The Names the Game

So, my sister Kara is going to have her second baby in October.

With ALL that she and her husband have going on in their lives,

I've decided to name the baby for them.

I'll at least pick out HER first name,

they can throw some handle in the middle, whatever.

Here are the names that my family has come up with:

Girls ~ Kemily, Kendall, Kaitlin (can't be Kaylee, that's too much like Lili), Kayla, Kiley, and Kennedy.

Boys (even though it will be a girl) ~ Kyle, Kody, Kade, Karson, and Keegan.

What are your suggestions?

Keep in mind that the first name must begin with a "K"

or suffer irreversible complexes for the rest of HER life! Just kidding there!

Wild Ride

Brian brought home a sweet surprise today for our family. No, it wasn't chocolate or candy or even a chick flick. He purchased a go-cart from one of his customers. We all had to take a ride around the neighborhood and try out our new wheels. So here's how we rolled ... Clampett Style.

Of course, for safety measures, mom had to go first and try it out.

My copilot for this adventure was Drew:

Drew tried his hand at driving - solo, but we were all so scared we took off running

and forgot to get a picture. Next time, my boy, next time.

Meg, the speedracer, with her passenger Matt.

And Matt "I'm ready for the Indy Races" finished us up tonight.

So much fun! I envision many hours of enjoyment for our family with this recycled toy. Hopefully many memories and not many trips to the E.R.!

A Day in the Life

~wake up at 4:00
~quiet time
~laundry
~shower
~kids
~school by 6:45 (or 6:50 or 6:55 but DEFINATELY before 7:00)
~dismiss from school at 2:00 but
~stay late for school
~so get home at 4:00
~mom changes and cleans kids, dad grills hamburgers and packs chips and fruit for dinner
~leave for church revival at 4:30
~eat dinner on the road to church, there's no dinner on the gounds tonight, sad face on me
~listen to boys fussing about eating their food off of broiler pans in the car - hey, those things make GREAT trays in a pinch!
~REVIVAL HIT THE SPOT!
~head home at 8:30
~walk in the door at 9:30
~get ready to start the process all over tomorrow

NO WAIT ~ TOMORROW IS SATURDAY!

~sleep WAY past 4:00
~wear pj's as long as possible
~eat country breakfast
~do practically nothing else

~aaaahhhh, just what the doctor ordered :}

Are you for real?

OMG ~ I've got to share what happened at school today!

I was lining up my kids in the class to go to lunch when I heard someone knocking on our door. As anyone else would in that circumstance, I simply opened the door and said, "Hello."

It was then that I noticed a sweet second grade girl running from our door to hers down the hall. I quickly called out,

"I see you ______" and heard her giggle. Can you believe it!

We were ding-dong-ditched at school!

Can you say SPRING FEVER!!!

Wait, my son Matt just asked me to change ding-dong-ditch to knock-knock-ditch, since there are no doorbells at school.

WHATEVER!!

I still can't believe she did that!

And when I asked her after school if she came to my door today, the little pixie acted all innocent. Too funny!

Psalm 139 : 7-10

"Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast."

When to let go

OK, so my daughter REALLY wants to be on Facebook. She's got it BAD. But notice I said "wants" and not "needs" (I know, that's the mother talking). A further question to ponder is this, do 13-year old's REALLY need to be on Facebook? Aside from hooking up with old friends for a High School reunion, or possibly working a business angle, what's the deal with Facebook? These kids are around each other ALL day at school, almost every prepubescent that I know has their own cell phone with HALF of the Middle School programed in, and they ALL have their own e-mail address. I just feel like I'm yelling in the wind when it comes to Facebook.

So who needs to let go? The mother who is trying to teach her child that it's ok to not have EVERYTHING ever invented in this amazing world or the child who just wants to spread her wings and fly?

Psalm 19:14 ~ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

New Look, Same Me

Well, my daughter finally guilted me into updating our family blog. In Meg's words, my blogging was "getting on her nerves" (parental translation, my LACK of blogging was getting to her).

So here I am, a new great look, but the same ol' me...

Have you ever taken a step back from life and looked around at all that God has blessed you with? Maybe I shouldn't say you, how about this...has God ever stopped you in your tracks and gently shown you His greatness in your life?

The other day, my sweet man asked me what we should build next for our home. Here's the deal with that...we absolutely LOVE building furniture together. We've built a rather large kitchen table, a pie safe (more Brian's doing than mine), two bedside tables, three end tables, a coffee table, and a massive TV stand. Most of the materials have been found around his family farm so were free to us. What can I say, the rustic look appeals to me! Not to mention the satisfaction of looking at a finished project, knowing that it came about with a hammer, nails,

some screws, just a few heated words, and two loving hearts!

So when B-Man asked on Tuesday of last week what we should work on next, my thoughts immediately went to our bare back yard. Knowing that my parents, sis, bro-in-law, and nephew were coming over Friday night for a meal, I suggested we try our hands at a picnic table.

And guess what? We did it, or rather we made it.

Brian was given permission to get some 2 by 4's from his deer camp and brought those home Wednesday night. Thursday night found our family putting together a 7 foot picnic table!

From scratch, well, from an adjusted plan that Brian Googled up.

As soon as I find my camera cord, I'll post some pictures for you.

Long story, I know, so I'll bring this narrative back around. Tonight, before the rain came, my family sat around our new picnic table for our supper: fried pork chops, potato salad (yep, Kara, still eating on that potato salad!), baked beans, cheesy broccoli, and pink lemonade. Sitting there with family that I love, with food on our table, in a house that keeps us safe and warm, in a neighborhood that protects us, how could I ask for more?

Sometimes when God opens that window and shows my heart all that I have been

blessed with, one of my favorite songs comes to mind:

"So if there's anything I've learned from this journey I am on,

Simple truths will keep you going, simple love will keep you strong.

'Cause there are questions without answers, and flames that never die.

Heartaches we go through are often blessings in disguise.

So thank you , Lord.

How could I ask for more?"

And I sigh in contentment ...