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.