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.