Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Disaster

It was going to be perfect. I had had it planned out for months. As soon as I had heard about it, I had formed a plan. But now....

I love Steven Curtis Chapman. I love his music, him as a person. Matt and I went to his All things New concert and it was amazing. So when I heard that he was touring with Mercy Me doing a Christmas concert, I just knew I had to go. Matt wasn't too thrilled with the last concert so I decided that I would give my mom tickets for her birthday in October. Then we planned it all out. We would leave right after I dropped the kids at school. We would spend the day in Grand Rapids, just the two of us. Christmas shopping and eating out. It was going to be great. The concert is tomorrow. I was so excited.

Then my mom went to the ER. She really hurt her back and can hardly move. So no concert. Although, I have the tickets! I have to go! I already spent the money and everything. I am so bummed......

Anyone feel like to going to Grand rapids tomorrow???

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Next...

Thanksgiving was a wonderful day. We ate, talked, ate, watched parades, ate, did dishes, ate, played games, and ate. All in all a good day. Ken and Robin (my brother and sister-in-law) stayed the night which was way fun. Then I subjected my sister-in-law to the madness of Wal-Mart at 4:30 AM on Friday. I know those "Wal-Mart boycotters" are cringing right now, but I've never had a bad experience there. Anyway, it was insanity. People were pushing and shoving, not where I was of course. We were in and out and home by 6 AM. The trick?? Team shopping. Robin quick got into the layaway line while I went and got the stuff I wanted.That was great because while there were only 10 people in the line when Robin got in it, by the time I got there, there were 80 people in it! It worked beautifully. Uncle Kenny was brilliant with the kids who were up early as well. (Matt had to work, as if anyone is buying chips the morning after Thanksgiving!!) So we had donuts and chocolate milk for breakfast. Then we all got dressed and braved the crowds one more time to get a Christmas tree. So yesterday we decorated our tree and the house. It really feels festive now.

Anyone else have a good Thanksgiving story???

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Thanksgiving

Well I thought I should post something very meaningful to celebrate this holiday. What can I say...hmmm? I could say something about the five kernels that the pilgrims put by their plates every year to remind themselves of how they had nothing and to be thankful. Nah, let me just tell you about yesterday instead.

Alright so just with our family alone we have 15 people for Thanksgiving. The Walton's remember?? We have two little old ladies at church who have absolutely no family so we're having them over as well. Then there's another gal who's a few years older than me and she's divorced. Her daughter is going to be with her dad all day so we invited her too. Then there's my brother and sister-in-law who don't have anywhere to be, so add them. That's 20 people.... So there I was, feeling so good about myself that we had included others on this holiday.

Then my mom calls. Here's the deal....

She was at work yesterday (she's the secretary at our church). A woman and her young daughter come into the church. They look somewhat dirty and lost. She tells my mom her story. They've been living in a cheap motel for the last three months. She has a four year old daughter and an 8 year old son who it turns out goes my brother's Noah's school and he has epilepsy. She was at her wits end. They couldn't pay for the hotel this week and the place they're moving into won't be ready until the end of next week. So they were staying in the car. All she wanted was a few dollars to do some laundry so her son could have some clean clothes for school. Now people come into the church all the time asking for money. There was just something about this family that struck my mom. Now a sidenote on my mother, she is an amazing woman, the most giving person I know. She also has an amazing gift of discernment. And she knew this woman was the real deal. So tomorrow we will have another three people for dinner. This family. When she called and told me, she thought I might be shocked. I thought I might be too . But the more she told me about them, the more I knew that this is EXACLTY what this holiday is about. My grandma has bought enough food to feed all the homeless shelters in the city, so it's not like there isn't enough. But if we aren't willing to leave the comfort of our families and friends and share the blessings that we have been given, than how can be truly be thankful? Sometimes we have to see what other's DON'T have to realize how blessed we are with the things we DO have. Jesus said, "What you do for the least of these brothers, you do for ME."

So my thanksgiving lesson is for myself. Bless others with what you've been blessed with and you'll both share in the blessing.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Nothingness

I haven't posted for a few days. But truly, there has been nothing worthy of blogging about. I'm so excited for Thanksgiving....tons of food and people. I love it.

Then of course we slam right into the holidays. Molli's birthday is first and then Christmas. Wow, can it really almost be the end of the year?!?!?!?!

Saturday, November 19, 2005

WHEW

Matt's mom and dad are coming today. Now I don't know about you but on a daily basis my house is not clean. Not "dirty" just extremely messy. Well I knew they were coming today. So when Matt left for work this morning I got up and starting cleaning.

Something strange happened as I was cleaning the living room. "hmmmm", I thought to myself. "I think I'll rearrange a few pieces of furniture." Well that bloody thought snow balled and I rearranged the WHOLE room. Not only that, but I dug out the shop vac and cleaned the edges of the room, scrubbed the walls, vacuumed out the couch and dusted. Yes, I know....You're in shock. So a project that should have taken 2 hours maybe ended up taking me 7 hours.....Ugh. I HATE cleaning. But my house now looks awesome and feels clean. Matt thought maybe he had the wrong house when he came home!!!!

On a sidenote, I must say this. Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser is the most fantastic invention ever made. I'm convinced that it was made by a group of mothers. Never have I found a product that removes pen, crayon, marker..Anything from the walls, cabinets, doors, etc. It is so awesome. I even went so far today as to go to their website and left them a message thanking them for their wonderful product. So cool.

Well my cleaning is done (before you think I am superwoman you must know that my cleaning did NOT include my bedroom or the entire upstairs...We're just not granting access to those places!) I must some appropriate visiting clothes.

Friday, November 18, 2005

Back

Well, I'm back. In case you hadn't noticed :) SBC has proven yet again that the sqeaky wheel gets the oil.....grrrr.

We finished Lost. I HAVE A MILLION QUESTIONS!!! What's in the hatch?? Who are the others??? WHERE'S WALT?????? All of these questions are rhetorical....please don't answer them. Guess we'll just have to wait for the stinking next season. AHHHHHH!!!!!

Felicity is still awesome though....

Here's Emma's pictures that I had taken...they turned out so nice. More blogging later....
































Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Totally random

Well it's been a while. I am yet again convinced that SBC is the anti-Christ. But I must not harbor ill will, hopefully we will have internet back again soon. In the mean time, I'll share this and that.

We're still making our way through Lost. I'm still LOVING it. It's so frustrating as we finish a disc to RUN it to the mailbox and wait another 2-3 days to get the next one. Ah well. In between Lost discs, I have discovered felicity. I vaguely remember when it was on TV, but I saw it at the library and decided to try it. I LOVE IT! Matt is truly sick of it, but I'm hooked.

On from my viewing habits......We went and had family Christmas pictures taken on Sunday. Ok, please remind me next year to do this in SEPTEMBER!!! It was total insanity. My kids looked gorgeous however and we finally managed to get them done. I'll post one when we get them back next week. Matt was not happy about getting them taken, but we haven't had a family picture taken since Sydney was born so it was high time. He survived!

Everything else is well. It blows my mind that Thanksgiving is next week, where in the world is this year going?!?!??! I'm so excited for the holiday though. Matt's brother and his wife are coming to stay with us and doing Thanksgiving with the Waltons at mom's house. It's too fun. Lots of noise, food, game, noise, people, noise......You get the idea! And then we launch in to Christmas starting with the highlight for me, the Steven Curtis Chapman/Mercy Me Christmas concert!!! WOO HOO!!!! So big stuff happening.

Well I think that's it for now, if you don't hear from me soon...Someone plan an assassination attempt for SBC....

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Jail

It's finally happened.....I knew it would happen one day. I just wasn't prepared. I'm so careful, but it happened anyway.

I got pulled over.

I saw the lights and my whole stomach started churning. By the time I pulled over and rolled down my window, I was crying. Not just a gentle tear mind you, but full blown crying. "Matt is going to kill me!!", I'm thinking to myself as I dig for my insurance and license. I watched him get out of his squad car and walk towards us. As he walks up to the side of the car, Emma starts to cry. I turned to tell her it was ok, but of course I'm hysterical. "Ma'am do you know how fast you were going?" More tears.... "No, sir," I sob. Of course, I really didn't know, who watches their speedometer?!

Then it starts. Emma starts screaming at the top of her lungs...."I DON'T WANT TO GO TO JAIL!!!!!! I AM WEARING MY SEATBELT! PLEASE DON"T LET HIM TAKE US MOMMY!!!!!" The policeman gets very flustered by this. He leans in to reassure her that he is not going to take us anywhere. She cries harder, "NOT JAIL!" He mumbled some things under his breath and sent me on my way with a warning....Wonderful policeman. Emma finally calmed down as she watched him drive away, now secure in the fact that she would not be going to jail today.

My husband was furious :)

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

56 Questions

56 Questions that have no meaning or relevance to anything but they are fun.
UNIQUE
1. Nervous habits - I rub my eyebrows, saves money for getting them waxed!
2. Are you double jointed - No.
3. Can you roll your tongue - no
4. Can you raise one eyebrow at a time - Yes
5. Can you blow spit bubbles - Yes.
6. Can you cross your eyes - Yes.
7. Tattoos - No.
8. Piercing - Just my ears.
9. Do you make your bed daily - Yes

CLOTHES
10. Which shoe goes on first? Right, even though I'm left handed
11. Speaking of shoes, have you ever thrown one at anyone? Yes
12. On the average, how much money do you carry? - $0- I have a debit card - who needs cash?
13. What jewelry do you wear 24/7 - Wedding Rings, my manatee ring that Matt got me and my silver cross necklace
14. Favorite piece of clothing - anything comfortable, jeans

FOOD
15. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? Twirl it
16. Have you ever eaten Spam? I'd have to be starving
17. Do you use extra salt on your food - depends on the food
18. How many cereals in your cabinet - Had to go count...9!!
19. What's your favorite beverage -Pepsi
20. What's your favorite fast food restaurant -Arbys or Taco Bell
21. Do you cook - Yes

GROOMING
22. How often do you brush your teeth -At least once a day
23. Hair drying method - air dry
24. Have you ever colored/highlighted your hair -A couple of times, I went red, it was fuN!

MANNERS
25. Do you swear - No, oddly enough I still feel like crap and fart are swear words!
26. Do you ever spit - Only when I have a cold and lots of flem

FAVORITE
27. Animal - Manatees!
28. Food - Steak
29. Month - December
30. Day - Saturday
31. Cartoon -I detest cartoons
32. Shoe brand - anything cute!
33. Subject in school - English
34. Color - Purple
35. Sport - Football
36. TV shows - House
37. Thing to do in the spring - open windows, go to the park
38. Thing to do in the summer - Swim at mom's,go for walks
39. Thing to do in the autumn - put on a sweatshirt!
40. Thing to do in the winter - Shopping
41. In the CD player - lol, Christmas music, (don't tell my dad!)
42. Person you talk most on the phone with - Mindy :)
43. Reading - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, brushing up before the movie!
44. Do you regularly check yourself out in store windows/mirrors - nope.
45. What color is your bedroom - Casual blue, very nice if I do say so myself!
46. Do you use an alarm clock - No, but I have to have the clock on my side so I always know what time it is!
47. Window seat or aisle - Window
48. What's your sleeping position - My side while Matt is in bed, when he leaves, my tummy
49. Even in hot weather do you use a blanket - Yes
50. Do you snore - Matt says yes :)
51. Do you sleepwalk - No.
52. Do you talk in your sleep - No.
53. Do you sleep with stuffed animals -um, no
54. How about with the light on - No.
55. Do you fall asleep with the TV or radio on - I love to fall asleep with the TV on, Matt hates it though
56. Last interesting person you met - Misty and Sandy!

Sorry for subjecting y'all to another one of these, but I just love them!!

Monday, November 07, 2005

15 questions with Molli

I wondered just what my very intelligent daughter thought about some things...here are her answers!

1. Who is the president? mommy
2. Who is stronger Superman or Spiderman? Superman
3. Does our get good gas mileage? Nope
4. How much money does Daddy make? 18 dollars
5. How many years do you have to go to school? 18 years
6. How old do people live to be? 43
7. What is the best color to wear to an evening wedding? White, I mean pink
8. What is college? you go to school and do homework and stuff and projects
9. What is a republican?president of the country (????)
10. What do you think of stem cell research? I don't know what that is Mom.....
11. If you had one wish, what would it be? I'd be a princess, Sleeping Beauty
12. What is in a museum? books and makeup and letters and drink stuff and phones
13. What is rugby? college
14. Can Barbie beat up Ken? NOOO because Barbies are not real
15. What are the little blue buttons that you push to make doors open? they're for the wheelchair people like Noah

Molli's view of the world.....

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Weekend update

We had a great weekend!! What a fun visit with the in-laws and it was so great to see Matt's grandparents. The kids enjoyed being away and speding time with family. Add to that my fun getaway and it was a terrific weekend!!!

Alas we are back to real life. Although I must admit that it feels good to be home. The kids seemed to slump back into themselves as we walked in the door. And I am looking forward to seeing everyone at church tonight.....

But the absolute highlight of my weekend.....FINDING MAPLE SUGAR CANDY AT CRACKER BARREL!!!! I was so thrilled. I thought the only place in the world to find that stuff was in Frankenmuth!!! So very awesome!

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Here they are, the picture of my room. The color is called Classic Blue. I worked till midnight last night and all day today to get it done. My poor wrists were so bad (I have carpal tunnel) but now that my pain meds are kicking in, it's way better! I really like it. Depending on how the light hits it, it looks gray. Very cool. I'm rather pleased although I hate painting. Now Matt wants to know when I'm doing the rest of the house! :)














































So there you have it, my attempt at beautifying my home!

Tomorrow we head to Detroit to visit Matt's family. The kids are so excited about getting away. Please say a prayer for our poor van.....it's taken so many trips!! But the weekend promises to hold many fun times. Details when we return or even while we're there, they have a nice computer!!

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Camping out

We're at Mom's again. For Pastor's appreciation this year, the church decided, in lew of giving my dad cash(he's the pastor of our church in case you didn't already know that), of getting them a trip. My parents got to pick the place and the congregation all helped send them. Really great idea, I thought. So they're gone and we're camped out at Mom's taking care of Noah. I was having flashbacks last night of our year in the attic as Matt and I slept in my parent's room with all three girls! Memories....Like the corner of my mind.....

I was so thrilled that House was back last night. Man, I love that show. And a brief update on Lost.....IT'S AWESOME!!! I'm so hooked. I told Matt last night that I want it for Christmas. It's one of those that I could watch repeatedly and not get tired of it. So cool.

And now brace yourselves..................I'm going to paint my bedroom. I got a gift certificate to do just that back when we moved in and there it still sits. So I'm biting the bullet while it's 65 outside and I can have all the windows open. I'll take pictures when I'm done. Pray for me, I hope I like the color I picked!!!