Make me know Your ways, Oh Lord, teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me....

Ps. 25:4-5




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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Twelve.



How does this happen? I wonder every year. One minute you’re holding this teeny tiny, squirming little newborn who you just can’t believe is actually Y.O.U.R.S. ….and then you blink and take a few (thousand) deep breaths through the tween years, and suddenly a dozen years have passed. Wait, how did I totally miss the tween years? I’ve been soundly informed that our little miss is no longer a tween - she’s a preteen.

TWELVE YEARS ago we brought this beautiful little bundle home from the hospital.


Ohhhh, she was the sweetest little thing. And ohhhhh, how I loved taking pictures of her! We have THREE large, FULL, heavy albums of her....in the first year.

Poor sweet Jacob. He looks at all those pictures and asks over and over, “Is this me?” No, that’s Kloe. “Is this one me?” No, that’s Kloe too. “Where are my pictures?” Um, (hangs head) they’re in a box in my room. Sad mama.

Anyway, amidst the hubbub of back-to-school and back-to-soccer and back-to-ballet, Kloe's graduation out of tweenhood into preteenhood - which happened a month ago - somehow got brushed to the side.  It's time to rectify that.

I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that Kloe wanted to celebrate turning 12 by having a SLEEPOVER.  Yep, I did it again.  And I admit, it was fun!  Turns out turning 12 doesn't have to involve a birthday party marked by gossip, borderline-appropriate movies, and hurt-feelings girl-drama. We had seven friends over for a rousing good time of pizza making, cookie-cake eating, and many lively rounds of Telephone and Apples to Apples.





Oh, and then?  We finally joined the ranks of the NICE parents (because we weren't just uncool before - we were mean).....




And much gleeful screaming ensued.

Welcome to the world of a preteen.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

The ABC meme.

Ok, so I'm totally cheating with this one. I started another version of an ABC meme like a year and a half ago, but I never even got off the ground with it. That meme required an entire blog post for each letter of the alphabet! And so you see why I never did it. Maybe someday.  My bloggy friend Anna did it, and it was so fun to read. But yeah, I'm lazy like that.

So when I saw this one on Beth Moore's blog this week, it seemed much more up my alley.

I know, memes are so last year, but I've always been way behind the times anyway, so it's nothing new for me to be fashionably late to the trend-party.

Here we go!

A. Age: Really? We’re going to start with this one? Fine. 41. Happy?

B. Bed size: Queen. And most of the time that's too small.

C. Chore that you hate: I.RON.ING. ugh.

D. Dogs: Sadness. We lost our precious Annie one week ago yesterday. Our hearts are still lost without her. At night I still think, “I need to go feed Annie.” When it rained a couple of days ago I thought, “Oh, I need to let Annie in!” Much sadness.

E. Essential start to your day: Coffee. I admit it. With 3 of those little creamer cups (yes, three) and a stevia packet.  Come to think of it, maybe it's the creamer that's an essential start to my day.

F. Favorite color: Green

G. Gold or Silver: Are we talking jewelry or investments? Or the stars I earned for good behavior today? (haha – if that were the case, I would have been moved to BLACK early this morning.) Jewelry - I prefer silver, although I'm old so my wedding ring is gold. Investments........(crickets).

H. Height: 5' 7" (and a half)

I. Instruments you play: Sadly, none. I took piano lessons when I was in elementary school - and for a short stint when I first got married - but I can barely play a note today. I also played the trombone (not the clarinet, as one might think) from 7th grade through college (have I mentioned I LOVED marching band? oh, I have?), and then for a few years afterward in the church orchestra. Again, can't play a lick now. Sad times.

J. Job title: Nowadays, thanks to some major changes in my job in the past year, I'm officially a "financial analyst". Which is laughable, because I am lame at finance. Any business major will tell you there's a huge difference between finance and accounting, and I'm an accountant through and through. I hated my finance classes in college. My degree is accounting. My certification is accounting. Finance? Blech.

K. Kids: Not sure if this is asking about MY kids specifically, or for my opinion on kids - which could vary widely based on the day. And time of day. Just kidding. I have two - girl, 12, and boy, 9. And love them both fiercely. Most days. :) And also a recently heart-adopted, handsome 15-year-old boy who lives on the other side of the globe.

L. Live: Yes, I do. (sheesh, I seem to be having a fit of sarcasm today) Ok, ok, I live in Texas and am so happy to be here. I moved around a ton when I was growing up, and loved Texas the most of all the places we lived. Couldn’t wait to get back here when I graduated from high school.

M. Mother’s name: Glenda. She was the GOOD witch. Grin.

N. Nicknames: None that I know of. Probably Miss Sassy-Pants after this blog post.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Besides when I was born, only when my kids were born, and Jacob’s little two-day stint at the beginning of the year.

P. Pet peeves: Tailgating. And people who say “Nu-cu-lar”.

Q. Quote from a movie: For many, many, many years, my favorite movie in all the world was Pretty Woman. And then at some point I decided maybe that wasn’t the best favorite movie for a good Christian girl. But none the less, I love me some good Pretty Woman quotes. “There’s a band!” My husband and I say this all the time. :) “It’s broken. Mine is broken!” “Do you have a dream? What’s your dream?” And our favorite of all time, “Slippery little suckers, aren’t they?” Lamest quote from the whole movie, which also happens to be the closing line, “She rescues him right back.” Lame. I do avoid the Cinderella reference at all costs.

R. Right or left handed: I tried SO HARD to be left-handed when I was in elementary school (or was it junior high?). I practiced and practiced and practiced. I just couldn’t do it. Funny thing is, Kloe has been doing the same thing recently. We’ll see if she makes it any further than I did. :)

S. Siblings: How much time do you have? In the most basic sense, I’m an only child. My parents divorced when I was very young, and my mom never had any other children. My dad did remarry, and through him I have two half-sisters, one half-brother, and a step-brother. What with all those “partial” siblings, none of them do I actually think of when I think of siblings. On the other hand, my mom’s sister (my aunt) was also divorced and had three sons. My mom and my aunt and all us kids lived together much of the time I was growing up. And so, if you ever hear me talk about my “brothers” here on the blog - by blood they are actually my cousins, but by heart (and by sibling rivalry standards) they are my brothers. :)

T. Time it takes you to get ready: On my own: exactly an hour. With kids: 1 ½ to 2 hours minimum. Even when they’re 9 and 12.

U. Ultimate Vacation: Nantucket.  Ahhhh, lovely Nantucket.

V. Vegetable you hate: Boiled okra. Gross.

W. What makes you run late: Trying to do too much within the time I have available.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Other than lots and lots on my teeth for the whole braces gig, I had a CT scan (sort of like an x-ray, yes?) on my head about 8-ish years ago when I had some weird, unexplainable, severe head pain. Oh, and remember when I told you I totally lied to get out of PE in junior high? Yeah, well that little episode cost my momma a pretty penny, I’m sure, when I had to get my hip x-rayed. Long story.

Y. Yummy food that you make: Listen, we all know I’m not a cook. That being said, I make a mean chocolate chip cookie pie. And I’m pretty good at the instant, chemical-ridden version of Swedish meatballs.

Z. Zoo animal: Huh? As in, name one? Or which is my favorite? Let’s go with favorite, and mine is totally the elephants. Riding an elephant was on my bucket list, and I got to do that several years ago…..nope, not in Africa…..at the county fair. :)

Now, you remember how this meme stuff works, right? If you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged. I want to hear from all of you! I know you’re out there – I can see you and track you down on my Site Meter. Bwahahaha. So play along! Pretty please?

Thursday, September 6, 2012

While I wait.

Just a small sampling of one of the many many ways God has sweetly and faithfully reminded me over and over again during the past few weeks that I am indeed exactly where I'm supposed to be right now....waiting on Him.

"Demonstrate your trust in Me by sitting quietly in My presence.  Put aside all that is waiting to be done, and refuse to worry about anything.  This sacred time together strengthens you and prepares you to face whatever the day will bring.  By waiting with Me before you begin the day's activities, you proclaim the reality of My living presence.  This act of faith - waiting before working - is noted in the spirit world, where your demonstration of trust weakens principalities and powers of darkness.

The most effective way to resist evil is to draw near Me.  When you need to take action, I will guide you clearly through My Spirit and My Word.  The world is so complex and overstimulating that you can easily lose your sense of direction.  Doing countless unnecessary activities will dissipate your energy.  When you spend time with Me, I restore your sense of direction.  As you look to Me for guidance, I enable you to do less but accomlish more."

~ Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, August 29 entry



Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Mr. Clean is my Mr. Right.

This guy?


Is my new best friend.

Love at first scrub.

And this guy?


Sayonara.
Ciao. 
Adios, not-my-amigo.

I haaaaate scrubbing the bathtub with a scrub brush.  The bottom of our tub is textured, and the brush just never seems to get it clean no matter how much I scrub.

But Mr. Right Clean?

Bee-you-ti-ful, baby!

I first fell in love with Mr. Clean when he effectively removed black SHARPIE - aka PERMANENT marker - from my white refrigerator door.  (In order to protect the not-so-innocent, we won't say how the black sharpie got on the refrigerator in the first place. *ahem*)  He's been my best friend ever since.

So when I saw these bathtub scrubbers at the store, my heart skipped a beat!

Soap scum?  Wipes right off!
West Texas hard water spots?  No problem!
And that textured bathtub floor?  Sparkling!

Love this guy.
Oh yeah?  Well why don't you marry him?

I just might. ;)

This is NOT a paid or sponsored review - I just happen to really love these things!