Great Saturday...

For the first time in probably a month we had no one at our house this weekend, and nothing major going on. It was a great day. Cooper had a soccer game this morning, scored 4 or 5 goals I think (they don't keep score and I was distracted trying to keep Cade occupied). Jason and I trimmed our bushes. Real fun. The funny part to me was that Jason wouldn't allow me to trim the bushes with the electric trimmer because I have cut two extension cords cutting before. And not five minutes after I had asked him if I could and got the no, he cut the extension cord! I was a good wife and didn't laugh or point fingers or say I told you so, although blogging about it is probably just as bad! While we were trimming the bushes, the boys were supposed to be cleaning up the play room. I gave them 30 minutes, and what was left out was going in a trash bag. Needless to say I had a very large trash bag full of stuff and two crying boys to deal with. They will get the stuff back in a week, although I could probably get rid of it and they wouldn't notice. Maybe the Wonder Woman and Batman figures would be missed.

Then I took a great shower and watched tv for two hours (there is the proof I watch entirely too much tv, nothing was even on). Then I cooked dinner, cleaned up after it and just put some banana bread in the oven. I feel like a good mom when I bake, I don't know why. Of course, now I am blogging while my boys are running and throwing toys at each other. So much for the good mom thing. Bath time! That is a great occupier of time!

Noah's Ark

I took a class in Seminary about the first half of Genesis, and when we discussed the story of Noah and the ark, my professor made a point that I have thought about ever since. He pointed out how so many people use Noah's ark as a theme for the baby's nursery, and yet the story of Noah and the ark is not a pretty one. The man was commanded to build an ark in order to save his family from a catestrophic flood! Who knows how many people and animals, hundreds of thousands maybe, drowned! And Noah and his family were trapped on this boat with only each other and the stinky animals for months and months! Can you imagine the smell, the noise and the fact that there is no one else to talk to but your family and animals? But then we get to the rainbow. God created the rainbow as a sign of his covenant to his people to never again destroy the earth with a flood, although I'm sure there have been many times he has regretted that promise. I am trying to imagine what Noah and his family thought when they saw the rainbow, what a beautiful sight after such a long, dreadful time on the boat.
I say all of that to prep you for what I saw a few weeks ago. My mom and step-dad came down to Galveston to stay at a friend's beach house, so after school the boys and I drove down and hung out for the evening. We were playing on the beach, and looked up and there was a rainbow. The boys were really excited. I don't think Cade had ever seen one before, or if he had he wasn't aware enough to know what it was. He was so excited to see one after learning how to draw pictures of one. This was the day that then tropical storm Humberto was coming in, so the skies were cloudy and it was really humid. My parents left the next morning to go back home to avoid the hurricane. So the next night I was driving to church with the boys for meetings, worried that we were going to get caught in the storm coming in. And we looked up and saw another rainbow! And this one was the entire arch, huge, across the entire sky. I could even see a faint one above the main one. The boys couldn't believe it and neither could I. I can't remember in my life when I saw two rainbows in one week. Jason had to rain on my party be telling me the summer he spent in New Mexico he saw one almost every day. I was in awe, really I was. I had just started my first week of my Beth Moore study at church, and we were reading about Noah, getting some prep work done for the rest of the study. And I just really understood the importance of those rainbows, maybe for the first time in my life. They are a sign of a covenant with God and his people. Scientists might say they are caused by the sun light hitting moisture in the air, or whatever they say, but we know that God made the rainbow as a personal message for us! It hit me that rainbows come during or after a storm. And I think God wants to remind us that He is still with us in the midst of the storms in our lives, and that HE ALWAYS FULFILLS HIS PROMISES! What a gift! No matter what we do or say or complain about, just like the Israelites, He will never go back on His promises to us! And just like Noah, when we feel like we are stuck on a boat with stinky people and animals and there is not an end in sight (I have been there!), we know that God take care of us, and has a plan for us! So next time you see a rainbow, really think about what it is! It will make your day!!!

My tv habits...

I watch entirely too much tv. I am trying to cut back. But in the meantime, yeah Kim from Design Star! And yeah Dancing with the Stars is back. I really like the race car driver and the Cheetah girl, and felt really sorry for Wayne Newton. And as a Mavs fan I tried to root for Mark Cubin, but there aren't a lot of sports fans watching I'm afraid. He's not going to last long I predict.

Update on Family

We are great, today. Cooper's honeymoon is over with kindergarten. Not to thrilled about going anymore, missed two days week before last with an ear infection, really tired and grumpy when he gets home. Loving playing soccer, Jason is the assistant coach. Cade loves his teachers, loves going to school, but is going through some phase at home where he is getting way more spankings then he used to. Jason went on a vacation by himself last week to play golf, came back inspired to do some things at church, so that was good. He's really busy as usual.


I am starting to enjoy my baby class. The main one that was crying the first three weeks came in smiling yesterday, so that was exciting. Even though its not my passion, I am finding some enjoyable moments that I cling to. And that makes me excited to get up in the morning. There is one little boy, 10 months old, but so smart. When we do music on Tuesday mornings, he shakes this egg and just jams out with it. I wish I had video of it, it would bring a smile to your face. I am leading a Beth Moore study on Sunday nights, and that is making me accountable to get into the word. I did it first thing this morning and it just made my day so much better. The big thing for us right now is that our church is starting a new ministry for young adults, something much different than our church is used to. We are starting some small groups next month, I am leading a ladies one, and then hopefully in Jan. we will bring the groups together for a worship time one Sunday night a month to start with. Its not different from what a lot of young, exciting churches are doing, but its different for us and this area! I had a contractor come this week to look at my kitchen, waiting for his bid, and it turns out he's done a lot of work at our church, so that's good. My good friend Sarah (Tandberg Belisle)who currently lives 20 minutes from me is moving to Georgia. I am not happy about that, but its obviously God's will, so I will cheer her on! I got a great haircut today, and bought a fabulous iron picture for above my fireplace for 24.99 at Marshalls a few weeks ago. And I think that is about it... that's what happens when I don't update for awhile. I will do better.

Inspiring Weekend

Its been awhile! I got into a routine and didn't build in time to blog. But I had a wonderful inspiring weekend the last weekend, and I am going to try to blog much more often, even if there isn't much to talk about. Jason and I went with some other people from our church to Dallas to the Fusion Now conference. Its geared to 20s and 30s, teaching them how to merge their faith and life together, encouraging them to use their gifts, talents, and time to make a difference in the world around them. We heard Donald Miller, author of "Blue Like Jazz" and other books. I highly recommend that particular book, very thought provoking. And Jason was actually in youth group with Donald and knows who he refers to in many of his stories. http://www.donaldmillerwords.com/

Donald talked about how our lives are stories. A great story includes a lead character, and objective or goal, conflict and a resolution. In our stories, we are the lead character obviously. But what kind of lead character are we, a hero or a villain? A hero will never think of himself as better than other people. As soon as he does, he becomes a villain. What is our objective or goal in life? People wouldn't want to read a story about someone whose main goal in life is to buy a certain car. We want something we can root for. He said to know what someones goal or passion is, is to ask if they die, what dies with them? What is our conflict in life? God invented conflict. He let Adam be lonely for awhile so he would appreciate Eve. He let the Israelites struggle leaving Egypt and wandering in the desert so they would appreciate God. Some conflict we bring on ourselves as a consequence of our sin. But a lot of conflict is God's way of teaching us, or growing us. Our lives and our stories would be boring without some kind of conflict. And the resolution... our lives are all about the journey. The point of our story is how we changed through the conflict. That's what makes a good story. He used the story of Joseph to illustrate all of this. The true story of Joseph, which coincidentally I have been studying in Sunday School, is a wonderful story because of his goal of fulfilling his childhood dream, his struggles and conflict because of his brothers and other people, and the resolution is amazing, not only where he ends up, but the kind of person he has become because of his conflict. Great sermon. That was just Friday night! There are two more sermons I will post about another day.

The really inspiring part was a side session I went to with Margaret Feinburg I think. She has written some books, one called the "Organic God", which I want to read someday so I will tell you how it is. http://www.margaretfeinberg.com Her session was on how to get published. Some of you might know that I enjoy writing, and have secret dreams of writing a book someday. The main point she made that inspired me was to write an hour a day, even when you don't feel like it. Hence, why I will try to blog more often, about deeper things than just my three year old pooping in the potty! I actually was given an invitation about a month ago to submit some samples to see if I could write some curriculum for the Sunday School material that we are using at our church, put out by Student Life. But I have not had time since to even fill out the application! So I don't know if this is my time of life to do that specifically, but I do need to write more often, just to keep my brain and creativity active. Hopefully you will enjoy reading some deeper things, but I will continue to update you on the family.

Oh, the worship band at the conference was Addison Road. They did worship for us at FBC Richardson for two years, and they are so awesome now. They are working on an album with the same label as Mercy Me which will be out in Feb. Start listening for them on the radio in November. They are excellent! It was really good to see them again. We are some of their groupies! http://www.addisonroad.com/

Random Things

Cade started preschool today, had 5 accidents. None of them in the actual classroom, all for me and Jason. Stress? This is Cade about to go into school. He is carrying a duster I use to tickle the babies with. And of course, his juice cup, which he never leaves empty, hence the reason he has so many accidents.

Cooper is having a wonderful kindergarten experience!

I started teaching today, had 4 babies, but will have 7 soon. It was ok, but I realized again, this is not my passion. But God put me there, so I have to make the best of it and pray for a good attitude. (Sorry Melissa! I'm trying)

Ok, funny thing. I have now watched every episode of "Law and Order" way too many times, and "Gilmore Girls" is over, although I still watch reruns in the afternoon. So, I have started watching "Murder She Wrote". Jason is making such fun of me, says I'm a old lady. Ok, maybe I am if the commercials that air during tv shows say anything about the audience. There is the hoveround wheelchair, the "I've fallen and can't get up" button you wear around your neck (or now there is a fancy bracelet model). And lots of life insurance and medicaid commercials! So does that mean I'm old? Its always been humerous to me how many murders Jessica Fletcher has solved. I mean, if I came across her in person, I would run! Someone dies every where she goes! I can remember going to my step-grandparents house on Saturday nights for steak when I was a kid, and after dinner watching "Murder She Wrote" when it wasn't in reruns, and being bored. How things change.

I am watching Design Star on HGTV. If I break down and actually vote, I will vote for Kim. Can't wait for Dancing with the Stars to start back! Does that make me old too?

Tomorrow is my first day with both the boys in school and me home by myself! Can't wait! I'm going to exercise for the first time in three months and then go to Home Depot and get ideas for our kitchen remodel. So excited!!!!!