another year older... another year wiser?

Hubby and I had Birthdays at the end of March!  What a fun week it was!

I was totally spoiled by my family and friends and co-workers!  My office was decorated and I had a huge cake and balloons waiting for me when I got to the office on my birthday!  My girlfriends took me to Milo's for wine tasting complete with a cheese & fruit plate.... yum!  They gave me clothes, jewelry, sweet cards and lots of laughter.  I just love them and thank God for their friendship every single day!  They are amazing!!!

Hubby bought me an i-touch; which I needed!  I am sorry to not be using my old i-pod, though.  I loved it, I ordered it from the Apple web-site 4 years ago, it was red and had the inscription "The Lord is my Strength and Song" on the back and i enjoyed watching it travel from China to my house... eagerly awaiting my first i-pod.  Sadly, it doesn't hold a charge anymore and i will miss it terribly.  Luckily, my i-touch has stolen my heart and I love that I have a nike chip for my running shoes that the i-touch will track: pace, miles, and record workouts for me and I didn't have to invest in an expensive GPS watch!  Apple Rocks!  (Thanks, Hubby... you are super-techie cool!)

Speaking of Hubby.... he turned the big 4-0 this year and I threw him a surprise party!  It was a smashing success and he loved having friends and family surround him with love (and gag gifts galore!!).  I had told him we were meeting our friends for dinner and drinks and when we showed up, 30 of his friends were there!  His mom even made it to celebrate the occasion!  I am so thankful that everyone was there to love him up and we love you all!

Yes..... we are getting older, wiser, and more blessed in life and love every year!  Life is such a gift!

family, friends, lots of fun!

Hubby's Momma wanted to get him a Camaro for his b-day!  

He loved it!

The 88 car came with a coupon good for one Petty Driving Experience!

Which means he gets to DRIVE a Nascar!  Woo Hoo!

Don't ya just Love love?

boogety-boogety-boogety let's go racin' boys!

Hubby begged Santa Claus for Nascar tickets for Christmas!  Guess what?  He was a good boy this year and got them!  Sorry the posting is late, the race was the last week of February......

Friday was Fred / Daddy Day and I got Suite tickets from a vendor, so they got to visit the Neon Garage, walk the roof (where all the spotters and cameras are) and Fred got to eat Nachos (yes, I think this was the highlight for him, he's still talking about those Nachos!).

Fred & Darrel Waltrip

Saturday was the Nationwide Race and Hubby took Rose.  They sat in the rain and ate junkfood and loved every minute of it!  Hubby got tired of the rain and wanted to leave, but Rose talked him into staying and she fell in love with Nascar and has already learned all the Racers and their cars / sponsors, etc...

Picture taken by Rose! She's a camera hog!

They didn't get any pics together... a reason to go again next year?!

Sunday was the Shelby America Sprint Cup and Hubby took Bella.  Bella has been the biggest fan all year and had gotten a t-shirt and cap of her favorite driver, Jeff Gordon for Christmas.  He led the race all day and lost at the very end, but Bella and her Daddy had a wonderful time together!  

Bella & her Papa

Now that Papa has infected the rest of the house with his "Racing Fever", sundays for the foreseeable future will be spent gathered around the Tele with racing gear on and nachos in hand! 

The Raining Season

I have been moved.


I went to a missions meeting at church a few months ago; ok I really had a staff parish meeting at 6:30 and knew there was a missions meeting at 6:00 and thought I'd attend for a few minutes before my Very Important meeting to meet our new Pastor.  I wanted to get missions information for the summer because I knew that the church was planning to go up to the UMCOR facility in SLC, UT to package and sort emergency supplies.  They had all been depleted because of the major earthquake in Haiti and I thought it would be a fantastic way for our family to go on a mission trip and maybe see some extended family along the way.  Instead, I heard the heartbreaking story of thousands of suffering orphans in Sierra Leone, West Africa.  Our Missions Lay Leader had arranged for the founders of a new orphanage in Africa that he had been interested in joining on a trip there to come and speak to our church and share their story.  I tell you, after the 30 heart-wrenching minutes I was there, I had to tear myself away and my heart stayed right there in that room with those amazing Godly women.  


At the time, I was reading the book The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns, who is the President of World Vision.  Hubby had just finished the book and told me it was a MUST read and boy, was he right.  I was in the middle of the book when I attended the missions meeting and I know that God was preparing my heart for the message that The Raining Season was to bring to my secure, comfortable, safe environment to shock me into action.  


I have not been able to get the amazing stories I heard of how The Raining Season was founded out of my mind and how God moved in two women's hearts to cause them to step up and save the orphans of Sierra Leone.  I have read and re-read every word on their website and their blog and my God will let me rest no more.  Hubby and I went on a date Sunday night and had a very good conversation and decided to sponsor a child, we weren't sure how much to commit to or if we should sponsor one child or two.  


I must admit that I had a crisis of faith on Monday before committing to sponsorship.  Their were rumors of lay-offs at work (4 people did in fact get let go on Friday and I am heartbroken for them all) and I was nervous about that and decided to pray about it for the remainder of the day.  I prayed every moment I thought of it (which was a lot!) and had been reassured by God that he is in control and that I needed to surrender control and show him my faith in action.  When I came home from work and got the mail (like I do every single day), there was a letter from our little World Vision child in Albania.  He had sent us a thank you letter for gifts we had sent him for Christmas and told us how much he loves us even though we are half-way around the world and have not even met in person.  


Thank you, God!  I love it when you speak to my mind & heart and then back it up with tangible evidence of what direction you want me to go in.  You are an Awesome God!  I love your timing - how perfect to get a letter from Albania just hours after I had decided to leap out in faith!  Thank you, thank you!  


Hubby and I have signed up to sponsor two beautiful children at The Covering (the name of the orphanage).  They are brother and sister who only have each other in this world.  Our family has had several evenings this week just looking at the website and google earth-ing and wikipedia-ing Sierra Leone.  We decided to give up some of our luxuries so that we can assist these children into having a chance to grow up loved and healthy.  There is hope - I can't save them all, I certainly can't save them on my own, but I CAN make a difference to one (or two)!  


I have been blessed so abundantly......

http://www.therainingseason.org/

My Book Bender

Read

by Ann Turner

Do you remember

learning to read?

That book full of squiggles

like ants, escaped.

the teacher's big thumb

on the page,

your heart beating inside

afraid that all you'd ever see

was ants---

Then a word popped out.

"See," and another, "cat,"

and my finger on teacher's

we read "I see cat."

I ran around the room

so happy I saw words

instead of ants.

I just love this poem!  Fred is learning to read and it is so fun to hear him reading EVERYTHING and sounding out the words on signs, buildings, shirts, bags and of course, books EVERYWHERE we go! 

I just love reading, too.  So, I am starting a book blog... I hope you will check it out and I hope you enjoy my musings.  I haven't quite figured out how I am going to format it, so it will be a work in progress (just like me!). 

http://www.mybookbender.blogspot.com/

Cookie me cookies!

Happiness is coming home from a long day of work to:

• a house bustling with happy kids and husband
• eating yummy tater-tots
• and warm home-made heart shaped sugar cookies
• frosted with melted chocolate chips
• cooked and baked by your teenage daughter
• without your knowledge or request! 

 

A rose by any other name.....

Little man decided he wanted to change his name.  I think all kids do this at one point or another, but this was stinkin' adorable!  His name is written on his backpack and he (or one of his class-mates) crossed it out and wrote in their cute kindergarten penmanship "Fred". 

So little man will now be known as Fred.

One question... why Fred?  What I wouldn't give to read that 5 year old super-hero's mind!

My resolution is not resolute!

Apparently, since it is February, I am not making any new year's resolutions....

Maybe it is because I have an aversion to following ALL the rules, or maybe it's just one of my many quirks.  For example; I hate the word Budget.  I won't call it a budget.  I call it a Spending Plan.  Something about a spending plan written in spreadsheet form makes me happy... a budget makes me think of work.  Which leads me to my newly titled Resolutions:  Living Plan: (yeah, that's better!)

• Live Intentionally.  This includes all those spreadsheets I like (including my calander, which I need to make up with ~ we weren't really on speaking terms the last couple months of 2009.  I may not like writing everything down, but yes, I need to in my crazy home / work / church / overcommitted life).  In other words - plan the plan.
1. Spending Plan:  Hubby and I took a bible study course four years ago called Crown Financial and it changed our lives!  I have been using the spreadsheets created by them since then and we have become better stewards of all we have been blessed with.  I decided to kick it up a notch this year and use their on-line program called Mvelopes.... love it!  Oh, the lovely reports you can generate with the click of a button!  A little slice of spreadsheet heaven!
2. Health Plan: Keep running! I need to keep signing up for races or I will find reasons not to run, which is silly because I feel wonderful when I run and grumpy when I don't.  And yes, log my runs so I can add up the miles!  I need to keep eating heathy, too (no candy ~ boo hoo).  I favor the medeteranian diet, but have a challenge getting four children to all eat without grumping.  So my goal is to make two kids happy for every meal.  The other two can go hungry (yeah, right) till the next meal that I plan for them to like!  Which reminds me, I must remember to post the weekly menu on the fridge.. they all do so much better when they know what is coming for dinner!
3. Reading Plan:  I don't really need a plan for reading, I just love it so much!  I do need to blog about books read, though.  I read tons of classics last year (a big thank you to the library for saving me lots of money with that one!) and wish I would have jotted down my favorite parts, overall thoughts on the book and memorable quotes from each.  So I will start now, better late than never, right?
• Love Intentionally.
1. Speak kindly to others and of others.  Enough said.
2. Give more than I get.
3. Call my friends and family instead of waiting for them to call me.  Facebook has been my lazy way of keeping in touch, but a voice over a phone line would be so much better.  Skype!  I should skype! 
4. Pray without ceasing for those I love, and yes, even those I don't. 

Well, that about does it for now.  I can think of fifty more things I should add (crafting, home improvement, service in the community, volunteering at church......), but my final goal is to KISS!  (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) Although the Love Intentionally goal is getting me thinking, Hubby is in the other room, maybe I should just go kiss him instead!  SWAK!