Thursday, March 29, 2012

Happy 11th birthday to my oldest son!!

I can hardly remember what I did yesterday, but I can remember March 30, 2001 like it was yesterday. The day you were born.

And now you are eleven, and you are growing and changing every day. I think about you as a grown up and wonder every day if I am doing the right thing.

I wonder if you will be tall.

Or athletic.

Or popular.

Or class president.

I wonder where you will go to college.

And what your career choice will be.

And who you will marry.

And what your kids will look like.

Because the last 11 years have flown by, I’m assuming the next 11 years and the 11 years after that will fly by also.

Which makes me sad and happy all at once. When you were little we used to take neighborhood bike rides, and you would show me the big house with giant windows where you wanted to live as a grown up. Just down the street from us so we could see each other all the time. But as you have gotten older, I think you realize there is a much bigger world out there, and you will be more than ready to conquer it.

You are strong.

You are a leader.

You make me proud.

And I will always love you!

Act justly. Love Mercy. Walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Pioneer Woman in Indianapolis

When I found out the Pioneer Woman (PW) was going to do a book signing in Indy, I really really wanted to go. I have read every single one of her books (including the one about Charlie the Ranch Dog). So today at noon I called Kroger (the grocery store where her book signing was taking place), and the information I got was 1. It's crazy here. There are people already lined up. 2. You have to get a ticket to get in the book signing line. 3. Getting a ticket does not guarantee you a book signing. So I got all discouraged and called my husband to tell him not to come home early. I cancelled my trip to see the PW.
However, at about one 'o clock, a friend of mine from MOPS called and said, "hey, we are at Kroger. When are you coming? Do you want me to get you a ticket to get in line?"

I had put a post on Facebook a few days ago asking if anyone wanted to ride with me, but didn't get any takers. She said she was reading Facebook in the Kroger aisle and just happened to see my post.

So now I had a dilemma! What to do.....So after about 3 minutes, I called my husband back, got my stuff together (I even remembered my camera), slathered on some deo (it's so hot here!), and raced to the Kroger. I only got lost once (not really lost...I just went way out of my way)
So my friend, her daughter, and 2 other friends graciously got me a ticket to get in line (they waited over 4 hours!), let me get in line with them (in the pickle/olive aisle), and no one behind us in line got nasty. They were all nice and friendly! So when the line started moving at 4 PM, it took us about an hour to finally get our first glimpse of Ree. She was there in all her country cuteness. She tried to get my friend's daughter to laugh by doing her monkey face! Who knew The Pioneer Woman could make such a great monkey face?!?
I was able to get my cookbook signed and get a quick picture and hopefully I didn't say anything stupid. If I did, I'm sure she forgot after meeting all the hundreds of people in line after us.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Five X Five

Five things I'm enjoying today:
1. It is 80 degrees in Indiana today! That is not the norm for the middle of March.
2. I am sitting in the sun reading and blogging!
3. My boys are staying after school for Good News club, so I have an extra 90 minutes of quiet.
4. I helped others by giving blood today.
5. The fact that Indiana University is still in the NCAA tournament. GO HOOSIERS!!

Five things I'm looking forward to:
1. Spring break is next week! No homework!
2. Noah turns 11 March 30th.
3. The Pioneer Woman will be in Indy on Thursday!
4. My bedroom is finally going to get painted!
5. A week from now, the twins and I will be in Tennessee visiting friends.

Five things on my to-do list:
1. Work on my agenda for MOMSnext meeting tomorrow.
2. Start getting stuff together for my husband and oldest son's trip.
3. Find something to take to school on Thursday for Noah's birthday.
4. Get a pedicure. My toes are not ready for flip flops yet!
5. Go shopping for some spring clothes for myself. I want a new Easter outfit!

Five people who are on my mind and in my prayers:
1. Our church's youth group (60+ teens and adults are going on a mission trip Saturday)
2. Tim Tebow. I know that is a weird one. But I am praying for him. After the Denver Broncos signed Peyton Manning, his future is uncertain at this time!
3. My oldest son who is working on being more respectful.
4. Megan, who is stressed out to the max with graduation, moving to Colorado, and planning a wedding!
5. For me to be more loving to those in my life.

Five random things:
1. I just scheduled a vaccination appointment for Noah. He is going to be so mad!
2. I have read 12 books so far in 2012.
3. After finishing Jen Hatmaker's new book 7, we went shopping at an outlet mall. I spent $$ in 7 places in 1 hour. If you've read her book, you know how ironic this is.
4. My husband thinks Glee and SMASH are the same thing. I keep telling him I watch SMASH, not Glee! Big difference.
5. I am thankful for my family who love me no matter how crazy I act sometimes.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I am not one to celebrate March 17th. I am not Irish nor do I know a lot about St. Patrick. But I did see this adorable fruit rainbow with a pot of gold (I used caramel hershey kisses) and knew I had to make it today! I think it turned out great and my kids (who love love love fruit) will think I am a rock star.
If you are looking for some St. Patricks Day information, I found this over at www.history.com. This explains why people get a little crazy on March 17th!

The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast--on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

You're Already Amazing!



If you have spent any amount of time with me, you will quickly find out I love to read. I am an information and fact gatherer. I love reading all types of genres. I have a collection of quotes from books I have read in the past. I keep a running record of every book I have read the past 6 years. That being said there are books I have recently read and experiences I have had and stories I have heard that keep bringing me back to one word. LOVE.

There are songs about LOVE. LOVE is all you need. All you need is LOVE. There are lots of people and things I LOVE. And there are lots of people who LOVE me back. But there is really only one LOVE that matters. The perfect LOVE of God.

I know I am not perfect.

And my husband is not perfect.

My kids are not perfect.

I don't keep a perfect house.

BUT God thinks I am amazing!

~"It's time you knew you're amazing.
  • You're not only amazing.
  • You're enough
  • You're beautiful
  • You're wanted
  • You're chosen
  • You're called
  • You've got what it takes...not just to survive but to change the world."
"You're Already Amazing" pg. 16, Holley Gerth

Just thinking about that. REALLY thinking about that should be enough. The fact that God thinks I am amazing is enough. His opinion is the only one that really matters. My worth and value are found in him. Not in my husband. Not in my kids. Not in my net worth or my job or the things I try to do. Not in what people say about me or think about me.

I am amazing to God and he LOVES me. No. matter. what. He made me and formed me and lives in me!

I was also reminded that God has a journey specifically for my life. It is not like anyone else's. No one's path is going to look exactly like mine.

"It's always the road less traveled because you're the only one who is ever going to walk it."
"You're Already Amazing", pg.79 Holley Gerth

So I am excited and scared and nervous to see where this journey is going to take me. But there are two promises I cling to....

  • God is always good
  • I am always LOVED
I pray that I hear these words and believe these words and remember these words every day of my Amazing life!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Summer's Coming!

It's March 6th. My children have been in school for almost 7 months now. I keep thinking what have done these last seven months? I had very good intentions, but very poor follow through. We have had zero snow days so far this school year, which means the school year will be finished on time. School will be over before Memorial Day...yikes! When summer comes, all of my productivity comes to a screeching halt. There are a few things that I have learned about myself this year and I am totally willing to embrace them.

1. My scrapbooking days are over. I have not touched a photo in years. I have not organized my photos in years. I have so many photos in my iPhoto account, it's not even funny. I cannot for the life of me remember which pictures I have actually printed, resulting in 6 copies of some pictures and 0 of others.

2. No matter how much I clean, there will still be messes. Little boy messes and big boy messes. There is only so much cleaning one momma can do before she throws her hands up in the air in complete surrender.

3. We are a loud family. Very very loud family. I have tried to tell my boys that our new name is the Whisper Family. They laugh at me then start yelling (about whatever strikes their fancy). We will never be the Whisper Family.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

So many books! So little time!


One thing I love to do in my free time is read!! I read all sorts of genres, so it's so hard for me to pick a favorite category. It's also hard for me to recommend books to others...so much pressure. A friend and I were talking about our dream job the other day....getting paid to read. Seriously, if I knew anything about the editorial field, I would give it a try. But being a nurse, I don't think I would have the necessary qualifications. Unless you count reading charts and doctor's handwriting as experience. Who knows, maybe one day my dream job will fall into my lap. Until then, I will keep on reading.