Jacobism

Jacob was lying around this morning for a little while. He said he felt fine, but he was tired and cold from sleeping on the floor. He yelled to me, "Mommy, I'm hungry!"

I guess I was busy or something. Myles answered him, jokingly, "No, you're not ugly!"

Jacob: I mean, I'm HUNGRY!
Daddy: No, you're not ugly!
Jacob: I MEAN, I'M HUNGRY!
Daddy: No, you're NOT UGLY!!!
(pause)
Jacob: COME HERE!

Myles went to the boys' room where Jacob was on the floor.

Jacob: I'm hungry!
Daddy: No, you're not ugly!
Jacob: I - WANT - SOME - FOOD!!!
Daddy: How about some broccoli and ranch dressing?
Jonathan and Jacob both: NO!

Yep, it's our turn.

So the boys seemed completely normal, even better than normal, once they finally woke up this morning. They were bouncing off walls and screaming, having a great time! But Jayla was lethargic and nauseous. :( At first I thought (hoped) it was because of the yucky smells that still lingered, but she finally did throw up this afternoon. Then when Jack had a really nasty diaper, I realized that he has had them for about 3 days or so, and DUH, it's probably the same stomach bug!

And now he is clingy. I was really wanting some time alone AT HOME this evening, but the kids are not feeling like going out and Jack wants me instead of Daddy. So, I guess I'll just sit and hold the baby for a while. I love doing that, I was just hoping to get some things done tonight. But they'll always wait until "tomorrow", I guess!

Please pray for our family as we take our turn with this nasty stomach bug! :(

I guess it's finally our turn!

Ugh! I've been up four times now with sick kids, having to clean up vomit and finding another place for them to sleep and blankets and pillows to use. We're running out of all of the above!

First Jonathan came in our room, I guess to tell us he was feeling sick, but he didn't make it in time. We woke up to that horrible sound and smell, but at least he didn't get anything on our bed. Yea.

Next it was Jacob's turn. He tried to get in bed with us after that, but we sent him to the couch instead.

The next thing I know, I awoke to the sound, again, and discovered Jacob was in our bed! Fortunately it didn't get all over the place, but I had to move Jack over next to Daddy and I am having to sleep on the recliner. I gave Jacob a quick bath and some new clothes and blankets and put him back on the couch.

So then Jacob was really thirsty (I would be too!), so who knows how much water he drank right before it all came back up! So up again, and now he is sleeping on the floor.

I have a LOT of washing to do tomorrow.

The thing about this though is that I'm 99.9% sure it is not a stomach virus like many have been getting. I'm pretty sure it was what they ate right before bed because they were the only ones who had some. They both ate broccoli with ranch dressing, and let's just say there was plenty of evidence to point to that as the culprit! YUCK! So maybe it was bad and I didn't realize it, but I'm not sure if it was the broccoli or the ranch. I guess they both get tossed!

But anyway, now that I have grossed everyone out, I'm going to try once again to go back to sleep. Jacob said he was hungry and thirsty, but I told him he couldn't have anything right now or he'll throw it up again. He just said,"Oh." :) Maybe it's a good sign that he wants something, but I am not taking a chance again! I want at least a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep tonight before I spend all day doing laundry!

It was fun while it lasted!

I have really enjoyed having short hair. I think I have had it cut 3 or maybe 4 times since vacation last October in order to keep it short. Well, even though I really like it, I have decided that I will probably always have long hair. Why?

Well, since you asked..... :)

I have been studying lately about head coverings in 1 Cor. chapter 11. The passage reads:

2-Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3-But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. 4-Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5-but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6-For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7-For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8-For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9-Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10-That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11-Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12-for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 13-Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14-Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15-but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16-If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.

Now, don't jump to conclusions. This post is not exactly about head coverings! It is about submission.

I have always had a hard time submitting and trying to figure out exactly what that means. And then I talk to an older woman (one example of many through the years) who has been a born-again believer most of her life and she says she is still learning to submit. (sigh) So I guess maybe I'll be dealing with it a while. Pride is similar, and actually it is hard to submit BECAUSE of pride.

And we all have pride, don't we? Or are you humble......and proud of it? :)

So I haven't exactly been convicted to wear a head covering, though I certainly think it is a great thing if women do this and I may too in the future, but I WAS convicted about my heart attitude when it comes to submission to my husband. I can submit in actions pretty easily, but my heart is not always right. I am to submit to my husband because I love him and want to serve him and make him happy, and I am to follow his example as he submits to Christ.

So back to the hair, this passage says that if a woman doesn't cover her head, it would be better for her to cut her hair short, but that is a disgrace! So it's either cover my short hair or grow it long again. I was going to cover my head when praying out loud so I could keep my hair short but Myles keeps bugging me about cutting off my long hair last fall. He tries to sound like he's just teasing me, but I know he was disappointed that I got it cut. He said something again this afternoon and I finally said, "If you want me to let it grow out again, just tell me! Let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no' be no!" (I just had to throw in a verse there. LOL!)

He still didn't just come out and say it because he wants it to be my decision, I suppose, but he did tell me, "Let me just put it this way; I PREFER your hair to be long."

Okay, fine, I get it. I will let go of this vain thing and go back to the flat hair, maybe with bangs this time (LOL), if that is what makes him happy.

So I'm still working on the heart attitude, but at least I am aware of it now and it is constantly in my face, so to speak. I know I'll never be perfect, but I hope to always work toward being a better wife. Right now there is MUCH room for improvement!

A fun moment!

I've got some "quiet time" to myself, but it's really not all that quiet. The rest of the family is playing the Wii, and they are SO LOUD! I'm glad they're having a good time. I thought about joining them, but I am so tired, and I just wanted to blog about my thoughts and then go to bed!

So anyway, the kids were all taking turns playing one-player games, and then Myles went to join them. Now they are taking turns playing against Daddy! They're just playing the game they call "Tanks" off of Wii Play. It reminds me of Combat on the Atari (which we actually have but rarely play.) Jacob is getting pretty good (for his age) and is the loudest one of the bunch. I occasionally hear Jack cheering someone on. He's so cute. :) We sort of made a rule that when someone else is playing, you have to cheer them on or you don't get to play. We mostly did that FOR Jayla's sake and BECAUSE of Jonathan. For some reason he has a natural desire to be negative toward her when it comes to things like this, and then Jacob follows suit, and Jayla is very sensitive to "meanness"! Our rule is working! They are cheering each other on and laughing and screaming the whole time! They're very patient when they wait for their turn too!

So that is probably what I will go to sleep to tonight; screaming and cheering and stomping. They're having a great time with each other. :)

Life with kids :)

Some fun videos you may have seen before. Enjoy!

F R E E F O O D ! ! ! ! !

We are sitting in IHOP right now enjoying some free pancakes on National Pancake Day! Go get yours too from 7am to 10pm. They are taking donations for the Children's Miracle Network, so be prepared to donate.....but it is not required. Enjoy! :)

We'll probably be going again later today.

Today I am not as wise as I was yesterday.

Aren't you supposed to GAIN wisdom as you age? Well, that is true (for most people!), but about 4 years ago I had a couple of new intruders in my life......my upper wisdom teeth! I never thought I'd have them pulled. I never understood why it was "necessary" so often. Well, now I know! And today I feel that order was restored in my mouth. I had them pulled today (Monday).

These last couple of years the inside of my cheeks have been hurting, off and on, because of them. I didn't realize until they were completely in (which took forever) why they kept poking my mouth....they grew in at an angle, and I have really deep grooves (points) on the top of my molars! So since it was only off and on, I wanted to wait a while before I seriously considered having them pulled.

(This is an exciting story, huh?)

So then about a month ago, I had two little pieces of the right tooth chip off! It didn't even hurt at first, but I guess it exposed a nerve, so this last month has NOT been fun! I have had tooth, jaw and ear pain as well as headaches, all on that side. So I made my appointment!

Wouldn't you know it, just a couple of days ago I get one of those awful, can't-open-wide sores in the corner of my mouth. Ugh! They gave me some Vaseline though and I kept stretching it beforehand and it was fine. It's ugly though!

So I was actually more nervous than I was for my 2 c-sections, for some reason, but once we were confident that everything was numb, the worst part of it was over. And I have meds for the pain, so I expect everything will be fine as long as I don't suck on anything (I do not want dry socket!).

The dentist did so great. Some of the teeth chipped off, as to be expected, but over all they were mostly intact! And especially after seeing the roots, I was very impressed!

Look at these guys!




The dentist said he collects weird teeth like this, so I'm going to give them back next time I'm there (in a couple of weeks). I just wanted to show the kids first. He actually showed the other dentist there because the roots are a 90 degree angle! They had fun looking at them.

I can't imagine how my gums would feel if I weren't taking any meds! These guys look evil!

Oh, one more thing. The x-rays showed that my lower left wisdom tooth is just under the surface of the gums, but apparently the lower right one never developed. So at least I still have a little wisdom left! :) I just hope it doesn't give me any troubles, but if I need it pulled someday, I know where to go and what to expect!

Remember what???

Matthew 5:17-"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18-For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19-Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20-For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Now if you read this carefully, we are to still follow the 10 Commandments, right? Then why is it that the one commandment we seem to forget is the one that starts with "remember"?

The Ten Commandments (paraphrased by me)

1. Do not put any other gods before God.
2. Do not make idols to worship.
3. Do not misuse God's name.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and mother.
6. Do not kill.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not lie.
10. Do not covet.

Most of these are pretty much no-brainers, but what about #4? Has it been overlooked for some reason or do we not need to observe the Sabbath anymore?

Here is the entire text on that commandment:
Exodus 20:8-"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9-Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10-but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11-For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

There are examples in Scripture of different things ending and we don't do them anymore, but when it comes to the Sabbath, I do not see anyone in any book/letter saying that we should stop. For example, there are plenty of verses that talk about circumcision not being necessary. There was also a very clear end to sacrificing animals because Jesus himself was the "sacrifice once and for all", so there are some very clear examples for you! Not only can I not find anything saying we can stop observing the Sabbath, but throughout the New Testament the church still held to the Sabbath.

Exodus 31:16 says "Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever." (emphasis mine) In the King James version it says "perpetual covenant". Perpetual means everlasting or never ending!

Now, I know you're thinking "This is for Israel and not for gentile Christians", but hold on!

Romans 11 (the whole chapter is great!) 11-So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12-Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

13-Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14-in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15-For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16- If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

17-But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18-do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19-Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." 20-That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21-For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22-Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23-And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24-For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

We were grafted into God's family. And this cannot possibly be more clear:

Galatians 3:7-Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8-And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." 9-So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (skipping a few verses, but look it up!) 26-for in Christ Jesus) you are all sons of God, through faith. 27-For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28-There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29-And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (emphasis mine)

So if we are all Abraham's offspring and all inherit the promise made to him by God, then the everlasting covenant concerning the Sabbath applies to all Christians, Jew and Gentile alike!

I could list several more verses I have been reading, but I think this right here gets straight to the point and is very clear.

Now as far as the day of the week, Sabbath literally means 7th day. In many different languages the word for Saturday is the same as the word sabbath, so there is no question in my mind about which day of the week it is on. However, simply because of the way our culture is, I think the main thing is to set aside one day of the week to meet with other believers and keep that day holy unto God. Saturday is the true Sabbath though, so if you find a good Bible believing church that meets together on Saturday, that is great! Maybe you could even visit some Messianic Jewish congregations, which I have really wanted to do for a couple of years now but have not done so yet. I think Chrys and I are going to celebrate Passover with some Jewish friends soon though!

Now, as far as what to do on the Sabbath (or Lord's Day, if you prefer, since most of us do not meet on Saturdays), the commandment only says to remember the day and keep it holy. So I think it should be a day where we do not work (but not in a legalistic way, just don't do more than necessary) and meet with other believers to worship God and fellowship together! It really is that simple! God meant the Sabbath to be a blessing to us, not a curse, but man's laws have made it become a curse to many as it is so hard to keep all the laws. God's law is very simple. Just remember it and worship God together.

This is just something I have been studying lately and wanted to share. Please leave your own comments/thoughts. I'd love to hear what you all have to say about it! :)

New gadgets

Uncle Sam has been good to us this year! (Totally being sarcastic there!) With our tax refund we are finally paying off some long overdue credit cards and still had some left over for some new gadgets! We are really high tech now! :)

We have only had one family computer in the almost 10 years we've been married, and "Big Bertha" is now 8 years old. That is ancient in computer years! It only has 100 or so MB of RAM and 40 GB hard drive. It was top of the line back then and with the upgrades to the monitor and printer, it all came to nearly $2000!!! Ouch! So, I FINALLY bought me a new laptop! I feel like I got a great deal at $450! It has 2 GB RAM, 250 GB hard drive and a dual processor as well as lots of ports my desktop didn't even have room for. It seems to have a good video card as well, and I am totally LOVING getting online via wireless anywhere in our house! (Oh, that's another new thing we bought....a wireless router, on sale!) I had no idea our high-speed connection was so fast! LOL! I have also really taken advantage of the many places nearby with free Wi-fi! :) Here is the one I decided on. I have already downloaded several things I wanted and deleted several I don't, plus I have installed Linux. It gives me the choice every time I turn the computer on whether I want to boot up in Windows or Linux! I love it! :)

A few days before the laptop, we bought a new Wii!! :) "Wii" have had so much fun with it! (Myles settled on the Wii game system since it is more family-friendly, but he has taken over may laptop many times for the war/action games.) My bff Chrys found this Mii similator that someone created. Very cute, and very much like the Mii Creator on the Wii system! So the games we have so far are Wii Sports (came with it) that has Tennis, Golf, Baseball, Bowling (Jayla is very good at this game!) and Boxing (one of their favs). We also bought an extra control that came with Wii Play that has more sports games, plus MySims Kingdom and Big Brain Academy. We are having so much fun with it. Not only do I appreciate that nearly every single game is kid-friendly, but most of them encourage movement (though I have figured out how to get around that.....it's all in the wrist! LOL).

Since we have been going to Best Buy so much these last few days, we ended up buying these mp3 players too! We are really liking them. I got the red, Myles the blue. Their web site says they are on sale for $80-ish, but we actually paid $10 less! Nice!

Now for a place to hold everything.....I got this backpack, which has a pocket for everything including my water bottle, camera, Bible and more. It even has a key clip! So even though I didn't want to pay this much ($70) and would have preferred a more attractive color (they only had the grey), I am very happy with my choice. Oh, and it comes with a lifetime warranty! How cool is that?!

While I'm at it, some other recent purchases we have made that were not at all related to a tax refund were some stainless steel Thermos water bottles! We have used them a couple of times for hot chocolate, and I'm telling you, my hot chocolate stayed pretty hot for nearly 3 hours! I love these things! Here are the ones we chose.

Myles' bottle This was actually the one I chose for myself, but Myles took it over and made me get another one.
My bottle I like this but it is smaller than my original. :(
Jonathan's bottle Same size as mine, and he especially loves the clip.
Jayla's bottle Hers is a much lighter blue than pictured.
Jacob's bottle Cape not included.
Jack's bottle This one shows the top open (second picture at top). Myles and Jonathan are the only ones who do not have straws in theirs.

Well, I was going to blog some more, but this one took forever, so it will have to wait. I will blog more about vacation soon, and I still have pictures from December through February to blog about! I'll get caught up again now that I have a new "toy" and a faster connection speed. :)

Jaylaism

Myles was with the kids the other day in the van when he and Jonathan started arguing jokingly. Jonathan would say something and Myles would come back with a "No, I don't believe you." just teasing him.

Jayla was getting tired of it and decided to stick up for her brother. She piped up, "No, Daddy, that's not what Jonathan means! He means........Jonathan, what do you mean?"

The Golden Rule

Luke 6:31 (New International Version)
"Do to others as you would have them do to you."

I guess this could be categorized as a Jonathanism. He was being selfish and not very nice to his sister, so Daddy just gave him (again) the "Golden Rule lecture" about how he should treat others. He made a point to read it from the Bible this time. He read it in context with the verses around it. Here is the passage....He read from the English Standard Version:

27 "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. (quote continues)

So then Jonathan turns it around and says, "Well, I beg you for chocolate all the time, so you should give it to me!"

*SIGH* Maybe he'll learn someday?

47 Things meme from Facebook

I don't usually do all the memes that go around on Facebook, but I succumbed to this one. (sigh) So here ya go. Some of these questions are really silly, of course, but some are good. Enjoy! And if you put this on your blog (because everyone who reads this is tagged!), leave the link here so I can read yours too!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Not that I know of, but my real name is Lucinda. My mom and I have the same initials (or had, before I was married), and my 3 brothers and dad have the same initials. It worked out that my nickname starts with the same letter as all the guys!

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Probably yesterday. Life is tough right now. The LORD gives and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD! I'll leave this world the same way I came (with nothing), so we are still VERY blessed! :)

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Um, sure. It's not great, but it's legible.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
I'm a vegetarian. Myles is the only one in this family that eats meat now. I think ham is his favorite. (YUCK)

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
We have been blessed with four beautiful children so far. We would love another girl but will be happy with any more.....or no more, as God chooses the size of our family!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU
Probably not just because I am such a non-conformist. I tend to offend others easily simply because of my lifestyle choices, but I like my personality! :) :) :)

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Never.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Not now but I have before. I loved it, but after having kids, my body chemistry has changed big time. I just have no desire to plunge toward the ground from 100' in the air with only a big puff of air to catch me (and it had a chalk outline of a body on the top of it).

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
I don't eat cereal much, but I like Grape Nuts and granola cereals.....maybe because I'm "crunchy" too? LOL!

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
No

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
frozen

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
The face. Not really one specific thing, just the face and some kind of emotion.

15. RED OR PINK?
Red, I am not a big fan of pink.

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My lack of discipline in certain areas of life!

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My grandpa, Mom's dad, who died when I was just 13. I always wished I could have had more time with him. He was incredible.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
Um, if they want.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Who makes these things up?

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
My daughter sitting next to me singing. She's being silly. :)

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Probably either green, blue or brown. All of the colors are found in nature, but these are the most common and don't stand out much. Oddly enough, I don't like to stand out even though I am a non-conformist! Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? LOL! I guess I like to be my own person and think for myself, but I don't like attention drawn to me......it just tends to happen. (sigh)

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Fresh flowers! I love the smell of wildflowers still growing in the field. :)

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My sister-in-law, Kathy.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU
Definitely, and I haven't seen her in years so I miss her dearly!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Definitely NOT football, basketball, hockey, baseball......because everyone else likes those. LOL! I don't really like to watch sports very much. I'd rather be playing, but I am so out of shape right now.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Dark blond

28. EYE COLOR?
blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Just about anything. I'm not too picky, but I do HATE vinegar.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
I don't like scary movies. Suspense I can handle, but not the creepy stuff. Happy endings it is!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Time Changer and Fireproof.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Who really cares?

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
In the summer I prefer winter, and in the winter (now) I prefer summer. :)

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs, but kisses are great too!

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Someone.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Someone else.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
The Bible, 20 Signs of a Healthy Church (I think that's the name), Still Growing (Kirk Cameron), Desiring God.....I like to read but usually don't have much time. When I do I usually like fiction books like Frank Peretti, but I just happen to be reading some really great non-fiction books right now. I recommend them all, especially that first one! :)

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
People still use these? I just put the mouse on the desk and create scratches all over it!

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
I didn't. I don't watch much TV. There's nothing worth watching!

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
A baby "talking" to someone, wind chimes, a gentle breeze blowing over tall grass/wheat, my kids playing nicely together, people praising God together.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Is it a law that everyone must like one of these groups? I don't like this kind of music, so neither for me!

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Brasil. I went with my youth group on a 2 week mission trip when I was 15. What's really cool is that I lived in VA at the time, and years later I found out that Myles went to Brasil the same year as me, only two weeks later, from Oklahoma! How cool is that? :)

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I can make my chin move like a frog's!

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Muskogee, OK

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Anyone who takes the time to fill it out!

Another Jacobism!

We were getting back in the van today after PE when Jacob, totally out of the blue, says to me, "Mommy, if you were dead, I wouldn't like you very much any more."

I don't know whether that is a good thing or if I should be offended! :) What a crazy guy. Where does he come up with this stuff?!

Jacobism

Jacob came up to me last night, hands all covered with dirt from hours of playing outside, and said he wanted to hold me. I never correct my kids on that. It's just too sweet! :) So we were rocking quietly in the recliner. He was obviously deep in thought.

Jacob: The world has lots of oceans.....and lakes.....and ponds......

Mommy: Yes, there's LOTS of water, isn't there?

Jacob: .....and TVs.....

Vacation - Day 2

Our second day of vacation was so much fun! This was our first full day. We woke up at Myles' brother's house, and as they were leaving for church, we were leaving for the Tulsa Zoo! We would have loved to visit their church again (it's been years), but we needed to get on the road as soon as we could, so we had to go ahead and get to the zoo.

While there we had a personal tour guide! How exciting it was! We had been in contact with someone who worked at the zoo. I'll call him John. :) We had not met him IRL before, but we knew he was very knowledgeable and very nice and were really looking forward to visiting with him!

I called him as soon as we arrived and he asked us to meet him at the Aldabra Tortoise exhibit. These are some HUGE tortoises! They are so fascinating too! John was there tending to them while waiting for us to arrive.

There were not many visitors hanging around. Most of them just walked on by. John opened the gate to let us in the building and yard, and then people began to stop and take notice. I'm sure they were wondering how they could get in too!

At one point, there was a man with a young girl who hopped over the fence to take a close-up picture. When John saw them, he asked them to leave and told them that "these are special VIP guests". Hee hee.....I have to admit, that was very ego-building. LOL! I felt so special! :) We don't get to do things like this very often.....or never, so it was really cool. :)

We had a great time watching these tortoises walk around and eat, but the thing that I personally thought was so fascinating was that they actually have feeling in their shells! I had no idea! When you touch their shells, they stretch out their legs and stand straight up. It was so cool! So we sort of petted them for a while, and they seemed to really enjoy it. We scratched their necks a little too, but we had to stay away from their heads. I guess they don't like it if you get too close to their faces.

I tried to get a picture of one of them eating some leaves, but my camera wouldn't click at the right time. I got him with his mouth closed, but it's still a cool picture. :)








Next we walked to a pond that had a boardwalk and gazebo out to the middle of it. At first glance, to most people, it is just a nice relaxing place to sit and enjoy the nice weather, but John opened up our eyes to all we had been missing. Obviously most everyone else misses it all too, because so many people just walked right on by as we were exploring.

What did he show us? He pointed out a couple of snakes hidden in the grass, several spiders and other insects making their homes in hidden corners and baby turtles camouflaged on logs. The seemingly quiet and relaxing environment was so full of life and excitement, and all we had to do was take notice!

Jacob was dying to hold some kind of animal, so John actually reached in the water and pulled out a Red-eared Slider! Now, Jacob couldn't actually hold one, but he was very interested in and fascinated by it. And we were touched to see someone who actually cared about kids and wanted them to learn about animals. John pulled out a turtle just for Jacob to have a closer look! That was awesome! :)

Next we went to see the elephants on our way to John's office while he went to clock out for the day. (What a great guy.....ready to go home, not on the clock anymore, but still willing to show us around some more!)

The Tulsa Zoo has a couple of the elephants from the OKC Zoo while they build a new elephant habitat. I think they will have them for a couple more years or so. They had several elephants here, I'm not really sure how many, but they are always fun to watch. And the Tulsa Zoo is also a "Living Museum", so they had a little building that was the elephant museum. I wasn't crazy over the museums just because we do not believe in evolution, but they did have some nice displays and things for the kids to interact with.


So then we met John at his office, which happened to be back behind the aquariums where the reptiles are on display! He had several various kinds of reptiles in the office that he showed us, and he was actually teaching the kids about differences in the species of different turtles, snakes, etc. They really enjoyed seeing these fascinating creatures up close!




Finally, Jacob got his wish. They got to hold a constrictor that was at least 5' long! This was very exciting to them. It made me a little nervous, I must admit, but I enjoyed seeing it up close myself. John was expert at handling it, of course, so we knew all would be fine. Jayla's favorite part was when the snake wrapped around her body. Now that is where I was a little nervous! She is so little that it wouldn't take much for it to crush her! LOL! I love this picture of her with the snake though!

Finally, John had to leave for the day and go see his family, so we walked around the rest of the zoo. We specifically wanted to see things that the OKC Zoo does not have, like the penguins and polar bears. They really weren't all that exciting. I expected them to be in an ice/snow environment, but they were laying around in the green grass. Oh, well, we still enjoyed seeing them!





Looking in at the polar bear (I think) and I caught a moment of play. :)

We finally ended the day with a few hours of drive time into Missouri and a motel stay in Springfield at a Best Western. The drive time was actually a lot of fun. We had stopped at the Oklahoma Visitor's Center and found Car Bingo, so we played that for a while and had many laughs together from it. We also sang songs, read books, watched movies.....I think we were pretty well prepared for a long drive, and the kids did amazingly well!

Thank you, "John", for making most of our fun on day 2 a possibility! We will always remember you, and hopefully we can come and visit you again soon! :)

Speaking of best friends.....

Chrys and I went out to eat the other day and then she insisted that we get pedicures. I'd never done that before! I was a little nervous, partly because my feet are very ticklish, but I was looking forward to it. Here are the results. Hers are in the red, mine are the purple.

Hooray for best friends!!!

I just have the most awesomest best friend in the entire world!

Chrysinda is such a blessing. We've been friends for a little over 3 years now, and though our personalities and preferences are different, she is one of the few people who seems to truly understand and appreciate me! Everyone needs a friend like that, and I didn't know what I was missing until God brought her into my life.

Chrys and I have a lot in common when it comes to lifestyle choices, and the areas we differ in we share a mutual respect for each other's choices. There are not that many people (from my perspective) who actually seem to enjoy hanging out with me and respect who I am, who God made me to be, so I feel completely comfortable around her and just have a blast when we are together. She really keeps me in stitches!

We recently went to a Tai Chi Chih class together at the local Y. She had to leave early because we were clowning around (no one else realized it, I don't think), and she got to where she couldn't control herself anymore, so she excused herself. It's a good thing too because I was about to totally lose it myself! And we're always getting into trouble lately for talking during water aerobics, or one of the men will talk to us and get in trouble. (They're good at that. The men actually talk a lot more than the women!)

Chrys and I are really racking up the inside jokes as time goes by. We are totally in our own world quite often, and I'm sure some people look at us like we're totally weird, but we don't care because we don't even notice! We just continue laughing or dancing or bending a pool noodle like it's an iron bar. (I pity the noodle! You had to be there, but I promise it was funny!)

We also really enjoy studying the Bible together. We have explored so many deep subjects in the last 3 years. We have made some really great friends in different house church groups and now in the church we recently joined (she joined right before we did!), and we all feel like one big happy family. Chrys definitely seems like the sister I never had.

Once I realized what a great blessing Chrys was in my life, I started praying for Myles to have some Christian guy friends who he can hang out with and be accountable to, watch sports with and just.....do whatever guys do. I guess they eat, burp and watch sports or play some kind of game system. Anyway, he is getting to know several men in our new church now, and they meet twice a month for a Bible study, which he is thoroughly enjoying, so THANK YOU, GOD! Now he is beginning to experience the same joy and excitement of having someone of the same gender to share things with. :)

So, Chrys, you're so awesome, so loved and so appreciated. You have been such a blessing in my life. Thanks for being you and always being sensitive to others. And thank you for the wonderful afternoon. I really needed it!

Here is a poem I found (because I don't write them!) that is perfect, to you from me. :)

My Best Friend
by Sheri Goodwin

I'm not sure when it happened
But I'm very glad it did
You came into my life when
I really needed a friend

The more I get to know you
The more I know myself
And this is why I'm thankful
For you are just yourself

You and I are different
And in many ways the same
Your good ear, compassionate heart
Will always find you fame

I promise to always be here
Forever and to the end
You are the true definition of
My Very Best Friend!

Just when you think your life cannot get any more difficult....

....the cat dies. We think he may have eaten a poisoned mouse somewhere in the neighborhood. :(

And the kids are devastated, especially Jonathan. He has always said that they are best friends, and we just lost his previous best animal friend (another male kitten) while on vacation, and less than two years ago another best animal friend (also another male cat) to some sort of sickness. That cat was born only two weeks before Jonathan and we still have the mama cat, so this has been hard on him. He has already asked for a new kitten of his very own, but he is so heartbroken. :'(

Haircut time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jack has had only one trim in his life. I let his hair grow long just to see what it looked like and if I liked it, and I came to the conclusion that Jack has hair like Jonathan's. It will just look better short. I like Jacob's hair longer, but his has a different texture or something, plus it fits his personality. :)

So while Myles was at the men's Bible study last night, I decided to surprise him (he has been saying for a while that Jack needs a haircut).

Photography by Jonathan and Jayla.

I just knew......

....when Jack woke up like this the other day,



that it was time for a haircut!!!

Taylorism

Taylor is my niece. So she's not my own daughter, but since my brother (Craig) and SIL don't have a blog, I have to put this on mine. :)

Taylor is not even two years old yet and is such a HANDFUL! She is a cutie though. No one could deny that! She is only 3 months older than Jack, but she seems like she is a year or two older sometimes!

So Craig called me this morning and told me that he was looking at Taylor, who had her head cocked to the side, and the expression on her face was just really cute. He looked at her and said, "Taylor, you are just SO CUTE, you know that?"

Then Taylor said, "I farted."

Our God is so great!

Do you need to hear how God feels about you? Need scientific evidence that God exists and loves you so much? Listen to this!