Hmmm...so....
Maybe you're wondering how my "word for the year" is going... you remember, the one I posted in January in lieu of a New Year's Resolution, or New Year's intention.
Discipline, I believe it was.
Well, I'll tell you about two different conversations with two of my lovely daughters, and then, you can judge for yourself.
Last week, I was getting dressed for church. I was in the process of putting on a pair of Spanx. Now, if you've never wore Spanx, let me just say, they do great things...they also look like biker shorts for a 9 month old when removed from the package.
So, I was wriggling into them, and Chloe was sitting on the edge of the tub chatting with me.
She stops mid-sentence and says..."Those Do Not fit you. Your bottom is Too Big and those things are Too Small".
"Thanks Chloe", I reply.
"What momma? It's da truff".
-----------------------------
Yesterday, sitting on the deck, having lunch with Cammie.
She glances down at my thighs and says, "When I grow up, my legs are gonna be wittle, not big".
I just nod my head.
She points at my thigh and says "See, your legs, they're big. See my legs, they're wittle. Mine aren't gonna get big like yours".
-----------------------------
Well...that's enough about that. Moving on...
We are wrapping up the final preparations for our trip. Buying luggage, ironing out schedules, catching up laundry, making sure I have plenty of memory cards, etc.
Please remember to keep us in your prayers.
Oh, and I found out that we will have Internet access in our rooms and Mark will be bringing his laptop (if his gets stolen, his work has to replace it...if mine gets stolen, we have to replace it)....so, look for updates from Guatemala.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Prayer request...
Mark and I are going on a mission trip to Guatemala...we leave a week from Sunday, and will be gone for eight days.
Forrest's grandmother will be staying with the kids at our house while we are away, and they are all EXCITED to see Grandmother...so excited, that they are not in the least bit bothered that they won't be seeing Momma and Daddy for a week...
While we are there, we won't have access to the Internet. Neither will we have our own cellphones. Our group will have two phones for emergencies, but not to call home and chat.
Now, Mark and I have taken trips without the kids before. Usually just long weekends. Last year, we went to New England for a week...but, we were a two hour plane ride away...and we had two laptops with us...and we had two cell phones with us...
This time...six hour plane ride... in a country with maybe two flights to America per day...with zero laptops and zero phones.
Honestly, Carol will do a much better job than I do with the kids. They will actually eat a home cooked meal every night instead of cheese quesadillas from the Mexican Restaurant next to our house, or pasta from Carraba's or ...well, you get the picture.
They will also have scrambled eggs, or sausage and biscuits for breakfast instead of pop tarts, cereal bars or microwave oatmeal.
Their clothes will all be put away, the next days outfit laid out the night before... which will be a nice change for them...seeing how I tend to procrastinate the putting away of laundry and therefore have to scramble in the mornings to assemble their ensembles.
Yes, they will be well cared for, spoiled rotten and content.
While I am completely confident that things will be FINE, I am a bit nervous about the lack of communication.
So, please pray:
-for Mark and I (and everyone else in our group) to have safe travels.
-that our kids remain healthy and all of their bones intact.
-that our lovely kids don't drive Carol crazy.
-that we (Mark, myself and our group) are a blessing to the people that we encounter in Guatemala.
-that we are changed and impacted for life for the glory of the Lord.
-that revival falls in Guatemala.
Thanks in advance for any and all of your prayers!
Forrest's grandmother will be staying with the kids at our house while we are away, and they are all EXCITED to see Grandmother...so excited, that they are not in the least bit bothered that they won't be seeing Momma and Daddy for a week...
While we are there, we won't have access to the Internet. Neither will we have our own cellphones. Our group will have two phones for emergencies, but not to call home and chat.
Now, Mark and I have taken trips without the kids before. Usually just long weekends. Last year, we went to New England for a week...but, we were a two hour plane ride away...and we had two laptops with us...and we had two cell phones with us...
This time...six hour plane ride... in a country with maybe two flights to America per day...with zero laptops and zero phones.
Honestly, Carol will do a much better job than I do with the kids. They will actually eat a home cooked meal every night instead of cheese quesadillas from the Mexican Restaurant next to our house, or pasta from Carraba's or ...well, you get the picture.
They will also have scrambled eggs, or sausage and biscuits for breakfast instead of pop tarts, cereal bars or microwave oatmeal.
Their clothes will all be put away, the next days outfit laid out the night before... which will be a nice change for them...seeing how I tend to procrastinate the putting away of laundry and therefore have to scramble in the mornings to assemble their ensembles.
Yes, they will be well cared for, spoiled rotten and content.
While I am completely confident that things will be FINE, I am a bit nervous about the lack of communication.
So, please pray:
-for Mark and I (and everyone else in our group) to have safe travels.
-that our kids remain healthy and all of their bones intact.
-that our lovely kids don't drive Carol crazy.
-that we (Mark, myself and our group) are a blessing to the people that we encounter in Guatemala.
-that we are changed and impacted for life for the glory of the Lord.
-that revival falls in Guatemala.
Thanks in advance for any and all of your prayers!
Friday, April 11, 2008
True or False reveal...
1. My pantry is super organized. All veggies in one section, organized by color, all labels facing forward. Same for beans, etc. My OCD runs rampant in all things closet/pantry related.
TRUE. I notice immediately if a label is turned the wrong way, and adjust it. People ask if it takes a lot of time to maintain. Nope. It just makes sense to me to have things organized. I don't have a "problem" or an "issue". I don't. Really.
2. When I was 16, I was a Subway Sandwich artist. I still order my sandwich in the way that I "perfected" while working there. And yes, it does make a difference in the way it tastes.
TRUE. My favorite is a veggie and cheese on wheat. The veggie/condiment configuration I created works with all sandwiches though...and really, it makes sense. Lettuce goes on after the meat and cheese. Then, you put the mayo and/or mustard on (it helps the lettuce stick together and keeps it from falling off), next oil and vinegar (the lettuce absorbs it and keeps it from dripping off the sandwich and onto your shirt). Next, all other veggies. Tomatoes on top (keeps the small veggies in place). Follow that up with salt, pepper and oregano. Voila, a sandwich that isn't too messy. It just makes sense. Really. It does.
3. I love creeks. My grandparents had one in their backyard through out my entire childhood. I would spend hours exploring in it, or reading a book on a large dry rock in the middle of the stream.
TRUE. One day, we will have a yard with a creek. I heart creeks.
4. I read at a very early age, but I didn't fall in love with reading until the second grade. I was a helper in the library and while shelving books, I discovered Nancy Drew. I read the entire series that year, and I have been a voracious reader since.
TRUE. I love me some Nancy Drew. I tried to get Hannah to love some Nancy Drew too. It didn't work. They are a little to scary for her. Sophie is next on my list. I doubt Chloe will like them for the same reason as Hannah (they are my timid two). Cammie, she'll read through 'em in a month and move on to True Crime books without batting an eye. Hmm...on second thought maybe I won't encourage her to meet Nancy.
5. My favorite childhood breakfast is my grandma's toast and gravy. Mmm Mmm. (Mark wants everyone to know that my favorite breakfasts now are his pancakes and his biscuits and gravy).
TRUE. MMM MMM. Talk about good stuff. (Yep Tammy, that's what we were talking about the other day). Good stuff.
6. I heart my freckles.
TRUE. I've always like my freckles. Forrest has them too, and I think they rock (can't use the word cute when referring to a 14 year old male). Hannah has a few sprinkles. Sophie, no freckles. Chloe...zero freckles...so sad. Cammie...yay freckles!
7. My favorite form of exercise is running.
FALSE. I do not heart running. I get shin splints...where your shin is rammed between your knee and heal and hurts really, really bad and not because you're a wimp but because it really, really hurts. Really. (Renee, you were right, my kick boxing trainer made me run, but, the floor was padded. No jarring).
8. I have never been to Disneyland or Disney world.
Sad but TRUE. I am on a desperate mission to change that. I think everyone should email my lovely little husband and complain about the injustice of a 30 year old woman being withheld from the happiness and goodness that is Disney World/Land. AND, I think you should tell him in your email, that the only way to make up for that painful deprivation would be to book us a room in the Animal Kingdom resort with a balcony so that the giraffes can wander past. I'm just sayin', ya know, if you want to.
9. When I was 12, my dream car was a yellow low-rider Nissan truck with graphics on the side. (Yes, I went through a "G" phase...it was short, very short).
TRUE. It took mucho courage to put that in writing. Moving on...
10. I am considering going in for a consultation at the place where they grow hair. I saw a billboard that says "We grow eyebrows too".
TRUE. Oh so true. I don't want to be one of those little old ladies with the drawn on eyebrows that look like they are in a constant state of SURPRISE! Blonde body hair is great when it comes to leg hair...it's invisible. It is not so great when it comes to eyebrows...it's invisible.
TRUE. I notice immediately if a label is turned the wrong way, and adjust it. People ask if it takes a lot of time to maintain. Nope. It just makes sense to me to have things organized. I don't have a "problem" or an "issue". I don't. Really.
2. When I was 16, I was a Subway Sandwich artist. I still order my sandwich in the way that I "perfected" while working there. And yes, it does make a difference in the way it tastes.
TRUE. My favorite is a veggie and cheese on wheat. The veggie/condiment configuration I created works with all sandwiches though...and really, it makes sense. Lettuce goes on after the meat and cheese. Then, you put the mayo and/or mustard on (it helps the lettuce stick together and keeps it from falling off), next oil and vinegar (the lettuce absorbs it and keeps it from dripping off the sandwich and onto your shirt). Next, all other veggies. Tomatoes on top (keeps the small veggies in place). Follow that up with salt, pepper and oregano. Voila, a sandwich that isn't too messy. It just makes sense. Really. It does.
3. I love creeks. My grandparents had one in their backyard through out my entire childhood. I would spend hours exploring in it, or reading a book on a large dry rock in the middle of the stream.
TRUE. One day, we will have a yard with a creek. I heart creeks.
4. I read at a very early age, but I didn't fall in love with reading until the second grade. I was a helper in the library and while shelving books, I discovered Nancy Drew. I read the entire series that year, and I have been a voracious reader since.
TRUE. I love me some Nancy Drew. I tried to get Hannah to love some Nancy Drew too. It didn't work. They are a little to scary for her. Sophie is next on my list. I doubt Chloe will like them for the same reason as Hannah (they are my timid two). Cammie, she'll read through 'em in a month and move on to True Crime books without batting an eye. Hmm...on second thought maybe I won't encourage her to meet Nancy.
5. My favorite childhood breakfast is my grandma's toast and gravy. Mmm Mmm. (Mark wants everyone to know that my favorite breakfasts now are his pancakes and his biscuits and gravy).
TRUE. MMM MMM. Talk about good stuff. (Yep Tammy, that's what we were talking about the other day). Good stuff.
6. I heart my freckles.
TRUE. I've always like my freckles. Forrest has them too, and I think they rock (can't use the word cute when referring to a 14 year old male). Hannah has a few sprinkles. Sophie, no freckles. Chloe...zero freckles...so sad. Cammie...yay freckles!
7. My favorite form of exercise is running.
FALSE. I do not heart running. I get shin splints...where your shin is rammed between your knee and heal and hurts really, really bad and not because you're a wimp but because it really, really hurts. Really. (Renee, you were right, my kick boxing trainer made me run, but, the floor was padded. No jarring).
8. I have never been to Disneyland or Disney world.
Sad but TRUE. I am on a desperate mission to change that. I think everyone should email my lovely little husband and complain about the injustice of a 30 year old woman being withheld from the happiness and goodness that is Disney World/Land. AND, I think you should tell him in your email, that the only way to make up for that painful deprivation would be to book us a room in the Animal Kingdom resort with a balcony so that the giraffes can wander past. I'm just sayin', ya know, if you want to.
9. When I was 12, my dream car was a yellow low-rider Nissan truck with graphics on the side. (Yes, I went through a "G" phase...it was short, very short).
TRUE. It took mucho courage to put that in writing. Moving on...
10. I am considering going in for a consultation at the place where they grow hair. I saw a billboard that says "We grow eyebrows too".
TRUE. Oh so true. I don't want to be one of those little old ladies with the drawn on eyebrows that look like they are in a constant state of SURPRISE! Blonde body hair is great when it comes to leg hair...it's invisible. It is not so great when it comes to eyebrows...it's invisible.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
10 UNimportant things about me...
Accepting a challenge set forth my Tammy and then Renee...10 things about me, but 1 is false. Can you guess which one is false?
1. My pantry is super organized. All veggies in one section, organized by color, all labels facing forward. Same for beans, etc. My OCD runs rampant in all things closet/pantry related.
2. When I was 16, I was a Subway Sandwich artist. I still order my sandwich in the way that I "perfected" while working there. And yes, it does make a difference in the way it tastes.
3. I love creeks. My grandparents had one in their backyard through out my entire childhood. I would spend hours exploring in it, or reading a book on a large dry rock in the middle of the stream.
4. I read at a very early age, but I didn't fall in love with reading until the second grade. I was a helper in the library and while shelving books, I discovered Nancy Drew. I read the entire series that year, and I have been a voracious reader since.
5. My favorite childhood breakfast is my grandma's toast and gravy. Mmm Mmm. (Mark wants everyone to know that my favorite breakfasts now are his pancakes and his biscuits and gravy).
6. I heart my freckles.
7. My favorite form of exercise is running.
8. I have never been to Disneyland or Disney world.
9. When I was 12, my dream car was a yellow low-rider Nissan truck with graphics on the side. (Yes, I went through a "G" phase...it was short, very short).
10. I am considering going in for a consultation at the place where they grow hair. I saw a billboard that says "We grow eyebrows too".
1. My pantry is super organized. All veggies in one section, organized by color, all labels facing forward. Same for beans, etc. My OCD runs rampant in all things closet/pantry related.
2. When I was 16, I was a Subway Sandwich artist. I still order my sandwich in the way that I "perfected" while working there. And yes, it does make a difference in the way it tastes.
3. I love creeks. My grandparents had one in their backyard through out my entire childhood. I would spend hours exploring in it, or reading a book on a large dry rock in the middle of the stream.
4. I read at a very early age, but I didn't fall in love with reading until the second grade. I was a helper in the library and while shelving books, I discovered Nancy Drew. I read the entire series that year, and I have been a voracious reader since.
5. My favorite childhood breakfast is my grandma's toast and gravy. Mmm Mmm. (Mark wants everyone to know that my favorite breakfasts now are his pancakes and his biscuits and gravy).
6. I heart my freckles.
7. My favorite form of exercise is running.
8. I have never been to Disneyland or Disney world.
9. When I was 12, my dream car was a yellow low-rider Nissan truck with graphics on the side. (Yes, I went through a "G" phase...it was short, very short).
10. I am considering going in for a consultation at the place where they grow hair. I saw a billboard that says "We grow eyebrows too".
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
I saw the funniest
bumper sticker this afternoon. Oh, how I wish I had put my pocket camera back in my purse.
It read:
SAVE A PIT BULL,
NEUTER A THUG
Does anyone else find that highly amusing?
It read:
SAVE A PIT BULL,
NEUTER A THUG
Does anyone else find that highly amusing?
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Here I am...
Ya know, just in case any of you were wondering where I am.
Now, where have I been? Good question.
Saturday, we spent the day with my family, celebrating Easter at my cousins' farm in Bucksnort. (Is Bucksnort not the funniest name for a town)? (Oh, and just to clarify...everyone calls it a farm because it is a couple of hundred acres in the middle of nowhere which, I am sure you gathered by the name Bucksnort...it does not however, have animals or crops, so I am not sure what the actual term should be, so for the sake of the story, we'll stick with "farm").
Where was I? Oh yes, Bucksnort. We spent the day eating fantastic Bar-B-Q, hunting for eggs, riding 4-wheelers and enjoying the farm life. (Mark and I are trying to convince ourselves that we do not need a "farm" ourselves).
Sunday was spent at church of course. It was fantastic. Truly fantastic.
After church, we left for St. Louis.
On the way, it snowed. Heavily.
We were shocked by the sight of flooded farm land.
We checked into our hotel. (My husband wrinkled his nose at my choice of the Drury Inn Plaza. He apologized upon arrival. It was a great hotel, great service, nice breakfast and huge rooms. Yay for tripadvisor-dot-com).
Monday, after breakfast, we hit the Zoo. St. Louis has the BEST zoo.
We had lunch at a Root Beer bottling place called Fitz's. The food wasn't great, but the Root Beer was TASTY. (Forrest and I are root beer connoisseurs).
My lovely husband took the kiddies for a swim and I read for a bit as I was coming down with a cold.
Which is why I took NyQuil in order to sleep that night.
Which is why I slept through 3 hours of Sophie and her stomach virus. Have I said that I have the best husband in the world? He completely handled the stomach virus. All three hours of projectile body fluids. God bless him.
We slept through breakfast at the hotel on Tuesday.
Sophie and I braved IHOP with everyone else.
Then, she and I came back to the hotel and slept for the next four hours. Mark (the saint) took the rest of the kids to tour a historic court house, wander around the green-space beneath the Arch, and swim in the pool again.
On Wednesday, things were looking better. We made it to breakfast.
Then, we headed to the City Museum. We couldn't believe how much they have added in the last 5 years. The weather was great, and the kids had a blast playing outside. After 6 hours, we were wore out. We headed back to the hotel, ordered in, packed and went to bed early.
Which was a good thing.
Because Chloe woke up with the stomach virus.
The plan was to go to the Arch and then to the Magic House Museum.
Instead we ate a quick breakfast and headed for home.
Which was a good thing...because Chloe threw up in a plastic bag for the next three hours. Yay. (Yes, we tossed them out and replaced them with fresh ones frequently...just in case you were worried about the germs and/or smell).
And we had to stop at Wal-Mart to get Hannah cough medicine because she caught my cold.
And then we were caught in a hail storm.
And then Mark got the stomach virus.
And then I got a fever.
And now, I am going to bed.
p.s. Pictures to follow.
p.s.s The 306 blog will be updated tomorrow.
p.s.s.s Even when we are all sick, we have a great time together, and I am so eternally thankful that God has blessed me with this hectic-crazy-sickly-fun-wild bunch of kids and fantabulous husband.
Now, where have I been? Good question.
Saturday, we spent the day with my family, celebrating Easter at my cousins' farm in Bucksnort. (Is Bucksnort not the funniest name for a town)? (Oh, and just to clarify...everyone calls it a farm because it is a couple of hundred acres in the middle of nowhere which, I am sure you gathered by the name Bucksnort...it does not however, have animals or crops, so I am not sure what the actual term should be, so for the sake of the story, we'll stick with "farm").
Where was I? Oh yes, Bucksnort. We spent the day eating fantastic Bar-B-Q, hunting for eggs, riding 4-wheelers and enjoying the farm life. (Mark and I are trying to convince ourselves that we do not need a "farm" ourselves).
Sunday was spent at church of course. It was fantastic. Truly fantastic.
After church, we left for St. Louis.
On the way, it snowed. Heavily.
We were shocked by the sight of flooded farm land.
We checked into our hotel. (My husband wrinkled his nose at my choice of the Drury Inn Plaza. He apologized upon arrival. It was a great hotel, great service, nice breakfast and huge rooms. Yay for tripadvisor-dot-com).
Monday, after breakfast, we hit the Zoo. St. Louis has the BEST zoo.
We had lunch at a Root Beer bottling place called Fitz's. The food wasn't great, but the Root Beer was TASTY. (Forrest and I are root beer connoisseurs).
My lovely husband took the kiddies for a swim and I read for a bit as I was coming down with a cold.
Which is why I took NyQuil in order to sleep that night.
Which is why I slept through 3 hours of Sophie and her stomach virus. Have I said that I have the best husband in the world? He completely handled the stomach virus. All three hours of projectile body fluids. God bless him.
We slept through breakfast at the hotel on Tuesday.
Sophie and I braved IHOP with everyone else.
Then, she and I came back to the hotel and slept for the next four hours. Mark (the saint) took the rest of the kids to tour a historic court house, wander around the green-space beneath the Arch, and swim in the pool again.
On Wednesday, things were looking better. We made it to breakfast.
Then, we headed to the City Museum. We couldn't believe how much they have added in the last 5 years. The weather was great, and the kids had a blast playing outside. After 6 hours, we were wore out. We headed back to the hotel, ordered in, packed and went to bed early.
Which was a good thing.
Because Chloe woke up with the stomach virus.
The plan was to go to the Arch and then to the Magic House Museum.
Instead we ate a quick breakfast and headed for home.
Which was a good thing...because Chloe threw up in a plastic bag for the next three hours. Yay. (Yes, we tossed them out and replaced them with fresh ones frequently...just in case you were worried about the germs and/or smell).
And we had to stop at Wal-Mart to get Hannah cough medicine because she caught my cold.
And then we were caught in a hail storm.
And then Mark got the stomach virus.
And then I got a fever.
And now, I am going to bed.
p.s. Pictures to follow.
p.s.s The 306 blog will be updated tomorrow.
p.s.s.s Even when we are all sick, we have a great time together, and I am so eternally thankful that God has blessed me with this hectic-crazy-sickly-fun-wild bunch of kids and fantabulous husband.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Introducing...
Winston Oliver Suffridge
-
Born: February 1, 2008
-
Currently 9lb 10oz (and growing by 5oz a day)!
We are in love.
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