2 Down, 22 To Go!

These are the two verses that I have memorized this month, since signing up for this challenge. I love the fact that I am doing it with hundreds of other women online, plus my sweet SIL....(soon to be) I have always tried to figure out how to best "hide the Word in my heart" and I think I found what works for me : ) Doing it with others...ACCOUNTABILITY!

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall

but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

No eye has seen,

no ear has heard,

no mind has conceived

what God has prepared

for those who love him"

1 Cor. 2:9

Anyone else doing this?

To Krups or Not to Krups

Although we are only 28 days into the new year, I can say that one of my best "things" for 2009 has happened already.....my husband has become a coffee drinker! I feel like I should put a multitude of exclamation marks after that, highlight the word and make it a ginormous font! After 18 years of marriage, after many avoided kisses because I have coffee breath, and coffee smells like dirt, I am now married to a coffee drinker. And he ain't no pansy about it either, he makes a pot at night. What? Are we 60? Maybe he is a little bit pansy about it because he puts a cup of creamer in it...so actually he has started having coffee with his creamer. This has been so fun, albeit, expensive to share the pot with him now (heehee) The entire carafe used to belong to ONLY me. It seems that having such a delicious assortment of creamers in the home has made one of my children slightly "addicted" (I say that lightly, I don't want her to stunt her growth... I know it's not great for a growing teenager to be drinking this stuff already ; ) But that means I have to jump out of bed faster and run even quicker to that coffee pot and try to find my favorite mug, before it's taken and at least get a one cupper in before I take off to school. This has caused me to start looking around for a new coffee pot. Ours is an awesome hand-me-down from my parents and is probably hitting 6-7 years old by now, which means it's time for a new one, right?....it didn't take me long to find this...a two 10-cup brushed stainless steel thermal carafes This made me scream! I want this..I NEED this! We would have so much fun with this!


I won't include the price because I don't want my husband to see the price and "write it off" as something this family will never own. Who knows, there might be a great sale sometime. I am a magnet to sales, yes, I am!

Oh and I can't forget the best part, HE MAKES THE COFFEE EVERYDAY NOW! It's gonna be a good year!

Randomness

Had a super, fun 3 day weekend

Got report cards done early

Ran 9 miles this weekend (not in one day)

Starting to actually like running

Had a fun family dinner at Olive Garden with the two older kids and their "friends" (gift certificates we got for Christmas)

I LOVE gift certificates

Realized once again that I enjoy hanging out with my kids and watching them grow up...(they are quite pleasant to be around : )

Did a ton of reading

Got a hair cut

Did some deep cleaning

Washer broke...ugh

My mom did laundry..she ROCKS!

Almost done with my school yearbook (not sure how I got on that committee again, but I like taking pictures so I said yes...it entails more than taking pictures..yikes)

Had coffee with a friend

Caught up with an old friend on FB

Took two family bikes rides this weekend...(actually I ran both times)

Tried to be creative with blogging but came up with this.....

MUST take more pictures soon!

A Hidden Promise

Heard this in a sermon this morning......

Are health and happiness

related to the secrets we keep?

For some secrets cause a

wasting away of the one's spirit.

Chuck Swindoll

Thoughts?

A great hidden promise in the Joel 2:25,

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten...."

I'll share more on this later......

But for now, so glad it's another Friday

and I wanted to share this picture

that makes me SMILE big!

Wordless Wednesday

A late night photo shoot

over Christmas break!

This photo makes me smile!

HE SEATS US AMONG THE HONORED GUESTS

"God is higher than anything and anyone,

outshining everything you can see in the skies.

Who can compare with God,

our God, so majestically enthroned,

Surveying his magnificent heavens and earth?

He picks up the poor from out of the dirt,

rescues the wretched who've been thrown out with the trash,

Seats them among the honored guests,

a place of honor among the brightest and best.

He gives childless couples a family,

gives them joy as the parents of children.

Hallelujah!"(Psalm 113:4-9, The Message)

How thankful I am that God cares for us, loves us and holds us in the midst of our blatant, ugly sin....sin that we know so easily entangles us, sin that we sometimes step right into after just saying to ourselves..."tomorrow will be different, tomorrow will be a new day, tomorrow I will try harder..." Soooo thankful that while we pray that self-focused prayer, HE is STILL singing over us, hugging us and speaking to us!

I know that there are times when our disobedience and plain SIN will take us out from the "umbrella" of HIS blessing because we can be sooo stubborn and deaf and blind to HIM....but today, tonight, as I fall into bed.....I am PRAISING HIM for NEVER, ever, ever, ever, ever...forgetting me, leaving me, and that HIS presence and HIS still small voice is close, HIS voice is REAL and HIS Word is ALIVE! Tonight my heart is THANKFUL!

What's a Hike Without an Ipod!

I love that we have a family day of hiking and

our teenagers have ipods!

This girl didn't make it very far before she needed to sit down

and rest her weary legs!

We got to the top at the most perfect time. Look at the sun!
We don't say that very often around here in the NW...LOOK AT THE SUN!

Do I Smell? The Joy of Being a Girl!

I was sweating before my name was even called. It was the dreadful appointment that every female knows is important….but would love to skip. After the nurse gave the ‘same ole’ directions, completely undress, tie in the back, yada yada……I took my shoes off, I began to worry, do I leave socks on? Take socks off? How bad do my feet smell after working all day? My feet…..wait, I’m not sure she’ll notice my feet since her face…. er eyes will be looking somewhere else. (note to self: I should smell fresher than I do after a day teaching, sure wish I had one of those cool feminine wipes in my purse)

Crud, I forgot to shave, like the last week, I forgot to shave. To many of my girlfriends, that would not mean anything, but to Tracy, it means she has already started braiding it. Can I drape this skirt thingy over my legs and she won’t noticed my fur. Back to my socks, I do leave them on, in fear of having too much “sock fuzz” in my toes and stop worrying about my gorilla legs.

It is then, that I realize how profusely my pits are sweating. Sweating? Yes! Almost dripping. I never have that problem unless I’ve just run 3 miles….which also never happens. What to do!? I quickly hop off the table, hold on top my white paper skirt, my white fanny flashing the door and grab a tissue and wipe quickly, my pits that is…….my feet might smell but my pits are now dry.

I began to wonder if I had to go to the bathroom…nerves will do that everytime. Do I? what do I do! Should I get dressed, leave the room, find the bathroom, come back and undress, put my paper skirt and shirt back on and hop up on the table in 10 seconds flat?? I decide to wait…with a full bladder. Eek! I think she did mention something about a full bladder while she was “down yonder” and making sure I was all healthy down there! These doctors are too smart!

When she finally comes into the room after what felt like 4.5 hours of sitting “necked” I am sure I have to go to the bathroom now and I am sure I am sweating again and I know by that time that my feet reek!

Let’s just get this done. My nice doc does not have the same idea. She would like to chat about Christmas, weather and kids. Sweet, nice, I like that she is so personable and wants to “connect” but if she only knew how “desperate” I was getting as the seconds passed, she would have called “it” good and said see you in 365 days! But instead, she keeps talking about “life” and then I hear her say something about coffee and how much I drink and then all I can hear, as my eyes are now floating, "keep it to a cup or two"…wha? Come again? Excuse me? My eyes had to blink thirty times. A cup or two barely gets me out the door in the morning. I didn’t tell her that I take my pot to school ……...my pot of coffee.

While she feeling around on “the girls” I really wanted her to take her time and focus, but while her fingers were moving, she asks about my son, what college he might go to and what kinds of things he is interested in….huh?

I am thankful for a great doctor, a healthy report and another year down until I am on the table, sweating, smelling and hairy! I just love being a woman and having those "female parts" Don't you?

OH, I ran out of there as fast as I could and headed to straight to Starbucks......(sshh, don't tell)

Over Break We........

Our Christmas Break started a little early this year with four snow days. Our Christmas concert and school party were canceled....but some fun memories were made with our snowed in days leading up to Christmas. Tim started his vacation early by celebrating his 17th bday in Los Angeles with my brother. They drove home together with my brother's son...I mean dog! Once they got here, 14 days of party began. My future SIL came a few days after Christmas and we partied some more!!

1. We baked
2. We ate
3. We celebrated my mom and Tim's birthday with a wonderful dinner made by my dad.
4. We shopped
5. We played in the snow
6. We went to movies
7. We watched movies
8. I read three books
9. We built forts
10. We played dress-up
11. We played hours of guitar hero
12. We watched Aunt Liz make hats and scarves and pies....(she's my hero)
13. We had a slumber party on Christmas Eve
14. We read the Christmas story at the dinner table
15. We played games (games that were made in 1985 and completely outdated)
16. We had company....dear friends from Seattle and had another slumber party
17. We played dress-up again
18. We went to a cabin for a night with other dear friends
19. We re-arranged furniture (well, my company did : )
20. I SLEPT in!

Changes for '09

Taken on the way to Sisters, Oregon

For 2009, I am letting go of my fears and doubts. I am going to forgive those who have wronged me in 2008. I will not be be consumed with sentences that begin with "why". All I can do is hope and believe and celebrate the fact that at any moment I can celebrate a new beginning. For RESOLUTIONS are usually broken but HIS MERCIES ARE NEW EVERY MORNING!

I have decided to adopt Beth Moore's New Year's motto....MORE OF JESUS in 09!

That, my friend, is all I want! In order to do that,

I am going to need to be filling my heart with HIS word!

I need His touch, His hand, and HIS Power in my life! (like NOW)

So, sign up here with me! Let's hide the Word in our heart!

My verse for the first two weeks of January is 1 Cor. 2:9....

No eye has seen

No ear has heard

No mind can conceive

what Christ has in store for

those that love HIM and

are called according to HIS

purpose!

Not a Waste

“God does not waste on ounce of our pain or a drop of our tears; suffering doesn’t come our way for no reason, and He seems especially efficient at using what we endure to mold our character. If we are malleable, He takes our bumps and bruises and shapes them into something beautiful.”

~The Wounded Spirit
by Frank Peretti

Bringing in "09 in Style

My posts are going to be a little backwards since I haven't posted about our awesome Christmas or my New Year's Resolutions/Goals (might skip those for 2009) ha!

I am skipping ahead to New Year's Eve and our awesome sweater party. These sweaters were inspired by my sister-in-law, Liz. She hit the jackpot while she was home in Idaho and bought our cool "loot" there. She has great taste if you ask me : )

We had 7-8 other people at this party that did not come prepared....they stood around and watched us..took pictures of us and laughed at how ridiculous we looked! Next time they will not be allowed in if not in proper dress attire.

We were also blessed with a visit/slumber party with our dear college friends that came to visit from Seattle. For some reason, I don't have too many pictures of our crazy night......I think I got overheated in my thermal sweater and forgot to take pictures late into the night...who would have thought..me forget to take pictures!