At last....

Last song listened to on iPod: Stevie Wonder "For Once in My Life"



It's a good thing Stevie can stand on his on talent. Cause those girls dancing...not sure what they were thinking...

Last thing I spent money on: postage stamps

Last thing I ate: salad and baked potato and (2) Golden Double Stuff Oreo cookies

Last thing I read: Fep's school work

Last show I watched on TV: I Love Lucy

Last movie I watched: The Help

Last person I talked to on phone: my Mom

Last person I texted: Lisa ....oops, nope!...my Mom

Last book I read (besides the Bible): Candle in the Darkness

Fish are friends not food....

So, I have once again joined Weight Watchers. About 3 years ago I joined and lost 20 or so pounds. Fast forward to now and I gained all that back plus some. Once I reached "maintenance" I got all lazy about going in to weigh. It was all down hill after that. A pound here. Two pounds there. And so on...

Weight Watchers works for me because:

1. I hate paying for it. I'm a frugal wannabe kind of gal, and if I'm paying hard earned cash lose that weight, I'm going to stick to it. Once you hit maintenance on Weight Watchers for 6 weeks you don't have to pay the fees any longer. I had just gotten to free three years ago, and I quit going..

2. It makes me accountable. Nothing like standing on a scale for somebody every week.

3. I can still have a treat. Last week I lost 1.4 lbs and that was with all the good holiday eating.

4. It's rather fun. Seriously. Fun. Those meetings are cheesy and corny and motivational all rolled in one.

After the first meeting, the kids and I decided the meetings felt something like this scene from Finding Nemo:

Hello. My name is Kathy. I am a nice person not a mindless eating machine. It has been three weeks since my last Krispy Kreme ;)

For the days in between...

I surely hope I never come across that I think I have arrived or that I have it all together. Because goodness knows, I don't. I. do. not. A good number of posts that go up are my "happy" and "let's make sure I remember this" posts. But there are the days in between. And some of those days are just so ordinary that they are unbloggable. And then there are those days like yesterday. A day that tears run down a good bit of the day. Struggling with the the burdens and weight of life, the consequences of sin that are far reaching in ways you'd never imagine, and struggling with offering grace for that sin. A day of feeling the weight of knowing that I know that Grace personally and why can't I offer it as freely as He offers it to me? Trying to hard to get there.

I read a quote today by Emily Freeman that said, "Grace doesn't balance out...or marry law. And that can be uncomfortable. If grace doesn't in some way and on some level offend you, then perhaps you haven't met Jesus." I had to think about that for a while. I had to let it sink in. And I think maybe I get it now? Grace isn't always fair. Actually, grace may never be fair. Extending grace is hard and uncomfortable. Particularly the kind of grace that Jesus extends to us...to me. But Jesus doesn't call us to comfort. And sometimes we are just plain ole going to have the days in between...the days that hurt...the days that are uncomfortable. And His Love and His Grace are in those days, too...and He will get me to the point that I can extend His Grace to those as undeserving as me.

Yes. His Love and Grace are especially for the days in between.

A Mighty Fortress...

Worship I never ever get tired of. And take note Heathahlee, should something tragic happen to me, and I die...please sing this at my funeral. Okay? :)

Beach Blast!

I did not sign up to work VBS. I worked it last year and found myself extremely stressed by the time it took and not being able to take care of my responsibilities at my job or home. Mainly my job. So, this year I decided I wouldn't do it. I have had a year to learn how to handle working, homeschooling, keeping my home, etc., etc., but I thought I just don't want that stress again. Long story short...our children's pastor plugged me in and I couldn't say no because I knew he must really need help if he plugged me in before he actually talked to me. I determined not to be stressed cause it's only a week, right? I determined to have a good attitude, serve well, serve happy. I made the devotions led by the children's pastor before we began in the morning. And you know what? Attitude is everything. VBS blessed my socks off. My house is a wreck and dirty. My work didn't get done on this day. But tomorrow is Saturday and all that will be caught up tomorrow. Anyway, every single day my heart was touched by something that brought me to tears. At times, it was almost embarrassing cause I mean what adult cries at VBS? Today, I thought I had made it. A couple of things blessed my heart, but not to the point of tears. We were literally about to pull in my driveway when the following conversation happened:

Moose: Mom, you know the lady that always is helping Conner? ((Conner is autistic, and "that lady" is his Mom))

Me: Yeah. I know who she is.

Moose: Well, today at the end of Bible Class she thanked all of our class for being so kind and so open to Conner and treating him so well. She said never had any group of children treated him so kind before and accepted him. And she started crying.

Me: ((tears flood eyes, can barely talk)) Awwwwww. That is so sweet....

So, I didn't make it today. I got all misty and verklempt again. Moose is in 4th grade and was in the biggest class in VBS this year. They ran anywhere from 20-25 children, and 75% of them were boys. So, for a group of children to open their hearts to the "different" child....well, it still makes me misty.....

Oh, and Beach Blast! was our VBS theme this year :)

Losing my cool...

This post caught my eye, mind, and heart the Saturday morning I read it. I happen to very much agree with the post. I do believe there is a movement of coolness in church that is watering down the Gospel.

Hours later I had to go to Walmart wearing a t-shirt that happened to be a Chrisitan t-shirt...if I can remember...maybe even from my church. Not that what I was wearing was important, but I was branding myself with that t-shirt. Anyway, our small Mississippi town has it's very own "Rain Man". And I hope you know the Dustin Hoffman character to which I am referring. Our Rain Man's name is Michael. He is a mid 30's black man who loves children...and I mean LOVES children...never meets a stranger...and his special gift is that he can tell you the day of the week that you were born. Tell him your birthday by month, day, and year and he can tell you within seconds the day of the week you were born. It's quite amazing. And most every one in town I think knows Michael by now. So, Moose and I were in Walmart and out of nowhere there is Michael. He grabs Moose for a hug, and begins to start up a conversation...very loudly. I could feel every eye at the check out area on me, and I was wishing he'd really go away. It did not take me too long from leaving the store to realize I was too cool...or so I thought...to engage Michael without worrying about the others around me. And my heart sank at my shallowness. Had I not earlier just read about being too cool? Remember that when you obtain wisdom and knowledge that you are accountable for it. After reading and agreeing with that post, I was then accountable for it.



This is a R movie and I don't think this will have anything offensive in it as it's just the trailer for the movie. Dustin Hoffman's character just reminds me so much of Michael...I hope to see Michael again, soon. And next time, I hope I'm completely uncool.

Ooops! I did it again...

When I made that cake 9 months ago, who would have thought? Who would have ever thought that I'd actually misspell "birthday" again? Not me. That was good for a one time laugh, right?
Enter birthday cake #2.....

MMMMM HMMMMM. I misspelled birthday again!! Good grief. And I got nothing this time. I was putting those candles on that cake, got to the end to put on the "y", and thought, "Why do I have two letters left?" And then I saw what I had done....more laughs....more smiles...more memories.

Yes, I homeschool my children. Don't judge me ;)

Ohhhhh! And today, just happens to be my sweet husband's birthday. He loves me even though I can't spell "birthday"!

The Real Deal...

The movie Fireproof is one of my fav-o-rite movies. Remember how the black guy at the firehouse loved the Lord and took so much teasing for it? There's one scene in which Kirk Cameron's character tells another fireman character, "Well, we can say what we want to about him. But we both know. He's the real deal." I looooove that line. I hope people say that about me. I hope I come across as the real deal. Real deal people have so much influence for the Lord. I once read a quote that said, "Live your life so that when others talk bad about you that nobody believes it." I wonder when bad things are said about me, is it so easy to believe it...or not? I hope...how I hope not.

Something Beautiful...

I made time. I pushed the work to the side and for an hour I went swimming with my children. After I got out of the pool, I laid on the hammock to get good and dry and even get a little sun. I set the timer for 15 minutes which was all I had left to spare of anything that looked like free time for the day. I turned on my iPod and "Something Beautiful" by Need to Breathe started playing. Suddenly, I was 15 again and laying out in my backyard with a small radio playing. I was seeking that savage tan...not caring at that age how unhealthy it is to "lay out". But being 15 again was something beautiful. And laying there on that hammock, Moose came and curled up beside me. Yes, we found the lost "I love you". That too, was something beautiful. I thought about Dawn as I always do when I hear that song, cause she often has it playing on her blog. And "the lady with the smiling eyes" really is something beautiful. And finally I thought about a nameless lady at church. I call her nameless, because I don't know her...although I want to. A few weeks ago, we had baptisms. They ran some video testimonies, and the nameless lady had the sweetest, most genuine testimony. It truly touched my heart. And when the pastor baptizing her asked her before submerging her in the water if she'd given her heart to Jesus, she said with a smile, "You know it." I giggled and tears filled my eyes. Her new believer enthusiasm for Christ was contagious. The following week they ran video of the baptisms and it was done with "Something Beautiful" playing in the background. And my eyes caught what my ears did not. After the nameless lady came up out of the water, she pumped her fist in the air as she proclaimed victory. Victory in Jesus was hers. She knew it, too...and she knew it was something beautiful.

And with all those random thoughts running through my mind as I laid on that hammock, I found that my 15 minutes was up. Who knew that 15 random thought filled minutes carved out of a busy day could be something beautiful?

Psalm 38:7

This past Thursday, we were supposed to go see Tim Hawkins. If you don't know who he is, he's a Christian stand-up comedian. My friends have raved and raved over him and all but forced us to get tickets to go see him in our area. The night of the event we couldn't go, so I sent my children with my friends. They brought us back one of his DVDs, and we watched it last night. This was one of my favortie skits on the whole DVD. I've been chuckling about this even a day later. This video quality is not good, and it looks kinda older. The DVD was just a smidge better (funnier) than this, but this still should give you a good chuckle....

Pesky...

Pesky, they are. More than just getting in our bird feeders. Here is a snippet of a recent conversation between The Bob and I:

The Bob: (working on truck, has the hood up) "Those darn squirrels are chewing on wires in my truck. They've chewed on this here. This cable has been chewed on. Look at this...."

Me: "How do you know it's the squirrels. Maybe it's mice?"

The Bob: (putting his hand into a foam covering in the top of the hood) "Because he's left his nuts in here!" (Pulls out acorns...)

Me: (walks away giggling)

:)

The longest day...

This was my yesterday:

6:45 - I'm up late. I should have gotten up at 6:00 to make my 8:45 doctor appointment.
7:00 - Wake kids before jumping in shower.
7:30 - Out of shower, curling hair. Moose asks, "Where is Fep?" She's not up! "Fep, please get up. I woke you up 30 minutes ago, and we have to leave soon."
8:00 - Leave for Dr....running late...it takes 35 min. to get to his office. Just for the record, I used to work at a doctor's office. Just because your appointment is at 8:45 doesn't mean you walk in their door at 8:45. Arriving 20 minutes ahead of appointment is always appreciated. Ummmmm....but I didn't make that today.
8:00 - no gas in car. Will have to stop. Lovely. This will make me even later.
8:05 - stop for gas. Click the pump handle in the little slot thingy that allows you to pump without holding onto the pump. Go in store to get kid's breakfast. Come back and pump is broken and the release did not click off when tank was full. Gas is spilling out all over my car and all over the ground. Probably pumped about $10 worth of gas onto my car and the ground.
8:15 - Keep thinking gas is not good on a car's paint. Pull into another convenience store and buy 5 bottles of water to rinse off gas. Sheriff deputy hanging out at register makes comment I must be really thirsty. I fake a smile. I'm sure they really thought I was nuts if they saw me pouring the water on my car. I'm embarrassed and feel like the whole parking lot is looking at me. Oh, and I'm really late for Dr. now.
8:45 - Sign in at the Dr. at the exact time of my appointment. I'm late, but not late all rolled in one. It takes the girl at the front desk 15 minutes to load my new insurance into the computer. 15 minutes...
8:30 - Listen to lady in waiting room talk on her cell phone. She's disputing a bill. Nice.
9:50 - Nurse calls me back after we've been in waiting room for one hour.
11:00 - Ready to leave Dr. after being told that I have Strep. Fep was diagnosed with Strep on Friday. Strep is very contagious so I ask about Moose and The Bob. They'll have to see Dr., too, if they want antibiotics. Make Moose appointment for 12:30.
11:10 - Leave Dr., get lunch, run to Target, and go back to Dr.
12:15 - Back at Drs. office for the 2nd time. Already feel like I've been there all day.
1:00 - Moose does not have Strep, but they are putting him on antibiotics anyway.
1:20 - Waiting at Pharmacy for meds.....find some yummy Weight Watchers candy for the diet that I'm now on....oh wait, it's not a diet.....it's my new way of life.....
2:20 - Home. Finally.
5:45 - Leave to take Moose to guitar lessons...another car ride and I'm ready to sing, "On the road again..."
7:10 - Moose's lesson is done. Head back home....
7:45 - Walk in the door and finish dinner....
8:00 - Eat dinner while watching 2nd half of The Biggest Loser.....really glad I'm having healthy Black Beans and Rice or I'd really be feeling guilty....also have the urge to go get on the Treadmill after watching the show....but I don't, instead I....
9:00 - Watch Chopped on Food Network. One of my very, very favorite Food Network Shows...
10:00 - Rush kids to bed. Give Moose medicine. Fep took hers earlier.
10:15 - Look at the dosage on everyone's antibiotics. It makes sense that my dosage is a bit more than Fep's cause I'm bigger. But why is Moose's dosage more than Fep's and as much as mine and he doesn't even have Strep??? Will call Dr. tomorrow....and find that this day is now running into tomorrow.....Bah.
10:45 Can't remember if I took my medicine. Have to count out all the pills to see if I did or not. Nope. I didn't take it. So, I take it now.
11:00 - Now that I think about that gas spilling everywhere....I was more concerned about my car than the gas on the ground....what if when I left someone dropped a cig or something....I should have told the lady in the store....Ugh.....

I don't know why, but this was the longest day. Not a bad day, but just loooooooong.

The Honest Scrap Award.

My friend Heathahlee. She's so kind. She awarded me Honest Scrap. I'm verklempt. Okay. Not really. But in receiving this award, I must give you 10 randomly honest things about me. Then I must pass it on to 7. I don't have 7 people in blogland I can pass this on to, because I'm so minuscule in blogland. But I will pass it on to three people. I'll save that for the end. Oh, and the people you pass it on to are supposed to be people that have encouraged you. Encouraged you with their honesty or something like that. Heather is probably so wishing she hadn't passed this on to me right now. I don't think I'm taking it very seriously. How can you take a title like "Honest Scrap" seriously though?

Okay, 10 randomly honest things:

1. I have Vitiligo. An auto-immune disorder that causes you to loose pigment in your skin. You know...the disease Michael Jackson said he had. Well, I have it. For real. I'm afraid one day I'll end up like a spotted cheetah or leopard or something.

2. In addition to having Vitiligo, I'm loosing my hair. It runs in my family as my Aunt was almost bald. I don't think I'll be bald, but I'm looking at really thin hair in my older, older than I am now, years.

3. The fact the the previous two honest tidbits bother me makes me think I am vain. The fact that my third fact is still talking about the previous two makes me know I am vain. Being honest here people. But I don't know many women who think, "Isn't this fantastic! My hair is falling out. I love it." Anyway, I appreciate the Proverbs that says "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Yep. I'm clinging to that.

4. I love Casting Crowns. I am a Casting Crowns groupie. Truly. I've met them, have autographs from band members, and one of the cutest concert t-shirts you'll ever see. You'd like to see it wouldn't you?

I am a Casting Crowns groupie, but not a stalker.

5. I love a tidy house. But I sometimes end up with cluttered closets in making the house tidy ;)

6. I am a Foodie. If you don't want to click on Foodie to see what that means...it just means I watch A LOT of Food Network.

7. My first date with The Bob was a blind date. I didn't say 2 sentences to him and then fell asleep. Isn't it so easy to see why he asked me out again? But he did. And when I introduced him to my Mom on our first "real" date, I called him by the wrong name....I introduced him as Chris. His name is not Chris. Isn't it so easy to see why he asked me to marry him? (giggle) Oh, and I was 21 when The Bob and I met, and 25 when we married.

8. I lived at home until I got married. Yes, I lived at home until I was 25. I've never lived on my own. I was either at home with my parents and then married. Never by myself or with roommates or anything like that.

9. I lost a baby at six months of pregnancy. I'm forever changed by it. But not in a bad way....anyway, her name was Beth.

10. Two months after I had Moose, I had my gallbladder out and a bilateral hernia repair. That was a rough pregnancy....but so worth it ;)

Okay....passing this on to:

**Daisy at The Quiet Life. I love everything about her. Especially her honesty. Her blog has the name of my old blog, and my "life verse"...Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life...(1 Thes 4:11-12) From what I read from her blog, I think we have a lot in common, but I think she is the better part of what I want to be. Oh, and if you home school, she's an excellent source of info, too.

**Then there is Dawn at beyond grace. I love everything about her, too. She makes me smile, warms my heart, and has a humble spirit. Wonderful lady, she is.

**Finally, Jen at unglazed. I love her love for birds. And I love the photos she takes of them. She makes me smile, too. Oh, she has a giveaway going on right now. You could be the lucky winner of a year subscription to Birds and Blooms. So, check her out.

These recipients may now choose to pass it on to 7 encouragingly honest bloggers that they love. And thank you Heathahlee. You know I love you. Always.

I am what?!

When I saw this on another blog, they were The Kitchen. I thought, "Oh, I bet I'm the kitchen", and I took the test. Then I got THIS result.....

You Are the Bathroom

Overall, you are a healthy person. You enjoy taking care of yourself. You are also quite attractive. Looking your best makes you feel your best. You are conscientious and detailed oriented. You stay on top of things. You are very honest and open. Privacy is not something you need a lot of.

What Room of the House Are You?

Oh. my. goodness. I laughed out loud when I saw my answer. THE BATHROOM?! The one thing that it says that I know does not fit me is, "Privacy is not something you need a lot of." Ummmm. I just don't think that fits. I love me some alone time. Love it. Crave it. Need it. Anyway, if you're up for some fun, find out your room :)

Great Words

A couple of times already, I've shared some of my favorite quotes. This quote is my all time favorite line from a movie. It comes from Forrest Gump. And no, it's not about Bubba Gump Shrimp or "Run Forrest, run!" Remember his childhood friend, Jenny? Remember how he absolutely adored her? This line was said during a scene in which Jenny was giving him all her reasons for not being able to stay with him. I think it sums up what the need of every single human heart is.

"I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is."
~Forrest Gump

Yes. We all know and need.......love.

Did someone mention giveaway?

I have nothing to give. I'm cheap that way. But I can direct you to people who are having giveaways:

Heathahlee, who just happen to be my best buddy, is giving away a tassel. A BIRD tassel. Love the birds. She's celebrating her blogiversary. So, give her some comment love and get your chance to win. What shows love in blog world more than leaving someone a comment? Enter here.You only have today left to enter!

Missy at Southern Queen Bee. Another tassel and she's celebrating her ability to take over her sister's blog. Enter here.

Kimba at A Soft Place to Land. Amazing dishes. Not a whole set, but just a piece, I think. Anyway, they're really cute. Enter here.

I'm Off...

Tomorrow I leave to see my sister get married this weekend. It will be a plane ride as she lives in Phoenix, and I'm here in the "Deep South". I hate flying. Loathe it. Detest it. I'd rather go to the dentist. If you happen to be reading this, say a little prayer for me, okay? Anyway, I have a million things to do, but what am I doing? Sitting here blogging so all five people who read it will know where I am. Just trying to keep those communication lines open to my tiny audience ;)

I have a million things to do, and some things I really wanted to do just won't get done. They really just involved vanity anyway. And I'm trying to see the glass as half full instead of half empty:

• Could not work in getting my hair colored. My roots look AWFUL (half empty), BUT I did manage to wax my bushy, bushy eyebrows (half full)
• I gained back 6 lbs. out of 20 lbs. I had lost (half empty), BUT I did take off 3 of those regained lbs. (half full)
• I have a huge pimple on my cheek (half empty), BUT at least I don't have several huge pimples I'm dealing with right now (half full). And I'm almost 40 years old, People. Why am I still getting pimples?!

Okay. This is just a big ramble, and I really do have lots and lots to do. I hope to have good wedding pictures to post when I return. Although I've not seen the movie (rated R does not fit well with my PG family), I do often think about being a real life Wedding Crasher! I just LOVE weddings!

Random Blog Thoughts Bullet Style

• I have blogger block, and have absolutely nothing to post about.
• If I have nothing to post about, why am I posting this?
• Susie and Nester's "buttons" match the colors of my blog. Pretty.
• I have Pioneer Woman and Holy Experience in my blog list. Could those women be any more different!
• Everywhere I go now, people have buttons for their blogs. They are EVERYWHERE. Where do people get these? Not that I need one or anything.
• I thought coming back into the blogging world that I could avoid "comment lust". I have not achieved that yet.
• Blogging takes up a lot of time. Even to do a simple post like this seems to take way too much time. For me it does anyway.
• I have one follower. I think I need to take that whole section off. In fact, I will. It looks sad.
• I went back and read some of Debbie's stuff at This is the Life last night. I wished she was still active in her blogging. She is so funny.