9 years and counting and an update

Today, Husband and I celebrate 9 years of marriage...and almost 14 years as a couple.

If all my fingers had the ability to type, I would have 9 years of bliss to tell you about. Instead, know that I love this man unconditionally and fully until God decides to take me home.

Husband, thank you for being my rock and showing me that by leaning on Christ, we as a couple have the strength to tackles what life puts in our path.

There is so much more to say, but the above took me about 15 minutes to type, so I'll stop there and save more of our 9 years for other days, other posts.

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Remember how my problem was caused by this culprit and created this mess.

Upon further inspection, the culprit also caused messes here...



and here...

and here...

What's a right-handed girl with a right hand that looks like this to do?

The full story coming on Monday...Husband and I are on our way to KC to see his favorite, Brad Paisley, as my anniversary gift to him.

See you Monday!

Oh the mess it made...

My culprit caused my problem and created this mess. Three guesses what those spots are...

Could this be the culprit?

This could be part of my problem. Oh, and yes I'm right handed. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

To be continued...

This could be a problem

This is my right hand. More info to follow when I can type better.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner!

I'm pleased to announce that Cindy will be driving a little extra next week thanks to a shell gift card that I gave away! Below is the info to show how I arrived at her lucky #7! Thanks to everyone for entering!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:7
Timestamp: 2008-07-25 02:09:27 UTC

I hope you have a blessed weekend. Come back Monday for another riveting post!

Just because I can...

I just ate an entire sleeve of Cinnamon Graham Crackers.

No, I did not say the entire box.

I said one entire sleeve from the box.

With a glass of cold milk to dip the graham crackers in, of course.

Can you believe I just ate a whole sleeve of them?

I must confess, though, that I had not eaten dinner, lunch was at 11:30 am and I was HUNGRY!

So, I ate the whole sleeve.

And, I really enjoyed it.

Ever done a thing like that?

Let me introduce, my twins...Say What??

Oh how I kid...this is a totally-not-expecting-to-get-such-a-great-picture-out-of-a-tired-whiny-three-year-old moment and I just had to share.

I took this as D-Man was gazing at the sharks, stingrays and other interesting water creatures in the aquarium at the Omaha Zoo. I'm not really sure if he was actually gazing or using this as an opportunity to take in some of the coolness of the water on the other side of the glass since it was let's say about 90 degrees in the aquarium with little to no oxygen. Oh, and lots of people. Lots and lots of people. Way too many people for such a small space.

Anyway, I think this has become my favorite picture of the trip and I can't wait to find the perfect scrapbook page to put it on.

And I'm going to pray that if God ever really does send me twins that He'll bless me with enough money to have the NaNa's stay for-ev-er!

Happy Wednesday and don't forget to enter to win my cool gas card giveaway!

Titles on Tuesday

Today's Titles on Tuesday selection is written by one of my favorite authors, Francine Rivers. I've previously written about my favorite book, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. This week's book is just as amazing.

It is called The Last Sin Eater. It tells of 10-year old Cadi Forbes's struggle with losing a sister and grandmother (whom she felt unconditional love from) and her quest for finding the true answers that await in the mountain-top community she lives in. Would it be the Sin Eater that takes it all away for her? Or, would it be someone else, someone greater who brings life to an otherwise dying little girl?

Join Cadi and her friend, Fagan, as they seek out the answers that God sends through one of His own and bathe yourself in the hunger and thirst they have for God's words and wisdom. I hope that we all have the thirst that these young ones have to know the TRUTH.

This is a must add to your reading list!

Anybody need free gas?

Well, I'm back.

One thousand ninety two miles were clocked on my odometer. That's a lot of gas.

We traveled through Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska and you know, one common element existed in each of these states. We had to have gas to get through them and it wasn't cheap.

So, in honor of all the gas we spent on our 5-day trek, I'm giving away a $25 Shell Gas gift card to one lucky winner. Leave a comment and tell me what the highest gas has been in your part of the country. You have until Thursday, July 24th at 5 pm cst to get your comments in and I'll select a random winner on Friday, July 25th. Only one entry per person and you don't have to have a blog to be selected (just make sure you leave a way for me to contact you should you win!)

Good luck and by the way, did you miss me while I was gone?

Acceptance speech, only 10 seconds, what should I wear?

Bloggy friends, I reported yesterday that I was on hiatus.

Apparently I forgot the definition.

Beachy Mimi totally made my day and awarded me the "Brilliant WebBlog Award" and I just had to tell you all about it and pass on the love.



Thanks Mimi for such kind words and a thoughtful gesture!

So, in keeping with passing the love, I give the "Brilliant WebBlog Award" to...

The Nester at the Nesting Place...it's a recently stumbled upon jewel of a blog that I can't get enough of. The wit, the crafts, the mistreatments, the fun; I could go on and on.

Susie Harris at Bienvenue...it's also a fairly recent blog I came across and yet again I'm impressed with the creativity that flows. This particular post inspired me to complete the same look, the same day.

And finally...

The Simple Mom, whose blog header states, "Live Simply, Stay Sane." Isn't this what we are all trying to achieve. She brings to the table a nice balance of practicality and simplicity as well as reality.

And there you have it. I must now really go on hiatus. Do you think I'll stay?

It's What I'll Be On...

Hiatus is defined by Merriam-Webster as basically a break from something.

That's what I'll be on. For the next few days.

That means no blogging.

You may still look, but I probably won't be touching any new posts (unless something earth-shattering-you-must-know-this-very-second happens).

I'll be traveling through the great states of Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska to visit my grandparents.

Who knows, I might come back with something for you...

After Popcorn & Candy & Horses, I Must Nap

The big event came...the big event went. And we made it.

And D-Man was so happy!

I woke up bright and early Saturday morning to transform our once normal driveway and yard into a 3 year old's sanctuary of games, rides and fun! And boy did they ever have fun!

D-Man rode the carousel for a solid 30 minutes without even turning his head towards the other ingeniously constructed carnival games that lined the driveway (or to be really technical, the carnival midway). He didn't want popcorn (his favorite food), he didn't want juice boxes (his favorite drink), but was lured away by the enormous pile of presents brought to him by his friends and family (thanks to any who read for being so generous...you ROCK!)

At one point, we had around 40 people overtaking our yard and Husband and I couldn't have been happier. To see our D-Man who started like this...

Look like this....

Makes this mommy and daddy pretty proud!

Here are some photos to quench your curiosity as to what I had actually gotten myself into. But before I let you see the photos think about the following:

5 homemade carnival games...$40

1 face painting booth...$7

Decorated cupcakes to feed 52...$10

Look on D-Man's face when he saw it all...priceless.

And today, we continue our celebrating of the actual day that God blessed us with our son.

Happy Birthday, D-Man! Mommy and Daddy are proud that you are our son!

And All By 9:40 A.M.

Yesterday morning began at the D-House at 8 am...well let me re-think that, one person who lives in the D-House had to get up way earlier than that (as in 5:40 am...sorry Husband!)

Anywoo, this girl was up and at 'em at the bright and early 8 am hour. And by 9:40 am, you will not believe what I had accomplished.

Let me recap for you...

1.) Baked 52 cupcakes (26 chocolate and 26 yellow) for the big event on Saturday.

2.) Put a load of dishes away and washed the mess I created making the above mentioned cupcakes.

3.) Started and completed 2 loads of laundry (folded 3 loads because I had that never-ending load from the day before).

4.) Made both beds and completed this task to meet my OCD specifications.

5.) Fed D-Man breakfast...Donettes and milk, the breakfast of an already-hyper and rambunctious will-be-3-in-less-than-a-week 2 year old. Please don't judge, Donettes is where it is at...particularly on a morning when I'm making the above mentioned cupcakes.

And finally...

6.) Fed myself (Zone bar and milk) and caught up on a few e-mails.

And all of this without the assistance of a diet coke (or 3).

Let's hope I can accomplish as much today so that I'll be completely ready for the big par-tee tomorrow.

I think I'll go have an I.V. of Diet Coke administered.

A Little Like Each of Us

A few weeks ago, I gave you a little peek into my yard and all the beautiful things that God had growing there. I spoke of the sunflowers that D-Man had planted following Easter and how they had done so well until they were attacked by grasshoppers.

Well, to my surprise, they recently bloomed. Just like you would expect them to had their leaves been beautiful and green. They bloomed from a plant whose leaves looked like this.

And this got me to thinking.

Aren't we just like these sunflowers sometimes? Is what you see on the surface sometimes less than ordinary? But, from within comes beautiful, positive things shining through?

God has plans for each of us...you, you and you alike.

He has something that He is cultivating and caring for and He's waiting for just the right minute to let it shine through.

Find peace in this...I sure did this week.

Works-for-me: Teaching About Jesus

Today's Works-for-me Wednesday post is nothing too earth shattering. It's not that clever. It's not something new. It's something that we've truly found works for us in the D-Household as we teach our D-Man about Jesus.

I have a plate in my kitchen that I bought from Southern Living several years ago (I checked their website to see if they still made it and I didn't see it). The plate is a rectangle shape and has a place for a pretty piece of ribbon (which I change out from time to time.

The coolest thing about this plate is that you can write on it with a dry erase marker and then change it whenever you want because amazingly, the marker wipes right off.

I use this plate to write Bible verses on and most recently have begun writing the verse that D-Man learns in Sunday School on it so that we can talk about it all week. The plate is located in the kitchen, close to the table and is a great piece for starting conversations.

Here's a picture to show you what's on it this week...


And there you have it, something that works for the D-House and hopefully will work for your house. For other great tips, check out Rocks In My Dryer.

Titles on Tuesday: Little Golden Books Edition

Today's Titles on Tuesday is subtitled "The Little Golden Books Edition." Remember The Little Golden Books?

One of my favorites is the Doctor Dan the Bandage Man which actually came with a bandage inside. D-Man received this book for his first birthday and it brought back so many memories.

Reading has been such a passion of mine for so many years and to know that it is a simple love that I can pass on to my son makes it so much better.

So, my question to you is which Little Golden Book was or still is your favorite? Do your kids have them and if so do they have a favorite?

Gearing Up For "The Day"

It's a big week here at the D-House.

A week filled with giddy anticipation, frantic shopping and last minute cleaning.

A week comprised of me not losing my sanity as I try to prepare.

And when it is all said and done, by 1 pm Saturday afternoon, all we'll have is wonderful memories.

D-Man is turning 3...and the carnival is coming to our house (complete with carousel, bounce-around and all the sugar that one could ever want). Oh yeah, and lots of diet coke for Mom. Oh and Diet Mtn. Dew for Dad.

It's hard to believe that he went from this to 3 in one blink of the eye.

Is time supposed to travel this fast?

Stay tuned...more details to come.

For Our Freedom...

Today is a day that many will spend eating, swimming, resting, chatting and watching. All of those things are so great, but please make sure that this day is also about remembering.

Remembering the freedoms that we so wonderfully enjoy.

Remembering the sacrifices that many before us made to give us this day.

Remembering the love our Father has for us.

Have a Blessed Independence Day!

Priorities

As we've gone through life, I'm sure all our priorities have ebbed and flowed.

Sometimes our priority list is exactly where it needs to be...at other times, not so much.

Life experiences, people and places all play a part.

But, at the end of the day, I need my family to know I love them, my friends to know that I'm there for them and most importantly my Saviour to know that my faith rests in Him.

Where are your priorities today?

Works-for-me: It only takes 5 ingredients

Okay, here goes my bloggy friends. Here is dinner, prepared and on the table in less than 20 minutes. It's my version of spaghetti and meatballs (complete with a homemade sauce...I said the sauce is homemade, not the meatballs, but you could always do that if you have say, EXTRA TIME ON YOUR HANDS).

I have not the extra time. Therefore, frozen meatballs make a dinner of champions for us in the D-House.

I digress, so very sorry.

My sauce consists of 1 pkg of frozen meatballs, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can Italian style diced tomatoes, 1 TBSP Italian seasoning and 1 TBSP minced garlic (I use the already minced kind from the store).

Combine all of the above ingredients and let simmer on low to medium low for about 20 minutes. While the sauce is cooking (the sauce that only takes 5 ingredients), prepare the noodles, heat some bread and toss a salad and presto...dinner is ready!

For other great Works-for-me recipes that only take 5 ingredients or less, visit Rocks In My Dryer!

Titles on Tuesday

Today's Titles on Tuesday post is about a series of books by Terri Blackstock called "The Restoration Series." The titles are as follows: Last Light, Night Light, True Light and Dawn's Light.

And let me just tell you, YOU MUST READ THEM! As in, read all 4 of them. This instant.

It is a wonderful series from Christain author, Terri Blackstock, that brings your thinking back to having full focus on God and the things that really are important in life. It reminds us how many things that we can do without and how few things that we really need in our life to survive.

Go out...get all 4. Read them.

Carry on.