Enquiring minds want to know...

I copied this from an email I got today, so ignore the sending back stuff. 1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My middle name is after an aunt of my mom's.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Thurs. night

3. Do you like your handwriting? no, looks like a boy

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? corned beef

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 3

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? not as much as I used to. I get annoyed when an entire conversation is sarcasm. Easy to do, but lazy.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Granola

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? physically??? NO

3. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Milwaukee Joe's Almond Joy (local fav.)

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? If they smile or not

15. RED OR PINK? Pink

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? too easily offended

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Becca

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Yes!

9. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? white pj pants w/ pink stripes, white slippers

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? coffee w/ hazelnut creamer and 2 eggs

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The hum of my heater blowing

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Navy Blue....CLASSIC

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Just thinking of this the other day...Noxzema face cream, dried lavender, Rosemary,& Almond

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? receptionist trying to book a haircut.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Very much. We go way back!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Women's college Volleyball, I enjoyed watching the Mavericks a few years ago when they were good.

27. HAIR COLOR? light blonde...thanks Clairol

28. EYE COLOR? Green

29. Do you wear contacts? yes

30. FAVORITE FOOD? sushi, brie cheese, spaghetti

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings...DON'T WATCH "THE MIST"

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? 300. What's the big deal with this movie? Male ego trip, I say.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? black zip hooded

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer all the way! I'm ready for it now!

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? this will sound so Hee-Haw, but I would take a good Apple Fritter (from a donut store) any day over a fancy dessert.

37. Most likely to respond? Not sure

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Becca

39. What book are you reading now? hahahahaha

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? just plain blue w/ ergonomic wrist pad

41. WHAT Do YOU WATCH ON T.V.? The View, What Not to Wear, Find your style (just found this show), Daily Show, LOST on THURS!!!!

42. FAVORITE SOUND? high heals on a hard floor, tap dancing

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Minsk

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? my crazy,sensitive sense of smell is sometimes freakish

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Shawnee, Kansas

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Everyone's

Wordless Wednesday

This is my first time at Wordless Wednesday. Do videos count? The only word I hear is Bam Bam saying, "Whoa!!!!" One of his favorites. What a little ham. You are next! Click the link above.

Great CD by Sara Groves

"All of my life I have been grooming my faith, but have missed something about the purpose of that grooming. If I understand scripture at all, I have to know that to enter into the suffering of the poor and the oppressed is to know Christ and his suffering.”Sara Groves I am a HUGE Sara Groves fan. She is a great communicator via her lyrics. I started listening to her first CD, "Past the Wishing Well" after the birth of my first baby. As you know, the first baby is a huge adjustment, especially for a naturally selfish and lazy person like myself. I had to overturn some big stuff in those first few weeks because I was determined to be a good mother, and wanted to do it God's way. You know all that "laying down your life stuff." Anyway that first CD really helped me get through that time. It was like she knew what I needed to hear and wrote the CD just for me. Every one of her CDs since then, has touched me in the same way. I went to her myspace page to see if she had any new music to download to my own myspace page, and read her comments on why she wrote the latest album "Tell Me What You Know." SHE DID IT AGAIN!!! She captured a thought (the top quote) that I've been wrestling with lately too. I really encourage you to read the article yourself. I like to think of my daily battles as exercising my spiritual muscles. The more I can turn the other cheek, die to self, love unconditionally, lay down another offense, the stronger I become for the Kingdom of God. I'm not saying these things are small or insignificant. These are the hardest things to do. It would be easier to stand in front of millions of people preaching, then let that awful comment from a relative go by without getting offended. BUT WHAT IS ALL THIS GROOMING OF OUR FAITH FOR??? I think it is this: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come." Luke 4:18-19 NLT I heard Dutch Sheets say that this verse was Jesus' mission statement. Is it mine? In theory, yes; in practice, not yet. But I am moving in that direction, hopefully.

spiritual training takes a nose dive...

Our pastor is doing a series on putting God FIRST in our lives. He was talking about making our prayer life a priority this last Sunday and was discussing how the Lord's prayer is a model for us to know HOW to pray. I thought it was about time I taught my 6 and 4 year old this prayer. I learned it (plus several others) as a small child, so I knew they could get it. Well, tonight after story time I told them I was going to teach them the prayer. I first said the whole thing to them. They stared at me with blank faces. I told them to repeat after me and started with the first line: Me: Our Father who art in heaven 6 yr. old (bc 4 yr. old was really confused): Our Father ...dart in heaven Me: Hallowed be thy name. 6 yr. old: Halloween be thy name Me: Let's try this again, both of you this time Me: Our Father who art in Heaven 4yr. old tries by himself: Our Father who farts in heaven !!!????!!! WE'RE DONE! That was all it took. They started laughing hysterically. I admit I laughed too. Then they started talking about stinky toots being in heaven. I think even God snickered a little. I told the boys we would try again tomorrow.

I'm not dead

I know  it seems like I have been dead to blogging.  Honestly, I go in spurts of really wanting to blog my thoughts to times when I am just to lazy to convert thoughts and incidents to written words.  Because I know all 3 of my readers are dying to know what we've been up to, I have decided to do a photo/video update of the last month:

Dec. 20, my only unmarried brother in law (my dh's younger brother) proposed to his girlfriend.  We met them at a restaurant only moments after he popped the question.  She was so surprised because my bro in law had all her friends and family at the restaurant to congratulate them.  I am sure glad she said, "YES" because that could've been a really awkward moment.  I am really happy for them both.  His fiance', "S," as I will call her, is a nice girl.  She is really sweet to my kids which gives her major points, in my book.  They are getting married in March. Lancelot gets to be the ring bearer.  He is excited to be  IN the wedding.  Of course, Einstein wants a job too, so DH and I are trying to make up something he can do at the reception.  We thought about getting him a disposable camera and having him go around taking pictures.  Here is a picture of the happy couple:

I got to play hostess to my family over the holidays.  It was a lot of fun.  They live in KS, which is where I am originally from.  We had a great Christmas even with the bazillion kids in my house.  See, my sister also has 3 boys, ages 8, 7, and 4.  We are at a phase in life, with all the kids, that we don't get a lot of quality time to chat, undisturbed, but our times together are certainly never boring.   My husband got the game "Rock Band" for Christmas from his buddy.  The 2 older boys love playing with it almost as much as DH.

One of the highlights of my dad's visit was when he joined in on the "Rock Band" fun with DH, and my sister's husband.  It was pretty awesome....(sorry dad):

Good times!

I wish I had some video from New Year's Eve.  Our friends came over and they also "Rocked" out with us on "Rock Band."  Unfortunately, we didn't get any video of that .  It was fun to just let all our kids play at home, eat fattening food, and chill with friends in a low key way.  

I've made some resolutions that are pretty typical:  lose a few pounds, give first of the day to time with the Lord, organize all closets in house, and get some new clothes.  I am really excited to finally get some new clothes.  I haven't had new clothes since before I was pregnant with Bam Bam.  I plan to rid my closet of all the clothes that are stained, wrong size, or just plain unflattering before I go shopping.  That should leave me with about 5 pieces.  Seriously, Tim Gunn would have a fit if he saw my clothes.  I should care more.  I don't want to end up an old, tired-looking mom.  Dh and I are going to get a sitter for the whole day and go shop together in the next few weeks.  I'll let you know how it goes.  

I'd also like to start doing more in the house as far as decorating.  I have put it off in the name of "having a baby."  However, my baby is now 18 months old.  We don't have the money to buy a bunch of new stuff, but I'd like to get a vision of what I will do in the future.  I can do a little at a time.  I just need a vision on how it is supposed to look.  I have all sorts of ideas for OTHER people's houses, but draw a blank on my own.  I need some inspiration from a good magazine.  Any ideas?

Till next time......