The Westie Crew

Review for Who Is God (Book 1 of the What We Believe Series by Apologia)

2011-03-15T18:38:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, I attended the MidSouth Homeschool Convention in Memphis. While I was in the Vendor Hall, we stopped by the Apologia booth. Along with all of their amazing science curricula, they had the What We Believe series displayed.

I made a bee-line to show it to my friend because I had been reviewing it. Another lady happened to be standing there and she listened intently to me singing the praises of it to my friend, and then started asking her own questions. Finally, she said, "it always means so much more when another mom highly recommends something". And I get that.

I know that I was given this book in exchange for my review, but I can assure you that I don't sing the praises of something unless I *really* like it. Please know that I would herald this product in a New York minute even if I had purchased it on my own (which I absolutely plan to do with the rest of the series, as I was only given Book 1)!

Basically the What We Believe series helps to guide you as you teach your children on the fundamentals of the Christian faith. It can also easily be used as a self-directed curriculum, but my children seemed to enjoy it more in a family setting. It's also a GREAT tool for Dad to use as a family devotional.

The first book, Who Is God, is fabulous!

It starts with the most basic premise that God is truth and that He reveals His truth to His people, and that Jesus is the only way to Him. And many, many more like that! It is so chock-full of great lessons!

There are 10 lessons in this book, but each of those lessons could easily take one to two weeks to complete. Some might say that there is too much information in each lesson, but honestly, I would rather have as much as possible to pull from than not enough! There were a few things that we didn't do in the first lesson, but it was just because we were ready to move on.

Again, I highly recommend this curriculum! Here are the specifics:

Item: Who Is God (Book 1 of the What We Believe series)
Authors: John Hay and David Webb
Publisher: Apologia Press
Price: $39.00
Age Range: All if doing it in a family setting, but for self-directed, I would say 10 and above.
My Overall Rating: FIVE STARS!!

Also, you can check out what the other reviewers had to say here.

Have a great week!

Review for Virtual Nerd

2011-01-12T21:45:00.002-06:00

If you are anything like me, the thought of teaching upper level math always makes me crazy-nervous. As I mentioned a time or 76, I'm not a fan of numbers especially when they start involving letters... Anyway, this is where programs like this come into play for homeschoolers:

Virtual Nerd is an interactive, step-by-step online video tutorial program that helps students with pre-algebra, algebra I and II, and physics. There are plans to add several more upper level maths in the coming months and even a Biology course.

The tutorials are very easy to follow and are quite user-friendly. These are the minimum requirements for your computer in order to use Virtual Nerd:

*High speed Internet access
*Minimum of: Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Firefox 2, Apple Safari 2, Google Chrome 2, or Flash Player 9
*Screen/display resolution of 1024x768 pixels

There are four different pricing plans available that begin with a one-day subscription and go all the way to a premium one that gives you 24/7 monthly access for $49 per month. This sounds like alot at first, but when you factor in how much it costs to hire a personal tutor, this is actually rather cost effective.

If any of this interests you, you can check out their website here. And as always, you can read what my fellow reviewers thought of this product here.

Disclaimer: (Because I have to!) I was given a subscription to Virtual Nerd for 6 weeks to test in exchange for my review.

Review for Easy Classical

2011-01-10T19:41:00.004-06:00

Recently, I received a digital copy of Early Modern History from Easy Classical to review. This is basically a schedule that lists books and activities that can be used with popular classical curricula such as Story of the World, The Veritas Press Cards and The Well Trained Mind (which isn't really a curriculum, but it is still supplementary to it). It also includes a full year's schedule of lesson plans, review questions and quizzes.

From the website:

All the hard work is done for you. We have researched classical curriculum choices, integrated subjects, and tested the schedules for ease of use. Easy Classical schedules break a full year of education down into specific, daily assignments that are adaptable to fit all styles of learning. You will cover everything simply by following the schedule. Lesson plans for history, science, language arts, physical education, and even art are included at no extra charge.

I personally appreciated the ease of use with this product. It was quite easy to follow and the directions were very clear and concise.

I also like that all of the legwork is done for you, as mentioned in the excerpt above. What homeschooling Mom doesn't need something that will save her the ever-valuable t-i-m-e?

Also, many of the recommended books are things that I already own. In other words, it "pulls" from many of the resources which are already staples to most homeschoolers.

And lastly, it's cost-effective. You can purchase the digital version of Early Modern History for just $29.95 (a GREAT price for lesson plans) and the printed version for $35.95

If you are interested, you can check out the website here: Easy Classical

You can also read what the other reviewers thought here: TOS Crew Blog: Easy Classical

Math Facts Now Review

2011-01-05T10:05:00.002-06:00

I must make the loud confession after 10 years of homeschooling that I hate flashcards. In the early days we used them pretty frequently, but it wasn't long before they would get lost or destroyed and I quickly became disenchanted. For years, we have used a program similar to this one online to drill our math facts, but a few months ago, I was given Math Facts Now to review and I am HOOKED! It's even better than the one that I was using and the kids have really enjoyed it.

What is it? Math Facts Now is a program available by download or CD-ROM that is used to drill your child(ren) on their addition, subtraction, multiplication or division facts. You can customize it to drill the facts that your child needs the most work with, or you can put it together to mix all the numbers from 1-12. It's completely under your control. You can also decide how long the student has to answer each problem, how many problems you would like in each set, and how many times they have to re-enter incorrect problems.

The program also keeps tract of the problems that your child has difficulty with and repeats those problems several times throughout the lesson. There are progress reports that are available for printing, as well.

If you want to look into this program you can visit their website here: Math Facts Now There, you can either purchase the CD ROM or download the program for $15.95 They also have a trial version available on the website, which I also recommend.

I was given this product in exchange for my honest review. You can read what others on the TOS Crew thought by going to our blog here.

Review for Master Innovations

2010-12-01T14:48:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago, we were sent a product called Master Angles to review. It comes from the well-reputed math company, Master Innovations. There were three other products that were sent out for others to review, including Master Fractions, Master Clock and Master Ruler, and I can only imagine that if they delivered the way that Master Angles has, that one would be well-pleased.

We received 3 items: The Master Angle, Master Angle Workbook and the Marvels of Measurement Poster. I'll talk about the workbook first. These books are supplementary in nature to your usual math curriculum. My son, Jacob, who is actively learning about angles in his regular math book, seemed to be the best candidate for this review. He opened the book and found that it was easy to read with clear and concise explanations and instructions. There was plenty of repitition, which I am a firm believer in because I think it solidifies what you are learning. It also had plenty of real-life application for the use of angles, which I also appreciated.

An important component to the workbook, but also something that is perfect by itself, is The Master Angle tool. It is a great little tool that actually goes the full radius of a circle rather than only half way, like a regular protractor. It has a moveable arm and little holes at every degree for the student to place pencil marks to make a perfect angle of any size. There are tutorials for how to use each of their products on their page, too. Another great perk is that it's very durable. I can't say enough as a homeschooling Mom how important durability is! This is a great (and very inexpensive) product to have on hand for any level math program.

We also received the Marvels of Measurement Poster, which each of my children were happy to have. It is a quick resource that can tell you conversions for length, capacity, and weight in a fun and fast way.

We were very pleased with these products and would highly recommend them to anyone! Here are the specifics:

Items: Master Angles

Publisher: Master Innovations

Price: Workbook - $15.95 The Master Angle - $5.95 Measurement Poster - $10

Age Range: This book is suggested for grades 1 - 4, but I'd go even farther and say that it could be easily used through grade 6 or as a review for any grade.

My Overall Rating:

Review for The Write Foundation

2010-11-10T07:59:00.003-06:00

About a month ago, we received The Write Foundation's Level 1: Sentence to Paragraph Writing in exchange for my honest review. So, on that note, I must say that we never did receive all of the parts of this curriculum. Initially, there was a problem with the company's printer and then with the shipments, so many things came to the TOS reviewers that were unable to be used.

I personally received the student worksheets (which were only slightly damaged, yet still able to be used), but no Teacher Manual or CD. I did move to another state right about the time these products shipped, so it could easily have been lost in the mail. However, I requested another shipment, but I never received it.

So, with that being said, I tried to make-do with the worksheets and the sample lesson plan on the website and I will tell you that we REALLY liked the first lesson!

My younger two children enjoyed learning about alliteration and coming up with sentences to follow. It seemed to be a fun way to learn. We also really enjoyed the Mind Benders activities that are a much-encouraged part of this curriculum.

I am sad that I can't be more thorough with this review because I really think that this would be a good product if we'd had all of the materials. The curriculum was written by a veteran homeschooler, Rebecca Celsor, for use within an individual homeschool setting or a co-op one. You can check out their website here: The Write Foundation . The price for a full curriculum package (30 lessons) is $100 plus tax and shipping for Level 1 (I believe it's the same for all levels), or $65 for 15 lessons.

Also, you can see other (more thorough) reviews for this product and for some of the other levels that they offer here.

Review for Zoe and Sozo Publishing

2010-10-01T21:27:00.004-05:00

Hi friends! We are in the 11th hour of this review because we've just moved to Mississippi (more on that in an upcoming post) and my internet connection JUST started working.

Anyway, during the chaos of the last month or so, we have been reading aloud a book called Foundlings. It is the first in a series entitled The Peleg Chronicles written by Matthew Christian Harding. Here is an excerpt from the website:

"Foundlings....is Historical Fiction that takes place in the time period of Peleg, soon after the tower of Babel dispersion. In its pages we meet dragons, giants, false priests, the death hunt, an under-city of the Dwarven Brotherhood, and many memorable characters.The story begins with Lord McDougal and his faithful shield-bearer, Fergus Leatherhead, departing their lands with giants at their backs, while before them lie in wait denizens of the bog-land and forest. Ever ready to protect and serve others, they gather in tow an assortment of displaced adventurers and find themselves embroiled in a mysterious search for the foundlings..."

If you like "fantasy" literature, but aren't into the magic or humanism that can be a part of the mainstream classics, then this is exactly what this series offers. The author is a homeschooling dad of 4 and I found it interesting that this literature was birthed out of his bedtime stories to his children. We, too, have enjoyed this book.

Here are the specifics:

Item: Foundlings: Book One, The Peleg Chronicles

Publisher: Zoe & Sozo Publishing

Number of pages: 239

Price: $11.95 (paperback)

Age Range: 10 and up

My Overall Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

Disclaimer (because I have to!): As with all of my reviews, I received these books free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

Perspective

2010-09-27T05:15:00.009-05:00

Last spring, The Westie Crew met up with a bunch of friends way out into the wild blue yonder to camp at one of the most remote, yet absolutely beautiful, campgrounds in Alabama. It's called Payne Lake, and as you can probably guess, the whole park is built around a serene, picturesque, medium-sized body of water.

Right around daybreak, the flowers on top of the lilypads would gracefully burst open so I was determined to get a photo of these lovely things in all of their glory before the blistering sun caused them to clam up within themselves again.

This is the first shot I took:

It's blurry, but you can still see how pretty these delicate beauties are. I only have a little point and shoot, and I've learned that if I'm not standing on one foot facing north while the stars are perfectly aligned, I'm not going to get that extreme close-up without blur, so I adjusted my shot by zooming out just a little. Quite the pro, I am. ;)

If you are familiar with a standard camera, once you've honed in on your image, usually you can press the shutter release button just a little and it will auto-adjust the settings to get you the sharpest possible picture (well, at least for people like me). Once I made those modifications, this is the picture that I ended up with:

I LOVE this photo. In fact, it is my desktop background here on my beloved laptop. It's just so crisp and clear and it makes me delight in God's beautiful creation even though I can't behold that particular scene, in person, every day. I'm also reminded of a wonderful time with people that I love so that makes me happy.

Last night, Mark and I took the Crew and my mom to Mississippi to drop off our camper before the big move (which, incidentally, takes place on Thursday). After we put it where it will be stored, we drove on over to the apartment so that we could get a feel for the potential set-up, and to simply see where we'd be living for the next 6 months.

I don't know if it was that we'd just left our church for the last time, which had me pretty emotional already, or if it was pure exhaustion or what, but all of a sudden, the reality of this move hit me square in the face and I kept thinking:

We are leaving Alabama. And this apartment is utterly miniscule. Not only that, but it smells weird. We are on the third floor which is *extremely* high up, and I am terrified that someone is going to fall off of the balcony... or what if there is a fire? And did I mention all of the TINY? My kitchen is the size of a closet in our present home and I'm not even kidding...

Anyway, I sucked it up and tryed, with everything in me, not to be an ungrateful pansy. After all, it's FREE. And TEMPORARY. But then we walked out to the parking lot and I caught a glimpse of my license plate which reads "Sweet Home Alabama" and I bawled. Then my Mama bawled. Then we went to Cici's Pizza and ate about 40 cinnamon buns and bawled some more.

But, as I laid here not sleeping in the wee hours of this morning, I remembered my picture. I've realized that the first view of this new chapter in our lives was saturated in provision and protection. In other words, we were just thrilled to have employment. The move was pretty far away so I didn't have to, and actually could not, process fully all that this new chapter would entail (I'm sure I still don't). Things were sure, but still unclear.

Now, I feel like I'm in that place of auto-adjusting. A place where the view is extremely blurry and perspectives change about 50 times in rapid fire. The house that we've been so comfortable in is looking more and more like it's shell. Plans are being made that we most definitely would have been a part of, but obviously cannot, because we'll be gone. All that we've been accustomed to is about to change. Different church, different faces, different scout troop, different job, different home, different e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. And it's hard.

I know better than to rely on my emotions, though. I know things will be more than alright. I know that God has a plan that is as beautiful as the crisp and clear picture that I love. And I know that I'll get there because I definitely trust Him with this and wouldn't go anywhere else BUT to Mississippi, because He's made it so clear that this is where he wants us. But, I also know that my Father is compassionate. He knows our frame and He knows that change is tough sometimes, even when it is moving toward His will.

I think of Jesus coming up on the scene of poor Mary and Martha, in John 11, after their beloved brother had just died. He was about to perform one of the biggest miracles of His ministry to the glory of God, and He knew it! He knew that they'd be a million times more than perfectly fine in mere minutes, yet, He wept. Why? Why would Jesus cry when he knew he was about to bring Lazarus back to life? Because He loved them. He knew that they were nothing more than dust and that, in that moment, they couldn't possibly understand, so He he had compassion for them. Their pain, as temporary as He knew it was, hurt Him. What love.

Just like Mary and Martha's pictures soon became crisp and clear and unspeakably joyous, I have the foresight in Christ enough to know that ours will too very soon. Yet, for this moment, I'm so very thankful to have a Jesus who knows our frames as we go through our adjustment period. A Jesus who loves us and stores our tears in a bottle when we are hurting. I can't imagine doing "life" without Him. He is so good.

Salem Ridge Press Review

2010-09-22T15:28:00.008-05:00

I know I'm doing a bunch of reviews lately and not posting much else, but I have got to say, THIS ONE is right up my alley!! I absolutely love this product, and if I know my friends, you will, too.

This kind of product is the very reason that I wanted to be a part of the TOS Crew this year; I was hoping to find some really great gems that I might not have seen or tried out otherwise. This is definitely considered one of those finds:

To give you a little background, Salem Ridge Press is a publishing company that was founded in 2005 by Daniel Mills. He recognized the need for wholesome, well-written, yet challenging literature for today's youth, so where better to turn than to the 19th (and early 20th) century?

His company has gone back to the likes of well known Victorian writers like Emma Leslie, purchased their books, and then republished them into modern bindings that we can utilize with our children today. They are very, very careful about making any modifications to the original text or illustrations; only doing so when something crosses Salem Ridge Press' strict standard of purity. I, as a parent, truly appreciate their dedication in maintaining this standard. You can read more about their editing process HERE.

We received 3 books. The first one was a paperback called "Out of the Mouths of Lions" by Emma Leslie. The other 2 were e-books, and they were "The Martyr's Victory" also by Emma Leslie, and "Yussuf the Guide" by George Manville Fenn. All of their books are available in either soft or hard-back copies, and many are also available as an e-book.

As far as the actual story itself, Ty enjoyed this one the most:

Here is the synopsis from the back cover:
"When Flaminius, a high Roman official, takes his wife, Flavia, to the Colosseum to see Christians thrown to the lions, he has no idea the effect it will have. Flavia cannot forget the faith of the martyrs, and finally, to protect her from complete disgrace or even danger, Flaminius requests a transfer to a more remote government post. As he and his family travel to the seven cities of Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation, he sees the various responses of the churches to persecution. His attitude toward the despised Christians begins to change, but does he dare forsake the gods of Rome and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ?"

We also enjoyed the following two stories very much, but we are hard-copy people and these were in e-book format. Just a matter of personal preference, though. I am actually planning to order both of them as a hard copy! The story synopsis for each book follows the picture.

"Knowing full well they may die in the attempt, a small band of monks sets out to convert the savage Danes who have laid waste to the surrounding countryside year after year. The monks’ faith is sorely tested as they face opposition from the angry Priest of Odin as well as doubts, sickness and starvation, but their leader, Osric, is unwavering in his attempts to share the “White Christ” with those who reject Him. Then the monks discover a young Christian woman who has escaped being sacrificed to the Danish gods—can she help reach those who had enslaved her and tried to kill her?"

"Young Lawrence, an invalid, convinces his guardians, Preston the Professor and Burne the Lawyer, to take him along on an archaeological expedition to Turkey. Before they set out, they engage Yussuf as their guide. Through the months that follow, the friends travel deeper and deeper into the remote regions of central Turkey on their trusty horses in search of ancient ruins. Yussuf proves his worth time and time again as they face dangers from a murderous ship captain, poisonous snakes, sheer precipices, bands of robbers and more. Memorable characters, humor and adventure abound in this exciting story!"

Here are the specifics:

Item: Salem Ridge Press Books

Publisher: Salem Ridge Press

Number of Pages: Varies by book, of course, but Out of the Mouth of the Lion had 261 pages

Price: $16.95 for soft-cover and $26.95 for hard-cover

Age Range: They have books for as young as age 6 all the way to adult, but most of their titles are for age 12 +.

My Overall Rating: FIVE STARS!! We really loved this product!

Disclaimer (because I have to!): As with all of my reviews, I received these books free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review for Math Tutor DVD's

2010-09-08T09:36:00.005-05:00

A few weeks before we started back to school, two separate Math Tutor DVD's came in the mail. One was an instruction guide for the Texas Instruments TI-83 & the TI-84 graphing calculators, and the other was The Pre-Algebra Tutor.

I have to say, I was THRILLED to receive the Pre-Algebra one because that is exactly where Ty (my oldest) is in his Math. Not only that, but I'm not really a big "math-lover" so I can't really say that I've been looking forward to teaching these upper years of Math instruction on my own. In other words, I had lofty expectations for these little DVD's. :) And I have to say, they did NOT disappoint!

In the Pre-Algebra DVD, we received 2 disks that had a total run time of 5 hours. The instructor was very personable and notably thorough with his lessons. The only thing we noticed that might be considered a *slight* drawback is that the lessons were a little bit long. But, I think that this could be easily remedied by just breaking it up according to your own preferences. Here are the things that Volume 1 covers (there are 2 volumes):

-Real Numbers, -The Number Line, -Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To, -Absolute Value and Adding Integers, -Subtracting Integers, -Multiplying Integers, -Dividing Integers, -Powers and Exponents, and finally, -Order of Operations

As far as the second DVD, The Texas Instruments TI-83/84 Calculator Tutor, we knew going in that we were in a little over our heads because we are not quite that far in our math instruction yet. Nevertheless, we borrowed this exact calculator from a friend with older students and set out to watch. Again, we were very, very pleased with how thorough the teaching was. He covered everything right down to the most basic function (how to turn the thing on!). :D It was 8 hours and 3 disks worth of very detailed instruction, and we are happy to own it now for future reference!

Although we received both of these in exchange for our honest review, The Westie Crew would definitely not hesitate to purchase any of the DVD's put out by this company. Especially because they are so reasonably priced and come with a money-back guarantee should you not be satisfied. Music to a homeschooler's ears, right? :)

Here are the specifics:

Items: The Pre-Algebra Tutor and The Texas Instruments TI-83/84 Calculator Tutor

Publisher: MathTutorDVD.com

# of pages: Not pages, but 5 hours of instruction in Pre-Algebra, and 8 hours of instruction with the Calculator DVD.

Price: Both are $26.99

Age Range: Since it's a specific subject, I would say whenever your child is ready. Typically, for Pre-Algebra, 6th grade and up, and for the Calculator, I'd say after you've completed an Algebra course.

My Overall Rating: I give these DVD's 5 out of 5 stars.

Review for My Access! Home Edition Writing Program

2010-09-01T01:00:00.008-05:00

Hello friends! Recently, Vantage Learning sent me a 12 month subscription in exchange for an honest review of their product: My Access! Home Edition. I was pretty excited because, to be truthful, writing is an area that I was planning to hit hard this year with the older boys.

Here are some of the features that the product offers:

*Each year-long subscription includes 1 parent account and up to 3 individual student accounts.

*The program is entirely web-based, so that means that you can access it from any computer with an internet connection.

*Writing topics are assigned based upon the student's age (so that the level for your 4th grader won't be the same as for your senior).

*It is self-paced and interactive.

*The lessons guide students through the writing process: planning, organizing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.

*Essay scoring and individualized feedback is available immediately through an artificial intelligence scoring engine.

*A word processor with editing and writing tools including a thesaurus, grammar-checker, spell-checker, and word bank lists help students vary and develop their vocabulary.

My thoughts:
Once I got the student account set up for Ty, he was able to log in to his individual account and pick a topic out of many to begin writing the rough draft of his essay. Not only were there a wide array of topics, but there were several different *styles* of essay that he could choose from, as well (i.e., narrative, informative, persuasive, ect.)

I was also impressed with the step-by-step instruction that was given before each task was assigned. It was not only nicely descriptive, but taught in a fun, and engaging way.

The drawbacks, as far as we were concerned, were that, on several occasions, we found the website a little difficult to navigate. It was also tough because it seemed hard to switch between accounts with any kind of ease. There were a few days that we just gave up in frustration over this issue. However, once we were able to finally arrive at the right place, we did enjoy the curriculum.

The specifics:
Item: My Access! Home Edition

Publisher: Vantage Learning

# of pages: n/a (online course)

Price: $99.95 (however, it can be used for up to three students per subscription)

Age Range: 3rd grade up through adult

My Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

On the Purge!

2010-08-24T10:43:00.005-05:00

Well, we are on day #2 of the new school year and, so far, all is well. ;) I didn't realize how much I craved my schedule until we started back. We are busy, but *busy* is way better than "Mamaaaaaaaa, I'm booooooooored." Because, well, I was, too. Ha-ha!

Over the weekend Mark and the 2 older boys went camping with their Boy Scout Troop. That gave me, and the unsuspecting Littles, an opportunity to purge, purge, purge. We donated several garbage bags full of toys, clothes and well-used furniture to the local thrift store. Something about bagging it all up and watching it be hauled off absolutely thrills me to the core. The great (but not-so-great) thing is that I am nowhere near finished. I still have several more rooms and a shed to do. I'm happy about it because I LOVE to simplify, but it's hard to fit it all in now that school has started back.

I have to attribute my deep love of purging to this fine lady:

She is single-handedly responsible for training me about how to keep the clutter low. I did my "flywashing" way back around the turn of the century (that sounds so dramatic, doesn't it?), and I have been a changed woman ever since. If you are a clutter-bug, GO TO HER SITE, PRONTO! Her picture is a clickable link. You will not be sorry, I promise.

While we were busy purging, my sweet Mark was starting his rendezvous with a nasty chest cold. I knew he was sick when the minute I suggested he go to the doctor, he didn't hesitate. This guy avoids doctor visits like they are the plague! He ended up with a steroid shot, an antibiotic and some seriously powerful cough meds. I'm glad he went because he is feeling MUCH better today. I'm just praying fervently that the rest of us aren't going to be graced with it. It's been a good reminder, though, that we are starting headlong into "that time of year", so I plan to really ramp up the vitamins for the Crew.

I guess I'd better go. The kids are finishing up their Math, so we've got to move on to the next thing. Hope you all have a good week! Stay well!

The Big Decision (and Details)

2010-08-19T09:22:00.004-05:00

Most of you already know because of Facebook, so it will be anti-climactic (ha!), but we have decided to take the job out of state. This will take us to a grand place called ....drumroll please....

As incredibly hard as it is to leave our Sweet Home Alabama, we are getting excited about what God has in store for us in Mississippi. We already know of good homeschooling groups, churches, and Scout troops, so we are hoping to be able to dive right in. I guess this is where I should mention again that I TRIPLE DOG LOVE the internet!!

Seriously. If it weren't for the world-wide-web I would have had ZERO resource in our trek to Meridian. But as it stands, God saw fit to plop this family right in the middle of the Technology Age, for which I am extremely grateful.

First, I have some precious friends that have either grown up in, or around, Meridian, or that have lived there for a time (2 of whom I met via the internet, incidentally). They have been able to hook me up with some sweet people who live there now. I also have been able to listen to sermons on the internet from some of the churches that we are thinking we'll visit, and have looked at several websites for homeschool groups, scout troops and even piano teachers. I can't imagine what it would have been like if we'd have had to do this 20 years ago. Alot of trial and error, I suppose.

One of the things that Mark's new company is doing for us is leasing us an apartment for 6 months until we can get a feel for the area. We are so happy about this because, "hello", no house-payment! ~I think I just heard the Dave Ramsey angels singing the Hallelujah Chorus~ But, it definitely means some serious downsizing. My job right now is to determine what comes to live with us, what goes into storage, and what just flat-out flies the proverbial coop. We just moved into this house a year ago, so it shouldn't be as titanic of a task as it was the first time around, however, we were moving about 5 miles away, and into a much bigger house.. ;).

Our move-in date is tentatively, October 1, so that gives me almost exactly 6 weeks to pull it all together. We are supposed to start school on this coming Monday, August 23, so I'm pretty sure I'll be tapping into some Supernatural Strength to pull it all off.

I must say, though, God has had His hand all over this. He has made it very clear in so many ways that this is His perfect will for our family. There is great comfort and peace in that. No matter what happens, or how lonely we get for the comforts of our familiar home, we can rest remembering that this move is no mistake or error in judgement on our part. I can't tell you how good that makes us feel.

Plus, right now, we are just happy to be off of the roller coaster ride that has been the last 2 months! Direction + Mark and Gayle = BIG BUDDIES. ;)

I'm planning to blog alot more as we do this thing. I am sad that I failed at that last year because I have nothing to really look back on to remember all the blessings of that time. But, I'll put more effort into it this go round.

Happy Thursday, peeps,

My Post-Lady Made My Day!

2010-08-16T12:58:00.003-05:00

Want to know what makes a homeschooler's Monday morning?

Something about the arrival of the coming year's curriculum ALWAYS makes me almost giddy with happiness. It's just a bunch of books, so that's kinda weird, right? Nevertheless. :)

I guess it's the anticipation of what this year will hold. It's more about what it represents, like another year of teaching and learning together, more than simply receiving new books.

I love homeschooling my children. It has been one of the biggest blessings that God has given to me as a mother. Yes, it has been very challenging at times, but as I was discussing with a friend the other day, the blessings FAR outweigh the troubles. It's kind of like parenting. It's such a hard job sometimes, but I'll take the tough things a million times over just to experience the joy of being a mom.

...Well there's all that AND the smell...

I do love me a good whiff of a brand-spanking new, freshly opened book....

Ok. Maybe I *am* weird. ;)

On a completely unrelated note, and in an effort to keep the blog updated, I'll tell you that things are a little squirrely here in Westie World. The job situation is about as intense as it can be, but I don't really have the time or energy to type it all out. The bottom line is that we have a very good offer on the table and we have to determine whether or not we will take it by Thursday morning. It's another job that is out of state, but has very good possibilities for our family. Yet, of course, we want to make sure that there is nothing comparable here, in our area, first. Prayers are appreciated if you think about us this week. I'll update here after we've made our decision. Thanks!

Hope each of you have a great Monday.

Review for Travel the World (June Module for TOS Planner)

2010-07-19T08:57:00.005-05:00

Good Morning Friends! You may remember that I mentioned a few posts ago that I'd be reviewing some homeschooling products for The Old Schoolhouse this year? Well, we've had our first product for a few weeks now and we've really enjoyed it!! I was surprised because I really thought my kids would balk at doing schoolwork during the Summer, but once we got into it, they really did like the content.

We received the June Module for the The Schoolhouse Planner. From what I understand, the Modules, which are published monthly, come as an add-on for the Planner but they can also be purchased separately. They are basically supplemental unit studies in the form of an e-book. Honestly, I didn't think I'd like the e-book format, but I was wrong. It is fully printable because it's a PDF document (so if you are a fan of the hard-copy like I am, you've got that option), but surprisingly, I didn't feel the need to do that. It was very easy to read and there were several clickable external links available which made me happy just keeping it on the computer.

Speaking of links, this module was titled Travel the World which means that it was all about geography. Here is a picture of the children playing a game from a link provided which helped them solidify what they learned about latitude and longitude:

They really enjoyed this game!

There were several printables available as well. My children range in age from (almost)14 down to 7 and there was everything from coloring pages and easy lapbooking activities for the youngest, to challenging word searches for the older ones.

I was thoroughly impressed with the plethora of information and activities that we had access to for the price (I received mine free in exchange for my honest review), but this is something I would have purchased for my Crew, hands down.

Some of the things we covered were: the definition of geography, the features of a globe, what the earth's "axis" is, latitude and longitude, hemispheres, and all of the major bodies of water and the continents. It was chalk FULL of information... I can't say that enough! It was perfect for a Summer learning diversion.

Here is a rundown of the specifics if you want to check this out:

Item: Travel the World (June Module for TOS Planner)

Publisher: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

# of pages: 56 (in e-book format)

Price: $7.95

Age Range: It is stated that it's meant for all school-aged children (K-12), but I would say that those from grades 4-8 would benefit most.

My Overall Rating: I give this one 4 stars out of 5. Like I mentioned earlier, you just get so much information for the price. If you were purchasing this as a book, it would easily sell for over $20.

Oh, the Madness

2010-07-12T18:54:00.003-05:00

In my wildest imagination, I couldn't make up the things I see/hear on a daily, and sometimes even hourly, basis. Having a brood of boys (and sometimes my girl shocks me, too) is not for the faint of heart, dear innocent ones.

This is my "Exhibit A" for July 12, 2010. I walked into *MY* bedroom to merely fold a pile of laundry when I saw this odd scene on, and apparently hanging from, my north-facing window:

Upon closer inspection I discovered, what appeared to be, utter carnage. No mercy. No survivors... and a wad of chewed up gum right behind the morbidly twisted leg of the soldier on the right.

And LOOK at how FILTHY all that war made my windows!!!! It looks like they haven't been cleaned in a YEAR. It's absolute chaos around here, folks... CHAOS, I tell ya!!

I feel like I'll just.... JUST.....

....go get my bottle of Windex and a piece of t.p. for the gum and move along with the rest of my day.

Boys.

Update

2010-07-08T11:04:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let my precious bloggy friends know that a decision has been made about our potential move to another state (see previous post). It is NOT happening. God has clearly closed that door and we are very grateful for a decision.

There are still changes on the horizon, of course, but we are both at great peace. God is good. Mark's office is will close in December of this year, and he will keep his job until then, thankfully, but he will start looking for another one right away.

Please keep praying that we would continue to clearly discern God's direction in the coming months. We still have many decisions to make and a few possible hurdles to jump (i.e. what to do about another vehicle, since he will obviously lose his company one), so we'd love some continued prayer support.

Thank you all so much for your kind words in the comments on the last post and on Facebook. You have blessed me immeasureably.

Waiting

2010-07-06T16:17:00.004-05:00

Ugh. Where to begin?

I must admit, when things get hard, I tend to shy away from this blog. Part of it is because I know that it's not always wise to share every single personal thing with the randomness that is the Blogosphere. Just like I wouldn't walk up to a perfect stranger and, upon introduction, blab every detail of my life, I try to be somewhat judicious about what I share on the World Wide Web.

Another part is that it's just my personality. If you don't already know it, I kind of have a penchant for the lighthearted. Yet, life is rarely completely lighthearted so rather than shy away and lock down, I'm going to share some of the more serious and personal happenings as of late:

Mark was informed 2 weeks ago that his office will be closing. We are not sure of the exact date in which this will take place, and he is employed until that time, nevertheless our employment future is uncertain. At the time that this information came in, the corporate office offered him another position in a different state. We are not opposed to a move, even though our hearts are very much here in Alabama, because, ultimately, we know that we must go where there is provision for our family. However, what they are currently offering will not be enough for us to make it in an area with a higher cost of living. Bottom line, we are still in negotiations.

On top of that, Mark cannot pursue (as aggressively as he would like) other job options locally because the "official announcement" had not been made and a definitive date has not set from Corporate that this office is shutting down. It's unnerving because, in this economy, jobs aren't exactly plentiful, so he'd like to get started, but to leak the information could get him fired thereby losing the small severance that he was promised should the other position not work out. So, to sum things up, we feel like we are in a highly charged period of "hurry-up-and-wait".

Which, can I just say, is SO NOT my strong point?

Hello, my name is Gayle, and I like to be in control of my life. I like it when all of the loose ends are neatly tied up and I have a semi-clear picture of what things are looking like on the horizon. I like feeling secure, and I like not worrying that our bills will be paid, and that our friends and family are just down the road, and that church is on Sunday at 10:45... I like those things.

But, I've also been a Christian for awhile now, and I can sense when God is working on me pretty clearly. It's very obvious that being impatient and having control issues are not befitting of a follower of Christ for starters. Plus, I can quote a ton of Scripture to counter each thing that I said in that last paragraph. Ironically, I taught a class on the very day that we got this news about trusting God in ALL things because everything is meant for our ultimate good... ~grin~ (I actually think it's wonderful and amazing how my Father had me utterly immersed in His Word over this in the weeks that preceeded this.) I know the Scripture. I know the answers. And it all boils down to one thing. Faith. But, I've gotta tell ya, sometimes exercising that faith and hard-core trust is hard!

That's where I am. I'm desperately wanting to trust and to not fret or be anxious. I want to be like a little child who knows that her Daddy is absolutely going to take care of her because His love is so unfathomably deep. I want to be content in any and every circumstance even if that means a big ole move, or a season of unemployment (one of my biggest fears). I want all this head knowledge to transfer to my anxious, sinful heart so that His goodness will be apparent to all that are in contact with me.

But I'm not quite there.

And then I feel terrible about it, because y'all, God and I have walked some seriously hard roads together before and never once... NOT ONCE... has He failed to come through in a mighty way. So, why should I even consider that this time we're all going to fall flat on our faces? I don't know.

My point in putting this on here is twofold:

1. To ask you to pray. The majority of you that come here are Christians and I have a pretty strong feeling that I'm not the only one to have experienced this, even if the circumstances are entirely different... there is nothing new under the sun. So please pray for us as we walk this thing out.

2. To have it all spelled out, so that when we get to the other side (whenever that may be), we can look back to see how He worked it out. Because He will. My head surely knows it. :)

Thanks for reading and much love,

Well, What Have We Here?

2010-06-18T20:50:00.004-05:00

Y'all are probably going to get annoyed with me for posting The Westie Wildlife so much, but seriously, all these bugs and creatures fascinate me.

So today, when I saw this bright red spidery looking thing hanging on the net of the trampoline, I was compelled to go grab my camera.

Upon closer inspection, it is definitely NOT a spider (in fact, it appears to be dining on one... sorry!), but I have no idea what kind of insect we have here. It looks like a land-dwelling shrimp with those tenticles, but what do I know? Any guesses, or better yet, any positive ID's?

Thanks!

Somebody Give Bubo Some WD-40!

2010-06-16T09:44:00.005-05:00

We have been out-of-control busy over the last two days! On Tuesday, I went to our summer ladies Bible study first thing in the morning, then I took the kids to the Dollar Theater. (Incidentally, local friends, on Tuesdays, not only is your movie just $1, but your popcorn and drinks are as well.)

We saw Alice in Wonderland, which was pretty good, but I really want to get back to see Clash of the Titans. I used to love the old movie with Harry Hamlin in it when I was a kid! Did you remember that? The one the squeaky metal-y looking owl named Bubo? :) I'm willing to bet that Technology gave Bubo an EXTREME Makeover in the newer one, aren't you? Hee-hee!

Yesterday, Mark, Andrew and I went to see Jacob for Family Night at Summer Camp. They are having such a great time, as evidenced in this picture:

They do some kind of "mud course" every year called Adventure Valley and they come out every time looking like this. To say they LOVE it would be a drastic understatement.

I'm really missing my kid, though. I won't keep harping on about it, but suffice it to say, I'm never so happy to see a dirty, stinky, T-I-R-E-D boy as I am on the Saturday after camp!!

But back to those cheesy 80's movies, though. :) Do your kids ever watch them? Mine do and they mostly like them, which I find hilarious, because they aren't even on the same planet as far as the cool graphics and sound and all that techie stuff goes!

They really like The Goonies and Karate Kid and... Heaven help me... Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure... <---ok, I really had a hard time admitting that last one because of how cheesy and downright annoying it is. So moving right along, they are currently on a Fat Albert kick right now... HA!!! "Hey, hey, hey!" :D

Anyway, what was your favorite movie/cartoon/t.v. show growing up? I'd love to find some more stuff on Netflix for our downtime that I'm forgetting about.

Have a good Thursday!

Sa-lute!

2010-06-14T12:35:00.004-05:00

Sometimes, I admit, I get envious of my hubby who gets to go out to lunch on a regular basis at upscale restaurants with customers or suppliers or whatever, because it's part of his job description.

But then on days like today, I realize, upscale restaurants or not, my lunch companions are 1000% more entertaining. You just never-ever know who's going to join you at the table around here, folks.

And that makes the Chef Boyardee ravioli not only bearable, but more delightful than lunch anywhere else on this planet. :)

Happy, happy Monday!!

What if a Bug Flies Up His Nose?!

2010-06-13T13:48:00.004-05:00

I got so tickled when I looked out the back door yesterday to see this Peeping Tom: :)

Actually, there was a gallon of sun tea steeping on the deck to his left and he was trying to figure out how to get around it in order to help himself to the birdseed that Mark put out. Ha! We perplexed the little fellow, for sure. ;) Isn't he cute, though?!

Today, after church, we dropped off one of our Boy Scouts for their annual week-long camp. They ALWAYS have a blast, but my motherly blood pressure is invariably raised, too, because:

1. It's 754 degrees in the shade out there.
2. I'm afraid he won't drink enough water to replace lost fluids (wow... that is SUCH a "mom" statement, hee-hee... nevertheless, I'm undeterred).
3. Speaking of water, I worry about the lake, and the snakes that live within it.
4. I know he'll forget to apply his sunscreen.
5. What if it storms, like badly? Who will make sure he isn't scared if it's night-time?
6. What if a mouse gets in his tent? What if a tick gets on his back? What if....

You get the idea.

I know how nuts all of it sounds as soon as I see it in print! Yet, that's my boy, and I'm his Mama, so I kind of can't help it. It's part of the job description, I'm positive. However, I'm going to just trust my Father... his Father... and recite this frequently:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in all things in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

I think I'll take some of that peace, with an extra helping of guarding the old heart and mind, thankyouverymuch!! :)

Now, I think I'll go curl up with my remaining Crew and watch a movie.
Have a wonderful Sunday!

Swings, Heartstrings, and Curricula Things

2010-06-12T07:10:00.005-05:00

Well, summer vacation is here!! We've already inaugurated the pool and we've been to the beach/dear friends' house, so we are well on our way into a great season!

I woke up at an outlandish time for a Saturday (6:15), so I thought I'd pop in here and catch up a little while my Crew continues to snooze soundly.

Here's something rather mundane to tell you: I FINALLY got a new swing!! I've mentioned before how much I love to sit on a swing to read, talk, or have my quiet times. Well, I've been swing-less for about a YEAR! I had a nice little nook out on our deck that was beautiful and all that, but it just wasn't my swing. So, last weekend, while I was gone, my SWEET, SWEET hubby bought, painted, and hung up a new swing for me on (what will be) our screened in porch. I LOVE IT!!! I've been sitting out there for an obscene amount of time each day this week; even with the highs being in the 90's. I wasn't kidding about loving my swing, peeps. ;D

We still have a ton of work to do, like paint the deck and hang more screening... oh, and replace the Sterilite box end tables.. HA!!, but I'm still enjoying it right now!

This is the now poor, neglected spot where I used to sit:

Even Mikey is like "Seriously, Mama, are you on that thing AGAIN?!"

He's a hard little guy to capture with the camera, by the way. I don't think he sits still for more than 1.5 seconds at a time. But we sure do love him. We lost our Oreo (our shih-tzu) almost 2 weeks ago because she had some degenerative bone disease along with severe skin issues. It was so sad for all of us, but it was especially hard on this little guy because he didn't know where his best friend went. It's so hard when something happens to our pets. ;(

On another, not so sad, note: I signed up for The Old Schoolhouse's Homeschool Crew this year. That means that chosen vendors will be sending us products over the next school year and I will be reviewing them here on ye olde blog! I'm so excited about this!! We received all of our information this week and now I'm anxious to get started. I hope you will benefit from these reviews as well. I always appreciate another Mom who can give her honest opinion about how something works for her family than any other information. Plus, I'm a curriculum junkie, so having a steady flow of stuff to try is really NOT going to kill me. :)

I guess I need to sign off. I'm really looking forward to a great weekend with my family. We don't have much planned, except getting ready to send Jake off to camp, but that's the way I like it... low-key! What are your plans? No matter what, I hope it's a good one!

Random Dozen!

2010-04-14T09:41:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite bloggy friends is hosting a meme so I'ma gonna participate! Here goes:

1. How do you feel about "Gladiator" sandals, also called "Roman" or "Jesus" sandals? A fashion yea or nay? Weeeeelll, for this second, I have to say "not so much", HOWEVER, I'm nothing if not *swayed* when it comes to fashion trends, so I'm sure I'll be sportin' a pair if they hit the big time. I'm a sheeple like that. I think I'll go gag now...

2. What is your favorite pizza? I'm a weirdo (SHOCK!) in that I don't like meat on my pizza at all. I really prefer it loaded down with veggies and tons of cheese. There is a Tuscan pizza that our local market... oh who am I kidding, it's Walmart.... sells, and it's muy bien!

3. There are plans in the works to sell roughly 1,000 items from Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas. This means you could buy Picard's chair for your family room. If not a Star Trek item, what prop, background, set, etc. from what TV or movie would you buy if you could? [Ex: Hurley's "I Love my Shih tzu" shirt from LOST, the plantation home "Tara" from Gone With the Wind, or Tracy's tambourine from the Partridge Family.] I'd buy Mr. Rogers' trolley and then I'd let it whisk me away daily to the Land of Make Believe where I'd fix all the problems of the day and dance and twirl and sing like Lady Elaine Fairchild. ~sigh~ ;)

4. Name a local food or restaurant that your area is famous for. Ummmm, Dreamland BBQ? I think?

5. What is your current favorite snack? Smoked Almonds have my heart right at the moment. That, and Dove Dark Chocolate together is the thing making my world spin on it's axis. YUMMY!

6. Hypothetical: You are required to be a reality show contestant. Which show would you choose based on your probability of success? (You cannot choose "none.") A. Dancing with the Stars B. Biggest Loser C. Survivor I'll have to go with Survivor on this one given that I have 2 left feet and that Jillian Michaels makes me want to put my head into a bucket of bleach and inhale. I have some deep-seated bitterness over my encounter with The Shred last year. I'll probably never get over it.

7. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being uninhabitable and 10 being cleanliness that meets the standards of OCD, how clean is your vehicle's interior? Heh-heh.. can we go into the negatives on this one? I do have 4 children.

8. It doesn't feel like Spring until _________. Well, THIS year it wasn't until the temps got above Ever-Lovin-Frigid! Dern, that was a miserable winter! Usually, it's the flowers blooming, though... and Easter.

9. Something that made you laugh really hard recently is ____. We watch America's Funniest Home Videos ALOT as a family and I howl every single time over something on that show. It's quality programming if there ever was any. :)

10. Tell me about a goal you're working toward. Summer. The end.

11. Share a thought-provoking or inspiring quote this week. "The idea that motherhood, fatherhood, and family are not as honorable as high-income careers or highly visible ministry positions is biblically uninformed at best and grossly heretical at worst." Voddie Baucham from the book Family Driven Faith. I'm loving this book and I really respect it's author for his drive to recapture the biblical role of family. God's been opening my eyes alot for several months about this, but that's a whole other post.

12. Name one thing that you do as a parent that you absolutely know will make your kids happy. Going to the drive thru for a chocolate, creamy, dreamy, Chick-Fil-A milkshake. It's aaaaaaaall good then, even for Mama. ;)

Click icon at the top of this post to write your own answers! I'd love to read 'em!

Thoughts About the Last Few Days

2010-04-13T07:28:00.003-05:00

Have you ever had a period of time that hits you like a tornado with it's ferocity and leaves you feeling wind-whipped and disheveled after it's over? Well, that was my last week. It was such a hard one on so many levels.

It started with the sudden and tragic death of my precious sister-friend's Dad on the eve of Easter Sunday. It was a car accident that was caused by someone who was probably abusing some substance which makes it all the more difficult. He was such a Godly, wonderful man and it was proven by the sheer number of people who came to pay their respects. If only we could all leave a legacy like that.

The hardest part of it all, though, is watching my friend and her family suffer. As I type, I have her precious children all sound asleep in various places around the house because they spent the night with us last night. They have been through so much in such a short period of time. It's hard to see it on their sweet, innocent faces.

I have several other friends and family members that are dealing with incredibly difficult things that erupted last week, too. Out of respect for their collective privacy, I won't share, but it's some seriously TOUGH stuff, folks, and all I can do is be there for them and pray my head off. I hate it when my loved ones are hurting. The only comfort I take is that I know God will use it for their good in ways that only He can orchestrate. What a blessing it is to be His child because we can rest assured that even the really, really hard places are never in vain.

On a personal note...and I must tread lightly here... I had a "critic" make their voice known behind my back last week in the midst of everything else. Things like that always punch me in the gut especially when it's not meant for any kind of constructiveness, but pure maliciousness. My skin is definitely tougher than it used to be, but I'm human and I certainly have to deal with the hurt and even anger that I inevitably face afterward.

I'm trying to let it serve as a reminder to ME that when we are image-bearers of Christ, we are called to love in His name. Part of that love is kindness and protection (1 Cor. 13:7), which I believe means protecting the name and certainly the confidences of others. Why are we, as Christians, so easily loose with their tongues when it comes to other brothers and sisters? Do we not know the destruction it causes? James 3 tells us that for such a little part of the body, it has the ability to corrupt the whole thing!

We've all been the recipient of the hurt from a person's careless words, so why do we not realize that this is exactly the way it makes others feel when we are tempted to do it ourselves? Are we that harsh that we don't care? If that's the case, it's so NOT ok... that's a major heart problem.

We're supposed to love others the way we love ourselves. So I ask, would we hurt ourselves the way we hurt others with our judgement and criticism? Probably not. We usually wind up giving more grace and understanding to ourselves than to anybody else.

Finally, how does our gossip or maliciousness or backbiting make us look any different from the world? How does this bring honor and glory to the Lord at all? Of course, it doesn't. It has the opposite affect. It causes people not to trust us. Not to trust the Church. There is no telling how many people have walked away from a Christian whose words crossed the explicit boundaries that the Bible gives us with a skewed view of the Father. How incredibly, horribly tragic.

Please don't take this as a post from someone who's been jaded and then went on to rant. It's something God has been showing me for a long time. It's something He knows I've failed at many, many times myself. Yet, it's something that I absolutely had to get out this time. I hope God will bring it to mind every single time I'm tempted to not protect in Christ's love.

Redeem the time, friends,

Are We There Yet? How Much Longer?

2010-03-15T10:08:00.003-05:00

Happy Monday! It's Spring Break in our neck of the woods, but not for the Crew. We are plugging on through because we took some time off in February when we seem to naturally hit a wall. S.B. is typically one of the best weeks for schooling that we have because all of our outside commitments are cancelled. Plus, going somewhere is a nightmare because there are usually hundreds of people with the same idea. And this Mama? NOT a fan of crowds! Man, I'm getting ornery in my old age. :D

Nevertheless, I am SOOOOOOOOOOO ready for school to be over for the year. It's been a good year for us... I'd say great, even... but we're all just ready for our Summer vacation! I can't wait to wake up and head out to my deck without freezing my patootie off. I long for the smells of grilling out and freshly mown grass. I'm ready for colors to return to nature again; brown and gray are getting a bit old. And the pool... oh, the POOL! Nothing screams Summer like the sight of waterlogged kids who only break to get *nutritionally refueled* with a freeze pop. You know, the kind that turn their whole mouths blue?

Yep, I'm ready! Only a few more weeks, right?

Bible Giveaway Winner!!

2010-03-13T09:37:00.003-06:00

The Random Number Generator hath spoken! And the winner iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisss:

Comment #20: brandy said...
"Couples Personalized Bibles Set in Burgundy with Free Bonus Gift... I love my Hubby and LOVE DOING THINGS TOGETHER!!! :)) this was sooo sweet I thought!! but they have LOTS of cute things!! one of my fav. verses is Jerm.29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.New International Version (NIV)it has brought me great peace in times of need!!!"

I recently got to meet Ms. Brandy at a book signing that we both attended. She has THEE most awesome hair and my friend Mary couldn't stop herself from asking for her picture... HA! So we all started chatting, and before you knew it, we all became FB buddies. Social networking at it's finest. :D

Have a great Saturday, friends!

Bible Giveaway!!

2010-03-08T20:23:00.003-06:00

Hey friends!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by BibleCo.com to do a review for their website. I was pleasantly surprised when I clicked over at all that they have to offer! I'm always looking for reputable Christian websites and this one really fit the bill.

Not only do they offer any kind of printed Bible that you can possibly think of, they have several electronic and audio or video versions as well.

I was also very happy to see that they have a variety of homeschooling material available and that they are very diligent to only provide curriculum and materials that line up with a Christian worldview. As a seasoned homeschooler, I know and appreciate the value in that!

When I committed to the review, they sent me this gorgeous Bible which has quickly become my absolute favorite. The best part is, they personalized it with my name which is something that they specialize in (....ummmm, they specialize in personalization... not my name). :) Anyway, check this out:

Here's the best part! BibleCo.com has not only sent ME this sweet personalized Bible, they have offered to give one away to one of my readers. So that means YOU!! Even if you don't need another Bible this would be a wonderful gift for someone for an upcoming graduation or birthday or even a 'just-felt-led-to' gift. I'm not kidding when I tell you that I LOVE mine!!

TO ENTER: Just click on one of the links provided within this post to go to their website. Then, poke around to see what strikes your fancy, and c'mon back here to tell me in the comments what you liked!

If you're feeling really chatty (such an endearing quality, in my opinion), you could even tell me what your favorite book of the Bible is or even your favorite verse. OR you could just tell me what you've had for dinner. Whatever. I'm easy to please, peeps. ;)

Happy looking and good luck!

OH! I almost forgot! The contest will run through Friday, March 12. I will post the winner that evening. Please make sure that I have a valid email address in order to get in touch with you if you win.... Ok, you can move on now for real this time. :D

Never a Dull Moment

2010-01-17T16:01:00.003-06:00

Jacob and I are sitting here eating the last of the pork roast from lunch while watching a cool documentary on Earth's most magnificent places.... Pause.

In the course of typing that last sentence, my fellow pork eater got up to pour himself a tall glass of orange juice to quell his thirst and somehow managed to drop the whole pitcher on the kitchen floor.

I was going to wax poetic about how wonderfully peaceful this rainy Sabbath has been, but.... well.... let's just say I ain't feeling it anymore. :D

So.

What's your favorite cleaner for the kitchen floor? Practicality. It's my calling, I'm afraid.

Haiti

2010-01-14T08:09:00.006-06:00

My heart is so heavy for the people of Haiti right now. I've been watching the news at every chance I get and I can't get it out of my mind when I'm not watching. They keep displaying pictures and video that would shake any human with even a tiny amount of compassion to the core. I'm sure the visuals don't even do the reality of it justice.

While I've never been to Haiti personally, Mark has been there a few times and so has my mom along with several of our friends. The church that we used to attend had a wonderful ministry that they supported in Haiti so they went many times to build orphanages and to preach the gospel to the people who were in desperate need of the hope of Christ. Mark said that it is a place like no other and it rocked his world. This is after being in countless countries all over the globe because of his time in the Navy. He has seen poverty, but nothing like what he witnessed in Haiti.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. In fact, it is the only one that would be considered 3rd world here, at all. The poverty level is an astounding 80%, with 56% of them living in an even poorer subclass called abject poverty. If I may be so bold, most of us here in America don't have a clue what this looks like. All of that to say, that even on a good day, the Haitians had a hard time with things like suitable medical care (AIDS is rampant down there), proper hygienic opportunities (like clean water), and decent living conditions. So, now, with the horrific disaster that they have just endured, I can't even imagine how horrible the circumstances are.

It's so easy to shut our eyes and stop up our ears when the unpleasant things come to our attention with the thought that someone else will take care of it, but I believe that we, as individuals, are accountable for this once we are made aware:

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18

And lets face it, even the poorest among us are rich compared to these people.

Obviously, most of us can't just jet down to Haiti to be of physical help no matter how much we'd love to, however, there are ways to give to those that can. You can donate $10 to the Red Cross by using your cell phone to text "Haiti" to the number 90999. Your donation will appear on your next bill. Here is the website if you'd like to read more about it.

There are other groups, like Compassion, that are Christian based who will be making their way down there soon, that are reputable and will use your donations in an honest way. Click here to read about this wonderful organization. And you can click here to make a donation:

Haiti Earthquate

I know it is a time of financial hardship for most of us, but a little goes a long way in a situation like this.

Naturally, our prayers are of the utmost importance, as well. I know a friend of a friend has adopted a little child from an orphanage in Port Au Prince (or nearby), but due to a paperwork setback, they've been unable to get him home to the States. Now, they are desperately trying to find out if he is alright (their blog is here) There are so many people unaccounted for, and with limited communication available, there is no telling how long it will be before people will find out about their loved ones. So we pray for comfort in the HARD times of those who are waiting, and of course that the precious lives of their loved ones were spared. ~sigh~

For he has not despised or disdained the suffering or the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. Psalm 22:24

Book #1

2010-01-10T13:54:00.005-06:00

Ok, I've decided that this is the first book out of my 25 that I'll be reading this year (see last post if you have no idea what I'm talking about):

You can click the image to take you straight to this book at the best price I could find on the web. I probably get 95% of my books from half.com because they are seriously a fraction of the price of other places. It is powered by Ebay, which makes it a very reputable site, and you use the same account in both places. You can get books that are brand new or you can find them used, but in good condition. Amazon has a version of this as well, but, on average, half.com is usually a little cheaper.

Now, about this book. Here is the quote from the back cover:

"A rare chance to know Jesus as his first disciples knew him. What would it be like to journey back to the first century and sit at the feet of Rabbi Jesus as one of his Jewish disciples? How would your understanding of the gospel have been shaped by the customs, beliefs, and traditions of the Jewish culture in which you lived? Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus takes you on a fascinating tour of the Jewish world of Jesus, offering inspirational insights that can transform your faith. Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg paint powerful scenes from Jesusâ€™ ministry, immersing you in the prayers, feasts, history, culture, and customs that shaped Jesus and those who followed him. You will hear the parables as they must have sounded to first-century Jews, powerful and surprising. You will join the conversations that were already going on among the rabbis of his day. You will watch with new understanding as the events of his life unfold. And you will emerge with new excitement about the roots of your own Christian faith. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus will change the way you read Scripture and deepen your understanding of the life of Jesus. It will also help you to adapt the rich prayers and customs you learn about to your own life, in ways that both respect and enrich your Christian faith. By looking at the Jewishness of Jesus, Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg take you on a captivating journey into the heart of Judaism, one that is both balanced and insightful, helping you to better understand and appreciate your own faith. "

I've heard excellent reviews both from people on the web (at Amazon) and people I know personally, which generally holds a lot of water with me! I ordered it today, so I'm hoping to receive it by the end of this week. I've got some catching up to do since we will be halfway through January at that point (YIKES! That's NUTS, right?!)

In other news, we actually left the old abode today to head to church. I'm so glad to have broken the cabin fever because it was getting to the point of insanity for all of us. Thankfully, the temperatures are supposed to creep their way back up to normal, so by the end of the week, we should be seasonal for Sweet Home Alabama again. To say that I'm ready would be a gross understatement. I may even blind my family with some shorts and a t-shirt to celebrate. Or not. Talk about gross... ;)

Happy reading,

Bookety, Book, Book, Book.

2010-01-09T12:29:00.003-06:00

Happy 2010!! I can't believe we are already 10 years into the 21st century. We have spent the first 9 days of it as virtual recluses because, baby, it's COLD outside! To qualify that statement, our meteorologist said that our area in Sweet Home Alabama was actually colder than Anchorage, Alaska! Bring back the 50's please. However, we did get about 3 flakes of snow, so that's always a fun perk since it's such a rarity. ;)

Being holed up, I've been hopping around the old blog-o-sphere more where I've noticed that there are people who are purposing to read more in the new year. Some have even called it a resolution. Well. I don't do resolutions because of the emotional breakdown and abject self-torture that I experience when I FAIL, FAIL, FAIL at them.

~deep breath~

Yet, I think that their idea is a great one. They (and I can't for the life of me remember who "they" are), are planning to read 52 books in one year. That's a book a week, based on my advanced mathematical calculations, which, I think that this is an impressive goal. I'm going to change it up for me, though, because I can come up with about 26 things that will keep me from finishing a book a week in this upcoming year. That leaves me with 26 weeks left, so I have decided to set a goal for myself to read 25 books this year. 25 just a better number than 26 in my world. Don't ask.... I can't explain it.

I'm planning to post the title before I begin a book, so that if any of you (if you're still there after all this time... ha-ha!) want to read along with me, you can. I'm also doing it for accountability. I really want to accomplish this! I can't believe how many books I've started and not finished in the last several years. I LOVE to read, but somehow, I've become easily sidetracked. This madness must cease!!

Once I complete the book, I will review it here, and we can discuss it if any of you decided to read, too. I don't have my list yet as I'm planning to sort of grab whatever strikes my fancy, but I'm completely open for recommendations. I'm more of a non fiction gal, because I have issues, which I discussed HERE, but that doesn't mean I won't succumb. ;)

I need to go put some groceries away, but I'll be back soon with my title. Stay warm, friends!!

Solar Powered

2009-10-15T10:29:00.003-05:00

So, it's 10:30 in the morning, and awfully quiet in my house. When I went to check on my hard-working student who was supposed to be plowing away at Science (his favorite subject), this is what I found:

Don't think that the light on his knee is the real deal though. That would be artificial illumination in all it's glory. NO SIREE... no real light here, peeps. We haven't seen the likes of that big orangish-yellow ball o' fire in far too long, I'm afraid. Therein lies the problemo. Something about dreariness during the day acts as a mild sedative for some of us (see above... HA!) which isn't exactly helping the old motivation toward productivity.

In conclusion, I'm letting my boy sleep... you know... to avoid hypocrisy.

~yawn~

Just Thinking (watch out!)

2009-10-14T21:53:00.003-05:00

Do you ever get completely amazed at the sheer amount of information at our fingertips (literally) nowadays? I mean, think about it, when we were kids and we wondered about something, how did we survive without Google? I promise you, I've searched for at least 10 things today (please don't ask me what they were because the randomness would seriously make your mouth go agape).

I mean it, though, when I say that I can't imagine life without internet now because I'm so dependant upon it. I keep up with almost everyone through Facebook or blogs, all important information is passed via email now, and even my shopping is done with the click of a mouse while I lounge around in my jammies thankful that nary a soul can see me... Well, except for my kids... but this will be the least of their issues during therapy over their Mama. ;)

Anyhoo.... You know what I've noticed that each of these *conveniences* take out of the mix? Human interaction. Like real, live connection with other living, breathing people. The kind where you are flat-out LOOKING at them or hearing their actual voice. Yeah, I'm not so sure we were meant to ever get away from that.

I know that we are some of the busiest people on earth, but I swear, putting down this old box to ask the elderly person about the Depression rather than Googling it, or picking up the phone to reconnect with that old friend rather than just reading about him/her on Facebook, or (OUCH) getting out of my soft, comfy jammies to go browse at the mall with someone that I love, that's where it's at. Don't be fooled... this box has nothin' on real life, but it can suck it away if we're not careful.

Conveniences are great, and I certainly won't be forsaking any of it any time soon, but... well... I'm just thinking we don't need to forget to be intentional with the whole human interaction thing, too.

Thoughts?

The Post O' Randomness...

2009-10-05T12:42:00.003-05:00

Has it been a week already? The first part of the week went much like the picture in the post below except, by Wednesday, it was ME banging my head off the table. :)

On Thursday, we plowed through school as fast as possible and then got the heck outta Dodge for a few hours. We punted all things scheduled and went to the zoo to take advantage of the absolutely AWESOME Fall weather we've been having. It's not usually this cool around Sweet Home Alabama at the beginning of October, so it's been especially nice.

Check this guy out. He was totally wanting me to stick my fingers in just a leeeeeeetle bit closer so he could show me what he thought about me shoving a camera in his face during bath time.

But I just winked at him and walked away. Sorry man. That's the way it goes. Life is hard and before you know it Paula Deen is stuffing you between a turkey and a hen on her Christmas show for the whole world to see. That's the life of a duck in the spotlight, so enjoy the perks and deal with it.

After the zoo, we buzzed by the Dollar Theater. Let me just tell you about our little diamond in the rough if you're not from around here. The Dollar Theater is a cinema that only charges ONE DOLLAR for everyone to see movies that are in limbo, so to speak. They are the movies that have just left the full priced theater, but have yet to come out on DVD. Cool, huh?

We LOVE it and we very rarely go to the full priced cinema anymore because we know that if wait for only a few months, we can get the whole Crew in for a mere SIX bucks. That's not even the price of one ticket at the regular theater.

Now, the reason I call it a "diamond in the rough" is because the accomodations aren't exactly state of the art. It's an OLD theater with carpeting from 1972 and a few chairs that are in need of repair, but I'm not the kind of person that gets my knickers in a twist over that kind of thing.

We saw the movie UP, and we all adored it! It completely made me cry a few times, but it was awesome. We will definitely be purchasing this one when it comes out on DVD! We are thinking of going back this week to watch the latest Ice Age before they take it off of their list. It is taking everything in me NOT to go to the regular theater to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, though. That was my favorite book when I was a little kid and I've been looking forward to this since I first saw the previews.

Have any of you seen it? I heard it was completely different from the book, but still good. Do you agree?

I've got to get my girl to piano practice, so I need to sign off! Hope you're having a great Monday.

Exasperation

2009-09-28T11:13:00.006-05:00

{In my best voiceover}: "We never knew that it would be the coloring in of the even numbers with a yellow crayon that would send him over the edge..."

It's Monday, peeps. The End.

How to Make Hairbows (a slightly stolen tutorial)

2009-09-26T12:53:00.011-05:00

Lately I've had a mission brewing in my mind, so last night I set out to find the tools that I would need to complete it.

My mission was fueled by my female instinct toward accessorizing and my duty to train my daughter up in the way that she should go. Well... and there's also this little issue that I have with paying 15 bucks for a stinkin' hair bow that will soon be lost or broken... but let's just pretend it's all about accessorizing, shall we?

So, I loaded up my little charge and off we went to Hobby Lobby. If you don't have one of these in your area, I am deeply sympathetic to your plight. For those of you who do, every single thing that you need for this project (along with a ton of other awesome stuff) is 50% off through this weekend. Woot! God knew of my bow-making need and He provided. Amen.

Ok, so here's what you'll need (minus the wrinkley tablecloth):

*Ribbon
*Metal hair barrettes (I used the 60MM size), alligator clips or even bobby pins will work.
*Needle and thread.
*and finally, SHARP scissors.
If you have a glue gun and a few extra minutes, I'd break it out too, but it is definitely NOT necessary.

Now, because I'm not one to try to reinvent the wheel, here is the video that I found last night that shows us how to construct our hairbows. It's so easy, she pulls it off in just a few minutes! Turn off the sound if music distracts you.

Cool, huh? And it really is as easy as her teenaged self makes it look, I promise! I was whipping out finished products in less than 10 minutes despite finger/needle calamities, and working with the metal barrettes, which add a little extra work (but they are more sturdy, I think).

If you are working with a thinner width of ribbon, I just made three of these:

And then placed them together like this:

I sewed them together, then wrapped the thread around it several times so it would be more "bunched". Then I cut a small strip of material...

.... and placed it over the sewn part.

Flip the whole thing over and center the barrette on the other side, threading the material through the little hole like this:

Then stitch it up! I rolled the stitched part under the barrette part after this for aesthethics. Here is where you could take the extra step of hot gluing the barrette to the bow, but again, it's not necessary.

You *could* skip securing the barrette with the material that you sew around the middle and just hot glue the barrette to the finished bow, but honestly, I've had a trillion that were made that way and they inevitably detatch from the barrette. This extra step is really the hardest part of the process, but oh-so worth it in my opinion. :)

If you are using the wider ribbon, I cut off a piece of the material and folded it like an envelope before securing it around the bow.

Here are all of the finished products! They were almost all made while watching 20/20 last night with Mark. The crime was solved just about the same time my mission was completed which brought me an unspeakable sense of accomplishment.

Here's what our favorite one looks like on my happy model:

Now go forth, ye, and prosper... er.... multiply... no... GO MAKE YOU SOME BOWS! And show me pics if you do, k?

Autumn

2009-09-24T09:21:00.002-05:00

I love Thursdays! I don't know if it's because it's the day before Friday (my favorite day of the week) or what, but Thursdays always seem to start with a little more spring in my step. But, we will make no mention of "spring" because it's FALL, y'all!!!

I love FALL!! It's just such a beautiful time of year. I love looking at the mountains as they become so colorful, and I love standing under a tree when the wind releases it's leaves. I love pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin pie scented candles. I love camping and roasting marshmallows with the kids and hanging out with friends around the campfire. I love going on hayrides and temperatures that drop low enough that you need more blankets. I really do love this season.

And I love this:

Feeling very blessed on this Thursday in Fall,

Well, At Least She Shines

2009-09-22T09:00:00.001-05:00

Lately I've been loving this kicky little lotion from Bath and Body Works that comes from their aromatherapy collection. It's called Orange Ginger and it's supposed to give you a renewed sense of energy... blah, blah, blah... but I just like the way it smells. It's different.

So after I showered the other day, I went out to Mark to ask him if he liked it. I stretched out my wrist and he drew a deep whiff... and slightly recoiled. I thought "Whoa! He must be breathing in the energy!"

Then the conversation goes on as follows:

I'm like, "Well, whatdya think?"

He said, "It's ok... Hey! Do you know what that smells like?"

Me, "Energy in a bottle?"

Him, "No... Pledge. Isn't that the stuff you spray on the piano? I mean.... it smells good and all. Just a little lemony, I guess. Soooooo, I like your hair today...."

Whatever. Obviously, I need a new smell. HA! Is there anything that you are loving right now? We'd probably do well to stay away from the citrus, though. ;)

Monday, Monday

2009-09-21T09:28:00.004-05:00

Happy Monday Morning!

We've had a mild snafu with the aforementioned cookoff photos. It seems that when I handed my darling hubby the camera to take shots of the contest, he thought it would be hil-ar-i-ous to get SEVERAL photos of us putting food into our mouths or chewing, ect., which landed us some pretty goober-esqe pictures. None of which I will be posting here. HA!

Here's one of Ty (in the back) and his friend cooking. They are both pretty soaked! I'm wondering how The Next Food Network Stars would have fared in these conditions?! Hats off to ALL of the guys who worked so hard!

On to other news: It's raining! Can you believe it? It's been at least 10 minutes since that's happened.... hee-hee! Oh well, it's much better than a drought, which is where we were last year. I will say this, though; It's definitely harder to get motivated in the morning when it's dreary outside. It's 20 till 10 and we've barely accomplished anything. It's a 2nd cup of coffee kind of day (month) for sure!

Okey doke, I've gotta get busy,

Up, Up, Up, And AWAY!

2009-09-19T21:20:00.005-05:00

After morning number 654 of rain, one might become convinced that a thorough study of Genesis for the blueprint of an ark might be necessary. Hmmmmmm....

Today was the annual Boy Scout cookoff, where parents get to come out and taste the fine cuisine that is prepared for them by their sons and company. It's actually a competition that they take very seriously, so they work extra hard to make sure it's good and this year was no different!

I was a judge for the second time and was completely impressed! The toughest part is the decision making process because it's hard to see anyone disappointed. They really do put their hearts into it. We've got a ton of pictures, but I'll save those for tomorrow.

The really cool part is that we had the competition at a local park whose main attraction is a cavern. I can't tell you how beautiful it is up there! This was an old entrance into one of the caves. Keep your eye on the boy...

He has absolutely NO fear.

All the while his brilliant Mama is trying to not throw her hateful camera to the ground and tromp it because it keeps giving me fuzzy pictures, he's just shimmying up...

uuuuuup

UP!

Until finally, I realize...DUH! It's been raining like crazy for 654 days and he's on a perfectly vertical incline on slippery rock. "ANDREW!"

Thank goodness for Daddy. The original Recue Hero.

Blasted camera.

Let's Try This Thing Again

2009-09-18T10:01:00.004-05:00

Hey, guess what? I love blogging! I really do despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and I think I'ma gonna start doing it again. I can't promise gorgeous pics in every post (or any posts for that matter) because it's just me and my old, pitiful, flat-out broken down, Kodak EZ share, but we'll do our best! :D However donations are being accepted for the sweet Nikon that I disgracefully covet. hee-hee! juuuuust kidding...

And I will probably be so random that your head will spin, but I know that my faithful few will still hang with me, won't ya?

I came thisclose to letting the sun go down over here at The Westie Crew (obviously..HA!), but I just can't do it. So, I'll see ya tomorrow. :)

Working the Weekend

2009-07-12T14:17:00.008-05:00

You know how I said that I like unpacking? Well, I retract. I *did* like unpacking in the beginning, but now that we are down to the last 7-10 boxes, I've run out of steam. The stinkiest part is that it's the classroom stuff.

Organizing a classroom is a fine art, I wholeheartedly believe, but I think I'm overanalyzing, a bit. I want it as practical as possible, yet, I don't want it to feel like we've walked into a How to Create Bulletin Boards with 5000 Pieces or Less seminar. In other words, I'm having a hard time putting my History Timeline, ect. on the wall because it clashes. HA! Isn't that ridiculously vain? Oh well. There will be time for perfect Southern Living style dining rooms when all my kids graduate, I guess.

We've had a nice, productive weekend thus far. Mark and the boys tore down one of the existing sheds here so that we will have room for ours (which is only a year old).

All of our shed's contents are in the screened in porch area until that process is finished, which we are all ready for! It probably won't be until the beginning of the week though because it's storming today (blessedly). I've got big plans for the screened in porch and those plans include my swing... one of my favorite things in the world.

I can't wait for my outside haven. I had one on my back porch at our old place so it's pretty important that I have a place outside here for my sanity. It's where I go in the mornings first thing after I get my coffee and it's the most important time of my day.

What about you? Do you have a haven either inside or out? If you don't, get thyself to a corner somewhere and make it yours. It works wonders for the soul, I swear!

Diego's Got Nuthin on Us...

2009-07-10T14:46:00.011-05:00

Today has been a long, but good, day (and it's only 3:00 in the afternoon!). We started by heading to the Alabama Wildlife Rescue first thing this morning because we found a sweet little baby bird who was about to die last night after dinner. We gently scooped him up and placed him in a cloth-lined shoebox where I fully expected to find him already gone this morning. But, this is what I saw instead:

He kept opening his mouth and peeping at me, so I soaked some bread in milk to feed the little thing. He gobbled it right down!

Then we headed out pretty early in the morning to the Wildlife Center:

When we got there, we learned that he is a Brown Thrasher and that he probably sustained an injury when leaving the nest for the first time since he landed on concrete. Thankfully, they gave us a way to track his progress via mail, which I thought was a nice service to provide.

After we came home for awhile, we decided to go celebrate Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. We eat there more than any other fast food place, so why not join the party, right? If you dressed up like a cow, you would get a free meal, so we were all over that one.

Well, at least the younger two and I were... Ty and Jake thought that a chikin sammich wasn't worth their dignity, so they decided we were ridiculously uncool and kept their distance. Ha! I have no fear that they'll come out of this stage simply because it's in their genetic makeup to be a goober.

By the way, that's my front room if I may kill two birds with one stone (oops... that's a completely inappropriate analogy given the above content, huh?).

Anyway, we had a GREAT time when we got there. So many people were dressed in their various and sundry bovine digs, that it made the whole place happy and lighthearted. And who can't use some happy and lighthearted, huh?

Hope you're having a wonderful Friday!

Ignore Madame Pink Elephant, Please...

2009-07-07T13:44:00.003-05:00

Let's pretend that it hasn't been almost 2 months since my last post, mkay? I can't believe how time flies, though, for realz.

I thought about telling you about how the USB thingie on my internet card got smooshed thereby leaving me without reliable internet for all of this time, but... well... it's boring. I'm all connected with a cable modem now, so all is right with the world. :)

Charter truly swooped in just at the brink of insanity though, because I tell ya, being without a viable alternative to television when Michael Jackson dies is something akin to waterboarding, I swear.

Anyhoo, we are all moved in to our new home now and we are VERY happy that the moving process is over! The last time I moved, I only (said loosely) had 2 small children and not nearly as much "stuff". Factor in 10 more years of marriage, 2 more kids, and homeschooling and packing was kind of overwhelming. But, it's done, and I actually really enjoy the process of unpacking. It's fun to find a new place for all of my old stuff.... kinda like rearranging a room, only with different walls... in a different neighborhood.... yeah. Someone will be able to relate despite my weirdo analogy, maybe?

One thing I absolutely love about this place is that the kitchen is perfect for having big dinners with lots of friends. I'm a firm believer that awesome friends and abundant food together, at regular intervals, make life way more sweet.

On that note, and to celebrate my recent reunion with the Food Network, I will give you a recipe that I made of Rachael Ray's that is a PERFECT side for a grill-out (or anything, really). Corn Muffins with Bacon Bits and Cheddar Cheese It's YUMM-O, as she says... and she is absolutely right.

Ok, I need to go get my boys from Summer Reading Program at the library. Hope you are all having a great Summer!

Now We're Movin' On Uuuuup...

2009-05-15T20:54:00.005-05:00

If any of you are still out there, I'm going to bet that you think I've all but abandoned my blog? I swear, I haven't. It has really just been a crazy 2009! After I took my Lent break, it wasn't long after that, when we found a GREAT deal on a house here in our town. Long story short, we are moving! We should be in our new home by July 1!!

That's great news, for sure, but there is a full ton of "stuff" to do between now and then. We are remodeling the kitchen before we move in, painting almost every room, landscaping and more. Not to mention the packing up of our current house. WHEW! But it's all good, and I daresay, even fun. We are soooooo excited!

We really needed a little more room for our largish family, so this was a big and perfect answer to prayer. Most importantly, we've got another bedroom so we don't have to cram the kids anymore, wahoo!!

Anyway, hopefully this will explain why I've been so scarce in the bloggy world lately. I've been thinking of you often. And I always think of a million posts to make, but it's grabbing more than 5 minutes to get it on here that seems to be the challenge.

I *did* just buy some of the most beautiful flowers that we are planting tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get some pictures that will do them justice and share them on here in the next day or so.

Flowers make me a very happy person and since I have them so heavily on the brain right now, would you please tell me what your very favorite flower to put in the yard is?

I've always been partial to petunias, especially the purple ones, but I love my roses and day-lilies, too.

I'd love some ideas!

Ballet, Boys, and Bowling

2009-05-06T07:45:00.014-05:00

Good Morning, friends!

I am sitting here sipping coffee while keeping my eye on the sky for the trillionth time this Spring because we are in line for some severe weather. Oh well, that's just the way it goes here in Sweet Home Alabama. :)

We've been pretty busy lately with ballet recitals, campouts, baby showers and more, but those are the things that make me happy. Exhausted but happy. Just look at these little girlies:

Julianna had so many of her friends taking ballet where we take this year, that recital was like a great big party! I have no less than 10 pictures just like this one that we snapped with each of her little buddies as we saw them. SOOOO sweet!

But just TRY and get a picture with her brothers where the boys don't all look like they've eaten a tablespoon of horseradish. HAHAHA!! Oh well, I guess they can only take so much. After sitting through an hour of ballet, pictures were flat-out sending them over the edge. ;D.

Last weekend, Mark took my girlie-girl and headed out on a Father/Daughter campout.

Leaving me with the Motley of the Westie Crew. I had no choice but to find something to do that burns energy, and fast, so we used up one of those free bowling coupons that I mentioned in the post below.

We discovered after the first game that bowling without bumpers is not exactly our forte (I bowled too, and I could NOT be any worse... seriously). Here is Ty insisting that I "put that thing down" so that I don't capture the insanity.

Hoping....hoping.... hoping....gutter.

The second round was complete with bumpers...

....which made us feel like champs when our scores were around 100 each.

A great time was had by all despite our lack of skill (hee-hee). We ended up heading out for Krispy Kreme and new tennis shoe shopping afterward. I love my sweet boys and I'm so glad that, by default, we had an unplanned, but awesome, Mama/Son weekend.

This week has already been full of Dr. appointments for regular check-ups and an orthodontist consultation for Ty. Tomorrow, we start into the world of braces. WoW! I had no clue that they were SO expensive!! Talk about precious metal. :D

Well, it looks like the rain is about to start, so I'd better go.... Have a good Wednesday!

This and That

2009-04-27T15:35:00.002-05:00

Hey there, ho there, hi there! I thought I would pop in over here and tell y'all about a few things that might benefit you in one way or another.

The first, is that I was pretty sure I was going kick over from excruciating pain yesterday. THAT part may not benefit you, but the torture device that caused me such anguish just might. Do you ever watch The Biggest Loser? We LOVE that show around here. One of the trainers on it is Jillian Michaels and she is dadgum MEAN. But she gets the results, peeps. So when someone recommended her DVD called 30 Day Shred, I checked it out. It has over 1,000 reviews and almost ALL of them are 5 star.

I got the thing on Friday afternoon, so on Saturday morning, I started shredding. Dear Heavens. By Saturday night I felt like someone had put a vice grip on my heiny all the way down to my ankles. But don't let that deter you! As painful as it is, that means that it is WORKING! It is a great workout and once my body recovers from Reveille, it'll be all good. ;)

The second thing is this: KidsBowlFree.com As the URL suggests, this is a program that offers coupons for kids to bowl for free in bowling centers all across the country throughout the summer. It doesn't appear to have any strings attached, although they do try to get you to sign up for a Family Pass, which we did not do, and we still got our coupons. Check it out if you are looking for something to do with your kids. Also, they are calling it a summer program, but ours officially started today (we won't go until tomorrow though).

I guess that's all for now. Please don't forget to pray for the Compassion Bloggers who are in India right now. They seem to be seeing some things that are so heartbreaking, yet it is necessary to get the word out. Tough stuff.

Love and crunches,

If I Have to Pull This Car Over....

2009-04-23T09:16:00.003-05:00

I usually try to keep things pretty lighthearted here on The Westie Crew, but every now and then, something captures my attention that isn't exactly lighthearted and I want to know what you think.

So, if you haven't heard, there is this Mom who had really had it with her 10 and 12 year old girls scrapping in the backseat. She got to her breaking point, pulled over, and told them to walk the rest of the way home. Long story short, it all ended in her being arrested (you can read the full story here).

This got me to thinking; I have been to the point that this Mom was at on the road with my children, too. Many times it's shameful to admit such a thing, but I'm doing it. I mean, here you are, trying to operate a vehicle, which if messed up, could kill or seriously injure all of it's passengers, and you've got kids screaming and maybe even duking it out... all behind your back while you are strapped in. I'm not going to lie, it makes me pretty crazy. Anyone else? The only difference is that when *I* envisioned putting them out of the van, it didn't involve stopping. MWAHHHAAAAAHHAA.

Just kidding. Don't call DHR on me. ;) Seriously, though, the true difference is that I obviously didn't/wouldn't do it. She went too far when she drove away and left her little girl there to be picked up by a stranger. I mean, thank God it was a person who had the little girl's best interest in mind. It had to have been terrifying for the child and that breaks my heart.

Now, here are my questions. What *should* she have done here? Chances are, they weren't listening to her when she tried to get them to stop fighting earlier. I can't honestly believe that this was her first attempt at getting them to stop. So what in the world does a parent do in a situation like that?

Also, do you think she should have been arrested? Do you think her kids should be taken away from her (this is a possibility), or that Child Protective Services should be a part of their lives from this point forward? I have to tell you, I think the latter is going too far, but I am on the fence with the former.

What are your thoughts on this whole story? I'd love to hear them, even if you disagree with me.

Shhhhh...

2009-04-15T18:43:00.003-05:00

Don't tell anyone that I'm sitting on my fanny. We are scheduled to go on a camping trip first thing in the morning and it's All Hands on Deck here in the Westie Home. It never ceases to amaze me how much work it takes to ensure the survival of 6 people who will be away from home for a few days. By the time the process is completed we all need a vacation.... from each other. :D Just kidding. Sorta.

I think the process would go a trillion times smoother if things like THIS wouldn't happen, though:

What you are seeing here....

happens to be the contents of my freshly purged closet.

A closet that a mere week ago...

held approximately 3 LARGE garbage bags full of extra stuff. After purging it, I have been so very happy. I have even been known to walk in there and just sit. On the floor. Because I can.

About an hour ago, I heard this hellacious CRASH. After making sure each of my children still had all of their limbs, I discovered the above. Apparently, the shelving decided that it HATES me and did a little purging of it's own.

Perfect. And I deeply appreciate the timing, too.

What stuns me more than anything, is that I probably lightened it's load by about a 100 lbs last week, so why now? WICKED shelving.

Now that I've got you in my horrid closet, let me ask you, what in the world should I do with some books, pictures, and records that were given to me, by my Dad.... some of which belong to my great-grandparents? We are talking late 1800's here. If I were closer to my home state (Pennsylvania), I would donate it to our town's museum, but I'm not. So do any of you have any ideas? My shelving thinks it should just be destroyed.

Back to packing...

Why I Gain 65 lbs Right Before Swimsuit Season Each Year

2009-04-13T10:16:00.006-05:00

I adore carbs, folks. I mean really, really adore them. I know it's wrong, but I could eat them in a box and I could eat them with a fox. I could eat them in a train and in the dark and in the rain....

And I can pile my plate with them for Easter dinner with nary a healthy thing in sight and feel NO SHAME. Well, at least I have no problem with shame at that moment. It's sitting at the Dr.'s office with a cholesterol level of 272 that the old shame kinda kicks in. Anyway...

Behold, a thing of unparalleled beauty:

But look a little closer (at this really crappy quality picture... I'm losing patience with my little camera, y'all):

This is the thing that makes me thrilled that I draw breath (and probably will be directly responsible for 10 or so years being taken off of that breathing time).

It's Bean and Corn Casserole. Such a paltry little name for something so luscious. It should be named something like Bean and Corn PIZZAZZ!

I was first introduced to this dish right after I gave birth to my last baby. You know how you're so completely ravenous right after you get home, and if you are blessed enough, all of those sweet women from your church bring you AWESOME homecooked meals? (I swear, that's reason enough for me to have a child a year.) Anyway, this was a side dish to one of them.

And the angels sang.

I have never been the same since. I think it's the topping, really. Because other than that, there isn't any good reason for it to be so yummy. But it is what it is, and I love it.

Here's the recipe:

1 can French style green beans (drained)

1 can whole kernel corn (drained)

1 can cream of celery soup

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

pinch of salt

1 roll of crushed Ritz crackers

1 stick melted butter

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Mix first 6 ingredients and spread into a casserole dish. Melt the butter, then add the crushed crackers and almonds. Mix well and spread on top of the first layer. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes (uncovered).

Ridiculous, I tell ya. Now tell me, what is a must-have side for your Easter dinner? And Krista, if you are reading this, tell Bunga she has a jewel in her crown for that postpartum dinner.

Tap, Tap, Tap,... Is this thing on?

2009-04-11T11:57:00.009-05:00

HELLOOOOOOOO!!!

Well, that was hard. (Ha-ha!)

Seriously, it WAS hard, but it was SO worth it, folks. I needed some serious time with the Lord and, boy, did He come through. I now have clarity in areas that I didn't, provision where I needed it, and strength where the monster of insecurity had robbed it. Among other things, but I'll mix all of that in with upcoming posts.

So how the heck are YOU?! I've missed you all something fierce and thought of my sweet bloggy friends often. I've said it 780 times before, but it bears repeating, that this community of friends is such a huge treasure to me. Y'all make me run the gamut of emotions (sometimes all in one post!), and being the emotional girl that I am, I LOVE it. :D I look forward to catching up with you.

Lots has happened here in Westie World over the last 6 weeks. Everything from getting FOUR inches of snow here in Sweet Home Alabama....

....to the acquisition of a chihuahua.

We'll call this "Yo quiero keep me?". The kids named him Taco, but I nixed that pretty quickly. We ended up settling on Mikey. He's a zillion kinds of rotten and I'm a huge pushover. The end.

We still have our Oreo and if you'll look in the top left of the snow picture, you'll see her in all of her glory. Sorry. :)

Let's see what else...

*Jacob bridged over to Boy Scouts which caused even more emotional trauma for a Mama who feels that time is flying faster than the speed of light.

*Julianna lost her first tooth. She's 8. To say that it was a much anticipated event would be a GROSS understatement.

*The flu decided to strike my boys while they were on a campout in Tennessee with the Boy Scouts. Thankfully, Mark was there and was able to get them home early. Sadly, it was not before 90% of the troop was exposed. I bet I won't be winning any popularity contests with the Mom's there any time soon. :/

*We spent some time at the nursing home where my Grandma lives. The kids and I watched as she commenced KICKING SOME ELDERLY BUTT on the Wii. I'm still pretty amazed at her mad skillz. I am so taking my camera next time.

*Speaking of my camera; My beloved little Kodak EZShare... I fear it is on it's last leg. It won't toggle anymore and the do-hickey that closes over the lens won't open all the way. I am deeply saddened, especially because replacing it requires coinage, and coinage is being utilized for such luxuries as FOOD right at the moment. Hopefully, she'll hold out for a little while longer (7 years should do it) before I retire her. ;)

I guess that's about all for now. Hope each of you have a most blessed Easter! Please go to the song I posted below and just listen. It's perfect.

Much love,

Happy Easter

2009-04-11T11:48:00.001-05:00

She's Doing WHAT?!

2009-02-24T09:42:00.003-06:00

Alrighty girls (and boys if you're out there.... Are you out there?) I think I've mentioned a time or a hundred how much I love my computer, or more accurately all of you who are in it. ;) However, it is a GREAT time consumer. As if I really need to tell you that, right?

Anyway, we are on the eve of this little thing called Lent. If you are not familiar with it, I can give you the most simplistic version of it ever, by saying that it's a season of fasting from something during the 40 days before Easter. For a more detailed explanation, I give you the great Wikipedia. Honestly, I don't know how accurate the explanation is and I'm not even sure of all the theology behind Lent, but for Gayle, it is a pre-determined amount of time for focus. And for Gayle, that involves a fast. A fast from ye olde networking which includes blogging, Facebook and Twitter. See, I can hardly speak about myself apart from the third person. Thank you Facebook. ;)

So my plan is to spend the time I would have spend here, on the computer, on concentrated study and prayer for the next 6 weeks. I am so excited because I KNOW God is going to use this time. He's already opening up the blessing.

However, I'm not foolish enough to think that this isn't going to be HARD, peeps. I'm on this thing A-LOT. I'm not even kidding when I say that I consider y'all my friends and truth be told, this is mostly how I keep up with my in-real-life friends, too. The enemy is already in my ear over this, and I'm sure many attempts will be made to throw my butt into a pit, but I'm trusting my Father. So, pray for me if I come to your mind, k?

So to recap: I'll be gone from Wednesday, February 25 - Sunday, April 12. I can be reached via email at westiecrew6@gmail.com . I hope you have a really, really great 40 days! Is anyone else giving something up.... or better yet, is anyone thinking of joining me?

Love ya lots,

Chocolate Cake in a Mug

2009-02-19T07:00:00.002-06:00

So the other night, I was about to croak for something chocolate, but living in the barren wasteland that is my kitchen right now, this Irish gal was outta luck. Or so I thought.

All of a sudden, one of those half-dead braincells drew new breath and cried out about this chocolate-cake-in-a-mug recipe that has saved my deep rightthissecond need for the fruit of the cacao in times past.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, people, and this desperate measure isn't a half bad one to have in your arsenal. Chances are, you will have all of the ingredients on hand, so give it a whirl the next time the Chocolate Monster is upon you.

Here is what you need:

4 Tablespoons flour (cake flour is really the best, but use all purpose in a pinch)

4 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons cocoa

1 Egg

2.5 Tablespoons milk

3 Tablespoons oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

Take a largish mug and put all of the above ingredients in. This is my beloved Campbells Soup mug. It holds the perfect amount of coffee each morning and I triple heart it.

Also, it helps tremendously when you have awesome friends who make you something as wonderful as the following for Christmas. Can you say YUMMMM?! I triple heart this, as well.

Take a fork or whatever and mix it all together. Please make sure to get into all the nooks and crannys or you'll wind up with a flour lump which isn't exactly palatable. By the way, "nook and cranny"? Just try to find the origin of that little idiom. It's no piece of cake, that's for sure. ;)

Once you've achieved nook and cranny mixage, pop your triple hearted mug into the microwave...

And don't freak out when it does this:

Tis totally normal. In fact, find something else to do during those three minutes because it kind of goes against everything in you NOT to stop the microwave when this occurs. And we already know that your probably stressed out if you're employing desperate measures, so why raise your blood pressure any higher? Especially when you can come back to this:

See? All better. If you're REALLY desperate, you could pour some Hershey's syrup over it. But, don't tell anyone I said that, k?

The Good, The Bad and The Sad

2009-02-17T10:33:00.002-06:00

I am going to try to simultaneously blog, teach a 5 year old his phonics AND oversee a math lesson, so if this winds up being a little disjointed you'll be all over the reason why, k? <---- See, we're already off to a great start with a massive run-on sentence that has about 50 grammatical errors, but who's keeping track? Oh, please don't keep track. :)

So, the Crew and I have been up to our eyeballs in "stuff" lately. Good stuff, bad stuff and sad stuff, actually. Here's the low-down...

The Good Stuff:
*The weather was pretty warmish for the last 2 weekends, PRAISE the Lord, so we took advantage of that. The first weekend, we took our new-to-us pop up camper and got the heck out of Dodge for a few days. It was SO good. We hiked a beautiful trail and simply breathed in the fresh air of God's nature. I don't know about you, but that's like taking a spiritual shower for me. To get away from all of the distractions of this 21st century to just "be" is sweet freedom to this girl.

*This last weekend, we did some MUCH needed yardwork. We all got plenty of exercise AND the back yard doesn't qualify us for one of Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might Be a Redneck" routines anymore. Gotta love that.

*I started reading the Little House series to the kids at night. I don't think I mentioned it here, but we turned off our cable last month. It was because we wanted to save $70 a month, but also because we just flat-out were watching too much t.v.. It was to a point that the dumb thing was pretty much NEVER off, so we ditched it. It was kinda weird for the first week or so; we just kept staring at each other like we didn't know what to do, but we've adapted relatively well since then. Now, I couldn't be more thrilled and we actually look forward to story time on the nights that we are home.

The Bad Stuff:
*Being a Weekend Warrior with yardwork makes one unable to move for the next 3 days. I am so disgustingly out of shape, y'all. I have got to get moving somehow, someway, on a relatively frequent basis. But, me + exercise = enmity. Dern. I can't talk about it anymore...

*Steroids make me crazed. Remember when I whined a week and a half ago when I was so sick? Yeah, well the Dr. gave me steroids along with my antibiotic (which is a story in and of itself, believe me). I haven't had that particular drug in my system since I was a teenager, so I was unaware that it would make me 16 kinds of psychotic. Ho-ly smoke, people! Talk about SIDE EFFECTS. Too bad THAT wasn't on the list, huh? I could be happily sitting there when all of a sudden something minor would happen and I would instantly transform into a head-spinning-pea-soup-spewing nightmare. We were ALL relieved when that worked it's way out of my body.

*So when I was weeding around the house last weekend with my BARE HANDS, I inquired of my husband, who was watching me while scrubbing the house, what he thought these 3 foot long weeds were? He replied, as if it weren't the beginning of his own personal Hell, "Probably Poison Oak". "Well. Alrighty then, Mark. Any chance you might have informed me of this A LITTLE SOONER?!" Then it dawned on him as I was glaring (he probably had a flashback), that the way they treat people covered in Poison Ivy/Oak/Whatever Else, is with. a. steroid. We could use your prayers.

The Sad Stuff:
Really, it's only one. And it's probably one that has made you sad at least once in your lifetime, too. It's cancer. I knew two fine women that passed away last week because of it, and I know several more people that are suffering terribly with it. It is so heartbreaking and scary and maddening and almost plague-like, and it can really get me down....but then I look at our Father. And I realize that He's got it ALL under control, even when it doesn't appear that way to the random observer. I may not understand it all, but I definitely believe what He says to His children, and that's that nothing EVER happens to us that isn't the very best thing for us (Rom. 8:28). So I rest.

I hope each of you are having a decent week. You bless me so much...

Love,

The Mom Song

2009-02-12T19:07:00.002-06:00

HO-LY COW. Someone showed me this video and I laughed and loved all at the same time. SO perfect!

Doubling Up... Oh the Shame

2009-02-04T07:52:00.007-06:00

I've heard a few of you mention on your blogs (what I've named) The Great Facebook Apostasy recently, and I must confess right here on my own innocent little blog, that I, too, have had my attentions captured by that wicked Connecter of ALL Peoples. It's like the show "This is Your Life" only it's amped up on speed. Or crack, more accurately, because it's just about that addicting.

Anyway, as so many of you already know, there is this "thing" going around FB wherein you record 25 random facts about yourself (see, it's even stealing the dern meme's). And then you put it up there, hoping, but pretending like you don't really care, that the boyfriend you had in the 8th grade doesn't think your weird.

Oh wait. Mine does. But he married me that way. ;)

To prove this, I give you a picture, that I was recently tagged in, of Homecoming Court, and look, that's me and Mr. Mark right there on the far right.

I've said all of the above to say, that I am not going to allow FB to have a meme that isn't shared right here as well. Maybe this will release some of the guilt I have about 2-timing. We'll see...

1. I love to talk

2. But for some reason, I’m having trouble coming up with 25 things to say.

3. My life is awesome.

4. Even though there have been some pretty sucky parts, I’m still thankful for the lessons.

5. Being “real” is pretty important to me. I’m not a big fan of pretense.

6. I hate cherry flavored anything. Except for cherry limeades at Sonic, but that’s absolutely where I draw the line.

7. I LOVE to laugh.

8. But not at others.

9. Well, unless you fall in front of me, because then, I’m totally gonna laugh at you. I’ll feel bad for doing it, but I’m gonna laugh. Probably hysterically. Sorry.

10. I HATE it when people feel bad. I mean really hate it.

11. I love my husband and children more than anything on the planet.

12. I love my Father even more.

13. My friends are ALL awesome. Even if you and I are way different, I appreciate what you bring into my life, and I’m grateful.

14. I love quiet.

15. I rarely have it.

16. Coffee first thing in the morning is non-negotiable. After that, I can do water or whatever…

17. I can’t have caffeine after about 4 p.m. because I won’t sleep that night. And if I do fall asleep I have WHACKO nightmares.

18. I hate it when people talk when I’m trying to listen to something. It drives me NUTS.

19. I absolutely LOVE to travel, but I share Dorothy’s sentiments in saying “there’s no place like home”.

20. I love to learn. That’s something I wish I would have realized while I was in high school. ;)

21. I’ve probably learned more while home schooling my kids than all the years of my education combined.

22. Lists make me happy. (Except this one)

23. However, spontaneity and flexibility are the way I roll.

24. I used to be a night owl, but now I’m more of a morning person.

25. I actually HATED to admit that last thing.

Oh, and I am feeling MUCH better! Thanks guys...

Check It Out...

2009-01-31T11:14:00.002-06:00

It never ceases to amaze me how NASTY a house can get when the Mama is down for a few days! So as I spend my Saturday (day 2 of an antibiotic) trying to regain some semblance of order in the Westie abode, I want to direct you to this post from my friend, Karlie. I just love it for so many reasons, and maybe you will too....

Happy Weekend,

Whine and Pink Grapefruit

2009-01-29T10:49:00.002-06:00

Just in case I haven't whined enough about it on the world wide web, I will tell you that I, Gayle, am 100%, absolutely, unequivocally, SICK. I started thinking about how every single one of my senses are involved during my self-absorbed ponderings, so I thought I'd share my total body experience with you, my dear friends.

I woke up Monday morning feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. I thought it was just because I was tired from the weekend until somewhere around noon, my lungs started to act like they were receiving air through 16 layers of cotton.

I immediately went for the Halls Defense Vitamin C drops in a last ditch effort to heroically hurl some extra artillery to my little immune system army. In the end, all I had was this nasty aftertaste (of Halls rendition) of pink grapefruit and a cough that would frighten small children.

Because of my plight, I sound and look like I have smoked 12 packs a day since I was, like, 5. The great news is that I don't REALLY smoke, though, so my smell is a pleasant mixture of Vicks VapoRub and Pink Grapefruit (see above). I'm really thinking about bottling this one up to sell right beside JLo's perfume, but I don't want to knock her out of the running or anything...

My sweet Mark really loves it when I'm sick because he gets the Sensuous Treatment.

"Mark, sensuous up, would you get make me a cup of hot tea?" or "Mark, sensuous on your way home anyway, would you mind stopping by Stuffmart to get me some popsicles?" and his personal favorite, "Mark, sensuous realizing that my Nyquil was kicking in, would you be a gem and get your pillow and a blanket make your way to the couch?" Yeah. He really loves it when I'm under the weather. Poor guy.

Ah well... it's time that I move along to something way the heck more important than a stupid cold. My sweet friend DeeDee, who I am blessed enough to know in real life, just received news last night that her boy will be deployed to Afghanistan in the next month or so. The saddest thing is, that he JUST came home in June from Iraq. He got married a few months ago to a beautiful girl named Brantley, too. Please lift Jonathan up in your prayers, and even better, go to his blog and tell him that you're praying for him. Thanks, guys. You rock in the prayer department.

Blowing kisses (and my nose),

Atlanta ~ Siesta Style

2009-01-26T09:47:00.005-06:00

I just spent the weekend in Hotlanta with a bunch of my sweet Siestas from the LPM blog and it was incredible. Absolutely incredible.

I actually learned a few things about myself while I was there, you will be bored to know. Life Lessons at their finest. My first realization, is that I can't hang on little sleep like I could back in the day, y'all. Precisely translated, that means I. am. old. I am so stinkin tired today, which is the reason I can't, for the life of me, segue to the next paragraph...

Robyn and I left the Ham on Saturday morning and chatted it up the whole way there. We were barely in our AWESOME room when we both had our feet propped up on the coffee table plucking away at our respective laptops (because that's how we bloggers roll). After we finished emailing, tweeting, updating status', ect., we went to find the girls.

I want you to know, I don't think I quit laughing my fool head off for the next 6+ hours. Have you ever done that? It's quite the workout, really.

We laughed at dinner...

And laughed in the room....

And we laughed until I literally HURT. Which leads me to the next thing I've learned about me: I am an ugly laugher. You've heard of the Ugly Cry? Well, Ugly Cry, meet Ugly Laugh because I SO have it.

There are so many pictures with me in them where my head is thrown back, howling in laughter, that those looking at them would absolutely be able to pick my uvula out of a line-up if the need ever arose. What's up with that?

The third thing I've realized is that I cannot, I repeat CAN-NOT, take pictures while hanging with my friends. This probably falls in line with multi-tasking or something, and we've already established that I have a touch of the A.D.D.. I always go on a trip with the lofty goal to take THOUSANDS of pictures and I always wind up with, like, 2. I guess I'm just too busy showing everyone my uvula to be bothered with such trivialities.

Finally, I've learned that scarves are cute, but dangerous accessories if put around the wrong neck. Here is a picture where Kim and I managed to control ourselves for more than 3 seconds (no easy feat, mind you):

Take a look at the rockin scarf that I found on clearance at Target, will ya? Cute, huh? Yeah. Well, it about took my life a time or two. Here's how:

*Apparently fringe fascinates me,

*and apparently when you play with fringe on the end of a scarf that's wrapped around your neck, you tend to pull on it gradually.

*Pulling on it gradually gives the thing enough length that it can wind up under your rear end when you sit down.

*Sitting on a scarf that is already wound a little too tightly around your neck is ALSO effective in giving people an up-close and personal view of one's uvula. I'm just sayin.

Enough about me, though, because the WHOLE reason we were there was to be in the audience of Travis Cottrell's live CD/DVD recording of his new album. Let me tell you something right now, this man and his crew can BRING IT. Wow. I have been to several of the LPM or Deeper Still conferences where he leads worship, so I already knew to expect an amazing offering of glory to God, but last night was beyond my expectations. It was so meaningful and I can't wait for the thing to come out so that I can watch it all over again.

This was one of the best times I've had E-VER. I love my girls so much and I seriously cannot wait till we do this again.

Blessed beyond measure by this crazy web,

On Blocks, Kicks and Chops...

2009-01-22T08:08:00.006-06:00

For some reason, I have avoided stating the obvious, which is that my Bloggy Block is still going strong. It's just that everything I think I might blog about sounds boring or repetitive or even whiny and, God forbid, preachy. Let me tell you, this Sistah can PREACH in a post, now. Luckily for all involved, though, I backspace and/or delete my preachin. ;) And Amen.

My point in saying that is this: I am hoping to do a mite better in the old posting department. I'm over-analyzing things and THE MADNESS MUST STOP.

Now, henceforth and tallyho (!) with the mundane....

A great big THANKYA to each of you who gave me suggestions in my musical time of need. I downloaded tons o' tunes and I am absolutely loving it. I have to say, Casting Crowns is probably my high favorite because their overall sound is amazing, but when it's coupled with words from songs such as, Slow Fade (g-r-e-a-t song), Who Am I, and Voice of Truth, it's pure awesome.

I am going to give you some whiplash to say that I'm diggin Toby Mac, too. Of course, Diverse City makes me move, but I really crank Jesus Freak. I have several others on there, like Selah, Chris Tomlin, Caedmon's Call and, of course, Travis Cottrell, but none of you mentioned Laura Story. Her song Mighty to Save is gold to me. If the neighbors haven't heard me singing it, it's because they are flat-out deaf. Which might be to their benefit, actually.

Oh, and I have Kung-Fu Fighting on there, too, because...well...that's the Westie Crew's anthem. It just fits. Perfectly, I might add.

Hang on now, because we are about to make another 180, k? I had a hair CATASTROPHE this week, peeps. I needed a haircut in a bad way because I am heading to Atlanta for a superfantabulous girls weekend on Saturday morning. It is kind of a silent rule for me that "Thou shalt not embark on such a mission with overgrown ape hair". Sorry.

Well, my week is tighter than spandex on a cow, so naturally, my regular stylist and I couldn't mesh our schedules. It was at that juncture, that I broke the cardinal rule. Against my better judgement, I went to a random person. I KNOW. I was stupid and desperate and I should have known when the girl in front of me (in the barren salon) walked out with THE choppiest haircut I'd ever seen. I couldn't leave because it would have been SO obvious, and I'm such a freak about making people feel bad, but inside my head the voices were screaming "Run, you fool, RUN!!"

Instead, I walked to her chair where she proceeded to tell me of her ex-husband who tried to kill her while giving me something largely reminiscent of Winona Ryder bangs from the movie Beetlejuice.

That was the look that I had on my face, too. I paid her (because she probably needed the money for all of her lawyers fees, afterall) and I left. So there I was, sans $35, sportin' the Winona bangs, with absolutely no way of getting my regular stylist to save the day. I was deep in the mire of my consequences for breaking The Code. Bad, BAD Gayle!

Cue: Terri Hanna to the rescue. She hooked me up with Melanie Ashley (don't you just love all the Southern names?) who had pity on my foolish plight and worked me in. 2.5 hours later she had performed her magic with the scissors/razor to get me looking presentable again. Nothing like a good girlfriend to pick up your mat and lower you to the chair of one who's capable. Terri Hanna, I am SO bringing you a Grande Caramel Macchiato WITH whip. You rock.

I guess that's all for now. I've got 50 thousand things to do today, so I'd better get started. Have a wonderful weekend, y'all!

Weirdo Intervention

2009-01-13T07:42:00.004-06:00

You know I have admitted before, albeit infrequently, that I am a weirdo when it comes to music.

I'm a weirdo because I don't really listen to it. Ever. Well, ok, there's CHURCH, and every time an obnoxious teenager gets next to me in the turn lane shaking my mini-van to DEATH with their bass....

It's not that I hate music. Actually, it's quite the contrary, but I've just fallen out of the loop, I guess. I didn't want to keep listening to the stuff that I'd listened to as a teenager, and Country Music usually leaves me crying since it's all "she left me, she took the kids and the dog, and now all I have left is this shack in a bog". No thanks. I can muster up some real life drama easily enough if I really want it.

Eventually the only choice I had was Christian contemporary and talk radio. Since Christian contemporary sounded all the same to me.... Guess what I chose? And guess where I've remained for about a decade? I LOVE talk radio, people. See, I told you: Weirdo. But isn't the first step admitting that you have a problem?

I think it was in an effort to help his backward wife that Mark bought me a sweet little MP3 player for Christmas. But do you want to know what I've downloaded? Sermons.

I DID put some Mercy Me and Casting Crowns on there, but that's the extent as far as the old acoustics go. HOWEVER. I will say that listening and singing these songs have REALLY brought me out of my music-less fog. It's been nice but now I have a problem... I have no stinkin' clue what is good anymore.

I need a really awesome mix of tunes, y'all. So can you help a sorry gal out? Would you tell me a song or six that's really rockin' your boat right now? And don't forget to say who the artist is because, remember, I've been sort of asleep for about 10 years when it comes to this.

Thanks. You're awesome, you know that?

Something Awesome For You...

2009-01-09T09:08:00.006-06:00

You know how every now and then you will discover something really, really awesome and your first thought is "Man! Everyone should have this!". Well, I'm there right now.

No, it's not a B.O.G.O. pair of boots at Belk, or free coffee, or some new-fangled household gadget... it's better.... it's THE most amazing Bible study tool I have found and...wait for it...

It. is. FREE!!

I don't know where you are in your study habits, but mine, recently, have been scattered and aimless, so I have made a renewed commitment to be more purposeful this year. Call it a resolution if you will, but I think it's just a fresh call to redeem the time (Eph 5:15-16).

However, the sieve that is my brain can't seem to keep all of that "purpose" in any kind of discernable order. So, I prayed. And just like our Abba, all of a sudden, I remembered that I have this little CD in the back of my Strong's Bible Dictionary/Concordance/Biggest Most Awesome Book I Own.

So, I grabbed it and popped the thing into my beloved laptop, when LO, I found PURE GOLD! This little download left me with several different translations of the Bible, 3 commentaries, all the Greek and Hebrew transliterations of all the words, and MUCH, MUCH more. Here is a what it looks like when you pull up a passage of scripture (note: they have more add-ons than I do, so mine isn't quite so colorful).

If these images are too small, you can go to the link at the bottom to view them larger.

Another great feature is the Compare tab. It allows you to look at a particular verse in all of the different translations:

It even has an AWESOME graphics feature so that you can pull up maps and such:

My favorite thing is how personalized it is. There is a little tool that allows me to type in verses that I am trying to memorize. Then, every day it will bring it up and drill me on that verse. This proved priceless since I committed to memorizing 24 scriptures this year with the LPM Siestas.

It also has a section for prayer requests which allows me to input all that there is to pray for, label it, and add a note as to what type of request it is (i.e., thanksgiving, supplication, ect.). Then it will pop up in front of me at whatever frequency I call for. You can even mark it as answered, and keep it in a file for future reference.

Yet another personalized thing, is that it keeps track of my Bible reading. If I say I want to complete the New Testament in 6 months, then it breaks it up for me and gives me my daily reading. This is important to me because I have it set to pull up as soon as I open my computer for the day. I need that. I need that. I NEED THAT.

I can even record notes about what I've learned, keep cross-references recorded, and search to my little heart's content.

Have I mentioned that I like this program? I just can't say enough about this, seriously. This little snippet of a post can't do justice to the probably thousands of dollars worth of material that can be downloaded. It's invaluable to me not only as a teacher, but as a student of the Word, so without further ado, you can check it out right here: e-Sword

So, what are you using/studying right now? Inquiring minds want to know...

Back to the Pyramid

2009-01-06T08:23:00.005-06:00

Nothing like riling a bunch of Mama's up and then walking away, huh? :D

Anyway, thanks for all of your input/love below. I did put our outcome in the comments somewhere, if you're wondering how it all turned out.

Moving along to a subject that I kind of hate... Diet and Exercise. (By the way, I PROMISE I'm not on some warped mission called "How to Lose Your Readers in 10 Days" or something. Contrary to the fact that I left a post up here for that long about disciplining children, THEN I come busting up in here with talk about the old D&E, I DO want y'all to stick around.) ;)

Ahem....so, Diet and Exercise.

Over my Holiday break, it came to my attention that I, Gayle, have a cholesterol level of 272. Now, if you are like me 3 weeks ago, that number will mean nothing, so I will go ahead and clue you in to the fact that this is a VERY HIGH number. "Very high", in the cholesterol world = Not So Good. Think Cheerios commercial.

I have to tell you that this numero pretty much shocked the crap of me. Truth is, I am not overweight....well, there is the Muffin Top thing, but I'm still embracing that....and honestly, my diet isn't that bad. Bottom line, I've inherited some rotten genes on the cholesterol front. So, at 33, yours truly is officially on cholesterol medication.

It's not a huge deal, but it has definitely kicked me in the hindquarters to put the lockdown on my family's eating and moving habits. The great news is that I don't hate my fruits and veggies and neither does Mark. ALL food has equal opportunity with us. We're PC like that. However, it's a few of our kids that have a little enmity with the veggies. So, being the bibliophile that I am, I did what came naturally, I hopped on over to Amazon and searched for Nutrition for Kids. Here is a cute, but informative book that I received last week, so I wanted to pass the info on to you.

Sorry, I don't have a clue how to make the image a link (I would love to learn that little trick, though), so here is the direct link, if you're interested: Janey Junkfoods Fresh Adventure I have a few other books that are on their way, including a small curriculum called How to Teach Nutrition to Kids that got some pretty awesome reviews.

As far as the Moving Issues...well, it is me, and not the children, who holds the intense aversion. In other words, me no likey. Yet, me no wanna DIE, so off to the park we go a few times a week. I've been loading up my MP3 player with tons of sermons from here, and a bunch of Praise and Worship music so that my mind is is being taken off the "deed". So far, so good.

It really is perfect timing that all of this came into play when it did, because, HELLO, January seems to be THE Diet and Exercise month. Everything you see is on healthy eating habits and staying fit. Works for me.

Anybody else?

Tell me...

2008-12-28T20:44:00.003-06:00

So here's a big fat What Would YOU Do for your consideration right here in the down time between Christmas and New Years:

Picture the scene... Mark and I took the two youngest with their Yuletide cash to one of the largest retailers in America on the day after Christmas. To say it was a madhouse would be an obscene understatement. People were everywhere.

In the midst of the chaos, I told one of my children (who shall remain nameless) that it would behoove them to keep their cash in their pocket because pulling it out to stare at it like it was their Precious every 5 seconds would heighten their risk of losing it.

I think it must have been somewhere around the 16th time of repeating the aforementioned warning that I made the firm decision to NOT replace any cash that was foolishly lost because said offspring refused to obey.

We finally finished our torturous shopping experience a trillion and a half hours later when we headed to the equally torturous check-out line. "Child" puts their goods up on the belt thing and proceeds to pull out their cash.

Or should I say: What was left of it.

It was very obvious from the look on Child's face that they realized right away that they were not going to have enough to pay for 2 of the 3 things that they were hoping to purchase. Eventually, all of the pulling of the moolah in and out of their pockets caused some to fall out.

Even though I'd told them so, I still felt like crap, but I had no other alternative than to say, "I'm so sorry, but you are going to have to put back these two things. This probably wouldn't have happened if you'd have obeyed Mama, you know."

The child looked at me with big ol' tears forming in their eyes and simply said "Yes ma'am". Child was naturally disappointed, and I can understand that. Tears rolled quietly as they paid for the rest of their stuff, but they weren't obnoxious about it. After all, it stinks when you are learning a lesson the hard way.

In the mean time... The people who were behind us in line made no bones about the fact that they thought I was a HORRIBLE jerk of a Mom. One of them muttered "that's just wrong" when they witnessed the exchange between Child and me. I decidedly ignored it because I don't have to defend my parenting to random people who don't have a clue what's already happened.

We gathered up our stuff and we walked toward the door. We ended up running into some friends of ours on the way out, so we exchanged the usual greetings and kept on going. We were just about to exit when a woman (who I'd never seen before, not even in the line behind us) comes running up to us holding the items that Child had to leave behind. She looked at Child sympathetically and handed them to her. I said (like a goober) "No ma'am, we didn't pay for those things." But she motioned that she had and then she put her hands up as if she wouldn't take them back and then walked off.

I was stunned and humiliated, and then I got M-A-D (all in the time span of about a minute). We got to the car where I had to explain the whole thing to Mark, who had been helping the other Child and didn't know WHAT in the free world was going on. Then HE got mad, but at that point, neither of us knew what to do about it.

So, I turn the question over to you, bloggy friends. Now, go getcha some leftover Christmas cookies and a large drink, and then tell me.... If this little scenario had happened with you and your child (and random strangers), what would YOU have done?

Thanks. And a Happy New Year to you!

My All-Time Favorite Gift

2008-12-27T10:47:00.004-06:00

I can honestly say that I received one of the best Christmas presents ever this year. It put the biggest smile on my face AND it made my heart melt.

About the time that the kids were halfway through opening their gifts on Christmas morning, Julianna stood up and handed me this:

You see, her Mama never did get around to taking the poor baby and her little brother shopping this year the way her older brothers got to do. I know. I stink. So she was forced to go on her own resourcefulness:

It doesn't get ANY better than that, I promise you. Even the gift card to my favorite restaurant with free babysitting didn't hold a candle.

But that's just my $.20 worth,

P.S. I hope every single one of you had a Mare Crsmes.

Christmas Questions Answered

2008-12-24T09:41:00.003-06:00

Hi there. I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted! Anyway, here is a little Christmas meme that I found for your viewing boredom on this Christmas Eve. Hopefully I'll be back to yapping (typing) endlessly real soon...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Well, if I had my druthers I'd throw everything in Walmart bags and put them under the tree. But I don't. Have my druthers that is. What are druthers anyway? Whatever. I don't have them. And we wrap our gifts.

2. Real tree or Artificial?

Artificial.

3. When do you put up the tree?

If I'm on top of my Holiday game, it's up the day after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down?

Usually on New Years Day. I can't stand to have it up much past that.

5. Do you like eggnog?

I sure do! And I'm pretty shocked that each of my kids do, as well.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

I'd have to say the year I received my Cabbage Patch and Care Bear together. That was a GREAT year. :)

7. Hardest person to buy for?

My boys, but only because I don't understand all of those "boy" things that they are into. I guess it's because I'm a GIRL. However, I am married to an overgrown boy who always knows exactly what they want, so no one knows how clueless their Mama is. I will say that I am the one who surprised everyone...and I do mean the Overgrown Boy included....with a Wii this Summer, so that bought me some serious gift-giving points.

8. Easiest person to buy for?

Julianna. <----girl.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?

Absolutely.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Pffft. Neither. I've released myself from Christmas Card Bondage years ago. Freedom is amazing and you should try it. Actually, nevermind, because if you heed my advice I won't love my mailbox as much as I do this time of year. Moving along...

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

In advance, I must apologize to my Mom for revealing this terrible lapse in judgement, but the horror happened somewhere around the 5th grade and it was at the hands of the woman who bore me.

It was this denim shirt thing with pink leather tassels ALL over it. Dear GRA-CIOUS. It was truly heinous. TRULY. And she really could not understand why I wasn't wearing it and then begging for her to wash it so that I could wear it again.

I didn't want to hurt her feelings because she was SO happy about this gift, but I probably still need therapy over that little nightmare of Christmas past.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

Ummmmmm.... Grinch? Frosty? Rudolph? All of those old kid's movies. LOVE. THEM.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

I'm not consistent enough from one year to the next to say when I traditionally do it, B.U.T. since I've only mentioned it 768 times, it bears repeating that I've jumped on the Black Friday bandwagon. The benefits continue long past that day because I have been done shopping since then and it feels amazing. ~happy, contented sigh~

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

No.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Everything.

16. Lights on the tree?

Do people actually refrain from putting lights on their tree? Weird. Well, I guess it could be a fire hazard, but I've never heard of such.

17. Favorite Christmas song?

Oh Holy Night. ADORE that song.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

Stay home, fo sho.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?

Probably, but I don't want to, so...next...

20. Angel on the tree-top or a star?

Star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

Morning! I'm so excited for the kids, too!

2. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?

Honestly, I've got a bit of a Grinch reputation because all of the materialism grates my nerves, but it's Christmas Eve, and I'm feeling pretty festive, so I will respectfully decline answering this question with my usual diatribe.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?

Handicapped ballerinas

24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner?

What the heck? Didn't we cover this already on number 15?

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?

Snow.

:~: Have a wonderfully blessed and MERRY Christmas, dear friends! :~:

Much love,

And the Winner IS....

2008-12-12T10:05:00.003-06:00

#36 ~ Javamamma! How incredibly appropriate is that?!

Enjoy your coffee, girlfriend! Just email me your address and I'll get it right out to you. Thanks for playing, everyone. I can't tell you how much I loved reading all of your drinks of choice. :)

P.S. This is the website I used to generate the number if you ever need one: mathgoodies.com

O Christmas Tree...(and a mantle for good measure)

2008-12-09T07:31:00.006-06:00

Sara over at Butterville is having a Christmas carnival and I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. Because I'm a bandwagon jumper, you see. Well, that is unless it's a bad bandwagon.....if it's a bad bandwagon, then I'm not jumping....

So without further discourse, this is our tree:

There is a star at the top, but for some reason it seems to blend into the picture. Rest assured, it's there, though. I just knew you might lose sleep if it weren't, so I wanted to be quick to point it out. I really do care, folks, and it's the least I can do. Really.

Since Mark has an allergy to pine, we've never had a real tree. Honestly that's perfectly alright with me since it's less work. And I'm pretty consistently all about less work.

This next picture is of our mantle. We are huge Nutcracker fans around here and I found 2 of these fellas at Old Time Pottery on Black Friday for only $4. I was ecstatic because it made my mantle. And since my mantle is made, I find it important to share that with you.

Next up is my favorite part. It's our collection of handicapped ballerinas. We are all about being P.C. around the Westie abode, so just because a ballerina loses her extremity is no reason for us to chuck her into the trash.

This poor gal below has really had it. She even asked me to shoot her in less than stellar lighting because she's such a shell of who she once was. Bless her heart, she's sadly been reduced to a seated position rather than hanging, which is the bottom of the barrel in Ornamentland.

Well, that was fun! I have many more decorations that I could share with you, but since this is really a carnival about Christmas trees, and I've already cheated once by showing you my mantle, I'd better stop. Plus, my laundry is threatening to overtake me.

For more Christmas Tree Bling, head here, and if you didn't get the chance to enter my contest for free Starbucks, you can go here. You've got until Friday!

No Longer a LOOOOSER! (Giveaway at the bottom)

2008-12-05T07:47:00.006-06:00

I had a post all planned out about "A Few of My Favorite Things", but it'll have to wait until my camera finds it's way back home from the wild blue yonder with Mark and Ty. I'm just hoping that my sieve-like brain will retain the info. It is questionable, you know.

HOWEVER. Something pretty awesome has happened to me. Something that usually....well....doesn't. That something is that I, Gayle, actually won, not one, but TWO contests in a 24 hour period this week!!

Are you kidding me? I never (and I do mean NE-VER) win anything, so when I saw this post at Holly's, I nearly peed myself. .....Ok, not really, but you never know when you are dealing with a Mama who's birthed 4 children.

Just look at these plates y'all!

Aren't they absolutely gorgeous?!

And this verse is is so powerful...

I must confess, I totally stole these pictures from Holly. Nice, huh? She gives me this beautiful present and I swipe something from her. Some people, I swear....they just take and take and take....

Anyway. If you like-ah what you see-ah, head on over to sweet Lindsee's, the creator of these Most Beautiful of all Plates. There are plenty more to choose from. What awesome talent!

Ah, but the story doesn't end here, because remember, I won not one, but TWO things!

I was barely able to stop squealing from Holly's prizes, when Linda posts this! GET.OUT! Not only did I JUST post about my rekindled love for fiction, but now an autographed copy of this book is showing up at my doorstep!

I love prizes. I really do. And these two things made my week. SOOOO, I've decided to share the contest love. Y'all know I'm all about Starbucks, right? And you definitely can't do Starbucks without a friend.....well, you can, but it IS better when you can sit and chat.....

Anyway, you can enter to win a $10 Starbucks gift card by leaving me a comment telling what your drink of choice is when you're lucky enough to be there. And since Friday is my FAVORITE day of the week, I will leave the comments open until next Friday, December 12. Then, I will do one of those Random Number do-hickeys to choose the (hopefully) happy winner.

Happy drinking,

1,2,3 GO!

2008-12-02T14:06:00.002-06:00

Donna, over at Way More Homemade just tagged me for a meme that I can totally do in 5 seconds flat.

The directions for this meme are: Find the book closest to you, turn to page 56, then type in the fifth sentence plus a couple more after that.

Okey doke.

"In that moment Jesus turned to him and said, 'Today, shalt thou be with me in Paradise' (Luke 23:43). I expect to see that man in Paradise. Not because he could come down from that cross and be baptized. Not because he could come down from that cross and take communion. Not because he could come down from that cross and give money to charitable work. Not because he could come down from that cross and live a good life. He had been a wicked, godless man, but he was saved by the tender mercy and grace of God."

Oh my stars, people. I swear that wasn't planned! It comes from a little devotional book that used to be my sweet Grandma's that I keep on my dresser (which is right next to me now). It's called Breakfast With Billy Graham. And yeah, I went a little further than a couple of sentences more, but with text like that, I wasn't stopping. I just know God means to use that for someone today.

Anyway, I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you want to do this on your blog, please feel free... just let us know so that we can come and see. Actually, I'm going to ask you to do it rightthissecond and put it in the comments. I thought maybe we'd get a good laugh, but now, I'm not so sure we won't be blessed too.

Ok, you're up...

Black Friday

2008-11-30T08:42:00.004-06:00

I swore I'd never do it.

I thought I'd be on the news.

But at 4:30 a.m., there I was, standing bleary, but wide eyed at our local Walmart. It was per my die-hard husband's request that I obliged, but only with the promise of extra strong coffee and enough bail-out money in the account should anyone shove me or something at that wicked hour.

We circled the store, amazed at the calculation and prowess of the Seasoned Shoppers. It seemed that they somehow knew we were rookies without a plan (as evidenced by the MAP we were given upon arrival). We were feeling a little overwhelmed and perhaps a little inadequate when all of a sudden, something instinctive surfaced within me. I asked Mark to follow me as I handed him the buggy and took all the back roads to get to the 700 mile long line for something that I can't mention.

Then, all of our unique gifts came into play. I stood there, in the endless line, deciding upon our next important move (think chess) while Mark went and flawlessly carried out the mission. By 6:30 a.m. we were sitting at Cracker Barrel recounting the morning while the angels were singing at our $250 savings. Amen.

Consider this chick converted. I was blind and now I see. Did I love having every person within a 200 mile radius packed into one store, violating every fire-code there is? NO. Am I am person who deeply values personal space? YES. But, when I look at the savings, the awesome-awesome savings, I can deal with the possibility of perishing or bad breath for 2 hours once a year.

Black Friday no longer black-balled,

All the rest

2008-11-25T12:38:00.004-06:00

I am sitting here throwing back some Limited Edition Candy Cane Oreos (thanks to Linda's shout out of these most blessed of all things) and I started thinking about how this ol' internet has done wonders for bringing out the inner-foodie in me. The cuisine in this household prior to the world wide web and Food Network was lackluster to say the least. But now....oh now....I've reached new heights in my mediocrity.

I can barely think of making something before consulting allrecipes.com and I can't even speak of how much I idolize The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Incidentally, never have I made anything from either of these two places that I didn't completely adore. In fact, I'm changing up my side-dishes a bit for Thanksgiving this year, and I realized that many of my recipes are coming from either of these two sites.

To prove this, I give you my menu:

Appetizers
Deviled Eggs - Mark and the fam love these things.

Apples and fruit dip

Veggies and Ranch dip

Dinner
Turkey

Stuffing - remember, we're born and bred Yankees around here.

Stuffing balls - this is some crazed family tradition on my Mom's side that everyone raves about. But me? Not so much. However, this is coming from somebody that thinks Whoppers are the most disgusting candy ever made, so I'm willing to be the weird one. It won't be the last time I'm called that, for sure.

Mashed Potatoes with the Works

Whiskey Glazed Sweet Potatoes - I know, I know, the recipe calls for carrots, but I want to try sweet potatoes with it. It's purely experimental, so we shall see. Plus, if it bombs, we can medicate with the leftover alcohol. Just kidding. Kinda.

Green Bean Casserole - I have tried and tried to change up this archaic recipe, but it usually causes full-scale revolt, so this year, I am leaving well enough alone. Durkee onion, here I come (gagging, but nevertheless....).

Gail's 7-layer salad - Oh my word. PLEASE try this. I don't know who Gail is, but she rocks a 7 layer salad, y'all. (One thing I do different, though, is spinach in place of iceberg, and black beans instead of pinto...just personal preference)

Cranberry Sauce - I grew up with the canned stuff, and I still like that, oddly enough, but this...this, is worth forsaking my roots. The only change I make is that I add orange juice (just cut back on the water) instead of an orange. The peel can make it a little bitter.

No Knead Rolls - Julianna and I will work on these tomorrow.

Dessert
2 pumpkin pies - using a pumpkin puree that Julianna and I made in mid-October. Cross your fingers.

2 pecan pies

1 apple pie - sinfully delicious recipe that my Grandma used to make. Seriously, it should be outlawed because of all the calories, but so should calorie counting on Thanksgiving, so there.

All of these will have homemade whipped cream to go with it.

Drinks
Lots of sodas, cokes, pop or whatever you call them, iced/sweet tea, and Mulled Cider (a.k.a. Wassail....makes the house smell good AND tastes awesome).

See what I mean? That's alot of links, people! I love me some internet food. :) Hope you all have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving. I am certainly counting YOU as one of my blessings.

Much love,

P.S. I can't tell you how much your comments in the last post ministered to me. Thank you, sweet friends.

Fanning the Flame

2008-11-22T12:03:00.001-06:00

As I'm sitting here trying to fan this teeny little hot ash into a flame in our fireplace, I am getting frustrated. I have been here for about 45 minutes working to get the remnants of last night's roaring fire to burn brightly again so that I can have some desperately needed warmth on this frigid Saturday before Thanksgiving.

I've tried just about every kind of kindling that I can think of; paper, pine straw, extremely dried out branches and a good dose of prayer with some matches, but nothing is making this fire really ignite. I've blown on that little ash and on the lit pine straw until I am, quite literally, dizzy, but it keeps dying out after only a minute or so.

What in the world am I doing wrong? I am half tempted to just give up and walk away because it seems useless, but my stubbornness won't let me. I know that this little ash is capable of creating a massive fire, and I also know that if my pyro hubby were to walk in here and blow on this same little ash, we would all have to stand back because of the heat.

And then I start to cry.

Not because I am some big wimp who can't take not being able to get a measly fire started (after all there is gasoline in the shed if I really wanted to prove my fire making ability....and don't put it past me). It's because I just cannot escape how this is a perfect analogy of my walk with my Father lately.

It seems that no matter what I do, I can't fan my little ember into a badly needed flame. I'm stale, I'm weary, I'm distracted, I'm overwhelmed, I'm miserable and I'm weak. Among other things. I'm trying to give those over, but I have a tendency to snatch them back and roll in it a little more.

Do I believe I will come up out of this pit? Do I know that my little ash has tons of hope attached to it? You betcha. Remember, I'm stubborn and thankfully, so is my Father's love. I know where He wants me, I just have to get there, one puff of air at a time.

Lotsa Life

2008-11-16T13:28:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was one of the busiest days I've had in awhile, but poignant in so many ways. Yesterday I celebrated friendship, the birthday of an 83 year old matriarch, and a beautiful wedding of two people who are young and in love. At around 11 p.m., I also celebrated the comfy warmth of my blessed bed, but that's beside the point.

My day started off with brunch at a really yummy restaurant with some really sweet friends. Annie (far left) came in from Nashville to see the Reba concert with Robyn (far right) on Friday night. And since we all think Annie is awesome, Sophie, Lora Lynn (+Willa), and I met up with the Reba-stalkin' duo to throw back some delicious food and to chat about every random thing under the Alabama sun. I had such a great time with these girls who can make you laugh your head off one minute and amaze you with their passion or strength the next. I snapped this picture right before I had to run (almost literally) out the door.

I had to run because I was l-a-t-e. I was supposed go home, get changed and pick up the Crew to head to my Grandma's little place because yesterday was her 83rd birthday.

It ended up that there would be no way for us to pull that off and get to the wedding on time, so my Mom and the kids went on while Mark and I headed to the church. It all turned out much better when it was all said and done because we were able to stop in to see her by ourselves after the ceremony.

My Grandma has this sweet little room-mate and between the two of them, we stay in stitches. By the time you are in your 80's, I guess you are done caring about the apropos things in life, which is an attribute that makes Mark and I adore spending time with the elderly. Sadly, I forgot to take my camera into the home when I went in. It might have had something to do with the fact that it felt like 60 below zero outside, so I was more concerned with avoiding frostbite than being a shutterbug. BIG bummer.

Earlier in the afternoon, though (and when the temps were much more bearable), we arrived at one of the most beautiful little churches in our area. It was made even more picturesque with the brilliant foliage that surrounded it. Take all of that and mix it with a crisp, sort-of-overcast Autumn day and you've got a set-up for a lovely wedding.

And a lovely wedding it was, indeed. There isn't much in this world that compares to young love. There is so much to be learned, so much to grow into, and so much prove when you make a giant step like marriage at an age when you should only be concerned with college and impending careers.

But sometimes, against the grain of society, God brings two people together before all of that is completely figured out....

And sometimes.....

....dare I say, many times, it all turns out a thousand fold more beautiful than the best laid plans of another.

Married at 19 to that guy in the last shot,

Fiction Readers Anonymous

2008-11-13T13:33:00.002-06:00

Guess what I've been doing? Reading. Reading what, you ask? Books. Real, live books. I haven't chilled out with a good work of fiction in at least a year, but last weekend, I decided to make a nest on my bed and dig in. ~Oh the forgotten bliss~ It was the last 2 books in the Annie's People series by Beverly Lewis and they were really good. Yes, I said "they", hence the reason I never read fiction: As soon as I get into a story, you can hang it up on me being worth a flip until I'm done...and Lord help us all if it's a series. I'm talking full-boar binge.

It's incredible the lengths that I will go to in order to not put the book down. I eat with it, bathe with it, and of course, it's the first thing I wake up to and the last thing I fall asleep with at night. I can even flip pages with my toes when absolutely forced to use my otherwise occupied hands. The worst part is that you can usually find me closetly heartbroken when I've read the last word. It's that bad, people.

Obsessive, you say? Yep. Analyze it, and you will probably come up with the solid truth that I am an all-or-nothing kind of girl, but you'd better stop up your ears if you make that statement too loudly because I can assure you, you'll get a booming agreement from my family. I try to be mindful of my "issues", which is why I have to go an entire year between my reading stints (this doesn't apply to non-fiction, by the way).

However, we are coming up on the holidays, when I will have some blessed down time (read: NO school! Holla!) and I would like something to read. It's all good...no need to call in an intervention or anything, I can totally handle it this time around, I promise. SO. What's a must-read in your opinion? OR, if you share my fiction issues and have to s-l-o-w-l-y back away from the books, tell me. Perhaps we can come up with a 12 step program together or something.

Hi, my name is,

Go Carrie, Go Carrie...

2008-11-11T11:41:00.004-06:00

Hey! I've got to hurry with this, but I wanted to come over here to ask you to click this link to vote for Carrie from The Gremlin Wrangler for Funniest Homeschool Blog. It will seriously take you less than 10 seconds. I have no motivation here except I want her win...but I guess I could motivate you by offering free Starbucks or something....

Nah. That would be cheating. Sorry. How 'bout this....Go vote because methinks this is an election we can WIN!! :D

Alright, gotta run. OH! If any of you have been nominated for something over at the Homeschool Blog Awards, let me know in the comments and you'll have my vote, too.

C-ya,

P.S. You don't have to have a blog to vote...

I'm an idiot

2008-11-07T13:57:00.006-06:00

Just so you know... I am in the fetal position barely able to breathe because I've screwed up my template. This was not intentional and I am praying with everything in me that the amazing Trista has saved my beloved template.....

Back to rocking,

BIG FAT SHOUT OUT to the Awesome Trista over at Pumpkin Patch Creations!!! She did my design 2 months ago.... I can breathe again. Go check her out because OBVIOUSLY she's amazing!

Talking Turkey

2008-11-06T19:42:00.002-06:00

Ok, let's move on to something a little less grim, shall we? Thanksgiving is only a mere 3 weeks away, and THAT is sweet music to my gluttonous ears. I can't begin to tell you of my affection for this holiday with all it's yummy goodness.

Mark and I have always hosted Thanksgiving in our home from the first year on after we were married. I'll never forget, as long as I draw breath, when I had 5 hungry sailors who couldn't go home to their Mama's cooking, and one vegetarian girlfriend, who all decided that GAYLE needed to make a turkey and all the fixings.

Have I ever told you how insufficient I was in the kitchen for the first few years of our marriage? Let me just put it to you this way, the folks at Golden Corral totally knew us by name in Virginia Beach. And I STILL have a scar from my first feeble attempts at making a chicken breast. Plain, with no sides, thankyouverymuch.

Then there was the time that I thought I'd go all FANCY and make chicken enchiladas (notice it was only our fine feathered friends that I'd even try), but instead of using a few drops of pepper sauce as the recipe called for, I chopped up half the jar of the hottest, yellow peppers on the planet, seeds and all. My SWEET, smitten Mark acted like he wasn't internally engulfed in flames for as long as he could.... He probably still has a part of his tongue that's been permanently seared, God love him.

Anyway, they wanted ME to make the most important meal of the year, and there was no getting out of it. One of them went to the store and bought a bird that would have dented steel with it's massiveness, and plopped that bugger right down on my counter, hoping for a miracle, I guess.

I had no choice but to go Head to Severed Head with this thing, so I did what any newly married young girl would do, I winged it (and who could avoid a pun like that?). But guess what? It totally worked! Mind you, these were the days without internet, so I couldn't simply "Google it". I just figured that it would need something to seal in the juices, so I rubbed that bad boy down with butter and then gave it a drizzle of oil before putting it in the oven at the temperature that the directions read. I did, however, neglect to take out the...ahem...extra parts that are stuffed in it's "cavities". But who's keeping track?

I remembered my Grandmother basting her bird several times during the cooking process as I was growing up, so I had Mark run to the grocery store in front of our apartment, to get one of those "squirty do-hickeys". Funny, but he knew exactly what I'd meant. So I basted that bird every single hour on the hour until the little red button popped up. The meat actually rested before Mark carved it, not because we knew to do that, but because we were both so freaked out about it that we just stared at the thing forever.

Eventually we all gathered around with our Walmart china and dug into the Stove Top stuffing, canned cranberry sauce, and that blessed bird. I want you to know, that was one of the moistest turkeys any of those boys ever put into their mouths, by the sheer grace of God. It was nothing but dumb luck that I did all the right things that day to make that turkey turn out the way it did. And I haven't strayed from the original way of doing things with my turkey from that point until now (well, except I stuff it...and I remove the parts). I've added a few spices and things, but, that's it.

So tell me, do you make your own turkey on Thanksgiving, and if so, what's your way of doing things? Soon, we'll talk Sides....because that's a whole 'nother Paradise.

2:27 a.m.

2008-11-06T01:48:00.003-06:00

Let me just say right out of the gate, regarding our election; My feelings are strong, my convictions run deep, and my heart is absolutely broken.

Not over the man, and certainly not over the color of his skin (let me scream that in the ear of anyone who even wants to go there), rather, it is broken over the deep, dark place that we, as a nation, have headed morally.

I had to teach my Kindergarteners about the origins of Thanksgiving yesterday. I taught them of all the unimaginable hardship that these Pilgrims had to endure just so they could get to a place where they could serve their Father, my Father, in freedom. America was founded on deep conviction and immense desire to bring God His due glory, and look at how He's blessed us for generations because of it.

Yet, in the last 40+ years, we have done everything we can to shove Him down and to push Him out. We've taken Him out of our schools, out of our judicial system, and it's even in the works to take Him off our money (and those are just a very few instances). America has made it clear that they don't have any need for the God on which this nation was founded. But God is just, and there isn't a single time in the Word, that I'm aware of, when He doesn't eventually remove His Holy hand of blessing and protection over those that are bent on evil. Why should we be any different? There's some change for you.

BUT, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. He is our Shepherd and we will fear no evil because His rod and his staff, they comfort us. He is just and we are His.

VOTE!

2008-11-03T15:07:00.004-06:00

Let me tell you a little sumpthin about me: I'm not into politics. In fact, I kind of hate them. More specifically, I hate the continual back and forth maliciousness, the lies, and the mind-games that go along with them. But that's just my personal preference.

However.

This election has my attention. Perhaps it's age or a softening to the aformentioned unpleasantries.... OR maybe it's that I believe that we are at a crucial time in our country's history. It is my opinion that, spiritually, we are at a crossroads. Not necessarily between two candidates, per se, as much as in the moral direction that we, as Americans, are decidedly going to take.

The bottom line is that we need to let EACH of our voices be heard tomorrow. I know that the lines will be long and that it may seem useless to some of us, and maybe you even triple h-a-t-e politics as much as I do, but I BEG you, go to the polls tomorrow. Your voice does count.

Have mercy, Oh Lord.

Slow Down... I Need to Get OFF

2008-10-30T11:07:00.006-05:00

Hello my poor, neglected friends.

Can someone please tell my why this time of year is so ridiculously busy? Honestly, it's cramping my lazy, computer-loving nature. I am so deeply unnerved that I've scarcely had 2 minutes to blog, twitter, email, comment, and IM over the last few weeks, that I think I've developed a nervous twitch.

PLUS, I have had so many blogworthy things happen (i.e. an unapologetic farting lady who sat directly behind me during a conference?!....yeah.), but I haven't had time to write it all out in such a way that wouldn't make you look at me like a confused dog. By the way, if a dog ever gives that look in my presence, there is simply NO containing myself.

Today, I am about to finish up school with the kids, and then pack for a weekend-o-fun at my girl, Leisl's house. Incidentally, she lives only about a half hour away from the most beautious beach around, and since I didn't get my desperately needed beach trip this year, I'm a little over the top with JOY! Well that, and the fact that we love the heck out of them. ;)

Anyway, hope y'all have a great (and hopefully not busy) weekend...AARG!

What the....

2008-10-23T08:09:00.002-05:00

I have to concur that there is something psychologically WRONG with me when I wake up singing the Hee-Haw theme song.

BOYS!

2008-10-20T14:59:00.005-05:00

7:30 a.m.

Me: Jake?

Jake: Yes ma'am?

Me: I need you to wear your good pants to school today.

Jake: Why?

Me: Because it's pretty cold outside and all of your long pants are still packed away.

Jake (who's not into looking "fancy"): Awwwwww, maaaaaaan. Do I...

Me: YES.

~ Exit Jake to change out of his p.j.'s into the dreaded "good" pants. ~

8:00 a.m. (heading out the door)

Me: Jake?

Jake: Yes ma'am?

Me: Don't play football after school today.

Jake: Why?

Me: Because you have your good pants on and I don't want you to get them grass-stained.

Jake: But Moooooom, I promise, I won't get them sta...

Me: NO. No football today.

Jake: Awwwww maaaaaaan.

1:30 p.m. (home from school)

Me: JAKE! What the heck happened to your pants?!

Jake: I dunno.

Me: What do you mean you don't know? Were you playing football?

Jake: Yes (staring at me CONFUSED)?

Me: But I TOLD you NOT to DO that!!

Jake: When?

3:53 p.m.

Jake is almost finished cleaning his room (I suppose he got desperate during his imprisonment). Mama needs a sure-fire way to get out grass stains. Anyone?

Love my boys (even though they are going to be the death of me),

For the Love of Chocolate

2008-10-18T09:08:00.003-05:00

Moving right along...Do you remember when I said several posts back that during the Fall I get certain cravings for carb/sugar loaded heavenly goodness? Well. I am about to give you a beautiful example of such.

As I type, my man and 2 of my male offspring are surviving deep in the woods on a camping trip with the Cub Scouts. I am usually right there with them, but because I couldn't teach my Sunday School class last week, since I was in the hospital with my Grandma, I needed to be there this week. So, I am just coming and going. You know, getting all the benefits of the campfire experience, yet sleeping in my nice warm bed at night, and getting my nice warm PRIVATE shower in the morning.

BUT, because I love my family and my awesome friends who are out there, and because I had better come bearing gifts after I made the above statement about beds and showers, I am going to bless them with some freshly baked, warm chocolatey love.

Introducing the yummiest Mississippi Mud Cake you will ever put in your mouth.

It doesn't look as pretty as the Mother of all Southern Cooking's version and that's partly because of this:

Jet Puffed Marshmallows...you make my cake look ugly. Can you see how they were all sticky and squished together into one big marshmallow mess? What up, Jet? It wasn't just my bag-o-minis either. Caroline tried to open up her regular sized ones last night and they were like that. I'm feeling a bit of animosity here, Jet, and I don't want to feel that way. So get it together before campers everywhere revolt.

Alright, I'm off, but before I go I must implore you to make this cake. I promise you, if you run to the store rightthissecond and get the ingredients to make this, your weekend will be better than it already is.

Soapbox it is...

2008-10-16T12:01:00.005-05:00

Let me go ahead and say right out of the gate that I am going to be as discreet as possible about the situation that has really burrowed it's way under my skin. Because the bottom line is not about this incident, as much as it is that there is a BIG ole lesson to take away from it.

So the Reader's Digest version is this: Yesterday I was having a conversation with one of my friends when a lady, who I barely know, walked up who fosters and adopts children. We chatted pleasantly for a few minutes about hair (because that's what womenfolk do) when my friend said to the woman that she didn't know how she did it with 15 kids. At that point, I asked her how many children were hers biologically (none of the kids were around).

Let's just pause for a moment so that I can say that I honestly didn't realize that this was an offensive question. I just didn't. Sort of like an American going to Australia and giving one of the locals a thumbs up (don't do that by the way). It's rude, but most of us wouldn't realize that unless we had researched Australian culture. Similarly, I have had no dealings with adoption, so it never-ever crossed my mind that it might be unmannerly.

Now I can see how someone might feel that it undermines their family, as it's explained here, but that's not something that the Average Joe just immediately "gets". I am definitely one who can accept gentle instruction, and I will be more careful from now on because I have been made aware. Please read the link if you are, like I was, going "what's the big deal".

How-ev-er. What I CAN'T handle is when someone freaks out and absolutely goes on the attack when it's completely obvious that the person asking isn't doing so to be mean, or should I say "stupid". Yes she did. Indeed, I was admiring her ministry.

Perhaps you will think poorly of me because I was so insanely mad when she went off like she did, that I wanted to take her head off, but maybe that can be remedied with the fact that I got up and walked away despite every instinct in me. My poor friend was so stunned that she quickly changed the subject with the woman.

So the lesson here is this, and I have thought long and hard about it for 24 hours now: Most of us have something that we feel misunderstood about. And there are probably alot of us that get sick and tired of having to go over it again and again with different people. It stinks, and I know that because feeling misunderstood can fall into just about anyplace that we feel insecure, and I can assure you that I have a second home in Insecureville, people (we won't even get into how pride plays into that).

BUT the answer is not to go slap off on people just because you are sick of dealing with it. I don't think that there's a number large enough to tell how many times I've had someone ask if my older two boys are twins because they look so much alike AND they are about the same size despite an almost 2 year age difference. Does it sting? YES. Do I go berserk? Heck no. I answer them kindly and if they decide to go on and comment about my son's small stature, I usually just come back with how he rocks gymnastics and that he couldn't do it if he were gargantuan. Most people aren't trying to be rude. And even if they are, what good is being hateful in return going to do?

I can also tell you this, when I came home and had a conversation with my friend Caroline about what had occurred, she remembered reading a blog post (linked above) about this very thing, so she forwarded it to me. It wasn't until reading THAT, that I was able to understand. It made sense to me after it was put kindly. I couldn't even begin to sympathize with her because I was so blinded by her hateful words.

The Bible tells us that, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1) and I am here to tell you that I experienced this full tilt yesterday.

Now, I will step down again and hopefully let this trusty old box gather up a thick layer of dust. I hope I haven't made any of you mad and, lawsie mercy, if this is your first time here, Puh-lease know that I am usually not usually aggressive and preachy. Because if you do walk away thinking that about me, I will feel misunderstood and I might just snap your head off when I find out about it. Just kidding. ;)

Alrighty, I'm outta here. Have a good day, and for those of you that voted for jello....well....my favorite is raspberry.

Decisions, Decisions

2008-10-15T20:53:00.002-05:00

You know I hate to go all serious don't you? But things have been pretty serious 'round here lately. Over the weekend, my Grandma was in the hospital in bad shape (she's doing better now but she is still, and has been, a very sick lady). Anyway, I was with her the whole time because things were so unpredictable.

I wouldn't trade that for anything, but sadly, I missed my Julianna's birthday because of it. When I finally did make it home, I wasn't worth a flip because I'd only grabbed about 4 hours of sleep over the whole weekend.

Since that point I have been wracking my brain over something to blog about, however, my attempts have all turned out frighteningly lacking. I mean seriously, who really wants to hear about the fact that I've lost about 16 things in the last 4 days, and that losing things make me 700 kinds of crazy? Or that some random lady at my co-op flat told me off because I asked her how many of her FIFTEEN children were hers biologically?!

Do you really want to hear about that? Because, let me tell you, those are the things pummelling my brain right now, dying to get out. So you see, inside my head? It's not always nice in there. And I'm kinda dying to blow the dust off of, and get on up on ye old soapbox.

It's either that or a Meme. I know. I sure do hate to make things so rough on y'all. So you decide, Soapbox OR My Favorite Flavor of Jello.

Love ya tons,

On Home Remedies

2008-10-09T07:17:00.004-05:00

Here's some unsolicited advice: If your grandmother/mom/aunt/veritable stranger on the street, has ever told you to gargle with vinegar should you ever find yourself with a sore-ish throat, and if you are even slightly prone to any kind of mishap, DON'T DO IT.

My dear, sweet, precious Grama always whipped out this vinegar and salt concoction each time any of acted like our throat was even a bit tender. I would usually just let it sit there waiting for Kingdom Come because there was NO WAY I was putting that stuff in my mouth.

Fast forward to the day before yesterday. I thought to myself that plenty of my elders' wisdom (which I had formerly discounted) has indeed turned out to be beautifully accurate. So, I walked confidently into my pantry, grabbed the apple cider vinegar bottle, and took it straight up. All was good until somehow, somewhere, someway, my body decided that it needed to inhale. While gargling.

So, to recap: I, Gayle, inhaled and ingested the apple cider vinegar.

You know, there just aren't words to describe how one feels in the immediate aftermath of vinegar inhalation/ingestion. I can tell you that my older boys, while very concerned that I couldn't breathe, were making the case alot stronger within their minds that their Mama is certifiable.

Once my shocked lungs decided to participate with me in the act of breathing again, I coughed so hard and so long that I saw those little silvery stars right before I did That Which I Swore I'd Never Do In My Sink. You know, the word that rhymes with "comet"? Oh the fun never ends!! I still have broken blood vessels around my eyes.

Now, while I must resume this crazy-busy schedule that we have going on, I will tell you, dear friends, to stick to the cough drops.

Food, Travel and Getting Your Limbs Cut Off (just kidding)

2008-10-03T08:42:00.003-05:00

You know what I just realized? I had you ask me questions for my video, and I completely forgot about it. Let that be a testament to you about how scatterbrained I truly am.

It was Monday night when it hit me that I still needed to make my video, so I pulled out my trusty camera (which you may recall, resides in my purse) and began filming. So much for planning, but isn't that the story of my life as it were? Why yes. Yes it is.

So here ya go:

Robyn, no, we didn't go to the Melting Pot. I had so many folks mention that they were extremely pricey and that the food wasn't really worth it, so we chose the Fish Market....YUM!!

Distybug, yours was a toughie because I could take up 16 posts on the subject of my homeschooling experience. When did I know that I was supposed to homeschool? Oh, I'd say about 3 years into it. :)

I love homeschooling for my family, but I am not someone who thinks that it is the "be all that ends all" across the board. I've seen far too many families flourish in other educational avenues to believe that it's the cookie-cutter will of God for everyone, but, with that being said, it's been right for mine up to this point.

Also, you asked what the best and worst parts of homeschooling are. I will do my best to be brief, which is no easy feat for this loquacious gal (don'tcha just LOVE vocabulary words?!).

Anyway, the very best part of homeschooling is that I get to spend so much time with my kids, forming, shaping and teaching them during this fleeting season of life called parenting. I love to be with my kids (most days...sorry, just keepin' it real), and I love the flexibility that it affords.

The very worst part of homeschooling is that I get to spend so much time with my kids, forming, shaping and teaching them during this fleeting season of life called parenting. ;) Bottom line: I am a flawed human being and those flaws (or shall we say sin?) that I have struggled with for most of my life become excruciating when I see them manifested in my children because of my very powerful influence over them.

God has used homeschooling far above any other thing in my life to prune and teach me. To say that that part has been hard, would be a monumental understatement. Yet, while the process of being pruned has been difficult, I know it's been ordained for me and that it's worth it. AND I believe that since God has used it so heavily in my life, that He won't let my kids be messed up too bad because of it.

Heh-heh. Poor Disty, you probably were meaning for me to simply stick with things like having to cook extra meals or something... :) That'll teach you to ask me a question, huh?

Ok, moving right along, Caroline you asked where I would go if I won an all expenses paid vacay...and the answer is: Europe for like a year (you never gave restrictions!). Why? Well because it would be insanely awesome...oh yeah, and educational.

And the lovely Maria asked what my fave part of Gatlinburg was. Hmmmm....I will have to say our cabin. I really loved that place that was all nestled snugly in the woods. Oh! And I loved our time in the park. Even after all the attractions, the park was my favorite just because it's so incredibly beautiful. When can you expect my return? As soon as possible, my friend, as SOON as possible!!

Well, now that the rest of you are bored to tears, I will take my leave. I have got to go get some odds and ends at the grocery store today. I hate grocery shopping, but I have a great affection for eating so I must deal.

Have a super fantabulous weekend, folks!

A Day Short and A Dollar Late...er...Whatever.

2008-09-30T19:26:00.006-05:00

Apparently, I have this deeply seated need to make a monstrous donkey out of myself, so here I go again:

Oh wait! For the record, this is Leisl who came up from South Alabama to take care of her Daddy after his surgery. You can read all about that on her blog, though. I have to say here that posting this video is going to cause her to want to beat me to death, but it captures a TRUE outing to Starbucks, so it had to be done. It was in the rules, I think. I hope you weren't expecting too much:

Anyway, tell my girl, Leisl, that we ALL think we look and sound completely retarded when we do this (some of us actually ARE, though) yet we do it anyway. Not that it's going to help. I'm so dead.

Just so you can rest assured, Miss DeeDee did, in fact, make a spur of the moment trip to meet up with us at almost 10 p.m. How much does she rock?! Alot, I tell ya. ALOT. She has already trekked (and survived) this homeschooling road, and she has been a pastor's wife and women's ministry leader for many years in our city, so we pretty much sit at her feet.

Seriously, I LOVE these two gals a ridiculous amount. Go check DeeDee out here and please participate in the poll that she is taking for a really great marriage conference that she and her hubby are leading.

Now.

As you may or may not be aware from the post below, this little "video blog" was quite the undertaking for some unknown reason. I mean, I had just uploaded one less than a week ago, but this video wouldn't work to save (what was fast becoming the end of) my life. Have I mentioned how much I love my laptop? Well...

I feel strangely compelled now, to remind you that: Mark + Gayle = 4ever
I don't really love my laptop. Pshaw! Ok, well maybe just a little....

Anyway, let's close this freak show with this:

How 'bout them eyebrows, huh Linda? Can you say "woolly mammoth"?! :D

OH!! For more GREAT videos head over to Linda's, but not the Linda above...ummm...just click here: I See What You're Saying

Providence?

2008-09-30T08:36:00.003-05:00

Since I'm sure you were having trouble moving on with your life on this fine Tuesday morning until my video was posted, I thought I would go ahead and tell you that I am having some technical difficulties.

I can't get the thing to come OFF of my memory card ONTO my computer. This has caused the teensiest bit of rage, so now I need to go and repent. Hopefully, after some time apart for cooling down, Camera, Computer and I can work together to get this whole thing resolved. You might want to say a prayer for unity.

Whadya Wanna Know?

2008-09-27T13:37:00.003-05:00

Okey-doke. Let's move on from that debacle below, shall we? :) I promise to be more....ahem....reserved on Tuesday, k?

***5.5 hours later***

I started typing this post this morning, when I looked out my dining room window to see a HUGE black snake slitering around in my rose bushes. Of course, I was the only person home, so I had to call the 12 year old to give me a refresher course with the bee-bee gun. I missed, so now said HUGE black snake is loose somewhere in my woods. Yes. I AM SKEERED. What is UP with all the reptiles lately?!

But anyway, now I have to hurry up and get to the point because Mark and I have a date night happening tonight (somebody say AY-MEN!). And that point is: Do you have any questions for me for my video on Tuesday? (Carrie, I swear, I didn't snatch your idea! I was going to do this yesterday....Caroline will tell you...).

Please ask me something otherwise you may be subjected to such ramblings as burning spinach once more, and do you really want to go there again? I mean, really? I didn't think so...

So ask away, no holds barred. Maybe. Ok, don't be gross and don't be mean. Now go...

Hello

2008-09-25T20:18:00.003-05:00

Have you ever seen a distracted Mom at the end of the day whose make-up has long since worn off, is sporting a wonky hair out the side of her head, AND is burning dinner?

Well, here ya go:

Ok, first things first, that spinach that I was burning? It was actually creamed spinach and it. is. amazing. (when not charred) Here is the recipe and please don't let the use of...well, spinach...deter you. I promise, it's yummy.

Now then, here is the button for the carnival:

Also, you can go to Linda's blog and click the very same button on the left to find out all of the fine details. Can't wait! And if I can do it, YOU definitely can!!

P.S. Upon publishing, I realized that this video makes me look like I have more energy that 10 monkeys on speed and for that I am truly sorry. I am not usually that "bubbly". :D

Weighty Matters

2008-09-23T10:47:00.003-05:00

Hey! Guess what? I have nothing to say. That, in and of itself, is a miracle which is noteworthy enough to expound upon because, as I am sure you are well aware, I am not exactly known for having too few words. See, how often can you find someone who "has nothing to say" yet can fill up half a post talking about it?

So, I must hand over the proverbial mic to you, Awesome Bloggy Friends. The burning question in my mind on this fine Tuesday is two-fold actually, with the first part being this: Do your tastes (for food) change along with the seasons? And if they do, what is something that you get really hungry for at this time of year?

I will answer my own question here with a resounding YES! I seem to crave comfort food the minute the weather starts to even hint at cooling off. Which is NOT good....well, actually it is good, insanely yummy in fact....but it is bad, and I do mean VERY BAD for the ol' thighs if you get my drift.

In other words, if it is carb-laden, sugar-coated or otherwise artery-clogging, I'm all about throwing it back in the most unladylike way. So spill it (but watch out because if it meets the above requirements, I might just snatch it up), what could you eat 2 or 16 of right now?

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2008-09-20T13:29:00.005-05:00

Jacob just bee-bopped into the kitchen where he proceeded to shimmy up onto the counter to reach something on top of the cupboards. As he's doing this he says, "Mama, I'm glad I'm small even though some kids pick on me for it. God made me this way and I can do all sorts of things that other big kids can't, like climb, and run fast, and get into small places.... isn't that awesome Mama?"

"Yep." I said as I continued to sit here staring at this screen, "You are absolutely right, Jake. God did make you exactly the way He wanted you." "Now," I said looking up, "why don't you come on over here and tell Mama who's been pickin' on you..."

Jacob jumped right off of that counter just as fast as he got up there and started to race out of the room to go to his next endeavor (he's always running somewhere). But before he got halfway there he quipped, "Let it go, Mama." And then he was outta here like a shot.

Yeah. I'll get right on that, kid. Because going against my natural instinct as a mother comes as easily for me as avoiding sarcasm.

Anyway....

Idols and Followers

2008-09-18T12:59:00.003-05:00

I have so much to do right now, so I think I will just sit here and blog because that's what responsible people do, right? Of course it is.

So I am reading this incredible book by Kelly Minter called No Other Gods and, man, is it spot-on. A bunch of girls were doing the Bible study version together online over the summer, and after reading all the awesome reviews, my interest was really piqued.

To give you a quick synopsis (and remember, I'm not even finished yet), the author talks about what she calls "functional gods" in our lives and how they wind up overtaking our worship to the One True God. Here is a great quote:

"For so much of my life, I worshipped God: showing up for church, singing hymns, working in the nursery, reading my Bible, confessing my belief in Him. Yet if you could have witnessed what I was controlled by, what motivated and moved me, you would have seen that in many cases it was not God at all, but my idols. Not carved images, but people, career paths, materialism, acceptance and more. God was getting my worship on some level, but my gods were getting my service."

Anybody's toes hurting? Mine are. Which is why I wanted to tell you about this book. Not because I want you to have need for a podiatrist, but because this book is SO GOOD. It is jammed up with sock-it-to-me like truths that are so very applicable to our day and age, but with ways to turn our hearts back to their rightful owner. The One who created them in the first place.

I'd love to hear thoughts from any of you who have already read it all the way through. I am hoping to have it finished by this weekend.

Now, let's switch gears so fast that our heads spin, shall we? Aw, c'mon...a little head spinnin' is good for the soul every now and then. Plus, I can't come up with a good segue. Ready?

Blogger has this new little gadget available that I am putting up on my sidebar to showcase all of you! So if you are willing to admit that you are my friend (and I understand if you aren't quite ready for that step...it takes awhile), please click the link that says "follow this blog"...or something like that.

Thank you ever so much and I hope deeply that you are having a productive day unlike ------------->

The Prequel

2008-09-16T14:50:00.005-05:00

Ok, I'm back with you again. Poor Mark had a horrendous sinus headache which caused him to be even more sick, if you get my drift. It's just that time of year, I suppose. He's feeling alright today, though, so thanks for asking/praying. :)

Before I go back into this (and oh, isn't it gorgeous?):

I must tell you what happened to me right before we left last Thursday. The enemy of our souls tried to take me out, y'all. I mean, he came to steal, KILL, and destroy.

Here is a little factoid about me if you don't already know it: I completely HATE frogs. I am so sorry if you are an amphibian lover, really I am, but those creepy creatures that just jump around willy-nilly FREAK me all the way out! I am not even kidding.

So there I was, minding my own business, trying to get out the door on our impromptu trip. Being the green thumb that I am (not), I thankfully remembered to give my flowers a nice, soaking drink since we would be gone for a few days. I walked outside and snatched up my watering can from the back porch where it resides, then I came into the kitchen to fill it up. I was desperately going through my packing list inside my mind, which is not a pretty thing, when all of a sudden SOMETHING JUMPED ON MY HAND.

Oh Lawsy, I am still traumatized.

Anyway. I looked down and what to my crazed, bugging-out eyes should appear? A little slimy, lime-green colored frog. And he was ready to pounce, I just KNEW IT. So, I started shaking my hand like a mad woman and shrieking at a pitch that would break glass. In what felt like 10 years, the little thing was launched off of my hand and onto the counter behind the sink where he just sat and stared at me.

Looking back now, it was probably because he had Shaken Froggie Syndrome, but whatever, because I'd be willing to bet a dollar to a doughnut that in only INCREASED his pounce-ability. I wasn't about to find out, though.

Mark was on the phone with his boss during this little "episode", who at this point, was absolutely SURE that I had been attacked by a pack of wild dogs. I screamed my man's name several times in a row to come save me, and I am almost positive that he rolled his eyes before he came running, but I'll will never really know for sure because mine had already retreated into the back of my skull due to the cardiac arrest that I was experiencing.

What else is there to say? Mark nonchalantly picked up the little tool of satan and put him back in his natural habitat while I fanned myself and tried to bring my blood pressure back down from stroke level.

Hallelujah! It is nothing short of a miracle that I am still sucking air, people, and I just thought you would want to know that. I am all about giving God His due glory.

Amen and Amen.

Gatlinburg the Great

2008-09-15T14:58:00.003-05:00

Well, we are home again. We had SUCH a great time and it was a perfect fit. Beach schmeach, the mountains were amazing and it was just what this Crew needed for our get-away, but God knew that all along, I guess.

We did so many fun things that if I attempted to put it all on here, your eyes would glaze over before I was even a quarter of the way through it. But, since I can't leave you with NOTHING, here are a few highlights with pictures:

Numero uno was our amazing cabin. Oh, how I loved our little retreat in the woods. I can't for the life of me understand why in the world I don't have any pictures of it though. However, here is one little feature that was adored by each of us:

Love us some jacuzzi, people. LOVE it. There was even a t.v. up above it that didn't make it in the picture. ~sniff~ I probably need to move on because I am seriously going through cabin withdrawls...

It is important to note that, over the weekend, Mark and I made the dreams of certain little 5 year old boy come true, even though we were quite unaware of his longings. It came to our attention that riding a "charlie" (a.k.a. trolley) was indeed on Andrew's top 3 list of "AWESOME" things to do. Who knew? Watch as his joy unfolds:

I want you to know that he was so excited when he started to board "charlie" that his little knees were shaking. AWWWWWW!!!

Almost there....

Phew!! Did you know that this was the self-proclaimed best day of his life? Well, it was.

We went into town where we watched people make candy and then ate it. Alot of it. In fact, I think I've consumed my weight in peanut butter fudge and rock candy and I'm not even sorry about it because it was THAT GOOD.

We rode the sky lift which was breathtaking. Quite literally breathtaking for my sweet Jacob, as you can see here:

No kidding, I don't think he breathed one time while we were ascending the mountain. He did alright on the way back down though, and actually asked to ride it again before you think me too horrid.

Mark, Ty and Andrew were right in front of us soaking up the view:

Speaking of Mark, he just called to tell me he is coming home early because he's sick, so I'd better go get the laundry off of the bed. I will post some more tomorrow...

Oh but here's one more for the road:

Please excuse the mess

2008-09-12T15:17:00.003-05:00