00.000-05:00

My cousin, Ryan, started 30 weeks of chemotherapy today at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. He's a freshman in high school, and just turned 15 last weekend. The week before his birthday his doctor discovered a fairly large malignant tumor wrapped around his lower vertebrae. It’s extremely rare, and it’s called Ewing’s Sarcoma, a cancer of the bone. Some specific things to pray for:

Ryan is starting this aggressive treatment as he is still recovering from biopsy surgery on his back. He's in quite a bit of pain, and the chemo is just going to make him feel worse, unfortunately.
Ryan has lost weight due to some bowel problems caused by the tumor, and because he's been on a liquid diet & medications for over a week.
Ryan may get to come home from the hospital on Sunday, but he has a long & difficult road to recovery ahead of him.
His parents, as they will have to make sacrifices in order to work out all of the logistics of his care and schooling.

Cancer sucks. But I'm so glad we serve a God who is bigger than cancer.

a 7th thing

2008-01-30T12:34:00.000-05:00

Recently, I wrote a post of 6 interesting or little-known things about myself, although a couple things on the list technically weren't about ME. Anyway, I was at a fast-food restaurant the other night and realized another quirky thing I can write down about myself.

7. Straw dispensers - if there's already an unwrapped straw sitting on the outside, I throw it out... I have to SEE the straw come OUT of the dispenser!

Sounds so weird, I know. Whatever you're going to say in the comments - I can take it.

progress report

2008-01-24T21:11:00.000-05:00

Around Thanksgiving, I posted about this room we're finishing in the basement to house our exercise equipment. Although the fitness room isn't quite finished yet, I'm pleased to report that we've definitely made some progress on that project. I finished re-painting a set of lockers (inherited from my high school). And... drumroll please... we officially have the walls finished and painted! What a huge difference a couple coats of paint makes in how "finished" a room looks!

Last weekend, the home improvement store had a mail-in rebate offer on paint, so I took that as my cue to go purchase what we needed for the fitness room. The only problem is that I have been so indecisive about what color combination to use in that room that I ended up going with a color called "Champagne Gold," which basically matches the wall color in the rest of the house. Once I had about half of the first wall done, I realized I felt a little disappointed. It looks all right, it's just nothing special or exciting. I did have plans to paint a "sporty" stripe in a deep red tone called "Velvety Merlot," (which we haven't done yet), so maybe that will make it seem a little more exciting to me.

Now, all we have left to do is assemble the drop ceiling and lighting fixtures, terminate the electrical and cable jacks (maybe mount a TV too), hang a closet door, and install carpet and baseboards. (I think... anything else I'm missing, Andy?) I'll be pumping, treading and spinning in no time flat!

creative use of snow

2008-01-16T22:22:00.000-05:00

If you're too lazy to rake the leaves in your yard during the fall (like us), then just wait until the first good snow and have the kids roll 'em all up in one giant snowball!

6 things

2008-01-11T09:43:00.000-05:00

My friend C at Phyllis the Zebra tagged me quite a while ago for this meme where I tell you 6 interesting or little-known things about myself. I'm finally getting back to it. Here goes...

1. I've played the piano for over 25 years. (yikes - is that possible?!)

2. I have two Erica Kane dolls. Bonus fact: The ringtone on my cell phone is the theme from All My Children.

3. Henry Rojas, the original Phoenix Suns Gorilla, is a good friend of our family.

4. Hal Engstrom, one of the military intelligence guys who helped figure out exactly where Saddam Hussein was hiding in Iraq, used to work with me at Grand Canyon University.

5. I've had a passport since 2001, but I've never been out of the U.S.A.

6. My favorite children's book is The Monster at the End of This Book, featuring lovable, furry old Grover.

I won't officially "tag" anyone, but if you want to play along, leave a comment and let me know so I can read your fun facts too!

holiday heartache

2008-01-08T23:52:00.000-05:00

It's no secret that I never really look forward to the busyness and stress of the Christmas season, but this year was especially tough, being the first without my Mom. She always somehow made it bearable for me. Christmas was her specialty, and she was the best at making it fun for everyone.

So, my heart was kind of a jumbled mess over the holidays. I'm still struggling to find the words to describe the state of my emotions. I was in and out of an emotional fog for a couple days, almost like I was detached from myself. I could function all right when I knew I had to get something done, but I didn't feel fully engaged with my husband or kids or friends... even with God or myself.

There are many times I can put on a "normal" face for my friends and for the kids, and I can (temporarily) pretend there's not a hole in my heart that aches for my Mom. Before she got sick, we talked nearly every day. When she was sick I couldn't talk to her as much, but I always knew she was there. Now, I still talk to her most days, but I can't hear her talk back to me, and that's harder than I ever imagined. Apparently, I depended on her wisdom and love more than I even knew. I miss her so much. (In fact, sometimes, I feel as if she's behind a veil - just beyond my reach. I think it's because I believe even though her physical body died, my Mom's spirit didn't cease to exist - so she's still somewhere loving me. It's hard to explain...)

On those sad days, I constantly feel like I'm on the verge of tears. And if someone looks me in the eye and asks me if I'm OK, or if someone says something about my mom, I can't stop the tears from flowing.

I thank God that my husband is so amazingly understanding and loving. He's such a great listener, supporter, and encourager. He sincerely wants to help me through these tough times and I know he will when I'm ready to put my feelings into words. Until then, he is content to wrap his arms around me and hold me tight when I feel like falling apart. ...But I know that it's ultimately Father who is quite literally holding the pieces of me together with His love, and comforting my heart with His peace.

favorite fragrances?

2008-01-05T22:09:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but my friend Tricia and I spent a good amount of our Christmas-shopping-at-the-mall time at the men's fragrance counter. We sniffed and sniffed until we both had a headache. Cologne - coffee beans - cologne - coffee beans ... it was completely exhausting, I tell you!

It was also pretty frustrating. The problem was, we could hardly find one that smelled decent. Some smelled too flowery or too harsh. Some of them didn't even smell like they belonged on men. At least not our men.

After almost an hour, we both finally settled on two different colognes from designer Kenneth Cole. Tricia bought "Black" for Stewart, and I bought "RSVP" for Bryan. Now that Bryan's wearing it everyday, I have to say I'm very happy with my choice!

What is your favorite scent for your guy to wear?

this explains a lot...

2008-01-03T21:18:00.000-05:00

2007-12-25T12:44:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y'ALL!

did you SEE the meteor shower?!

2007-12-14T13:31:00.000-05:00

Nathon's Astronomy teacher, Mr. Donny, shared some information with his class about the Geminid meteor shower that happened overnight. Nathon was so excited about seeing it that he set his alarm to wake up at 3:30 a.m. (with mom's permission). He went out and set up his telescope and some chairs in our driveway before waking the rest of us up at 4:30 a.m.

The whole family got to marvel at the spectacular sight of "shooting stars." It was very helpful for us to have the diagram that Mr. Donny handed out to the astronomy students. The kids enjoyed identifying the constellations, planets, and stars (like Betelgeuse). It was interesting to see the movement of the constellations over the time we were watching them.

Some of the meteors were faint and others were bright; some were big and some were small. They seemed to be scattered across the whole sky - to the north, south, west, and directly above us. We sat out there (freezing!) for about one hour, and we probably saw an average of 1 or 2 meteors per minute. Then we came inside, turned on the fireplace, drank some hot cocoa and went back to bed!!

elf yourself

2007-12-13T10:14:00.000-05:00

Well, I thought it was high time I posted something humorous and fun, so here goes.... The kids have been begging me to do this with their photos ever since we got our first one of these e-mails from some friends a while back. So, I stayed up late last night and did it to surprise them. Oh, the squeals of delight! You would've thought I told them we were moving into Toys R Us.

Click on this link (or the picture of Ocho) for some Christmas fun from our family...even the dog!

the list could go on...

2007-11-27T09:45:00.000-05:00

After living 9 months on this earth without seeing my Mom, I've decided to publish a list I made a while back. I wrote it almost all in one sitting, but since then I've tweaked it a few times. Those of you who knew her are welcome to reminisce with me (and even add your own list in the comments section). Those of you who didn't know her will be able to get a feeling about what an amazing & beautiful woman my Mom was, and why I still miss her every day... especially this time of year.

100 Things I Miss About my Mom

(in no particular order)

1. Her smile
2. Her laugh
3. Her wise advice
4. Her listening ear
5. Her love
6. Her wisdom
7. Her beautiful, thick blonde hair
8. Her “forever” wedding ring
9. Her gift of hospitality
10. Her open heart & mind
11. The way she cried whenever we had to say goodbye
12. Her sense of humor about her height
13. Her love of movies
14. The way she loved to experience new things
15. Her beautiful, long fingernails
16. Her predictable wardrobe
17. The way she knew what she liked and didn’t like
18. The way she knew what the kids would enjoy
19. Her chocolate chip cookies
20. The way she loved to play games
21. Her love of chocolate
22. Her love of Coke (caffeine-free, of course)
23. Her love of small kitchen appliances
24. The way she bought 3 of everything (so she could give each of her girls one)
25. The way she only ever ate ½ of something (sandwiches, desserts, etc.)
26. Her sense of fun
27. Her practical jokes
28. Her intuition about people
29. Her undying love for my Dad
30. The way she wanted updates after every kids’ doctor visit
31. The way she always knew how to get through to a kid
32. Her confidence / self-assurance
33. The way she could bring the family together
34. Her encouragement
35. Her love of simplicity
36. The way she told (and repeated) stories
37. The way she delighted in each child and grandchild
38. The way she included friends (and strangers) in family gatherings
39. Her sense of pride in her family
40. The way she saved things from our childhood
41. Her love of fudgesicles and soft-serve ice cream
42. Her love of Kirkland chocolate-covered raisins
43. Hershey’s chocolate kisses & Fudge Stripe cookies
44. Her love of shopping
45. The way she followed “All My Children” for over 30 years
46. The way she could make a special memory out of everyday activities
47. The way she was always fully present in my life
48. Her active role in her grandkids’ lives
49. Her support & her prayers
50. Her concern for everyone’s health
51. Her selflessness
52. Her unique handwriting
53. Her commitment to Christ
54. The way she loved others
55. The way she helped others in need
56. The way she could explain someone else’s point of view
57. Her intelligence
58. Her emphasis on the importance of education
59. The way she “rested her eyes” while watching TV
60. The values she taught us
61. The work ethic she modeled for us
62. The fact that she didn’t work full-time when we were kids so she could be home with us every day after school
63. Getting manicures and pedicures with her
64. Cutting & coloring her own hair
65. Rarely changed hairstyles
66. Her signature pink lipstick
67. Her teal eyeliner
68. The way she wore mascara on only her top lashes
69. Rarely changed home décor
70. Her love of seasonal decorations
71. Her generosity
72. Her leadership
73. Her diplomacy
74. Her fierce loyalty
75. Her protection of our family
76. Her honesty
77. Her forgiveness
78. Her inner beauty
79. Her strength
80. Her youthful spirit
81. Her enthusiasm
82. Her creativity & crafty-ness
83. Her zucchini casserole
84. Her deviled eggs
85. Her cranberry bread
86. Her egg salad sandwiches

87. The way she teared up on special occasions
88. The way she would make me sukiyaki on my birthday even though no one else in the family liked it that much.
89. Going to Jack-in-the-Box for lunch with Nana
90. Her sense of wonder
91. Her gentleness
92. She never complained about her pain
93. Family traditions
94. Vacation memories (San Diego, Michigan, cabin, etc....)
95. They way she always made me feel loved and special
96. The way her eyes squinted when she smiled
97. Her beautiful grayish-blue eyes, and the way they twinkled whenever she was happy
98. “Mugga-mugga”
99. “You wanna fight?!”
100. “I love you this much!”

interior design help?

2007-11-23T23:02:00.000-05:00

I have a small dilemma. We're finishing one of the rooms in our basement as a fitness/exercise room. It's a good size room - about 14 feet by 15 feet. We already have the large equipment - a treadmill and a crossbow machine. Bryan is almost done hanging the drywall, and soon I'm going to have to choose flooring and a paint color for the walls. I'm not opposed to using bold colors, as long as it's not a "fad" kind of color. I want the room to feel pleasant, energetic and not stressful. What do YOU suggest?

Flooring - we'll most likely put in some kind of dense carpet with a good pad. But I don't have any experience in choosing carpet for such a function. I want to get something that can take the weight of the machines without crushing the pile, but is also soft enough for me to sit down occasionally and do some stretching and/or floor exercises. Hopefully we'll have a good choice of colors then too.

Paint - We've talked about putting mirrors on one wall, but I need to choose a primary wall color and/or an accent color. Should I go with something relaxing/calming, something neutral, or something high-energy? Whatever I choose has to coordinate with the equipment, which is mostly dark gray and black. The trim/window casing and blinds are white, though. (I will say that almost everyone in Georgia has a red room in their basement, so I'm leaning away from red. And purple is probably out, since I painted the office in our old house purple.) Other than that, I'm open. Maybe I'm too open - but there are just too many choices for me to wrap my brain around.

Any helpful opinions?

confessions of a reality TV fan...

2007-11-19T23:43:00.000-05:00

Can I just say... WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!?!

For someone who was so definite about what he wanted to achieve by going through the whole "Bachelor" process, Brad lost it in the end.

He had narrowed the field of women down from 25 to the final 2. He took both of them home to meet his family, he bought a diamond ring, and then? He didn't choose either girl. Unbelievable!

Of course, as a woman, I want to see the "fairy-tale" ending. I want to see a happy couple at the end of this whole journey. On the other hand, every week I'm reminded of the cruelty of this show to the hearts of the women involved. They all have real emotions invested in the same guy, and every week, someone stands in a room full of women holding roses, but doesn't get a rose. He's so positive and even romantic with them throughout the week, and then without prior warning they are cut loose, dropped, sent home. What kind of message must they carry with them when that happens? It breaks my heart. But I digress...

I really liked both of the girls that he sent home tonight. Jenni was so happy and sweet. They definitely had chemistry together, but I felt like her career (and new job dancing for the Phoenix Suns) might be an issue for Brad. Also, she definitely seems less mature than he is. However, his connection with DeAnna seemed to run much deeper. She was from his hometown (Atlanta), and she was willing to move to be with him in Austin. He told her more than once that she was everything he was looking for in a wife, and then some. She talked to him about her feelings all along, and he loved her independence and inner strength. I really had myself convinced that he would choose DeAnna.

This Bachelor finale especially disappointed me, because Brad seems like such a smart, genuine, decent man. So, if he just did this for some kind of exposure or as some sort of speed dating exercise, then that just doesn't add up. He says he takes love and marriage really seriously and doesn't want to make that kind of promise to someone hastily. But he has always stated that his intentions were to fall in love and marry one of these women. Maybe he was too good to be true.

I'd love to hear why he freaked out in the end. I can't wait to hear his explanation tomorrow night.

There must be a reason that it never really works out when "The Bachelor" is a man, but I was really hoping this time it would. (The only time it ever has ended in a happy marriage is when Trista Rhen was the Bachelorette, and chose Ryan Sutter.) At the beginning of the season, I told myself I wouldn't get hooked into another round of this show, but somehow it sucked me in. And now, I feel like it was a total waste. All I can say is, tomorrow night better be good. I'll keep you posted...

****UPDATED TO ADD:
OK, so I watched the "After the Final Rose" episode tonight. Overall, I thought ABC was a little evasive in handling the real issue. (Maybe they should've enlisted the help of Dr. Phil.) There was a lot of "filler" footage, and the fact that they had two "successful" Bachelor-generated relationships paraded out in front of the audience as a consolation prize was just corny. (Look! An adorable baby!)

I can see that Brad was genuinely feeling awful about hurting both Jenni and DeAnna. He did appear a little defensive about "not falling in love" with either of them. My first reaction was the same as DeAnna & Jenni's - he could have chosen someone and just dated them, and not proposed marriage at that moment. He never had problems at the previous rose ceremonies making decisions to let someone go. But, the more I think about it, the more I sympathize with him. I'm sure there's a lot of pressure to forge some kind of romantic attachment with the women in such a short time. Some people just take longer to form that kind of bond and to process their emotions.

I hope he can figure out what he wants and how to let himself fall in love. And I hope the women can also learn to trust someone (and themselves) again. But most of all, I hope that I don't get hooked on this crazy show next time they start up a series!!

Morgan's rejects

2007-11-17T09:20:00.000-05:00

It happened over a month ago. Someone called my cell phone, I answered, he asked for somebody named Morgan, and (since that's not my name) I said he had the wrong number. He didn't hang up right away, so I asked him what number he was trying to reach. When I confirmed that he had dialed the correct number, but I was still not Morgan, he asked if I knew anyone with blonde hair and brown eyes named Morgan. I said that I have blonde hair and brown eyes, but my name is not Morgan. And I have an acquaintance named Morgan with dark hair and blue eyes. So sorry, no match.

It was then that the light bulb went on for him. He said pitifully, "Well, I guess I've been had." I felt so sorry for the guy. He said that he met this great girl in a bar and she gave him her phone number. Only it's my phone number. But then he started to ask about me, and I had to tell him I was happily married with 3 kids in Georgia. Yeah, he hung up pretty quick after that.

I had almost forgotten about that incident until about 11:00 last night. My cell phone rang, and I didn't recognize the number on the screen - even the area code was unfamiliar. So, I answered again, but this time there was a different man was on the other end asking for Morgan. Almost as a reflex response, I said, "I'm sorry, you have the wrong number." He apologized and hung up. That was it. Then I remembered the call from several weeks ago. And just about 10 minutes after the phone call ended last night, I got a text message from the guy's number saying, "I still think your very sweet." (At least my husband got a kick out of it.)

So apparently, some girl named "Morgan" (if that's her real name) in Long Island, New York is giving out MY cell phone number to guys she doesn't want to talk to again. Seriously...What am I supposed to do with that?!

BRRR!!!

2007-11-08T12:20:00.000-05:00

mussells

2007-10-26T09:46:00.000-04:00

(click photo to enlarge)

I mentioned in my last post about the drought in the Southeast that Georgia is required to release millions of gallons of water per day from our lakes so it can travel downstream and protect the habitat of some endangered species of mussells. Well, last Friday we took a field trip to a nearby farm, and guess what they showed us in the dried-up creekbed? Dead mussells!

I guess they weren't the endangered kind...

Drought-Lanta

2007-10-22T15:22:00.001-04:00

Let's talk about the weather... it's raining today, and the forecast shows that it's going to be raining all week. That's good, I guess, but it's probably more like a case of "water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink."

So, it appears the water situation is pretty dire here in Drought-Lanta. The major lakes are down more than 15 feet. The water supply for the northern half of the state is dwindling daily because of the fact that the Corps of Engineers requires Georgia to release millions of gallons of water per day to Alabama and Florida. (Partly to protect some endangered species of mussels in a river?) They say there is only enough water here to last us humans for a little more than two months.

Residents and businesses in this part of Georgia have been under moderate water restrictions since earlier this summer - we had certain days we were allowed to water the lawn; but recently they have told us NO outdoor water use is allowed. Can't wash the car or the dog; can't water the lawn or the flowers. We haven't gone to water rationing yet, but it's not out of the question.

This just doesn't compute in my mind. I grew up in Arizona - a true desert. Comparatively, Georgia has always looked very lush and green to me (except in the wintertime). In fact, compared to the annual desert rainfall I was used to, it seems to rain a lot here, relatively speaking. It baffles me that water consumption costs at least 100%-150% more here than we ever paid to the City of Phoenix (where they have water transported in from other places!).

But to be able to have green grass and not be able to water it is torturing people in our HOA. Nobody here has ever heard of a xeriscape; and they would never dream of putting rocks and gravel in their front yard rather than sod! People are actually catching rainwater, shower water, and A/C condensation in buckets to save for watering their plants and flowers.

I was commiserating with a neighbor (who moved here from California) about the water restrictions the other night, and her question to me was, "You and I have both lived in the desert, right? Were you ever asked not to water your yard?!" I'd have to say I don't remember ever having water restrictions in Arizona, but I do know that they consistently make an effort to remind people to conserve water there.

I'm no expert, and I don't know what the outcome will be here in Drought-Lanta, but it doesn't seem like a situation that conservation will really help much at this point. Unfortunately, a much more drastic (and costly) solution will probably be needed.

Come to think of it, I'm feeling a little thirsty...

brace face

2007-10-11T22:11:00.000-04:00

Before & After:

... only 18-24 months to go!

fall photo-liage

2007-10-06T23:56:00.000-04:00

Here are a few photos of the trees in my Georgia backyard.

I can't believe the leaves are turning color already. For some reason, I'm never quite ready for the summer to fade into fall. So, sorry if you're expecting to read a post about how beautiful this time of year is, and how much I just love having four seasons.

I do enjoy the beauty of the fall colors, the cooler mornings and evenings, the start of school and football games. But autumn reminds me that winter isn't very far off.

Actually, it's more the winter that I dread. I really miss having leaves on all the trees, and I hate it when all the kudzu vines dry up. It always seems like such an e t e r n i t y before we start seeing signs of springtime! I don't look forward to the holidays like most people. All the stress of meeting others' expectations tends to steal my joy, and I rush and struggle just to meet the looming deadlines. I really dislike the cold temperatures and gray, rainy days (although I know there are places with much worse weather than Atlanta). I wish I could hibernate like a bear...Wake me when it's over!

I realize this may sound strange and a little depressing, but I think I feel the coldness in a deeper way than just the physical lack of heat. Like it penetrates me and gets under my skin. We moved to Georgia in the fall of 2005, so maybe the cold is more symbolic to me - a constant reminder that we're not in Arizona anymore.

The Mom Overture

2007-10-05T14:50:00.001-04:00

just a little end-of-the-week humor... enjoy!

bringing the stars closer to earth

2007-09-27T23:00:00.000-04:00

I'll admit to being a TV junkie. And I'm especially a fan of "reality" shows, for some reason.

As I sat and watched "Dancing with the Stars" this week, I found myself reflecting on what's so entertaining about this show. I don't really watch it because I love ballroom dancing so much. Or because I'm such a huge fan of the celebrities (although this season, I confess that I'm a huge fan of Cameron Mathison).

The reason finally came to me when I was watching the taped practice sessions before each couple's dance routine Monday & Tuesday night.

The appeal of "Dancing with the Stars," for me, is being able to see all of these celebrities become "human" for a moment. In the rehearsal studio, they lose their public image. They're no longer at the top of their game. They stumble and fall down, they get nervous, they have obstacles to overcome, they goof off, they get frustrated. (Just like me.) And then? Then, they pull off these amazing dance routines that they never thought they would be able to do without passing out. It's inspiring to see them experience the full range of emotions. And that's what keeps me cheering for them week after week.

"The glory of God is man fully alive." ~ St. Iraneus

re-connecting

2007-09-26T13:09:00.000-04:00

One of my friends from my Journey Group invited me to sign up for Facebook. So I did. She warned me that it was completely addicting, and she was completely right. I've spent several hours setting up my profile and searching for friends. It's a pretty cool networking tool. I was impressed that it tells me which friends my friends and I have in common too.

It's been really fun, though, to re-connect with friends from high school and college, as well as some of my youth group kids who are all grown-up now, and a former youth pastor. So, if you're visiting from my Facebook page, feel free to leave a comment and say "hi" here too!

Oh, and here's a picture of our kids if you haven't seen them in a while. It was taken when we visited the new World of Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta this summer with my Dad and Grandparents.

And, if you're a blogger who happens to also be a Facebook member, let me know so I can add you to my list of friends there.