Oh well...

Tonight Mikayla was looking through a box of old pictures of mine, asking who they were and what we were doing. When she (ahem) discovered a recurring theme, she said, "Man, you had a lot of boyfriends." (I didn't really.) I said, trying to be pious and set a good example for the future, "Yeah, I know, it's kind of embarrassing. But eventually I realized that I didn't need a boyfriend to be happy." Jessica: "Nope, just a husband." :)

10 years ago...

10 years ago this very moment, I held Jessica in my arms for the first time.
It had been a long wait, but she was worth it!
5 years after we got married, 3 years after stopping bcp, 8 days after her due date, 2 days after they tried to induce labor, 10 hours after arriving at the hospital--there she was, all tiny and perfect and pink. (And a little blue, but that went away.)
She is my sensitive, intuitive child. Before she could talk, (was there really a time when she didn't talk?!!) we would be out on our deck and she would look up in this one tall tree and smile and wave and babble something...I used to wonder if she saw an angel. Corny, I know. But what if? She was not even 2 when we got the news of the Wedgwood shooting, and when she saw me crying she climbed up in my lap and cuddled with me. For years after my Dad died, there was one praise chorus that always made me tear up, but I never said anything about it. One Sunday after we sang that song she looked up at me and said, "That song always makes me think of Grandad." Last year a friend of hers in Conway lost his dad, and when she saw him last weekend she said, "Mommy, ever since Mr. Osbourne died, Mrs. Marnie and Fraser and Pearl don't look as brightly colored as they used to." I wonder if that's her way of seeing their grief?
Although she's never been as mischievous as Mikayla, I do have some favorite stories. Like when she was 3, and Mike said, "I need to pick up soandso for church," and she said, "But she's too heavy!" Or when he asked if she wanted to go on a date to McDonald's with him and she said, "Oh my goodness yes!" And when we were on our way to Baskin Robbins when she was 4, and she said, "After I eat ice cream can I play outside? And run around in circles, and lay on the grass and watch the sunset, and sleep on the grass?" And when she was potty training, and she tinkled and I said, "Yay, did I hear you go potty?" and she said, "No, just gas." HA!
She also has added to our family vocabulary. In my family, if someone pronounces something cute when they're little, it sticks and we all start using it. Her contributions are: excuse me = miki, ponytail holders = ponynails, hamburger = hammigigger, side by side = two by two by, Barbie = Arbie, eyelashes = ashlyes, octopus = octopudis, and peppermints = peppernuts.

She's grown up a lot, and I can't believe she's already 10 years old. But I'm glad we've still got a while until she's all grown up. This isn't exactly a baby picture (it's on her 8th birthday), but it's the oldest "digital" picture I have of her. Happy Birthday, Jessica!

I got my new book!!!!!

I have been waiting for Brock and Bodie's new book, Seventh Day, from the moment I finished their last book, Sixth Covenant. Jessica got it for me for my birthday, and it came in the mail yesterday, and it is just as good as I expected it to be!! I'm on chapter 2 and I've already learned something about God's word, seen something in a new light, and been convicted of sin and moved to tears. If you haven't read any of the A.D. Chronicles yet, go to the library and check out First Light--it's an incredible series. Or start with Vienna Prelude, the first of the Zion Chronicles series...or any series, they're all wonderful and all end up working together anyway! In Seventh Day, news of Yeshua working miracles is spreading through the country of Israel. They are wishing they could get to Him, meet with Him face to face, planning what they could say...
If only...
"You are the Messiah? I've been waiting for you to come. You see, I want a lot! But I've heard you can do everything for me. Health, first of all. Yes. You haven't got anything if you don't have your health. Heal me. And after you make me healthy, please make me be happy always! I heard you can arrange everything. I want to be loved. I want my children always content around me, appreciating me, honoring me. I want my problem solved right now. You can do it if you're really the Messiah. I want to be right, and I want everyone to know how right I am. I want to win. I want those who hurt me to be punished. I want guaranteed success. Prosperity for my business. Always. I want you to thank me for being so righteous. I want...I want...I want..."

Why am I no different, 2000 years later?
I love these books.

I also have finally finished Night of Tragedy, Dawning of Light (except for the appendix, which I actually may read). I would cross it out on my book list if I knew how! It has taken me a long time because I could only read one chapter at a time--it was emotionally tiring. But I made it through, and found that after all these years, I still needed to heal. This book helped me find closure and healing. When I read, "What remains now is to recover and to look expectantly to God to see how this terrible tragedy will be turned into good purposes in the future of our lives," I realized it's okay--even good--to let it go, to move on...to heal.

I've been tagged!

My friend Meredith tagged me for this meme--my first one! So here are some random facts about me:

Four jobs I've had:
1. Baskin-Robbins
2. TCBY
3. Wal Mart "associate"
4. elementary teacher

Four places I lived:
1. Moscow and Lewiston, ID
2. Fort Worth, TX
3. San Diego (Spring Valley), CA
4. Dale City, VA

Four movies I've watched over and over:
1. West Side Story
2. Anne of Green Gables
3. Remember the Titans
4. While I was Sleeping

Four shows I watch
1. NCIS & The Unit
2. Lost (can't wait until next Thursday!)(didn't even change your answer, Mer!)
3. Survivor
4. The Amazing Race

Four places I've been:
1. Quito, Ecuador
2. Calgary, Alberta
3. Vail, Colorado
4. New York, New York

Four people who e-mail me regularly:
1. Angie
2. my sister-in-law Jeannie
3. my friend Alyssa
4. Tim and Denise

Four favorite things to eat:
1. chocolate
2. fettucine alfredo
3. chicken & dumplins
4. good Tex Mex with sopapillas

Four places I'd rather be:
1. I'm in my Mom's house in Pickle's Gap--one of my favorite places!
2. the mountains
3. the beach
4. a faraway friend's house

Four things I look forward to this new year:
1. seeing Angie and Charlie & kids when they come to the States
2. getting a new haircut in February...any suggestions?
3. meeting Tim and Denise in Atlanta for vacation
4. summer break!

That was fun, thanks Meredith!
Now I'd like to tag Angie, Joanna, Tami, and Jackie--wanna play? :)

She shoots, she scores!!!

Mikayla, aka ShortyLegs, dribbled the ball down the court at her game on Saturday--right up to the basket--and scored!! And the crowd went wild. Naturally, mother of the year that I am, the memory card on my camera was full and I didn't get any pictures. But here are some pictures from the week before:
Praying before the game

Listening to coach (or is she sleeping?)

Running downcourt (the most energy she shows):

Shaking hands with her "opponent"

And Ang, I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures of my birthday (I'm always the one taking the pictures!), but here's a picture of our winter weather for the year...we had freezing rain all day and night Friday. Ick. But I have to admit the ice leaves the girls pulled off the magnolia trees were pretty.


And one last note to my Floridian friends...take a look at Mike Huckabee...he's a good man with some good ideas.

41 Today?!

Why does 41 sound so much older than 40? :)
Just kidding. I don't mind growing older...especially with my 3-year-old to keep me young!
And look what Jessica made for me this morning, on her own initiative:

It says:
Jessica loves Mommy!
1st of the three
Mikayla loves Mommy!
Yippee yeeh!
Rebecca loves Mommy!
The third of the 3!
We all LOVE you Mommy
From our head...
to our feet!!
We love you!

Isn't it precious! It's the best birthday present I've had all day. Of course, I'm not opening presents until tomorrow because a)we have BCM tonight and won't have time to celebrate and b)apparently some presents Mike ordered haven't come in yet. So today I got a lot of birthday hugs and phone calls and emails, and Mike made me bacon, eggs, and grits for breakfast, but tomorrow I'll get my presents and he's going to cook me catfish and hushpuppies and chocolate cake, mmm-mmm. I feel very spoiled. :)

Salt of the Earth?

When Mike and I were deciding to move back to the South after ministering in the Northwest for 12 years, we wrestled with whether as "salt", we were trying to jump back into the salt-shaker of the Bible belt. We knew we were needed in the Northwest, which is considered a pioneer area by our denomination. Did God really want us to move to the South, where there's a church "on every corner"? Mike and I both have a heart for missions...so why would God want, or even allow, us to go "home"?
Mike, especially, was trying to come to grips with what he wanted and what God wanted of him. He was at a convention once and went to his hotel room and cried out in desperation to God, saying, "What do you want me to do?" And he felt God answer, "Love Me; influence people." And Mike said, "Yeah, but where??" Same answer: "Love Me; influence people." We saw that as permission, or freedom, to go where our hearts were yearning to go, where our children could know their family, and where we could be there when our mothers needed us. So we resigned our jobs, packed up our stuff and moved.
That was a year and a half ago, and I still look around me sometimes and wonder how God can use us here. We had forgotten a little how saturated the South really is with the Gospel (but how few truly live it, myself included). We heard it described once as an innoculation--many Southerners grow up exposed to the Gospel, without ever taking it personally, so that when you try to witness or minister to them, they don't think they need it. When they do. And every college campus, which is our main field of ministry, is a mission field--just visit one and see. But with homeschooling, just about everyone the girls and I had met goes to one of the 3 Baptist churches in this town. Until last week, I still hadn't caught a vision of how God could use us--how I could still be a missionary. Until last week...
Thursday night is SAU BCM's weekly worship time, "Source". Typically the students lead a time of worship, Mike speaks, they play Jungle Pong and go home. Since I started home-schooling, the girls and I have been able to go, too. Last Thursday was the day after classes started up for this semester, so Mike just planned a low-key, pizza party & games get-together.
Now our friend Bit, the BCM director at UCA, had run into some Nepalese SAU students at the Little Rock airport who were stranded, and had worked with Mike and the SAU internationals office to get them here to Magnolia, and a few of them had visited Mike at the BCM. That Thursday night, around 12 (I didn't count) of them came to Source! There were 30 or so total students there, and we played "4 on the Couch", and used straws to build things to keep eggs from breaking, and went on a "Bigger and Better" scavenger hunt (and played Jungle Pong), and everyone seemed to have a good time. But when Mike and I got home that night, we had both had the same thoughts, and got so excited we couldn't sleep that night. God brought our mission field to us! Here were these boys, so far from home and everything familiar, feeling comfortable around us and our students. Mike asked if they'd be interested in an English club, like one he participated in on a short-term mission trip to China, and they were all interested in that. Mike and I both said we want to start learning about Nepal, it's customs and religions and traditions, and start praying and preparing ourselves, just as we would if we were physically going to Nepal. Please pray for us and our students, that we will be faithful and bold and reach out with Christ's love to these students. It's good to feel like a missionary again!
[This morning I felt like a missionary in the Northwest again...it was 22 degrees and we were driving through the hills for Mike to preach at a little country church that still uses the "Heavenly Highway" hymnal! Ha! We had a good time...]

God bless my big brother

My sister-in-law sent me this slide show showing our troops in Iraq--it has some really good pictures.

Almost as good as this one of my favorite soldier at Christmas!

My busy week

I'm baaack! It's been a busy week.
Last Saturday Jessica and Mikayla had their first Upward Basketball games. Actually, their first games of any kind, ever! Mikayla cried the night before, she was so nervous. And she did look pretty lost on the court...but CUTE. I wish you could see her. But, mother-of-the-year that I am, I forgot my camera. I went home and got it between games, so here's Jessica.


Listening to the coach before the game


Praying before the game


Watching to see if it falls...

And here's Rebecca and her friend Kate watching the game.


And here's Mikayla at Burger King afterward.

A friend of mine took pictures of Mikayla for me, so hopefully someday I'll get them.

Then on Monday, the girls and I left for Fort Worth. I dropped them off with my friends Joanna and Steve, and made it to my sister-in-law's dad's funeral with 5 minutes to spare. Phew. Even though I had only met him once, I'm glad I was able to be there for Robin.
I had been nervous about driving in the Metroplex without Mike--haven't done that in about 14 years!! But it was amazing how it all came back to me. And how the memories came back!
We had a great time staying with the Lasiters. What a neat family. Go here to see pictures of our fun!
Before going home the next day, I drove over to Como Elementary, where I taught kindergarten for 5 years. The same secretary was still there!! It was so fun to see her, and show her my girls, and get caught up on everyone. I had one student, Jarvis, who was so special to me--I serioiusly wondered how I could go about getting custody of him and making him mine. I've prayed for him and wondered about him all this time. Well, Mrs. L said she saw a brother of his at Wal Mart, and she thinks he said Jarvis was in the military! That would be a wonderful place for him to be. I'm going to keep praying. Then she said one of my fellow kindergarten teachers (4 of us were a close team the whole 5 years) was also still there! I got to see her for a few minutes. It was all so...emotional for me.
The drive home was 5 hours in a car with 4 cranky women. That's all I'm going to say about that.
Wednesday we finally started getting back into our normal routine. I've had all kinds of blog entries floating around in my head, but I told myself I couldn't get on the computer until after I got next week's lesson plans done, and thank you notes written, and the house in order. Now here I am, and all my "deep thoughts" have left me. Maybe now that life has settled down (ha) they'll come back to me and I can share them with you here. Until then, here are some random pictures of


Pepper sitting in a chair, one of his favorite places to be,


Samantha and Nellie "playing the piano,"


Mike playing the piano,



and me writing my grocery list. Now I can visit all of you and hopefully catch up on your lives!

What are your New Year's Eve/Day traditions?

Okay, so I may be asking a little late, but...how do you celebrate the New Year? Parties? Resolutions? Auld Lang Syne?
Growing up all over the US, my family always stayed up until midnight, then went out on the front porch and yelled, "Happy New Year!" while we banged pots and pans together. Mike had never heard of this before and still refuses to participate. But I got my girls out there!
We did some new things this year, too. We didn't get together with anyone, so we told the girls to pick out whatever games they wanted to play, and we would play until midnight. Here is what they came up with:

No, we didn't have time to play them all!!
And in addition to pots and pans, Mike made a little trip to the fireworks stand. Now I've heard of fireworks on New Year's before, but here in Magnolia, they take it seriously! The stands were up well before Christmas, and we started hearing pops Christmas Eve, and Mikayla said she heard some tonight (Jan. 5). And there are no rules!! Well, no bottle rockets, but everything else is legal, in town. My husband had f-u-n. Which means we all did.
New Year's Day is set aside for food and football. My Mom always spread a tablecloth on the living room floor and covered it with finger foods, so we could eat and watch all day long. We call it our "spread". My spread this year was various dips, chips, and crackers, and various fried foods, with some veggies thrown in to keep it healthy. And sausage balls, we had to have sausage balls.
Our singles group in Fort Worth used to pray in the New Year, which was a special time, but I guess you'd have to say we played in the New Year. Mike did send us to bed with a special prayer of thanks for 2007 and hope for 2008--and I hope you have much to be thankful for and hope in Him throughout the coming year.