Friday, February 27, 2009

Sunday Pictures

My friend, Ileana, took these pics of the kids last Sunday at church and was kind enough to share them with me so I could post some updated pictures of my gang! Sundays can sometimes be a long day for my little ones, so I love to see pictures of each of them having a blast at church :).

We have a great team at our church, and they ALL pitch and help me keep the kids safe, fed, and happy on Sundays! Thank you to each and every one of (you know who you are!) for going to the extra mile each week to help make Sundays enjoyable (and safe!) for my little gang. We love Sundays with our HB family!!!




















Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Frustration

Which scenario would cause you the most frustration:

A. Packing up the baby and bags to head out for a morning of grocery shopping and errand running only to realize that you have no debit card, credit card, or cash in your wallet. As you sit there in utter confusion, you begin to vaguely remember seeing your kids playing with your purse while your were talking to your mom on the phone and cooking dinner last night.

B. Taking 30min to diligently write a grocery list only to get to the Super Target parking lot and realize you forgot the list at home.

C. Feeling like you struck gold because you found 2 checks on your husband's desk that you cashed so you could do your grocery shopping and errand running, only to get to the check out lane in Super Target and realize just as the cashier is saying, "Your total is $112.13 " that you left your coveted cash in the car. You must now ask the cashier to wait for you while you grab the baby and run back to the car for the cash. Did I mention there are 3 people behind you in the line?

D. Getting into your car after your money fiasco at Super Target and realizing you are already 15 minutes late to pick your kids up from preschool.

OR

E. Being the spouse of the person who all this happened to in one morning and receiving the "please go get the boys and let me tell you about my morning while your on your way" phone call.

Just wondering if Chris or I had a more frustrating morning? :)

The humorous part is that I am leading a book study this week on being intentional about pursuing peace. Um, I definitely blew it this morning. I have this crazy fear of wasting time and become frantic very quickly when I sense time is going down the drain. Nothing distracts you more from pursuing peace than going into "frantic mode". At least I now have a great "go-to" illustration of what not to do for our study. :)

Monday, February 23, 2009

Will I Ever?


Trust my kids enough to brush their own teeth?

Think cooking is worth all the planning, shopping, preparation, and dishes?

Know who I was created to be?

Have a winter bedspread and a summer bedspread?

Know how great my God is?
Fully realize that without Jesus I AM NOTHING. That apart from Him I can do nothing?
Clean my ceiling fans?

Have arms like Kelly Rippa's?

Be able to get Zoom Whitening?

Not feel tired?

Make an impact in this world?

Disgrace my family and my Savior?

Have faith enough to move mountains?

Get a rose tattoo?

Sleep in past 6am again?

Get used to getting up before 6?

Vacuum out my car?

Stick with my New Year's resolutions past Valentines Day?
Be able to do a real push-up?

Make the chai tea I bought 6 months ago, serve it in a dainty teacup, and sit on the back porch sipping it?

Be more interested in eating on nice dishes rather than paper plates?
Realize that my heart is wicked and easily fooled?

Get it together?

Be OK with not having it all together?

Change the layout on my blog?

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Messin with the webcam

Alright so this may mean more to the Flamingo Road crew but we thought we would share with all of you as we had some fun together tonight messin' with the webcam...

We are learning that ministry is really, really, really fun when done as a family...

Sunday, February 15, 2009

"3 Questions" Game

I am the world's worst blogger when it comes to doing themed posts. Those of you who had mega cute Valentine pictures, and what I love most about my man posts this past week, sure do know how to make a girl feel bad....it's cool, though :)

So here is my Valentine blog. I thought I would share with you one the top things Chris and I have learned that has revolutionized our marriage.

We call it the "3 Questions" game. We play this ANYTIME we go out together or have a planned time for conversation together after the kids are in bed (yes, with 3 little ones, we have to schedule weekly conversation time on the calendar......it's not the only thing we have to schedule :) Here's how it goes: We each have to come up with 3 questions that we BOTH have to answer honestly, and the question has to be about a previously decided topic for the night (marriage, our relationships with the Lord, parenting, future goals, hopes and dreams).

For example, some of the questions that came up on our Valentines date night were:

What is the one thing that you enjoy most about our marriage right now?
What is the hardest thing for you in our marriage right now?
Would you rather me help you more in the home or outside of the home? What can we do to cover the area you do not need me most?
What is your biggest personal struggle with sin right now? (This one really helps us learn how to pray for each other and hold each other accountable.)

This practice has taught Chris and I to be intentional about improving our marriage on a regular basis. We think of it as a "marriage debriefing". While it seemed a little silly at first, I have seen the benefits, and I hate going out without playing "3 Questions." It seems like a waste of a date...and we don't get enough of them to waste even one.

You know how counselors and pastors always say that you need to work a date night into your budget no matter what? That it is that important? Well, I don't totally agree with that statement. I believe that while date nights are great, you have to be intentional about them if you want to see improvements in your marriage. And let's face it, no matter how good your marriage is, there's always room to improve.

If Chris and I just go out to a movie and spend the evening sitting beside each other watching a screen, but don't take time to talk openly, don't make adjustments, and don't make plans for the future, we may have had a good time, but we wouldn't be any better off than if we each had taken time by ourselves to relax. We relaxed together and that was it. Tomorrow we will have the same problems we had yesterday.

We have learned that we need to be intentional...we need to debrief, make adjustments, and get a game plan for the future. We need to know what we are doing that's working and what isn't. I need to know what makes Chris feel loved and how he needs me most right now. And the right now is a biggie. I have realized that my answer to one question tonight may be totally different to the same question 3 months from now. As seasons change, so do our needs and the way we each feel loved. Right now, I feel loved most by help...any act of service that will bring a little relief is the number one way Chris can show me he loves me. However, before I had kids and when time was a little easier to come by, I was really liking me some gifts...or some quality time. A new outfit or a nice dinner out would say, "I love you" like no other. Not now, just give the kids a bath and I will know my man loves me. :)

I am convinced that a good marriage can fail because we failed to be intentional about making it great.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Do-Be-Do

I read about this Do-Be-Do concept in this book a few weeks ago and it has been swimming in my head ever since:

Do what God has called me to do today.

Be who God has called me to be.

AND THEN

Do the distinct and bold work God has specifically designed for me to do before I die.

Am I doing what God has called me to do today in my family and church?
Am I becoming more like Christ each and every day?


Today God is calling me to know Him more and to get it through my thick head that I have value because He created me, not because of what I can do. Today God is calling me to be a loving wife and mother. Today God is also calling me to be a friend, sister, daughter, aunt, church volunteer, and neighbor.

Today, I will be grateful for the callings that God has made clear to me in this season. I will relish in the everyday moments and not beg God for more distractions. And although I may not be able to see past the endless to-do list or on-going sickness that has infested our home like the plague, I will remember that I am anointed for this. For this time and this season, I am anointed. For diaper changes, for never ending laundry, for leading alongside my husband at our campus, for bedtime stories, for dealing with temper tantrums, for encouraging my husband, for inviting my neighbors to church....for all of this...I am anointed.

I am reminded that it is through the day to day grind that God is molding my character so that one day I can complete the distinct work he has designed me to do hand in hand with Him.

And tomorrow when I find myself secretly wishing for a more "grand" role...I will remember DO-BE-DO.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Straight from the mouths of my boys

1. Max to me: "Daddy onwy (only) kisses you and you onwy kiss daddy, but when I'm bigga I'm gonna kiss all da gils."

Uh Oh, we may be in trouble.

2. Jack to me: "You know what NAY NAY says? NAY NAY says, "I wike to move it, move it."" (as he is shaking his tooshie)

UM, yeah. I think mommy wants to meet little NAY NAY.

3. Chris to Max while he is crying because Jack beat him at Old Maid: "Well boy, you should be upset...that's what happens when you quit paying attention. You gotta keep your head in the game. Be mentally strong, boy. Your 2 year old brother just beat you. I wish I could say there's no cryin in baseball, but when you just give up...well now, that's something to cry about. You got beat by a 2 year old.

(He was totally kidding...and he knew Max wasn't hearing a word of it because he was screaming with his head in Chris' chest. But we got a kick out of the old college baseball coach talk.)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

25 Random things

OK, so maybe I wasn't as settled in as I had thought when I last blogged, hence the prolonged blogging absence.

I was tagged to do this for Facebook, so I thought I would share it here also.

25 Random things about Me:
  1. I go to the gym many days just for the promise of getting a shower while my kids are being watched.
  2. I rarely enjoy watching a movie for two reasons: 1. I sit there and can’t stop thinking about everything I could be getting done. 2. I hate sitting beside Chris and having to go 2 hours without conversing about something.
  3. I have a hard time relaxing. I usually just keep going 100mph until I crash…Redline helps with the 100mph part, but it also makes the crash worse.
  4. I never open a can of soda, but if my sisters or Chris is sitting by me drinking one, I will always drink some of theirs (they all love this about me!).
  5. I hate making little decisions. Actually, I get stressed out if I have to go shopping by myself, pick a movie at blockbuster alone, or decide paint colors.
  6. I love to brainstorm…doesn’t really matter what, I just like to think of ideas and solutions. My mom and I do this together on the phone all the time.
  7. My family eats roast beef and pepper jack cheese on a low-fat flour tortilla about 3 nights a week.
  8. My favorite guilt-releasing line is, “Let’s not make it about the food. We have way too much we want to do in a day, than to worry about what we’re going to eat or someone cooking.” It works for Chris and I.
  9. I love playing dancing charades with my boys. Chris and I make them pick something we do daily to act out, but they have to do a dance with it. Chris and I laugh so hard we cry as we try to figure out what in the world they are doing. Max has the best driving a car dance and Jack’s brushing your teeth dance is hilarious.
  10. My dad’s legacy spurs me on every day to love family, love God, and serve people with all I got.
  11. My dad’s death taught me that life is short, and I get one shot to make a difference in this world. I mean it really taught me this.....it is usually the first thought in my head every morning. I pray that never changes.
  12. My older sister broke my nose when I was 8. I blame her for that fact that my nose doubled in size that day and never went back to its normal state. If she were serious about righting her wrongs, she would finance a nose job for me.
  13. I would love to get my nose pierced like Kelly Clarkson’s, but that would be like putting a diamond in a tennis ball. 2 thoughts on that: Would you really notice it? And, if you did notice, is that like drawing attention to the fact that you are playing jacks with a tennis ball when every one else is playing with a quarter sized bouncy ball?
  14. It took me 22 years to grow into my nose, and then I learned in nursing school that your nose keeps growing your whole life. So I got like one good nose year, and now I am dealing with the same old “Does my nose looks big with this shirt?" junk I grew up with. The worst part is, I never had my picture made during that one good year!
  15. I had a bad accident doing a flip on my trampoline at a party in high school. I messed my teeth up really bad. I just found out I need 4 crowns and 2 more root canals because of that accident 12 years ago.
  16. I don’t have dental insurance…forgot to sign up for that…whoops.
  17. The one good thing about my trampoline accident was that when my teeth went through my bottom lip, they left my lip twice the size as it was before. It was like getting collagen implants for free. I believe this was God’s way of helping my lips come a little closer to fitting my nose.
  18. The legacy Chris and I desire to leave our kids is that when God asked something of us, we said, “ Yes”. Every time. No matter how hard, how high the potential for failure was, or how scary. Just that mom and dad said “Yes” to God.
  19. I was cut from the basketball team at college. It was a REALLY small college.
  20. I am a maximizer…that is my word for the fact that nothing drives me more crazy than wasting time, not accomplishing something when the opportunity was clearly there. For example, it does not make sense to me why we would watch a movie without folding laundry, or hang pictures without having a brainstorming session, or not doing something active on “date night” so we spend time together and get exercise. I call it maximizing; Chris calls it sick in the head.
  21. My two modern-day, women of faith hero's are My mom and Beth Moore.
  22. I love playing speed card games with my mom and siblings…but they never play with me because they’re afraid to lose. My grandma will play with me, but then who can justify beating G-ma?
  23. My sisters and I argue all the time about who’s the funniest, but really they all can make me laugh until I cry.
  24. Growing up with 3 sisters, I used to hate it when people would say, “M­­y family thinks ­­­_______ sister is the prettiest (or funniest or smartest), but we think you are the most friendly. That comment alone scarred me for many years…thanks, Shannon :)
  25. I think my husband is hot...mostly because he wasn't cut from the ball team at the REALLY small college.