Prayer Please.

I know I have already posted today, but I need to request prayer for a couple of things and I know you will pray, because you are such awesome friends!

My daughter, Sam, is home from California. She arrived Wednesday! She will be leaving tomorrow, June 28th, for a Missions Trip to Colorado. This is going to be an amazing trip for the teens and leaders who are going. I know this because Satan is doing everything possible to mess it up. There has been physical and Spriritual ailments abound.

Also, I don't want to go into a lot of detail yet, but I am requesting prayer for myself. I am needing some wisdom about how to handle a situation. It is a situation that there really isn't going to be a 'happy ending' to. At least not right now. Please pray that the decision I make will be based on God's Will....not my emotions. It is a decision that will affect the lives of the people I love the most.

AND......

Please leave me a comment letting me know how I can pray for YOU! I appreciate your prayers more than you can know. Please allow me to return the favor.

God's Sense of Humor

Last year the girls, my dad, and I took a road trip to California for my son's 8th grade graduation. It was a great trip and it was good to be back in the Bay Area for a visit.

We rolled into Reno, Nevada very late. I always get excited when we get to Reno because I know that we are just a few hours from 'home'. It is also quite a sight to go from a dark, desolate highway into a small town exploding with lights and action. It's as if you have stepped into another world. None of my children had ever seen Reno, so I tried to wake them up. The only one I could rouse out of a coma was my eldest daughter, Sam. She was pretty impressed with all the lights. She also knew that Reno was known as a 'party' town because of all the casino's and general 'naughtiness' that typically permeates the city.

As we were driving there was a small car in front of us that ran a red light. They were traveling at a pretty good speed considering we were in the heart of town. My dad and I were commenting on this person's questionable driving skills when Sam piped up out of the backseat with: 'He's probably drunk!' Immediately I went into Christian mom mode: 'Samantha! You shouldn't judge people like that. Maybe something's wrong and he's in a hurry. Just because we're in Reno doesn't mean everybody who does something wrong is drunk!'

Just as I am completing the last part of that sentence we pull up next to the same guy who is now sitting at a red light. As we look over to see who this crazy driver is, I can't believe my eyes! This man, who I have just tried desperately to defend, is guzzling a beer! Which, of course, prompted my humble-teenager-who-already-thinks-she-knows-everything to laugh hysterically while chanting 'I told you so!' Yea. Thanks guy.

Here I was, trying to do the right thing. Trying to teach my daughter a valuable lesson in judging others and it fell apart right before my eyes. As I rolled my eyes towards Heaven, in complete rebellious teenager fashion, I felt like Jerry Maguire: "Help me, help You God!!" I believe God has an awesome sense of humor. I also believe that I may have been the butt of his joke that night. Hmmm. :)

A Little Mood Swing.

When my son, Joshua, was young he was quite a handful. (OK. Who am I kidding? He still is:) Anyway. One day, in particular, he was acting more obnoxious than usual and I was fed up! He had gotten in trouble for something and he was crying (he was about 2 1/2 years old). I looked at him, completely irritated, and said "Joshua! Why can't you be good?" His answer, spoken through sobs, was:


"Somebody stole my being good!"



Isn't that hyseterical? Needless to say, I couldn't stay angry with him any longer. He was always trying to get out of stuff and this time.....well, there just wasn't anyone around to blame it on. Oh, except for the 'somebody' who 'stole his being good'. He was quite the fibber back then! Or was he?



What if 'somebody' did steal his being good.

Jesus said in John 10: "The theif comes only to steal, kill, and destroy."

That 'somebody' that my son was referring to, even if neither of us knew it at the time, was Satan and Satan only comes for three reasons. Those three reasons can be reduced to one.....Satan comes to 'steal our being good'. For if he succeeds in that, he will succeed in all.

Oh, how I hate him. He has wreaked havoc in our house. He has tried to steal, kill, and destroy my family. But...........he has way under estimated the Stronghold of the Father's grip! So I only have this to say to him:

Bring it on!
Take your best shot!
You won't win!
You have been defeated!

You can knock me down, but He lifts me up. You can rip my wounds wide open, but He heals them. Every time you throw a punch, He takes the brunt of it, so I am never down for the count and with every jab all you are doing is bringing me closer to Him. Him. The One Who gives life. The One Who truly loves me. The One Who defeated YOU!

OK.

What started as a nice happy post took a small turn.

Um. Prozac, anyone?

Randomness.

Warning: This is going to be a very random post. I don't really have enough 'stuff' in my head for an entire post, so I will give you some snipets.

My youngest daughter, Jordan, is returning from camp today. I am very anxious to see her. I was a little apprehensive letting her go to camp this year because of all the storm activity. God is good, though and storms ceased this week. Until last night. Nothing major though. Just some good thunderstorms. God knows that my mommy heart just couldn't take it!
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Pet peeves. We all have 'em. Some of them are more justified than others, though. Some people's pet peeves are drivers who cut them off. That is a justifiable pet peeve. For the love of Pete, somebody could be killed. Mine, however, is slightly less justifiable. I love fountain pop. It just tastes better to me. So, I go to the convenient store to get one and I have a choice of a 20oz pop or a 32oz pop! OK. 20...not enough. 32....way too much. Seriously. Isn't there an in between size that this store could carry? If so, I haven't found one in my town. They are ALL like that. Argh. See. I told you. Less justifiable. OK. So what is yours?
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My eldest daughter, Samantha, called me at work this morning. She is in California visiting her dad. I was on the other line, so my boss took a message. I called her back and she was in tears. I thought something awful had happened. I asked her what was going on and she said she just needed to hear my voice. Apparently she had a dream that I had died. She woke up crying and was still crying when I called her back. For the first time in my life, I wish I was a superhero. Stretch Armstrong to be exact. If I could have stretched my arms 2000 miles, I would've been the happiest mom on the planet. She was relieved to hear I was OK. I will remind her of that when she rolls her eyes at me next time;)
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As I have studied the book of Isaiah over the last 8 weeks, I have come to one realization: God loves us! OK. I know that's not profound or new, but He really loves us. The best part about that love: There is nothing we can do to lose it. Isn't that amazing? Even when we are at our worst....He loves us the same because He is always at His best. Actually, I have come to several realizations, but today this is the one that has resonated in my heart. It's nothing I haven't known. It's not new news. It's just unfathomable. 7 years after finding Him, I am still totally in love with Him.

Obviously, She Gets It From Me.

I don't think kids realize how far technology has come. I mean, they read about it in history books and they hear the stories of their grandparents and their parents, but truly they don't get it. Much like I didn't get it when I was their age and couldn't believe that my folks didn't have a T.V. when they were little. I just couldn't imagine life without the Flintstones, Jetsons, or Scooby-Doo.

When I think back to my childhood even I am amazed at how far technology has come. Remember the first cell phones? They were 'attached' to the car or came in large bags. The phone itself was HUGE and they were outrageously expensive. I mean, only the 'rich' people had those. Now, 5 year olds have 'em. What about VCR's? I remember those being like a $1000. My grandparents bought my cousin, and I, T.V.'s for our bedrooms when we were about 9 years old and they were black and white. Color was too expensive.

However, as technology has changed, so have we. We have become accustomed to these modern conveniences and depend on them. A microwave, for instance, is something most families would not want to be without. It certainly cuts cooking time in 1/2 for those of us that are on the run. As a matter of fact, I do the majority of my cooking in a microwave. I didn't realize how much until the day our microwave decided to poop out on us. I also didn't realize that my kiddo's had never lived a life without a microwave. Until my daughter called me at work one day and this exchange took place:

Sam- "Hi mom. I'm really hungry. What should I fix for lunch."

Me- "Well, honey, why don't you fix a sandwich."

Sam- "There's no lunch meat."

Me- "Oh. I guess I better go shopping. Why don't you have some hot dogs. There are plenty of those."

Sam- "Oh yea. I forgot. Oh, wait. We can't have hot dogs."

Me- "Why not?"

Sam- "The microwave is broke. We have no way to fix 'em."


I realized that I hadn't boiled hot dogs on the stove since my kiddo's were really little. She had no idea that there was a 'conventional' way to cook hot dogs. I'm not sure how she thought people in the 'olden days' cooked hot dogs. Maybe she thought hot dogs weren't around in the 'olden days'. OR....maybe the apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all:)

A Post I Shall Live To Regret.

You know how sometimes you take certain things for granted and you don't even wonder why it's there or how it's made or where it comes from? Well, I found out, the hard way, that you should NEVER do that. It may cause you to look like an idiot. The following is a conversation that took place between my mom, my aunt, and I on Saturday.

My uncle was sitting at the table eating a hamburger with bread and butter pickles. My mom and my aunt began discussing how their moms used to make their own bread and butter pickles and how good they were. Then things went South:

Aunt- 'I used to jar pickles myself. I would just take some cucumbers and.....'

Me- (sitting quietly. With a puzzled look on my face.)

Mom- 'Oh, yea. My mom used take cucumbers and.....'

Me- (Thinking out loud...unfortunately) 'Pickles are made from cucumbers????'

Mom- (the lady who brought me into this world) Laughing! 'Yes! You didn't know that???'

Me- 'NO! I thought pickles were pickles.'

OK. There was lots more to this conversation. ALL at my expense. Like when I asked about the giant pickles at the state fair and my mother replied 'still CUCUMBERS'! And when my mother shouted, literally, while laughing, that I was 38 (which I am NOT, by the way) and I should KNOW what a pickle is! My argument was that the jars don't say 'Pickled Cucumbers' they just say 'Pickles' which is really false advertisement. It leads you to believe that Pickles are different than cucumbers. Doesn't it? I just thought there were pickle vineyards somewhere.

So, I thought surely I can't be the only one who didn't know that. I decided to pick up the cell phone and ask the one person that I knew, for sure, wouldn't know that a pickle is a cucumber...my 11 year old daughter, Jordan:

Me- 'Hi sweetie! What is a cucumber?'

Jordan- 'Um. A vegetable?'

Me- (Yes!!! She obviously has NO idea:) 'Yes. It is. (Confidently) Do you know what else they are?'

Jordan- 'Um. No. Well....yea. They're pickles.'

Me- (Astounded) 'WHAT? How do you know that?'

Jordan- 'Grandpa told me!'

Yea. Apparently my DAD decided to share his wealth of cucumber information with his grandchildren and NOT his daughter. Hmmm. He must have decided to let that tidbit of wisdom skip a generation. Thanks, dad! (insert eye roll here)

I decided to call my kiddo's dad. I can usually dazzle him with my knowledge, so this was a pretty safe call:

Me- 'Hey Eddie. What is a pickle?' (smiling slyly. Waiting to dazzle him with more knowledge)

Eddie- 'A cucumber. Why?'

Me- (Sheepishly and wanting to slide under the table as my aunt and mom are still laughing) 'No reason. Just wanted to know if you knew that.'

Eddie- 'Yea. I knew that. Did you?' (Why did he have to ask that?)

Me- (Really wanting to lie) 'Yea. I know that.............................now'.

Eddie- 'Oh my gosh! You're kidding me. You didn't know that? The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?'

Me- (In the most loving, Christian tone I could muster) 'Shut UP! What do you mean?'

Eddie- 'Well, it's funny you should ask about pickles. I took your daughter to dinner last night and there were cucumbers on her salad. She said she doesn't like cucumbers so I asked her if she liked pickles. She said 'Yea. why?' I told her that pickles were made from cucumbers and she couldn't believe it.'

OK. Well, maybe the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, but nobody can blame me for not teaching her. I can't teach what I don't know..........MOM AND DAD!

After that I decided to call my daughter, Amber. She was my last hope. Um. Yea. All hope is gone. She knew, too. I hung up before she could really make fun of me.

Really. Still astonished. Who knew cucumbers were pickles? Did YOU? (Praying. Right now. That there is ONE of YOU who did not know this).

Oh, and when you get done rolling on the floor, try to remember to be kind with your comments. I am still in shock over this whole thing. Really. I am.

We're Falling Apart

As most of you have probably heard, the state of Iowa is falling apart. Storms, Tornado's, and Floods....OH MY! 89 out of 99 Counties have been declared disaster area's due to the flooding and we have seen more tornadic action than we have in two decades. It makes for some very 'exciting' evenings! My bloggin' buddy, Carol, sent me an email to make sure we were OK, so I thought I would update y'all.

Our small town has been blessed (must be all those prayers from YOU:). Although some of our fields have taken some major blows, our town has not. We have come close to sand bagging (a word that I didn't even know a definition for until I moved to Iowa) a couple of times, but so far......the water seems to recede at just the right time. What a blessing!!!

I am attaching a link so you can see the tornado (just click on tornado and it will take you there) that had us cowering in our basements. When you watch the video, please excuse the one curse word. Ahem. When they speak of Montgomery County....that's us. When he talks about debris, that is because it was ripping through a home. Praise God noboby was hurt or killed. This tornado was West of us and headed in our direction. Again......it diminshed before reaching us.

Thank you, my friends, for praying for us and asking.

Prayer Please

By now, most of you have heard about the Boy Scout camp in Iowa that was hit by a tornado last night. Well, one of the boys, Ben, who was killed is the son of a friend of one of my girlfriends. I also just found out that Sam is from our Omaha homeschooling group. Please keep the families of these boys in your prayers:

Sam Thomsen, 13
Josh Fennen, 13
Aaron Eilerts, 14
Ben Petrzilka, 14

May God give comfort and peace to those who mourn.

Thanks for praying.

My Testimony.

I come from a rare home. My parents are still married….to each other. Sure they have had their moments, but I always knew that they would stay together.

Knowing this, I grew up wanting to have the same love they had. I have dreamed of my Prince Charming for as long as I can remember. I just knew that I wasn’t complete until I found the man that I would spend my life with. Little did I know…..He was there from the time I was born. He was there before I was born (Jeremiah 1:5).

I fell “in love” for the first time when I was 16 years old. When I was 20, I was married for the first time. Not to my “first love”. It was an abusive union that left me broken and even more determined to find my “Prince Charming”. Now I had 2 children that needed a father in their home. If only I realized…there was already a Father in our home.

I jumped from relationship to relationship looking for my prince. With each relationship I started, I brought with me: my 2 children and a bag full of bruises and scars. I had been divorced for a mere 3 years when I had another child. This time I didn’t even bother with the marriage. It was just a piece of paper anyway…right?

Needless to say….that relationship ended and once again I was on the search for my prince. Would I ever find Him? Again I entered relationship after relationship just hoping that this one was the one.

And I found him. The one. I knew he had a drinking problem and I knew he wasn’t the most stable person, but I could help him. If I loved him enough, I could change him. He just needs someone to stand by him and care about him and love him. I will be that person! I was determined to make this marriage work. We even got married in a church, unlike my first marriage. We didn’t worship God or have a relationship with Him, but somehow getting married in the church was going to help this marriage be successful.

After 2 years of being cheated on and watching him drink our lives away, I decided that maybe my prince was a frog after all. So again, I was alone. At least it felt that way. Here I was…..30 years old and divorced twice. OUCH…it was painful to say and it was painful to think about. Again, my children had no father in their home. Again, I was going to change that.

I immediately became involved with another man. This time I knew he was a good man. How did I know? Because he had been in his current marriage for more than 12 years. And even though he didn’t love her anymore, he still stayed with her. What a guy, huh?…..This relationship, although short lived, would prove to be one of the most significant relationships in my life. It is the relationship that caused me to stop and think about what I was doing to my life and to the lives of my children and the end of this relationship would ultimately be the beginning of the most important relationship of my life.

It was December of 2001 when I finally met The One! He was perfect in every way. He accepted me for who I am. He didn’t have unrealistic expectations of me. He didn’t hurt me physically or mentally. This was a concept that I was completely unfamiliar with. Unconditional love! I had never felt it and I certainly had never shown it. Probably the closest I had ever come to experiencing it, was the love I had for my children. Yet, I realized that this new found Love was even greater than the love I had for them. Was that possible? Could someone really love me that much? It was hard to accept and I fought it with every ounce of my being. I couldn’t fathom this concept. I knew that I would NEVER be able to return this kind of Love. And I was certainly not worthy of this Love. This was the Love I had been searching for since I was a little girl. Here it was…at last! I was complete. And it felt incredible! He knew me better than I knew myself. He knew me before I was born (Jeremiah 1:5). He was there in the beginning (John 1:1) and He created me! He pieced me together and even numbered the hairs on my head (Matthew 10:30). And when my very existence was threatened…..He died for me. Now that is Love!

My Prince wasn’t to be found in the pages of a storybook. At least not one written by Disney. My Prince didn’t ride in on a white horse, He wasn’t that prideful. He chose to ride in on a donkey (John 12:14). However, I know that my Prince has a white horse (Revelation 6:2) and someday He will ride all of us, that choose to love Him, off into the sunset where we will live happily ever after.

100th Post Q&A.

FINALLY!!!!!

Normally I don't blog every day. Usually it's every other day. So, tell me, why is it I wanted to blog so badly yesterday? I mean, really. It was killing me. Was it just because I couldn't? Yea. I think so. It's the 'bad girl' in me. I thought God killed her!

This blog is going to be long enough without my babbling, but I just want to say:

When I started blogging it was to keep a 'journal', so my kiddo's would have something to look at when I'm gone. It was intended to be a blessing to them. However, it has become so much more. I have connected with my 'extended' family; my brothers and sisters in Christ (singing: We are family! I got all my sisters and me.). You teach me, encourage me, challenge me, and pray for me. I never thought, in a million years, I would ever feel so close to people I have never met. Thank you! You are loved more than you could know. Isn't God amazing?

OK. Enough mushy stuff! Here are the answers to your questions:

Heidi wanted to know:

1. What calms you down the most?
Well, if I am in the midst of a 'storm' in my life and I go to God's Word, then it definitely calms me down the most. However, I must admit, sheepishly, that I often panic for a bit before opening my Bible. I have found that no thing and no person can calm me down like the Word of God.

2. Favorite meal while you are on the run?
Um. Silly girl. I never eat while running. I'll spill my food. Geez. ;) Besides, if I'm running, I am not breathing well enough to eat, too.

3. What takes your breath away?
Um. RUNNING!
OK....Storms. Thunder, lightning, wind, rain. I am in awe at the power and might of our Lord and it truly does take my breath away. Oh,.....the heat and humidity in the summer takes my breath away, too. Literally.

4. Can I wear white yet?
YES! Officially. It's after Memorial Day. However, I say....be a rebel. Wear it whenever YOU want to. 'Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world' :)

5. Why blog?
Because I know you are dying to hear what I have to say. It's all about YOU folks!!!! :)

Love ya, sister!!! Your blogs inspire me!

Indian Lake Papa wanted to know:

1) How far are you from Kalamazoo?
Papa, I am exactly 587.83 miles from Kalamazoo, MI. I was very excited to find that out. I am closer than I thought. According to Mapquest, I am approximately 9 hours away from you. You never know when I will come surprise you! Keep that guest room ready!

2) When are we going tubing ?
Maybe sooner than you think:) Boy are you going to be sorry when my kiddo's and I are standing at your door someday!!!

3) What can I pray about for you?
Papa, you are so sweet. I would just love it if you would keep my kiddo's in your prayers. I have a son and one daughter who aren't following Christ and two daughters who are. Thank you for asking.

You and Mama are soooo special. I love ya bunches!

Carol wanted to know:

Why are you choosing to live in Iowa instead of California?
Heidi asked the same question down below, so scroll down and I will post the answer for both of you:)

What do you like best about the church you attend?
God is there.

What is the ONE question you have for God...the top of the list question?
I knew YOU would give me the hard question:) I have had to think about this one A LOT! I guess my TOP of the list question would be: 'How can I serve you better?' It was between that and 'Why would you create Brussel Sprouts?'

Carol, I love your heart. You challenge me daily, friend! Love ya!

'Annonymous' wants to know:

1. Have you ever felt convicted by the Holy Spirit about coveting thy neighbors husband, boxer shorts and all?
Um. NO! Even the Holy Spirit understand my coveting. I mean, really.

2. What is the approximate airspeed of the North American Warbler?
Faster than the speed of light. More powerful than a locomotive. Oh, wait. That's Superman. Sorry.

3. In your own words, please define a 'dingle-berry'.
Dingle-Berry is a berry that grows in Australia. See, one day a man named Jack was walking down a path eating some berries. All of the sudden a pack of wild dogs came out of nowhere and began growling and barking at Jack. They seemed to want his berries. Jack was very hungry, though and did not want to give them up. Suddenly one of the dogs attacked him and they all began to 'nip' at Jack's hands. Finally, the dogs managed to pry the berries from Jack's bloody hands. As the dogs ran off, Jack jumped to his feet and shouted: "A dingle's got my berries!" (in the most adorable Australian accent you have ever heard:). To this day, those berries are called 'Dingle Berries'. Duh!

4. Can you guess who's questions these are?
Well, if you hadn't posed the first question I may have had a hard time with this, but there is only ONE husband I covet.....and it's YOURS! :) (or it's YOU....if this is DCW:)

Your friendship has always meant the world to me. I love ya, sister. Give DCW a 'wedgie' for me:)

Girlymama wanted to know:

favorite movie?
Seriously. This is a hard question. I have sooo many. So, I will give you a few: Pride and Prejudice (still waiting for Mr. Darcy...sigh), Facing the Giants, The Guardian, Hitch, Twister, and sooo many more!

favorite book (can't say Bible - i mean summer reading book :-)
You stopped me in my tracks on this one because I was SOOO gonna say my Bible. Honestly, I don't really read anything but my Bible. I don't get a lot of time to read, so I have to make time daily to be in the Word. Any time that I get.....I spend it in the Bible. However, if I do find time to read other books...I LOVE Max Lucado. I think he is an amazing writer.

I have sooo enjoyed your blog! It always gives me a good chuckle! AND....thanks for 'sniffing' Colin for me:) Love ya, sister!!!

Heidi wants to know:

Iowa....what keeps you in Iowa?
I was born and raised in California and moved to Iowa when I was 27. I LOVE it. I found God here. My family is here. My friends are here. I absolutely LOVE the changing of the seasons (spend one Fall here and you'll be hooked). I know who my kids are hanging out with. I feel safe. As a single woman and mom, I can afford to live here. It is a much safer place to raise my kiddo's. Um. I like corn. A lot. Slower place. Fewer people. NO traffic:) Seriously, I could go on and on.

Heidi, I am thankful that the Holy Spirit led me to your blog. He has used you and your story to teach me about myself. If you ever want to 'get-away' from it all......I have room for you:) Love ya!!


Kathi wants to know:

1.How did you become a Christian?
You know, I'm not sure..LOL! My children had been going to AWANA at a local church. One of our neighbors had been taking them. My kiddo's began asking me questions about God that I couldn't answer. Then, Sept. 11th happened and my aunt passed away in 2001. I decided it was time to go to church and find out about this 'God'. Really....I was going for the kids. I wasn't sure what I believe about God, but I wanted them to be able to make up their own minds. Yea. Not quite what happened. I walked into my church for the first time and I felt the presence of God. I knew I was home. I knew I would never be the same. I remember crying when I realized He loved me just as I am. I was right.....I've never been the same:)

2. How do you earn a living?
Currently, I work for an insurance company. I am a licensed agent assistant. I believe God has other plans for me, though:) I am thankful for this job, but my desire is to be home with my children. We'll see.

3. What's your favorite food for dinner?
My very favorite dinner food is steak (cooked on the grill), baked potato, and corn. OH, and a biscuit:) YUMMY!!!!!! OK..now I'm hungry!

4. What's your favorite movie?
See response to Girlymama:)

5. What's your favorite Bible verse.
Wow. I have sooo many. BUT...my very favorite is the one that God gave me at a time in my life where I was very distraught. I am an only child, so 'waiting' is not a gift of mine. And you know God is ALL about 'waiting'. Well, I was in the midst of a trial and really wanted God to give me a clear answer. It seemed to be taking forever. As I was crying out to him one day, I clearly heard him say...."Be still". I knew He was telling me to let go of the situation and quit worrying about it. So, in that moment....I gave it to Him. I let it go. The next day....I had my answer. So, in short: Psalm 46:10.

6. (Personal) You don't have to answer this one if you don't want to. I'm just curious. Are you a single mom by choice in example: Never been married adopted all four, or was there a husband? If so, does he help you raise the children?
Kathi, I have no problem answering this, but the answer is long. Tomorrow, I will post my testimony. You will know more about me than you ever wanted to!!! :) As far as the children's dad helping me raise them.....he lives in California and has our son. So, yes.

Kathi, thank you for your sweet spirit. Your love for your family shines through and draws me in. You are such a good wife and mom! What a blessing you are! Love ya!!

Sharon wants to know:

What was your best friend's name in 1st grade?
OK. Sharon. Have you ever seen 'Finding Nemo'? Well, I'm Dory! I'm lucky to remember my address. I have seriously thought about it and I don't think I had one. The only one I could think of was Gary Walsh. We were buddies. AND...I thought he was cute. BUT...we were buddies. My mom and dad would always call him 'little Gawy'. Drove me nuts. Now I do it to my kids. However, I don't think it was 1st grade. I think I was a loner. A rebel. A geek?

Did you ever belong in a club as a child? If so, what was the name of the club and what was it's purpose?
Um. Yea. It was a club started by my two friends and I in 5th grade. It was called 'The Flower Club'. No! We weren't horiticulturists. We just liked 'flower' names. So, we all adopted names of flowers as our own. I think my name was Rose. Which disturbs me because my youngest daughter wants 6 girls and wants to name them ALL Rose. Yea. Like George Foreman. OK....I had totally forgot about all of this! Anyway, our purpose was very noble and worthy! We wanted to raise enough money to..........are you ready.......................send the WHOLE club, all THREE of us, to DISNEYLAND! Yes. We were fundraising for a personal vacation! OH MY GOSH! History is repeating itself! My eldest daughter suggested we do fundraising so we can take a DISNEY CRUISE next year!!!!!!! Who knew, when we started the 'Flower Club' that it would cause a generational ripple????????? Freaking out. Seriously. This is soooo weird. Leave it to you, Sharon! Oh, and THAT is my mom's name, by the way!!!! HMMMMMM....

Did you ever fall in love with one of your teachers???
Not love, just lust. Sorry, but it's true. My high school history teacher was Mr. Matthews. Yea. He was a hottie. I must've liked him A LOT! I flunked his class 3 times. Mmmm-Hmmm.

Sharon, I just love you and Kathi. What awesome examples of God's love you are for your families!! Love ya! OH...and WHEN are you going to adopt me as your 'other' sister????? ;)

Lori wants to know:

If you could meet one person, besides Jesus, who would it be and what are the top three questions you would ask him/her?
Sister, I am sooo sorry, but I can't answer this. This was a question on a blog that I read yesterday and I have been thinking about it ever since. I just don't know. I will continue to think about it and let you know in a later post! Awesome question, though!

It has been so amazing watching the transformation the Lord has done in your life. You inspire me to always try to be the woman God intends me to be! Thank you, sister!!! I love ya!


I hope you all (or ya'all) enjoyed this. I know I did!!!! Thanks for the questions and thanks for reading my ramblings!!!!!

You Ask. I'll Tell.

My next post will be my 100th post!

Sooooo......

I have been trying to figure out how to 'celebrate' this blogging milestone. I know some of you have posted 100 random facts about yourself, but that seems like a lot of writing and quite honestly, I can't think of 100 random facts about myself that would hold your attention. Some of you have had giveaways, but I'm thinking that you probably wouldn't want my 'stuff'. So.....I decided to do something a little different.

I have decided to do a Q & A. In the comments section of this post you are allowed to ask me ANY question you want. You can ask personal questions, random questions, funny questions. You can ask my opinion on certain things...whatever you want. No holds barred. In my 100th post..I will answer your questions. Just remember...if you ask my opinion....I'm gonna give it to you:)

Yes. You can ask more than one question. You can ask as MANY as you want.

I am excited to hear what is on your mind! What do you want to know?

I will post the answers when I think everyone is done asking. Oh, and just a reminder....I CAN'T POST ANYTHING ELSE UNTIL I POST THE ANSWERS, SO PLEASE HURRY! I'm just sayin.

Happy questioning!!!!!

Fill In Friday Over At Tam's

It's that blessed day of the week. The last day of work (for me, at least) AND......most importantly......

Fill in Friday at Tam's!

Tam has the rules posted on her site, so don't worry if you've never played. However, I must warn you: It's ADDICTING:)

See you there!

Twister. (not the game)

I love storms. Here, let me say that again. I love storms. The bigger, the better. Have I told you that one of my dreams is to go on a storm chase? Mm-Hmm..it is. I really, really want to see a Tornado. Don't judge me! I live in 'Tornado Alley' for Pete's sake. Seriously, to truly signify the beginning of storm season, I have a tradition. I break out the best movie ever, 'Twister'! OK. Maybe it's not the best movie ever, but it's a 'must watch' during a severe weather advisory.

OK. So when I say I want to see a tornado, you must understand that I do not mean that I wish to see a tornado over my house! I'm talking open field. Nothing being destroyed. No debris. You get the picture.

Last night? Too close for comfort. At approximately 6:45pm the sirens began to sound. I hurried home and found that a tornado was a few miles outside of our town and it was headed in our direction. As I looked to the West, the sky was black. The wind began to pick up slightly and we were told to take cover.

Now, since I love storms, there was no way I was taking cover. I wasn't too worried about it. I was more concerned for a friend of mine who lives out in the country not too far from where the tornado was spotted. Besides, in the 12 years I have lived here, we have never had a tornado come through town. As a matter of fact, to my knowledge, this town has never been hit by a tornado. We did have one touch down on the outskirts of town once, but that's about it. No worries. Until............................

The tornado siren had been continuously wailing for approximately 15 mins when I heard the sounds of other 'sirens'. Fire trucks, police, and ambulances. In 12 years, I have heard the sirens sounded, maybe, 3 times. I had never heard other sirens join into the chilling coronation. I was on my porch when it dawned on me: my daughter, Amber, was working. Alone. She must have felt my thoughts because not a minute later she sent me a text message saying: 'Mom, I'm scared.' Just then an officer raced by our house and told me to get inside and take cover. My daughter wanted me to come get her, but I couldn't. They weren't allowing people to be on the streets. I told her to run across the street and go to the nearest house. She went to Burger King instead, but at least she wasn't alone.

I went down to the basement and as we looked out the window we could see nothing but black. The darkness was reminiscent of the pitch black you find at midnight. Mind you....it was only around 8pm. As we waited, we received word that the tornado subsided and, miraculously, only one house was damaged by it. Nobody lost their life, thank God.

Storms. They are so big and powerful. They remind me of God. They remind me of how small and out of control I really am. Maybe that's why I love them. As the thunder roared and the lightning cracked, my heart was rejoicing at the magnitude of His power and might.

We are bracing for more storms tonight and they are supposed to be worse than last night. I pray for everyones safety and ask you to please send one up, too:)

What's The Deal?

Most of you know that I was born and raised in California. Now, California definitely has some 'quirks' (OK....perhaps that's a little understated), but after living in Iowa for 12 years I just have to say....the Midwest? Yea. It has some 'quirks', too.

There is an odd phenomenon that occurs this time of year that I can't seem to grasp. It's an event called 'Mushroom Hunting'. Yes. I said Mushroom. Hunting. If you are from the West Coast, I know you have a puzzled look on your face right now. Cause I'm from the West Coast and I still have a puzzled look on my face. In California we are taught to NEVER eat wild mushrooms because they can cause you to, um, die!

I have questioned these 'hunters' about this seemingly odd behavior and I'm not even sure they know why they hunt mushrooms. The only answer I seem to get is "Mushrooms are awesome!" and "Oh, they are sooooo good!" OK, but can't you buy them? It's not like store-bought mushrooms are sold at Lobster prices. It's FUNGUS for Pete's sake! Or Fungi....whichever the case may be. Alright, truth be told....I can't stand mushrooms. Not store bought and especially not captured-in-the-wild-mushrooms.

Still. Every store you go into you can hear wild stories being told of mushroom hunting days gone by. At first, I thought it was a joke. You know. Like 'Snipe Hunting'. A little joke the hicks, er, I mean, country folks like to play on us city folk. Yea. No. They are serious. I mean really serious about their mushroom hunting. Frankly, it's disturbing.

Please, please, please tell me......

Have you ever been mushroom hunting? Ever heard of it? Know someone who does it? I am dying to hear your thoughts on this!

(PS....I can use the word 'hick' because after 12 years....I'm officially 'hicky'/'hickish'. Not sure those are words but I am one. Officially. Just ask my kids. However, if you are not from the Midwest you are NOT allowed to call us 'hicks'. Just wanted to clear that up:)