Wordless Wednesday-first flight

Pics courtesy of my phone (again.)

TTFN,

Specifically

I find these days that I am reading several blogs

where life events have become particularly hard on

the blog author.

It is amazing to me to find that I care so much about all

my bloggy friends even though I have known them

such a short time and have never met them in person.

I am sad for my friends who are struggling and they are

constantly in my thoughts and prayers.

That said, as I was leaving a comment on one of these

blogs the other day, I noticed the comment above mine said

something that weighed heavily on me all weekend.

"Let me know specifically what to pray for."

(emphasis mine)

At first I couldn't really put my finger on exactly what

it was about that statement that bothered me, but after

thinking about it and the blog it was left on, I realized

what my issue was.

The author of this particular blog has given no details

of the struggle she is going through in her life right now.

She has just let us know, specifically, that these are very

dark, hard times for her.

I don't think anyone should have to disclose anymore

information than that for us to be able to pray for them.

We know she is hurting, we know she is in need, and that

is all we need to know, specifically.

We serve a wonderful God who loves all His creation

and when we pray to Him on someone elses behalf,

He knows exactly what they need. Specifically.

Sometimes I think we use the excuse of praying for

someone to try and get more details than they are

willing or ready to share.

As in, "If you'll let me know what's going on, specifically,

I'll know more specifically what to pray for."

And I think, specifically, that it's the wrong way

to go about it.

Will you not pray for them if they don't let you in

on the specifics? And are you not putting God in a

tiny box?

Does any of that make sense or am I overreacting?

TTFN,

What goes around...

In a large household germs are never your friend.

The weekend we flew to Houston, Paul was sick.

That following week Jacob had Bronchitis.

That next weekend Emmie got croup.

This week Noah has had croup.

Imagine living with harbor seals.

That's what it has sounded like in my house.

Nonstop barking!

And now, of course,

I am getting sick.

What goes around comes around, right?

Yeah, the party never stops! ;)

Hmmph. (cough, cough, sniffle)

TTFN,

One of the cutest baby videos ever!!

I'm not totally into blogging today, so I decided to

post this. Have a great day!



TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday...I'm ready.

Where I wish we were right now...

Photo taken by Paul on our last Disney vacation.

TTFN,

Hurry up...and wait!

As parents we find ourselves rushing the milestones.

Somehow our kids are smarter, or better, or we're the

best mom if our kids reach certain points younger than other

babies. It occured to me that all we're doing is

wishing their childhood away.

And it make me think.

How many times do you find yourself saying:

Hurry up and sit up!!

Wait-how'd you get so big?

Hurry up and crawl!!

Wait-stop getting into everything!

Hurry up and walk!!

Wait-slow down, Mommy can't keep up!

Hurry up and talk!!

Wait-can't I have JUST A MOMENT'S PEACE?

Hurry up and go to school!!

Wait-I really miss you when you're not here with me!!

Hurry up and grow up!!

Wait-where did my sweet baby go??

I looked at my kids today and wondered

that last question. Where are my babies??

They are just too big. Slow down and enjoy

your babies today-even in the stressful moments!

They'll be gone before you know it!

TTFN,

Not Me Monday!

Welcome to Not Me Monday!

Free therapy brought to you courtesy of

MckMama.

Hop on over to see what she and all the other

moms have not been doing this week.

I did not get weighed and measured at Curves

last Thursday. I was not just a little disappointed

that I have only lost one pound. I was not, however,

comforted by the fact that I've lost a total of 3.5in!

And I will not admit that after the frist 2 weeks I had lost 3.5

pounds but have since put them back on. Nope, not me!

It was totally not me and hubby who left some

~ahem~

bedroom paraphernalia

in our upstairs room where the kids go to play

video games. We are totally responsible with our

stuff and never leave it where it can be found by

the kids. It was not where we left it when we rushed

to move it, however, it was shoved under the chair.

We are not fairly certain that Ashton must have found

it and just hid it. It was not quite embarrassing.

It is not my Noah who frequently 'checks' everyone

for poo-poo. He does not grab the waistband of your

pants, yank them toward the floor, and hollar,

"Do you have poo-poo, Mommy?"

(Or Daddy, or Ashna, or Ninny, etc. None of us is safe.)

That's all I got this week...Hope you had a great Monday!

TTFN,

To answer your questions

I thought I would answer the questions and comment

on the comments about my lovely hair pics!

That post was originally going to be titled;

'The head shots I DIDN'T send to the modeling agency!'

But I've never sent any pics to a modeling agency, so

it didn't really fit. It was just silly.

First, I don't have nearly as much hair as it looks like

I do. But I certainly do have BIG hair. In fact, in

school I was 'The Big Hair Girl.'

As in, 'You know Jennifer-the big hair girl!'

'Oh, yeah! That one!'

Yep. That's me.

Anyway, Kelli, no this wasn't after some formal where

I had my hair done up. {Thank God-I would've stayed

home with that 'do!}

Here's the low down:

I had a HORRIBLE headache {I get those sometimes} and

I was laying on the couch with Paul playing with my hair.

Inspiration struck and I had him go get a brush. Then I laid

face down on the couch and had him brush my hair

backward-as in from my neck to the top of my head-in

long strokes. It felt WONDERFUL.

This went on for at least 20 minutes.

Then I picked my head up.

I thought Paul was going to fall off the couch laughing. He ran

to get a mirror and the camera and I decided, what the heck,

and posed {rather goofily, of course!}

I couldn't believe how well my hair stayed straight up! It

was SOOO funny. There are also pictures of me sitting

up wiping my eyes because we were laughing so hard

we were crying.

There is also a pic of Jake {the dog you can somewhat

see by my feet in the pics} getting excited by all the commotion

-in his own way- and doing that thing that dogs do.

To my backside no less.

This just added to the hilarity.

And for Julie and Kimber-this pic was taken about 9 years

ago. Thanks for the compliments! If you can't tell the

difference between then and now, either I need a big make

over, or I'm doing something right!! :)

BTW, Erica, I loved your makeover!!

And thanks to Konnie's hubby, Isaac who called

me a Barney character. Love you, too, Isaac. ;)

See, Konnie, I told you I'd post them!

I mean, if I can't laugh at me, who can?? {Don't answer that!}

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday...if you could use a laugh...

Holy cow.

TTFN,

Sunday's song.

Have a favorite worship song-new or old-that
you'd like to share? Have a story to go along with
why it's so special to you? Tell me what song
moves you and why-leave me a comment or, if you
want to blog about it,a link to your blog!

Just because I LOVE Third Day!!

Love Song

I've heard it said

that a man would climb a mountain

Just to be with the one he loves.

How many times

has he broken that promise

It has never been done.

I've never climbed the highest mountain,

But I walked the hill of Calvary.

[Chorus]Just to be with you, I will do anything

There's no price I would not pay no

Just to be with you, I would give everything

I would give my life away.

I've heard it said that a man would swim the ocean

Just to be with the one he loves

All of those dreams are an empty motion.

It can never be done.

I've never swam the deepest ocean,

But I walked upon the raging sea.

[Repeat Chorus]Just to be with you, I will do anything

There's no price I would not pay no

Just to be with you, I would give everything

I would give my life away.

[Bridge]I know that you don't understand

the fullness of My love.

How I died upon the cross for your sins.

And I know that you don't realize

how much that I give you

But I promise, I would do it all again.

Just to be with you, I've done everything

There's no price I did not pay no

Just to be with you, I gave everything

Yes, I gave my life away. Just to be with you.

Wanna listen?

Listening to this song I can just imagine Jesus

singing it to me.

Hope you had a blessed Sunday.

TTFN,

Home again, home again, jiggity-jig

We're back!

And we have a van!!

And I'm EXHAUSTED!!

And Paul's sick!!!

I drove approximately 700 miles.

ONE WAY.

Thank GOD we flew over there!!!

I'll post more later-with the few pics

I actually took.

Kimber-I am so sorry I didn't get back to you.

I would have loved to meet you.

We actually had to stop last night and

stay in a hotel cause we were both too tired.

We stayed in Baton Rouge-

but the timing wouldn't have worked out.

:(

Maybe another time!!! Soon, I hope.

Gotta go finish supper now.

Homemade chicken parmesan. Yum.

TTFN,

A change of plans...

I'm so excited!

Tomorrow, instead of driving 7+ hours,

we're going to fly!!

I've never been on a plane before, so I'm

SUPER stoked!

Sounds silly, I suppose.

But now it's just going to be Paul and me-

YAY!!!

Umm...I mean...BOO-HOO!! ;)

It's still going to be a long day.

We'll fly out of New Orleans at 12:30ish

and be in Houston by 1:30ish.

Then price haggling over the van.

Fun.

Then we get to drive back home!

We should get home about 1AM

:(

But, did I mention I get to fly on a plane??

:)

Even though I am not the least superstitious,

it has not escaped me that I am flying on

September 11th. Which sends a little

chill down my spine. But I'm not going to let that

bother me!

Pray for me. I'll be the one white-knuckling

it all the way to Houston! With a HUGE grin!!

TTFN,

Jump Start Review and Giveaway!

I am excited to be able to review and blog about

JumpStart! Both my older girls played JumpStart

when they were little on CD-ROM and LOVED it!

Let me give you a bit of background-we are a game

playing family. We play everything; board games,

card games, computer games, Nintendo games, and

everyone's new favorite is our Wii. I knew there wouldn't

be any trouble getting into the JumpStart world again!

I let Jacob play and he was excited because I don't

usually let him use my laptop, so it was double

fun! He jumped right in with both feet!!

I think that even with all the great games, his

absolute favorite thing to do was create his own

character. He loved making a person that looked

like him and then dressing himself up! I didn't

think we'd ever get beyond that step.

This is the Jumpee Builder (not Jacob's, obviously!)

They get to pick a silly name:

Jacob's character's name is Jacob Lavacomet!
Too funny!

His favorite place to play was Storyland. He loved

the Learning House. And with him going to Kindergarten

this year, I loved it too! He also enjoyed the dressing tent,

the Library, and the Slide!

There is a 'Ghost Town' and he wouldn't even

go in there. He's a bit of a 'fraidycat. :)

I also love that they have parent's areas and a blog

that has family fun suggestions such as craft

ideas and science projects disguised as games!

I think it's a great program, and Jacob really did

love playing it. It is fairly easy for the little ones

to navigate once they do it a few times.

One thing that I think is a pro and con is that it

has SO many areas to explore and games to play

that it might be a bit overwhelming.

Jacob kept going back and doing the same stuff

over and over and I wondered if it was because

there was just too much to choose from!

Like I said, though, that's a good thing too-the

kids can do lots of things and not get bored.

Now for the good stuff-A Giveaway!!

JumpStart has graciously offered a three month

subscription to a lucky reader!

All you have to do is leave me a comment and tell

me who would get to play JumpStart at your house!

Want more chances? Follow me and leave another

comment for another entry. Blog about my giveaway

and leave me another comment to let me know and

get one more entry. Grab my button and leave...

Well, I think you know the drill. :)

The contest will be closed Friday morning, September

the 18th. I will let the wonderful random number

generator choose the lucky winner then annonuce

it shortly thereafter! Good luck!

TTFN,

We're goin on a trip!

Bright and early Friday morning, Paul, Emmie and

I myself are heading out West across South MS, all of

Louisiana, and into Texas.

We are driving I10 into Houston. I've never been to

Houston before, so this should be an exciting trip.

Not so much.

We're driving over Friday and turning around and

driving right back Saturday.

Madness, right? A 7+ hr each way drive in 24 hours

with a one year old who doesn't particularly care to ride

doesn't sound fun to you?

So why are we going?

This is why:

We are going to hopefully pick up this van.

I say hopefully because if we drive all the way out there

and there is something wrong with the van or for some

reason we can't get it, I may pull out ALL my hair.

It is the ONLY gold E350 within 400 miles of us. It is one

of 2 that even show up for sale ANYWHERE. The other

happens to also be in Houston. Most of the rest are white, and

maybe I'm just being picky, but I just don't want white.

I have to admit, I'm not terribly excited about driving a

church van. I mean, really. We are getting rid of

my Toyota, which I LOVE, and getting that. Hmph.

I am excited that I have a family big enough to

need one, though-with room to add more!

And that's good enough for me.

On a good note, we do have a serious buyer for our van,

so I guess things are working out like they are supposed

to.

Pray for a safe journey for the 3 of us, and pray that my

MIL is able to keep her sanity while staying with the

other 4!! :)

Thanks!

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday-At play.

Anyone else notice their pics become blurry in blogger?

These pics weren't blurry before. Just wondering.

TTFN,

Sunday's song.

Have a favorite worship song-new or old-that

you'd like to share? Have a story to go along with

why it's so special to you? Tell me what song

moves you and why-leave me a comment or, if you

want to blog about it,a link to your blog!

This one speaks for itself.

Jesus Paid it All

I hear the Savior say,

"Thy strength indeed is small;

Child of weakness, watch and pray,

Find in Me thine all in all."

Refrain: Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I

Whereby Thy grace to claim,

I'll wash my garments white

In the blood of Calv'ry's Lamb.

Refrain

And now complete in Him

My robe His righteousness,

Close sheltered 'neath His side,

I am divinely blest.
Refrain

Lord, now indeed I find

Thy power and Thine alone,

Can change the leper's spots

And melt the heart of stone.

Refrain

When from my dying bed

My ransomed soul shall rise,

"Jesus died my soul to save,"

Shall rend the vaulted skies.

Refrain

And when before the throne

I stand in Him complete,

I'll lay my trophies down

All down at Jesus' feet.

Elvina Hall, 1865

Wanna listen/watch?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onxhvivQYfI

Hope you had a blessed Sunday,

TTFN,

A conversation...

One day last week, I after I made Jacob's sandwich

I took my giant heart cookie cutter and cut his

sandwich in the shape of a heart. I didn't say anything

to him, I wanted it to be a surprise.

I waited all afternoon for him to say something,

anything about the sweet heart sandwich
I made for him.

He never said anything.

DAYS went by.

He still didn't say anything.

Finally, night before last, at supper, he remembered.

Jacob, 'Hey! One day my sandwich was shaped

like a heart!'

Me, (in all my wide-eyed innocence) 'You cut your

sandwich in the shape of a heart?'

Jacob, 'No! It was already like that!'

Me, 'Who could have made it in the shape of a heart??'

Jacob, (giggling) 'Ummm...'

Me, 'I bet it was those sandwich fairies! They do silly

things like cut sandwiches into shapes!'

Jacob, (giggling harder) 'Noooo, I don't think so!'

Me, (still completely baffled ;) Well, I wonder who

else would have cut a heart shape for you...'

Jacob, (after pondering for a moment, very serious now)

'Maybe it was God!!'

After my heart finished melting, I said, 'Well, God certainly

does love you that much.'

He smiled his little sweet smile like he was certain he

was right and began eating his supper again.

And all was right in my world. :)

TTFN,

Wordless Wednesday-seems like only yesterday...

TTFN,