It's a "doggone" good meme!

Calie tagged Snuffy for a fun little game. Snuffy has never participated in anything in the internet world, so you'll have to forgive him if he's a little shy at first.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.

4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.

5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Hello everyone, this is Snuffy....I've hijacked the computer and my mom doesn't know I'm in here. It's pretty hard to type on this keyboard with my paws, but I'll muddle through. I thought you might want to know a little more about me...snort....lick.

1. My parents don't know how old I am. The vet thinks I'm probably six or seven, but I'll never tell! I was rescued by my family...thank goodness! Before that, I was owned by construction workers that were gone during the week and home on the weekends and each week I was passed off to different people. Because of that, it's hard for me to show affection....I didn't know much affection or stability for the first couple of years of my life.

2. Like my other blogging canine friends, I also love blankets. If there is a blanket around, I WILL be under it. I will scratch and nudge to work my way under. I rotate between the kids' beds each night and snore my little heart out under someone's covers. I will also lick their feet until they go to sleep....my mama will not let me lick her feet, but the rest of my family enjoys it.

3. I love my kids and I will look out for them no matter what. Even when my daddy is pretend- wrestling with my brother, I will jump at him and try to bite him. They always have to put me outside when they wrestle or play football because I just can't handle it. I don't know what I would do without these kids -- my mom and dad are okay, but I really love the kids, and I know they love me too.

4. When my food bowl is empty, I lick it around all over the floor (it's metal, so it's loud) until someone comes and gives me some more food. I have them wrapped around my little paw! Here's a picture of where I started moving it across the kitchen floor.

5. I have been visited by Animal Control once. In the past, when my parents weren't home, they would put me in the garage. That's because they couldn't leave me in the house since I chew on everything and they couldn't leave me in the backyard because I eat waaaayyyyyy too much grass (trust me, I spent three days in the doggie ICU getting cleaned out after they left me out a whole day!). Anyhow, my brothers and sisters had friends over to play that day, so my mom had to put me in the garage. I didn't like it and made lots of weird noises trying to get her to let me out, and someone who must've been walking in our neighborhood called Animal Control on my parents and told them they had locked me in the garage. Our neighbors all know me and my eccentricities, so I know it wasn't them that ratted on me. :) Anyhow, later that afternoon, the police pulled in the driveway and it was Animal Control. My mom was really stressed out when she saw a policeman at the door! They got a kick out of it, really. They petted me and told me, it was not, in fact, a crime to put a dog in a garage! The officer said he even did that in the winter! So, I may have a slight record.

6. And last but certainly not least, I'd like to share with you the fact that I have some serious intestinal issues.....mad gas, in fact. I can clear a room in a matter of seconds. Sometimes my family has to hold their nose. It's a fact that they do not particularly embrace, but I am extremely proud of it. I give the words "silent and violent" new meaning. Oh, my mom's going to kill me for saying that on here!

On that sweet note, I'd better go. I don't know of any more canine bloggers that haven't already participated, but if you're reading and you'd like to, go right ahead. And be sure and let my mom know...she loves reading how smart everyone's pets are!

If ya wanna come and take a ride wit me....

That little Nelly song just popped in my head as I envisioned posting this. I was going to have it playing along as you read this, but the lyrics aren't something I condone. :) However, the chorus fits perfectly, so feel free to hum it to yourself as you read.......

The kiddos spent the night with my in-laws last night. They don't have enough room for all the car seats in their car, so we let them borrow our van. That leaves me driving this:



It's not quite a car you'd imagine truck drivers owning, is it? :) And it's definitely not a car I can picture myself driving.....at least until I'm like 70 or something.

If you see me rollin down the road, jammin with my windows down, send a shout out my way. Until then, I'll just be a cackalackin!

Merry Christmas!!

C'mon, Hop On the Christmas Card Carousel!

Sweet girl Faith is hosting a Christmas card carousel and I'm jumping at the chance to show off my puuurrrrrddddyyyy Christmas card, designed in whole by Heather of Sprouts by Heather. She's just the greatest! Take a look:
Now, I know it doesn't match my current bloggy color scheme, but isn't it unique? We wore brown & pink for our session with her last month and she figured out a way to make it look festive and Christmas-y. And guess what I love as much as the front of this card? The back!!!



The back of it is almost like a postcard and you write messages on it. Isn't that neat?? If I would've had my head on straight, I would've written you a little message on the back before I scanned it. But since it's taken me almost 45 minutes to get this far, if I tried to do it again the girls might not get picked up from preschool 'cause mama was bloggin'. Anyhow, I can't take any credit for how great this turned out (except for the cute kiddos, which me, John, and the Lord worked together on.......well, actually it was ALL God!) but I'm gonna have to say this is my favorite of all of our Christmas cards.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours! I pray that you are happy & blessed as you celebrate the birth of the Savior! He's the Reason!

Little Buddy

I think I've expressed on here just how much I heart Will Ferrell. He just cracks me up (although I don't watch ALL of his stuff due to questionable content)!
Here's my one of my favorite clips from Elf, just to get you in the Christmas spirit!
Happy Thursday!

Run, Don't Walk

over to Ann Taylor Loft's website today and pickup this coat. I just bought it this morning!! I was looking online for Christmas gifts for their Cyber Monday deals and stumbled upon it.
It's wool, and was originally $149.00, but today with the extra 30% off and free shipping (enter code GIFTS at checkout), I got it for $22.44 including shipping!! Remember, this deal's only good for today though. Sure, yellow's not exactly my first choice, but hey, it's only an accent color. I'm not sure, but I think it's only available in Petites....but go on and check even if you aren't because honestly I didn't look that well. And no, I'm not really Petite....I'm the oxymoron size.....Extra Large Petite.....aka short and chubby. :)
Have a great day!
UPDATE: These are now officially sold out on the website.

A Holly Jolly Christmas

Melissa tagged me on this one, and it was so much fun!!

I just love Christmas!! We're going up to the mountains to choose and cut our tree today with some friends and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!! We're also going to have lunch at the Dan'l Boone Inn which is doubly exciting. They have some of the best country cookin around! They catered our wedding rehearsal, and I haven't eaten there since, so my tummy is ready for some fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and fried apples!

But, on to more informative things. :)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I LOVE to wrap and try to do most gifts that way, but I usually use gifts bags for gift cards, etc.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real. I love real trees. One of my best childhood memories is our tree. We were really poor growing up and couldn't afford to buy a tree, so daddy always went out in the woods and cut down a scrawny little cedar tree and we had the big bulb lights, which really weighed it down. I remember thinking, "I can't wait to have one of those pretty trees." But now that I get those "pretty trees," I'd just love to have my little old cedar back!


3. When do you put up the tree? The Saturday following Thanksgiving.


4. When do you take the tree down? Usually the 26th or 27th of Dec. Since it's real and I put it up at Thanksgiving, it's pretty well dried out by then. Wouldn't want to burn the house down!


5. Do you like eggnog? Used to, but now, not so much.


6. Favorite gift received as a child? A green plastic ride-on pedal tractor. Mama & Daddy still have it and my kids love it too!!



7. Hardest person to buy for? My Daddy. He never wants a thing, except this year he wants a Harley (ha!) and we might get him a helmet and have "Paw" airbrushed on it! I'm not thrilled about him riding a bike, but since he NEVER wants anything, it would be a special treat for him to get something for himself. :)

8. Easiest person to buy for? My friend Heather. We pretty much have the same taste in everything (I guess that comes from spending the first 18 years of your life joined at the hip....love you Heath!).

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, several different kinds. My favorite is one I got in Mexico, and it's inside a clay pot and everything's 'rough-hewn' out of clay. It just looks so humble.


10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail


11. WORST CHRISTMAS GIFT U EVER RECEIVED? Hmmm, are there bad Christmas gifts? :)


12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf (I love Will Ferrell) with The Polar Express coming in a close second.


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually after Thanksgiving.

14 . Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Hmmmm, I don't think that I have.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My Nanny's fried apple pies (she only fixes them at Christmas and they're absolutely, hands down, the best I've ever had).

16. Lights on the tree? I personally like clear lights, but the kids love color (and blinking) so that's what we've had for the last three years. We ARE the National Lampoons!

17. Favorite Christmas song? Beautiful Star of Bethlehem


18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel. ugh. We spend lots of time in the van at Christmas!


19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer'? Yes, but I have to sing the song.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? People fighting over parking spaces at the mall (saw it happen yesterday).

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? We don't really have a theme....we have lots of Hallmark ornaments that people have given the kiddos and some ornaments they've made, so our tree is just a hodge-podge of ornaments. :)


25. What do you want for Christmas this year? For those who might be out of work to still be able to have Christmas....there are so many people out of work this year who may not be able to afford a special Christmas dinner or gifts for their kids and it just breaks my heart. We have much more than we deserve at our house, so we're really cutting back this year.

Thanks so much for the tag Melissa...loved it! Now I tag whoever would play to play along in this fun little game......and I'm off to pick out a Christmas tree!

An Award and A Happy Thanksgiving

Well, gals, let me first say I am totally not deserving of this award, but special thanks to Rebecca Jo for bestowing it upon me! I have enjoyed reading her blog so much over the past couple of months. It's easy to see what a great job she does leading a group of girls at her church. Thanks for being an inspiration to me, Rebecca Jo!! I'm so thankful to have 'met' you!!

The rules of this award:

1. I must first post the Award on my blog
2. Link to the person who gave it to me (see above).
3. Link to the originating Post to describe what this award means.
4. Pass the award on to 5 people - so let's get to it!

I'd like to pass this on to my real life friends. Since I've never received an award, and don't get to tell you often what I appreciate about you, I thought I'd start with you. :)

1. I pass this on to Amy G. She is our "Preschool Minister" at our church and does a great job! ANDDDDD.....she's getting married in a week and a half and anyone who's going through the stress that she is right now deserves an award. :)

2. Next, I'll pass it along to Melissa. Melissa helps teach our Sunday School class and also helped develop a Special Needs ministry at our church. She does such a great job with that, and is so transparent about the happenings at her house with her "sweet Caroline." You are a help to so many!

3. Thirdly, I'd like to give a shout out to my friend Faith. Faith also helps teach our Sunday School class and she and her husband Chad are just a barrel of laughs!! They are going through struggles with infertility, and as her mom said, God named her appropriately. I am amazed at the faith she exemplifies as they're going through this. She is just an inspiration to me, and now to so many others she's met in the blawg world!

4. Fourth, I pass the award on to Jennifer. Jennifer is also in our Sunday School class (class President, I believe....heehee) and is such a great wife and mom. She and her husband have become really involved in foreign mission trips, and I just wouldn't be surprised if God doesn't call them into full time ministry at some point in their lives!! She's dealing with the struggles of raising a three year old little fella and is looking for tips, so if you have any go visit her. (Sorry I haven't commented on that by the way - I can't think of anything to help. Prayer's what got me through it...now I'm getting ready to head into it again. :)).

5. Lastly, I'll give this one to my friend Nicki. She has an AWESOME testimony and attended She Speaks this past year and I am so excited to see how God is working in her life. She's busy teaching "Music & Move It" at our church preschool AND being a mom to three girlies of her own!! :) And she's just as cute as she is sweet!

I love all you girls! You are true Proverbs 31 women and you'll never know what an impact you've had on MY life! So glad I had the chance to tell you so!! (There are also many other gals that I know that fit this mold, but you don't blog so I can't give you an award. :( So, start blogging!! :))

Also, girls, no pressure to pass this on from me....it's a busy time....I just wanted to pass it along to you! :)

For some reason, I can't get all of my links to show up in the right color...maybe it's just on my computer. But all the links are there, even if they're not in red. :)

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!

Always and Forever

You know you're a nerd when you can't sleep and you're up watching Napoleon Dynamite clips on YouTube.

This song brought a tear to my eye....

Kip + LaFawnda = True Love Fo-eva

(If you've never seen Napoleon Dynamite, you won't get any of this. But you really should watch it. It's the funniest, oddest movie you'll ever watch. You're guaranteed to either love it or hate it.)

Stayin Alive & doin the iPod shuffle.....

I saw this on Rebecca Jo's Blog last week and thought it was just the cutest thing ever. I've been waiting to give it a go, so here goes!!

1. Put your music on shuffle
2. For each question - press the next button to get your answer
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!!
4. Feel free to play along! :)

Here goes nuttin!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
"Bad Day" - Alvin and the Chipmunks (my kids listen to my iPod too, okay?)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Ain't No Rock" - Mercy Me (boy that's true!)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY?
"Walk Softly On This Heart of Mine" - Dixie Chicks and Ricky Scaggs

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"When God Dips His Pen of Love in my Heart" - Allison Krauss

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Quiet My Heart" - Brooke Barrettsmith

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"Duelin Banjos" - the Dillards (uh oh...wasn't that also the theme song for Deliverance? )

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Great is Thy Faithfulness" - Avalon (awwwww)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Nobody's Perfect" - Hannah Montana (again, this one's Brooke's)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Pocketful of Sunshine" - Natasha Bedingfield

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Peace in the Valley" - Roy Rogers (I think this was one of the hub's songs although I like the way it fits this question!)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"Shout to the Lord" - Hillsong

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LOVE?
"Step by Step" - New Kids on the Block - oh, I'm dying here

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
2000 Years - Travis Cottrell (that doesn't really fit here, but, man, do I love that song!!!!)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"King of the Road" - Roger Miller (okay, now I'm falling out of my seat - anyone know this one?)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Once You've Loved Somebody" - Dixie Chicks

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"Hangin' Tough" - NKOTB (I promise there aren't any more NKOTB songs on my iPod....I know I'm just a big dork!)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Bubbly - Colbie Caillat (love this song too)

WHATS THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Sinner's Prayer" - Ray Charles and BB King (well, I'd have to listen to the words of this song, but from the title, it might be the best thing that could happen!)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"Best of Both Worlds" - Hannah Montana (uh, don't think so Hannah....I've only got one destination, and it's the best!!!)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"I Can't Make You Love Me" - Bonnie Raitt

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"Dooley" - Andy Griffith & the Dillards

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"Save the Last Dance for Me" - Michael Buble'

WHAT SCARES YOU MOST?
"You Are the Best Thing" - Ray LaMontagne (thanks for this rec Mimi - even the hubs loves him!)

DOES ANYONE LOVE YOU?
"Call My Name" - Third Day (praise the Lord, He does!!)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME - WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"Already Gone" - Sugarland

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone" - Chris Tomlin

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"Stayin Alive" - Bee Gees

Now everyone can see that I have a very diverse taste for music, although I'll admit I usually skip the Hannah Montana and Alvin & the Chipmunks songs when I've got it on shuffle. Feel free to play this too....it was really fun!! Thanks Rebecca Jo!!!

My First Bloggy Baby Shower!!

Congratulations to Scott and Kelly, and congratulations to little Harper who's going to have the best parents, the coolest room, and the most clothes of any little girl ever!!

Kelly - I started reading your blog after I found it through my friend Faith's about a year ago, I guess. I loved reading tales of your life (and seeing pictures of all those cute petit fours!). After I learned you were dealing with infertility, I began praying for you, for God to bless you with the desires of your heart. And I cried like I knew you personally when you announced on your blog that you were pregnant! I am so thankful He has given you this little blessing, and I'm also thankful that you continue to pray for and encourage others as they try to conceive. I don't think you'll ever know just how many women you've touched through this blog!

I'll continue to pray that God will bless you with a safe delivery and tons of fun once that little gal gets home!! :)

I'll close with one of my favorite quotes:
"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

Congratulations Scott & Kelly!!

Don't even have the words....

Well, my intention for today was to post a prayer request for my sweet college roommate Allison. She's a friend that sticks closer than a brother! She married her husband Paul eight years ago and they have struggled with infertility the majority of that time. They both love kids and had planned on having a houseful!! And believe me, if you met Alli you'd see why! She acts just like a kid too and is just a blast! Kids ALWAYS have fun when they're with Allison! Anyhow, they tried having kiddos on their own and just weren't able to get pregnant. Then she tried several fertility helps to no avail, so they decided to try IVF. They went through two IVFs without a baby. The doctors told them they probably wouldn't be able to have children, but God knew better! They tried one final time and Ava and Isabel came to be! They are now almost three years old and are just little stinkers!!

Here's a picture of Allison (prego with Ava and Isabel and holding little Brookie), our other roommate Tuyet (pronounced Thea) with her little Olivia, and me (holding Bubba and with Eva in the tummy).



And here's a picture of Allison now with her two little miracles!



Shortly after having those two cuties, she and Paul began trying to have more because they knew it might take awhile. Again, they weren't able to get pregnant on their own. And again, they've been through two cycles of IVF that were unsuccessful. But week before last, they went through it again, knowing this would be the final time they could try. I knew Alli had her appointment tomorrow at the Clinic for her serum HCG, but when I opened up my email a few minutes ago, this is what I found and I cried like a baby!!



Aunt Amy is just overjoyed!! It is exciting when anyone becomes pregnant, because God has created a new little life! But it is just overwhelming when someone who has tried for so long becomes pregnant. God is so good, and it is amazing to see how He works everything in His time!

Every time Paul and Alli have been through IVF, the doctors haven't been very optimistic. They always gave them the 'percentage chance' of their becoming pregnant. And I love what they've said through every one....."Our God is greater than any percentage". And He is!

Congratulations Allison! Praying for you, sweet friend!

Junk n Stuff

I've recently started reading Tip Junkie's blog and let me tell you.....she's hosting some great giveaways for the next 12 days!! It's called the Mom-Preneur Shopathon and she's giving away two prizes every day......and they're sure to be good ones too!

Run on over there and check it out!

If your grandma has ever burped in your ear......

you might be a redneck.

My in-laws are about as country as country can get (git). They're a husband/wife truck driving team and make East to West Coast runs in their "Brooks & Dunn" model rig. :) My mother-in-law takes great pride in how she decorates the inside of that thing....lots of flowers and lace -- exactly what you'd expect to find a tractor-trailer, right? But, honestly, they're the most kind and generous people I've ever met. They'd give up anything they have for someone else. I'm fortunate to have such sweet in-laws.

Anyhow, our neighbor sometimes takes Noah to school, along with her little boy. She called me last week to tell me about a conversation they had in the car. She said they were talking about grandparents and little Noah said, "Yeah, I have a grandma and she's really fun. She likes to pretend to whisper in my ear and then she burps really loud." My neighbor was dying laughing when she called and she was like, "He's joking, right?"

Uh, no. 'Fraid not.

If you're ever driving on the interstate and you see a Brooks & Dunn truck with an angel on the top alongside the words "Heaven Bound", just give 'em the honking signal and their truck'll play a little Amazing Grace for ya! And tell em Amy sent ya!

God Bless America, Land That I Love

Well, election day is over and I must say that my heart has been heavy. But then I just read this.
And hardly anyone can say things better than Beth Moore.

Although my vote didn't turn out the way I had hoped, it's still my duty to support and pray for our President and our great Nation and to unite with others for the cause of Christ.

To be a light for Him in this world.

To do otherwise would be just what Satan would hope for, as Beth said so well.

Today, I was thinking what a great nation we live in that we are able to vote for the candidate we choose, and for that vote to be counted fairly. Many people throughout the world do not have that opportunity.

And I'm also grateful, although I may not agree with some of the things he supports, that our nation has moved past prejudices of the past to elect an African-American leader. I pray that this Presidency will bring people of all colors together, because each of us was created in His image.

I'm continuing to pray that God will bless the United States of America as only He can...........

Change....it is a comin

It's 2:30 am on the eve of Election Day and I've been awake for two hours now. I simply cannot sleep. Never before have I had so much on my mind. My heart is in constant prayer for the choices that will be made tomorrow (today).
I have not slept well since last Thursday. If you read this, you've seen my posts on 40 Days for Life, the pro-life campaign that's taking hold across our nation. I have prayed outside an abortion clinic before, but never when it was open. Last Thursday was my first time, and my life has been forever changed.
I witnessed countless numbers of cars drive by the clinic multiple times before they got up enough nerve to enter the driveway. Once in the driveway, you could hear the conflict going on in the cars, and it took one mom 20 minutes to get out. As cars pulled in the driveway, and as people opened their doors and got out, we began to lovingly say to them, "Please don't kill your baby.....come talk to us......your baby's heart is beating, please let it live." And, while I was there, everyone kept on going into the abortion clinic.
On Sunday, our group was so extremely fortunate to meet Kim, a mom whose third child, sweet little Emily, has Down Syndrome. She told us about being counseled that it was okay to abort her baby because of the diagnosis, but praise God Emily was there with us on Sunday, just as beautiful as could be! She had become particularly active in the pro-life movement after having Emily. At the closing vigil, another prayer volunteer who worked near the clinic told a story about Kim. Because of her work's proximity, she was able to walk to the abortion clinic to pray during her lunch every day. She said she would never forget the day she walked around the corner and saw Kim's hands raised in the air, and she was saying "Praise the Lord!!!" She had just counseled a mom who had decided to keep her baby. That was the first of two saves that day. Kim said her pastor asked her, "How did it feel to be a part of saving two babies lives?" Her answer was, "it made me sick to my stomach, because I saw how many babies weren't saved that day." And I've pretty much felt the same way since last Thursday.
And if this election goes as the media predicts that it will, many more lives will be lost. Senator Ob@ma has said that one of the first things he will do as President will be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, preventing governmental interference in a woman's right to choose to terminate at any point in her pregnancy. This means a woman can legally have an abortion up until the moment that baby is born. And Obama isn't for the Born Alive Protection Act either, which would require the baby to be kept alive if something goes wrong and the baby doesn't die as a result of the abortion. Basically, it would just be left to die.
Oh, friends, what is wrong with our nation when we are more concerned with the economy than we are with human life? When we worry more about our retirement portfolios than we do about a baby in the womb? I believe the economic downturn in our country is directly related to our moral downturn. People want to live their own way without consequence. And so, come tomorrow, the election will go one of two ways......one way will promote a more liberal way of life, one in which we're able to live our lives just the way we want without repercussion and the other way will be that which hopefully will return our nation to the ideals it was founded on by its Creator. No candidate and no party is perfect and neither am I, but I believe we should vote for the candidate whose stances most closely line up with standards outlined in Scripture.
I am thankful that God's hand is on this election and that He is in control and whichever candidate is elected, it will be no surprise to Him. He's Got The Whole World In His Hands!

Halloween Ghosts

Here are my cute little Halloween ghosts!! :)

The first grade at Noah's school is having their own little fall festival tomorrow, and I signed up to bring enough leaf cookies for the entire first grade. Well, there's no way to make leaf cookies except roll them and cut them out. So, last night Noah, Brooke, & I started on our first few batches. Can you tell what their favorite part was? The flour, of course! They helped me put colored sprinkles on the first batch and while I was getting the second batch ready, just look what they got into! At first, it was fairly mild (above picture), but then I took a little break to play on my iPod for a minute, turned around and saw this! Of course, my little sensitive Brookie started crying because I was dying laughing (see pic below). There was flour EVERYWHERE!!! You can see it in the floor behind them. It was all over the entire kitchen and then there was a flour trail to the bathroom where they tried to wash off a bit. It was one of those times where you really want to get mad, but you just can't because it's so funny!

Her shirt was dark brown and she had on dark denim jeans. Hope this stuff will all wash out! It took forever just to get it all out of their hair! And now I have three more batches to make tonight....just when I got it all cleaned up!

Who wouldn't love those little faces?

Also yesterday, Brooke had laid down to pout about something on the green rug in front of the fridge and all of the sudden I heard her just start crying. Guess what had happened? Her earring had gotten hooked on a loop of the rug and she couldn't raise up without that rug being hooked on her ear! That is SO Brooke - if something random's going to happen, then it'll surely happen to her.

Speaking of random, I think I just keep rambling from subject to subject, so I guess I'll close. :)

Happy Fall y'all!

40 Days for Life - Take 2

I received this story yesterday in my daily email during the 40
Days for Life campaign. You simply must read it! I can only
imagine being there as this played out. Just a testimony that
God puts people right where He wants them at just the right
moment!

Unexpected joy arrived one evening at the 40 Days for
Life vigil outside the Planned Parenthood location in
Sioux City, Iowa as people gathered to pray.

A bus from Michigan broke down at the fast food
restaurant right across the street. The bus was
carrying a Christian drama team -- including 13
children with disabilities. The assistant director
saw the vigil across the street, so he walked over
and started asking questions.

Stormy, one of the vigil participants, had a bunch of
questions for him as well. When she found out who
they were and what they did, she asked if they would
put on a play -- right then and there.

"They did! Right there, facing Planned Parenthood,
these special kids and friends re-enacted the Passion
of Christ," Mary reports. "The young man who
portrayed Jesus had Down syndrome. He stretched out
his arms and 'hung on the cross.' "

The assistant director said he cries every time he
watches the kids do this play. "It might have
something to do with the actor playing Jesus," she
said, "who gets so emotional that he can't stop
crying."

Before they left from their home town of Holland,
Michigan, their principal had told them that he
didn't know when or where, but he just had a feeling
they would hold one additional performance at a time
and place that was not listed on their original
schedule.

"We are sure glad it was here," said Mary. "They were
terrific and they were so pleased to perform for
people who respect all life. Their replacement bus
arrived just after the kids were able to receive lots
of applause and thanks and a 40 Days for Life
bracelet."

The death of the innocent Lord and Savior -- staged
in front of Planned Parenthood, an organization
responsible for ending hundreds of thousands of
innocent lives every year; performed by special needs
children, upon whom the abortion industry has
declared open season -- how powerful!

There is indeed joy. And there is indeed hope.

Lord, I ask that you continue to work through this campaign. Work through the hearts of the abortion providers, work through the hearts of those that are seeking abortion, but Lord, most of all, work through the heart of ME. Help me to show mercy every time it's needed...just as it has been shown to me. Put me in the path of those who may feel that abortion is the only way out of their situation, Lord. Thank you for the many women who chose not to abort, even though it seemed abortion would be the easy answer. Lord, I have no doubt that once their precious children were born they were so thankful they had not! I am so burdened about our nation now, Lord. It seems that many times, those who are 'for' the murder of these innocent children are also for "saving the Earth." Oh, Lord, how mixed up we are when the environment becomes more important than human life! God, bring us back to You. You are the Creator of life, the Source of life, and the Giver of eternal life. Thank you for that, Father. Help me to live for You and let everything I do be a reflection of Your love. Amen.

40 Days for Life - Praying to End Abortion

I meant to post on this yesterday, but didn't get to. Yesterday was the Kick Off day for 40 Days for Life, an annual national campaign to end abortion.

Last year, a sweet friend in our Sunday School class organized a day that members from our class could spend praying outside a local abortion clinic. What a humbling experience. As we stepped onto the property, I think all of us were overwhelmed with emotion. It was as though we could almost sense how many precious, innocent lives had been ended there.

But I am so happy to report that through 40 Days for Life, innocent lives are being saved one by one. At 6:30 yesterday morning in New Jersey, a couple went into an Abortion Clinic and was handed a flyer and saw people praying. Ten minutes later, the couple came back out, seemingly arguing. Before they left, the woman looked at the people praying and made the sign of the cross. One baby saved! Minutes later, two babies were saved in New York City. Even into the evening yesterday, lives were being saved and changed through the transforming power of Christ's grace and mercy.


No matter how the pregnancy came to be, God knew that child before it was formed. I pray when these girls, and those that are going through the pregnancy with them, feel there's no other way but abortion, that God would put someone in their path to love them, to guide them to experience the mercy that all of us experience when we sin and ask for forgiveness. The mercy that opens its arms and comes running to us and gives us the grace to make it through whatever may come. Lord, let ME be an instrument of your peace.

The Campaign has a prayer focus for each of the 40 Days. Today's is: Pray for those who work in the abortion industry and for those who have repented of commiting abortions and have resolved to defend life.

I'm going to end with the prayer in today's Campaign devotional:

Lord, we thank you for those who have repented of committing abortions and have resolved to defend life. We too repent and resolve.

We repent of every instance in which fear has made us silent when we should have spoken. We repent of the ongoing bloodshed in our land, and for thinking that we can deprive the unborn of protection but keep it for ourselves.

We resolve that we will advance the cause of righteous candidates for public office, and that we will be more afraid of offending you by our silence than of offending others by our speech. We resolve that we would proclaim your name to the nations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Will you join me in praying that prayer and in praying for all those involved and affected by the abortion industry?

For more information and to find out available times to pray in your area, visit www.40daysforlife.com.

My Little Cha Cha

Well, life's been busy around our house lately, in large part because I'm trying to prepare for the move and getting our house on the market, but there's a special little two-year-old that makes everything a little more interesting. We like to call her Cha Cha (thanks Pa!). Don't let that cute little face fool you.....she's no angel. :) She cracks me up -- I've never met a child that age that has such a sense of humor or could get into as many things as she can.

Exhibit A:

Look closely at the doughnuts. Do you notice anything odd about them? Yes, that's right, a bite has been taken out of each one. I had picked up a special treat for the kids after dropping little man off at school one day (the doughnuts) and thought they could have one for an after school snack. Everything was quiet while I was upstairs working that morning. I came downstairs to find this box on the table and this little face looking up at me:
Is that a guilty little chocolate covered face or what? And notice her top - she had also taken her clothes off and put a bathing suit on backwards! I couldn't help but laugh!! Then, a couple of weeks ago I was in our study making some phone calls for Sunday School and Brooke came running in saying, "Mom, you're not gonna like this. Come and see what Eva has done!!!" And I went in the kitchen to find our betta in this condition:


Little Cha Cha had dumped not one, but two, complete bottles of fish food into Dory's bowl. Dory already has issues - (s)he is a little gender confused. If you know bettas, by looking at him (her) you can tell he's a male but our kids wanted to name him Dory (from Finding Nemo) and pretend he was a girl. So we refer to him as a 'her' all the time anyhow. And now the poor thing is about to bust a gut from trying to eat that food. I quickly cleaned his (her) bowl and after a few days of uncertainty, I'm happy to report that Dory is still with us.
So, we're just a cha-cha-ing along, trying to make just as many messes as we can along the way!

**no animals were harmed (well, at least not killed) in the creation of this blog entry. :)

He's There

I hesitate to post this after my little Smoothie Commercial. That post revealed my warped sense of humor (please forgive me). This one just shows what God has been teaching me.
After reading Melissa's post, I was prompted to put this song on my blog, because I just can't get it out of my head. Most of you know by now that we're moving and I've struggled with it a bit because I just love where we're at. But most of the time, that's when He moves you! And, praise Him, he'll be wherever we go....He's already gone ahead of us! Please pray for us as our family goes through a time of transition and busy-ness, that we'll continue to keep Him at the center of all we do! For now, though, just enjoy this beautiful song!! :)

Anyone for a smoothie?

I'm just having bloggers block right now, and haven't had time to do much on the ole computer, but can I just say I love this commercial? I'll admit, it's not the most tasteful commercial I've ever seen, but it totally cracks me up. Thanks to the Olympics, I've been watching a little more tv and caught this one this week. Maybe this is the reason I don't eat at Jack in the Box that often!

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

This is what boys are made of.

Someone sent this little list to J and I just had to put it on here. If you have boys or even know boys, some of the items on this list have probably been tried and tested at your home. I know we can testify to several of them. They're of a different breed, but they are so cute and lovable.
Hope you get a kick out of them like I did!

Things You Find Out When You Have Boys:

1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3.) A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words 'uh oh', it's already too late.

8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9.) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.

10.) Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old Boy.

11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12.) Super glue is forever.

13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15.) VCR's do not eject 'PB & J' sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20.) The fire department in Austin , TX has a 5-minute response time.

21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24.) 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

25.) 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

Like #4 and #5, the ceiling fan could be considered a toy at our house.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Random Thoughts of a Six Year Old

I know, I know, the flag is backward in the picture. But if you'll bear with me, it's relevant. We went to see the Charlotte Symphony and fireworks with some friends last week, and as we walked into the park, we were all handed an American flag. The kids were so excited! We played on the playground, walked around the park, and listened to the Symphony play some great patriotic songs, and topped it all off with some awesome fireworks. It was almost midnight by the time we got back home and the kids had all fallen asleep. But the next morning, little man woke up and wanted to know where his flag was. I gave it to him and he looked it over, then looked at me puzzled and said, "Mom, why was the American flag made in China?" And then I looked, and lo and behold on the back of each flag those famous words were printed: Made In China. If you'll look closely at the pic, you can see it. I mean, I'm not one to complain about much, but could they not have gotten some flags that were made in the USA????

Because nothing stirs up patriotism for our great land like a product of China, right?

I must digress.

Anyhoo, so this morning I was greeted by a lovely little virus that must've made its way onto our computer during the night. And I kid when I say lovely. It was vicious....almost invoking the blue screen of death. Or is it black screen? I'm not sure. Well, it took me 3 1/2 hours to get that thing off of it and I had almost pulled my hair out, and so had the kiddos. I did take the time to feed them breakfast, however. In the middle of my palpitations and chest pains, I see a carload of women drive slowly past our house. And I knew. They come through our subdivision about every two weeks. They were the Jehovah's Witnesses. Now, usually I answer the door and politely tell them thank you but no thank you, we're happy serving the Lord at our church and they're really nice and just leave a magazine with me. But this morning was not one of those times. So, I did what any loving mother would do. I gathered the kiddos in the living room as I saw the ladies walk up the drive and dared any of them to make a sound. The doorbell rang, and the kids obeyed and soon the ladies were on their merry way as I heaved a sigh of relief. As soon as the coast was clear, I made my way back to the computer to finish the daunting task. After a few minutes, little man came in the room and said, "Here mom, I made a sign for you. Now nobody will bother us the rest of the day." A few minutes later, the computer was fixed and I started to go to the family room, but I saw a card taped up to the sidelight beside our front door (facing outward, for all visitors to see).

Here's what the precious little fella had made for his mama:



Nothing says "welcome to our home" quite like that, does it?

Oh Holy Night Before Christmas

Did you like that? My little "Wheel of Fortune - Before and After" play on words? I had eight hours of sleep last night, so my brain is really working hard today. I know it's hard to believe I could actually post twice in one week, but as I said, I've had more sleep than usual so I'm feeling particularly frisky.
I had planned to save this for a later post, but I think this will be my Christmas in July post.

From time to time we are the recipients of some eccentric gifts from my in-laws. They are frequent flea market shoppers, and since they are truck drivers, they are able to visit flea markets from here to California; thus, finding some high quality gifts. Or what some might call high quality. Remember I used the term eccentric.
Before I tell the tale, let me just say that I love my in-laws. We have been through our share of tough times, but praise the Lord we get along great now and have come to appreciate each other's differences.
That being said, my mother-in-law and I have two totally different tastes in most everything. Sometimes she finds things at flea markets that she thinks I would like and purchases them for me. I have a small collection of Tom Clark gnomes, which inspired her last purchase. She found this little sculpture at a yard sale, and thought it was a Tom Clark and that I might like to paint it and display it.
After all, what says Merry Christmas quite like....................................







A Santa kneeling behind Baby Jesus in the manger????
If any of you are interested in displaying this beside your creche this Christmas, let me know. Feliz Navidad!!

going Deeper Still.........

Well, sweet friends, I'm back in town....for today, that is. :) I have been so excited to post about this past weekend and am just now getting the time to do it. Myself and my precious homies below were in the presence of Jehovah (and Priscilla Shirer, Kay Arthur, and Beth Moore) this past weekend at Deeper Still Atlanta and let me tell you, we heard a WORD!!!


We were also in the presence of 19,000 other women.....and if you haven't read Big Mama's post for today about the Stadium Gal, it's definitely worth checking out. I won't expand on that too much because I've got much more important matters to discuss than the horrendous bathroom lines and being packed into the concourse like sardines, but Big Mama definitely tells it a little better than I would.



One of the great things about the weekend was the music. Travis Cottrell and the Praise Team BROUGHT IT!!! Unfortunately, for some crazy reason I didn't get a picture of them. I think it was because my hands were raised most of the time, so my camera was the last thing on my mind. :) But, Mandisa, what a blessing! She sang my favorite song of hers, "God Speaking" and several other songs and gave her testimony about American Idol. What a sweet thing!!

So, here are three of the most awesome women of God I know! It was such a honor to be able to hear them speak in person. They are so real, and SO FUNNY and it was just great to hear about their fashion tips, quiet time tips, nutrition tips, hair tips (you know who gave those!) etc. all rolled into one spiritual event!

But, I'm gonna have to say that this 'precious one' was the treat of the weekend for me. I had never heard Kay Arthur speak and have never done one of her studies (although now a few of us are doing Return to the Garden, and it's amazing, simply amazing). I am going to post more about the weekend later, but one point she made that REALLY struck home with me was that we should always be reading the Bible daily and not letting a Bible Study guide or Christian books, novels, or devotionals take the place of that. His Word should be our first love and first priority. She (and Beth) made the point that even when you're doing an organized Bible study, that should still not take the place of your quiet time. We (myself definitely included) need to have a time for the Lord to speak specifically to us about Scripture. I am SO guilty of letting a Bible study be my quiet time while I'm doing one. But this weekend I was really convicted about the need to MEMORIZE Scripture, so I can be ready with a Scriptural response when one is needed. Anyhow, I'll post more later....hopefully not a month later.....but I can't wait to share all the ways the Lord worked this past weekend.

And any of you that have ever done one of Beth's studies will recognize this little pose...so glad I was able to get a picture of it. Seems like she always does that when she's making a point about Scripture and I just love it. Shows off her perfectly manicured nails!

One last tip....if you plan to ride the MARTA (the Atlanta subway) into South Atlanta after 9 pm, be sure and pack your pepper spray and numchucks in your purse. They might come in handy.

Life in the fast lane....rewind

Well, what a crazy week it has been! Thanks to all the fans who have requested that I update my blog more often :)............for your enjoyment, here are the events from the fam's adventures in the past week. The only problem is, they're going to be in reverse order since I'm so technologically challenged that I can't figure out how to move my pictures around on here. Forgive my ignorance.

To start, please pray for me.......I'm preparing to lead Preschool VBS Teacher Training tomorrow night and I am so excited about it! Vacation Bible School is my absolute favorite time of the year!! It's crazy busy, but through VBS many children who don't normally come to church hear about Jesus and just have a great time. In my opinion, it's the best outreach ministry of a church because if you get the kids excited about Jesus, they can get their parents excited! Their joy is contagious!! Anyhow, so just pray that I'll be prepared and not too nervous and also pray for more parents to step up to help. We are still in need of teachers and VBS is about 3 weeks away!

Okay, so here's the recap of the week in reverse. Yesterday we spent the day at Carowinds with our sweet friends Dwayne and Monica and their kiddos. It was a fun and tiring day! Here was EG's favorite part of the day............she ADORES D-D-D-Dora (as she calls her).

We had a fun picnic lunch outside the park and just got to chill for a little while and it was so nice to get out of the heat and crowds for a bit. Here are the kiddos posing on the blanket. My kids LOVE Drew and Mara (and Dwayne and Monica), so the real treat for them wasn't really Carowinds, but getting to spend the day with them!

Here they are with the Rugrats!

Sunday, we had church and then Mama and Daddy came to our house for dinner and to watch the race. We had burrrrrrrrrrrritos (rolling the r's) with all the fixins (if you shop at Trader Joe's, their marinated Carne Asada and Pollo Asado are great for grilling for burritos) and then later on, we made homemade strawberry ice cream (de-lish!!). I'll post the recipe on my next post....it was the best ever! With fresh strawberries straight from Wall's Strawberry Farm in Dobson!

On Saturday, we got to babysit the most precious baby ever. It definitely gave John and I baby fever again, but that'll have to wait a bit longer! :) We had a great time, though. We had forgotten how nice it is to have a 'little' baby around! Isn't he adorable??

After his dad picked him up, we headed down to John's parents for a cookout - which turned out to be a cook-in because their grill wasn't working properly (we realized this after the chicken had been on it for 45 minutes and was still pink). Ugh! But, it was funny because everything was going wrong and we were just dying laughing. It was our first meal in their little house that they have remodeled and it was definitely a memorable one!

Friday, the girls and I spend the day at Monkey Joe's for Brooke's end-of-the-year Preschool Party. They had a blast! Thanks to Stephanie for organizing it -- it was so much fun!

Friday night we had family movie night and went to watch The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. It was GREAT movie -- I highly recommend it! I thought the religious symbolism in this one was more evident than in the first. It was just a wonderful movie! Seen any good movies lately? -- leave a comment and let me know what's good. We're always up for a good (family-friendly) movie.

Thursday night, Noah had his final teeball game. I'm just so proud of him....he's really improved throughout the season. He's mainly hitting coach-pitch now and hardly having to use the tee and can actually stop the ball when someone hits it to him! Here's the little monkey (although this pic is from the beginning of the season and you can see he swung and missed the ball!)!

And finally, Wednesday night we went to the Ringling Brothers circus and had such a good time. It was the kids' first time going to the circus and I hadn't been since I was Noah's age. It was all that I remembered, except the souvenirs were SOOOOO expensive. A sno-cone in a circus cup was $9.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For a sno-cone!! Needless to say, we bought ONE for the whole family to share and that was it for the souvenirs. But we had a fabuloso time just being together and watching the kids have so much fun! Here' s a pic of me and the kiddos:

So, after this week of activity, you can imagine that my house is in need of some cosmetic adjustments. The girls and I are going to spend the day cleaning today -- I'm putting them on dusting duty. There's probably going to be Pledge all over everything.

If it woulda been a snake, it woulda bit me

Melissa has an inspiring story about a turtle.........Faith has a super crazy story about birds getting into her van. Well, yesterday God decided to merge the two of those stories in my life, with a super crazy story about a large turtle and my van. Hold onto your seats, folks. It's gonna be a crazy ride....and a pretty gross one.

I was driving home from taking Brooke to preschool yesterday with visions of shopping at Kohl's in my head. I was behind a Dualie (sp?) pulling a big lawn mower trailer; thus, that was the only thing I could really see in front of me. So, I was about a mile away from my house when all of the sudden, I hear a loud thud and scratching noise and the old van started bogging down. I thought, "What in the world did I run over?" I then noticed there were two men standing on the side of the road. In very broken English, one started running toward me saying, "YOU KILLED THE TURTLE! YOU KILLED THE TURTLE!!!!!!!!"

Now, I just love turtles, always have. I looked under my van, and stuck under it was a HUGE turtle! And I mean huge, it was probably 20x20. I don't know of a lake close to there, but that big old thing had to have come from somewhere. When I looked behind my van, I saw a trail of blood. :( I felt horrible....I didn't see the poor thing b/c the Dualie/trailer had cleared it and that blocked my view of it until I was already on it. Well, another man stopped and they all tried to help me get my van off of the turtle, but to no avail. It was just too big. Fortunately for me (kidding on that one), they both had to leave. As we were standing there a Policeman drove by and I tried to wave him down, but he just kept right on going. So, I decided to call Animal Control to help me, because I figured, "Hey, it's an animal."

Wrong! The Animal Control officer on the phone told me they'd never had that happen before (and surprisingly, neither had I) and put me on hold to talk to his Supervisor. After a minute, he came back on to say they couldn't help me but he would transfer me to 911 dispatch for the Police Dept. So, the police department was really nice to talk to, but after talking to their supervisor, they decided they couldn't help me either. So, since it was thankfully within city limits, he decided to transfer me to the City Fire Department (go figure!). Praise the Lord and Hallelujah! The Fire Department said they would send a truck out to help me. So, in about five minutes, the fire truck pulls up and blocks the right lane with their truck, jacks my van up, and puts a pole under there to move the turtle out. That feisty little thing snapped at that pole and held on for dear life - the fireman was able to drag it across the street just by it being clamped down on the pole. It was missing about 1/3 of its top shell, so I'm praying it will survive.

I am now forever indebted to the Charlotte Fire Department.

One of the firemen jokingly said I needed to ask my husband to buy me some big "26 inch rims" to put on the van so it wouldn't happen again. Couldn't you see that?

Luckily, I had no major damage to the van.....the turtle had gotten stuck under the frame and just bent it a little. As you look at the picture above, you can see shell fragments and blood spatter on the bottom of my van, along with bent metal. 'Cause I know you wanted to see that.

Amazing Grace

no words can add anything to this one....see post below for another precious video.

Get your hanky ready.........

If you've already read the blogs of the gals that attended this weekend's Going Beyond conference with Priscilla Shirer, you know that it was an AWESOME time of worship, and one of the great things was that it was so diverse. There were people there of every color, praising the Lord together....just as it will be in heaven. I saw this on Shalee's Diner and was so moved by it that I wanted to share it on my blog too. I am reminded of Revelation 14: 6-7 - "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth - to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people---saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."

I've been tagged!!!!!!!

This is my first time being tagged too, so I'm excited! Thanks to Jennifer for tagging me! It actually gives me something to write about without having to think too hard!

Here are the rules:1) Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.4) Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven Random Things, here goes:

1. I have a hair 'phobia.' I do not like to see random hairs anywhere -- in the bathtub, on the floor, etc. Once in college, my African-American friend Shamiika chased me down the hall, scaring me with a bag of "weave."

2. I actually like doing things by myself -- I like doing things with friends too, but it doesn't bother me a bit to be by myself and sometimes I actually enjoy it!

3. My brother has his PhD in Biochemistry -- he's WAYYYY smarter than his sis!

4. I like for the toilet paper to roll from the top - and I'm actually obsessive about this. If it doesn't, I'll take it off and change it.

5. I love ethnic spicy food -- yesterday at Trader Joe's (love that store, by the way) I bought a package of Indian Naan curried bread (yum!) and some Tzatziki sauce (it's greek, i know, but it's really good on the naan) to spread on it and now our whole house smells like New Delhi!

6. I play the flute and was drum major my junior year of high school (picture that one!).

7. I used to play #3 seed on my high school tennis team and actually won the tourney in my Intermediate Tennis class at Carolina! Now, if I tried to play even one set of tennis, this poor out of shape body would be gasping for breath!!

Thanks again Jen for the tag! Since almost all of my blogger buddies have already been tagged, I'll only tag Monica on this one. Enjoy!

It's a God thing........

Here's a picture of my Daddy last year, all decked out in the Richard Petty Racing Experience suit. It's a great little program - daddy got to drive a race car for several laps around Lowe's Motor Speedway. He loves racing and is so hard to buy for, so this was the perfect gift for him a couple of Christmases ago! So, here's a little story about my daddy............

The past two weeks have been really rough ones. I've had a lot going on with life in general, but my dad's health has really been through the ringer the past little while. I'll start with a little about my daddy. For those of you in Sunday School with me, you know from my prayer request email that I'm a daddy's girl. But not in a normal "daddy's girl" sense. My daddy is a very quiet, mild mannered, hard working man. He's one of those people that believes if you don't have something meaningful to say, then you just shouldn't say anything. I've never heard him speak unkindly of anyone, and rarely have I ever heard him complain -- so when he does I know that something's really wrong. I know some of you might not understand this - but as far as I can remember, my daddy's only told me he loved me a couple of times and the only time I remember him giving me a kiss in my 'grown-up' life is the day I got married. But I have never doubted for a minute that he loves me. He had a hard life growing up, and I believe as a result of that, it's hard for him to show affection. But daddy has always provided for me and been the most wonderful Christian example a daddy could be. His humility amazes me. I just love and respect him so much.

Well, he started feeling bad a couple of months ago and went to his doctor. She discovered he had a hot little gallbladder (that's not a compliment!). So, he had it removed about a month and a half ago. About two weeks after that, his calf started swelling and hurting really bad and he pretty much knew what it was. He'd had a DVT (blood clot) before. So, he had a DVT around his knee area and started meds to thin his blood. About two weeks after that, he began having thigh pain and was having trouble breathing. Well, come to find out, he had several small clots that had moved to his lungs and the clot that was in his knee had moved up his thigh and grown significantly. His doctor did nothing more about his treatment. This little nurse was not happy! So, it just so happens that the hubby's in grad school with a cardiologist whose business partner specializes in vascular/endovascular medicine. He said daddy needed to be seen right away. So, Dr. Navarro (who I highly recommend) saw daddy last week and immediately suggested that daddy have a filter put in to keep further blood clots from reaching his heart and lungs. He had that done yesterday and is doing GREAT! Believe me, this story is really condensed -- so much happened last week that it really seems like a blur.

Now, I tell that story to give all the examples of how God's hand was upon Daddy and our family during all that time.

1. Daddy has raised cattle ever since he's been alive almost. In January, he had someone offer to buy them (he had over 100!) and he decided to take them up on it. If he had the cattle during all this, there would've been no way I could've taken care of them. The fellow that bought them picked up the last of them a week before Daddy's surgery!

2. The kiddos were on Spring Break last week. Had they been in school, there would've been no way I could've taken care of things for Mama and Daddy last week.

3. Who would've ever thunk :) that a cardiologist would be getting his MBA? God knew this would happen when J got in grad school and he knew just who to let him be friends with. The other God thing about the situation is that they usually have a long wait to get into their clinic - but J's friend got Daddy in within two days.

4. Mama was also on break (she teaches for the community college) last week when all this happened with Daddy.

I am also so thankful to many of my church friends, who offered so much support, encouragement, and prayers on daddy's behalf. Thank you, y'all. I know to the outsider looking in , these definitely don't seem like big things. But, to me, it is amazing to see how God worked during all of that, and how He gave me such comfort during what seemed like a nightmare almost. He provides a peace that is unexplainable......He is Amazing God!