Easter Weekend 2008

I hope you enjoyed the videos - they are very inspiring to me....

I wanted to put up some pictures from the weekend. Kenny, Jim and I went to LTC in Dallas for Bible Bowl. Kenny was in 3 events - Bible Bowl, Drama and Chorus. I thought that he did well in Drama and Chorus. I heard the Chorus practice on Friday night and thought there was no way they weren't going to be awful on Saturday afternoon. They were great! On the key. On the note. No touching of hair or face. It was really very sweet.

The drama was funny, too. Kenny did a outrageous accent and R tore off his pants (sorry, no picture available.)

Lastly, a shot of Abbie on Easter. She looked so sweet! A friend at church (mom of boys) said she looked like a catalog ad and she did! After MawMaw told her she needed a hat, I dutifully went and bought her one. The minute we sat down she wanted to take it off - I told her she had to wear it until she went to class. Girls and Clothes - it starts early!

OH, one more thing! Notice the bunny teeth on Abbie? They will not get loose enough to pull them out! It is driving me crazy!

It's Sunday!

Sunday's Coming

I had this up last year but it still needs to be heard! Say a prayer of thankfulness today cause if God hasn't done anything else in your life - He brought Sunday!

I Really Didn't Want My Age On The First Page!

I signed up for MySpace yesterday. Then, I deleted it. MySpace wanted to know why I was deleting my page. I don't know.....

Yall know I work for Big Brothers Big Sisters, right? I don't write about it much. There are confidentality issues and I got enough things to write about without mentioned BBBS very much. I work in Match Support - it's my job to make sure that the matches are going well and growing. I work in our PALS program. These Big Brothers/Big Sisters are all teens from the local high schools that go to eat lunch their a 4th or 5th grader every other week.

Is that too much information?

One of the things I'm asked to do for work is to review any MySpace pages that my matches have. They all have MySpace pages. This week was the first time one of the Bigs (teens) had told me that her Little (5th grader) had asked to be a friend on MySpace. So I truly had an obligation to see what was on Big Sister's page. I learned that I can review the page without having a page myself. Also I couldn't figure out how to make my page private. I was appalled that some guy named "Tom" wanted to be my friend! Then I remembered that I had seen "Tom" interviewed on 60 Minutes - he began MySpace.

So, I deleted the one I set up.

Next year, we will review MySpace pages when Bigs are interviewed. At least I think we should - it could really show up something about them.

By the way, it was very easy to lie about my age. Anybody could put anything.....

It's A Small World

I'm often playing the Who Do You Know Game. You know, that game when you try to find out who you have in common. In a small town like Abilene, it usually doesn't take long to find someone you both know. In a small fellowship the church of Christ, it's doesn't take very long either.

Does anybody else remember Batsell Barrett Baxter? We used to watch him on TV on Sunday mornings. He was mentioned in the funny book I'm reading A Girl Named Zippy - she had to watch him, too.

Anyhoo.

Check out Amy's blog. She is one of my oldest buddies and she lives in Denver. I don't scan or I'd put a picture of her from my wedding on here. She attended a fund-raiser in Denver for DryBones! Some of you know DryBones is a ministry supported by Southern Hills. I told her to be sure to meet Nicki because I had played Bunko with her just last month! I told Amy that she probably would be polite and not mention how loud and obnoxious I was that night. Lo and behold, there's a picture of her and Nicki on her site!

Sadly, Amy's dad passed away on Saturday night. She has gone to east Tennessee to be with her brothers and family and to bury her daddy. I'm sure she'll come back with tons of stories of her crazy relatives. She used to crack us up with those stories. This book I'm reading reminds me alot Amy telling her family's stories.

Equal Time

You Can Make A Difference

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.


Yes we can to justice and equality.


Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.


Yes we can heal this nation.


Yes we can repair this world.

Yes we can.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.


We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics… they will only grow louder and more dissonant… We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.


But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.


Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea –

Yes. We. Can.

Barack Obama, Nashua, New Hampshire, January 8, 2008

Finally a chance to make a difference in a primary! I've been voting for many years and this is the first time my vote in a primary may effect the candidate for president! I know I'm pretty excited about it - are you?

I won't pretend to know who is the best person for the job right now. I know that I've voted Republican in every Presidential race since Ronald Reagan. I know I crossed over in a primary one year in an attempt to get the Democratic I wanted so he could run for Governor of Alabama. He didn't get the nomination - I voted Republican.

So, consider your choices. Vote your conscience. Live with your vote.

A Love Fest!

I want to tell everybody that I felt all your prayers for the Coffee Group while we were gone. It was a rough trip for me. I didn't realize that going home would be so difficult. We spoke at my old home church and when I looked out at all those ladies I knew - it freaked me out a little. I wanted to stay and hear about all their children and husbands. I heard that one is having marriage difficulties and I didn't have time to talk with her about it. I saw at least one lady I really wanted to talk with but didn't get over there to at all.

I had a hard time leaving my family, too. My family in Alabama, that is. I wanted to stay and talk some more. I wanted to go see my nephew play basketball and watch my niece in her Little Miss Cougar (all my nephews and niece's school) pageant.

But how sweet it was to come home to all of you asking about our trip. It was terrific to be with my husband again. It was hard on him to take care of everybody on 3 hours sleep. He fell asleep when I got home! My children still had lots of activities at church on Sunday night and I they wanted me to be with them - so off I went!

I thank the Lord that Mimi and Pop are here and can take care of the kids for us. They have already agreed to watch them again on Friday night (Ladies Retreat) and again in April. (My sweet hubby is taking me to the Big City for a weekend - Woo Hoo!)


Love you all and I so appreciate that keep stopping by!

For The Least Of These

I've been following Phil while he's in Uganda. He has gone to raise awareness for Compassion International. A group devoted to finding adoptees for some of the poorest children in the world. He wrote about Doreen. She is the little girl that he and Donna "adopted." Because someone sends money every month, Doreen is able to be vaccinated and attend Bible classes.

I would encourage yall to read about what's he's doing, pray for safety of all the bloggers who have gone on this trip, and prayfully consider your role in this ministry.

The king will answer, "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me."

Matthew 25:40

Satan's Plastic Bags.....

Yall know that we all need to cut down on our usage of plastic bags....... I told yall that I have take to carrying a Big Purple Bag (my children think it's an ACU bag) and trying to use it. I have had alot of success doing away with more plastic bags.

• Shopping in the mall - I got one large paper sack (I don't know why paper containers are called "sacks") and refused all other plastic bags that every other store tried to give me. Saved 3 bags that day.


• Shopping thrift stores for an 80's costume - refused all bags given. Between Sarah and I we saved 6 bags.


• At Wal-Mart - Used my Big Purple Bag and got all but my milk in it! I really holds alot of stuff. Why do you need a bag for milk anyway? It's got a handle.... That was at least 3 bags saved.

Check out the back of Sarah's car from HEB! She spent $50.....

This is my favorite statistic from the Today show story:

If every American household took one re-usable canvas bag to the store on every trip, our country could save 10 Billion plastic bags. Enough fuel for 50,000 cars for 1 year.50,000!

That's alot of saving, people.

When Will It End?

Kenny told me that 3 4th graders left Thomas on Monday with the Chicken Pox!

Good times.

Moving Day!

WOW! My new dress came in and I was sitting at a computer at the office!! Don't yall love it! I know I do! Thanks so much to Jen at Blue Yonder Designs - she came up with this for little-ole-me. Trust me, there was much hemming and taking in on the shoulders... Thanks, too, to
After A Cup of Coffee - that's where I won my new design. You can pop over to her site and check out all the other folks who moved in today.

Just So You Know

Note to self:

If you make up a silly song with the word "f*rt" in it, a 10-year-old will sing it incessantly.

A Question For The Weekend

I seem to have alot of shoes. They look like they are spilling out of my closet. Everyday they are scattered all over the house - or maybe it just seems like it.

Apparently it's catching - Abbie has shoes everywhere, too.

How many pair of shoes do you have? Which pair can you not live without?

Walking My Life Away

Funny thing about walking on a treadmill. You are able to increase your speed with the push of a button. You are able to increase your incline with the push of a button. You are able to chose a walking program just by pushing a button.

But (as hard as I have tried) you cannot increase your time spent on the treadmill by just pushing a button. It appears that some things I am unable to manipulate......

Bummer.

We Have To Go Back!

My obsession lives! It's over here. You know Sarah told me to just have a Lost blog - so, I do. Kinda.

One Small Step For Us

Do you think we are paying too much for oil? Do you think that our country depends too much on other countries for oil? Are you tired of seeing the Saudis on TV with more money than the law should allow?

Then you can do one simple thing to make a difference. One thing.

Take a re-usable canvas bag to the grocery store instead of using the plastic bags they give out.

Here's the facts:

100 Billion plastic bags that are used every year = 12 Million barrels of oil
If every American household took one re-usable canvas bag to the store on every trip, our country could save 10 Billion plastic bags. Enough fuel for 50,000 cars for 1 year.
50,000!

I confess, I haven't been doing this. I have a bag in the car (that I got free from ACU Lectureship - it has Christian Homes on it) that I have been trying to remember to carry into the store. I have switched to paper sacks all the time but that brings up tree issues - at least paper sacks recycle and decompose.

So, don't you have a freebie canvas bag laying around the house that can become your grocery bag? Or, at least, one of them?

I saw this on the Today Show -

The Big Bloggy Move

My new bloggy dress is ready! It was designed and made for me! I'm so happy that I can't stand it! And just like a brand-new dress, I wanna wear it now - I don't wanna wait!

But, just like Easter, I'm waiting for that special day.

Are you thinking that you need a new dress, too? Have you grown weary of Blogger? Do you want to move over to Typepad? Just need some new accessories (colors, fonts) to make you look better?

Join the fun on February 11 - I'm thinking that there will be prizes, too.

Germy House

As alot of you know we've had sickness at our house. It seems like everybody has, too. Kenny's been sick since last Monday and he's finally 24 hours without a fever! We are beside ourselves! I've been so glad the rest of us haven't caught it. Amazed really that Abbie's still fine.

I told him on Saturday that I could tell he had lost weight. He ran to he scale and he's dropped about 6 lbs. It reminded me of one of my favorite lines from The Devil Wears Prada.

I'm just one stomach flu away from my goal weight!

The Queen Of Fun

While I was walking the treadmill this morning (surprise! I move more than just to my computer) I saw this fun interview with Janet Huckabee on Good Morning America. You can read it here - I'm not sure about the video. I wanted to put it up before they took it down.

I haven't chosen a candidate yet (that seems to be a rather popular place right now) but I loved this story and it made me like somebody else from Hope, Arkansas.