Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Just sittin here enjoying the happy silence. Well except for the music playing. But it's my music so it is still classified as happy silence :)

It's been cold here but I'm realizing that it must be a milder climate than normal b/c Bogus isn't even TRYING to open by Thanksgiving! Do they even have a flake of snow up there yet? I guess I haven't looked at the mountain lately. Ok I just checked their website..yup, no snow folks.

Talked with one of my church buddies about homeschool tonight. We had 2 hours of info and chatting n fighting back mommy tears with each other. I've been wanting to start doing that for forever now. More seriously looking into it as of late. Ash will start first and then J will probably do it in 3rd grade. Maybe sooner depending on how things go. Anyway it's super exciting, and Chris is supporting it too so that's a big thing. The kids have so many activities and friends that they won't be "hermits" by any means. Plus, they'll get to learn about our views on creation instead of only the other views. Why every view except for ours gets to be discussed in school is beyond me. I'm not asking for it to only be taught according to our belief, I'm just asking for our belief to be discussed as well as the others. If you have a chance to watch Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, we highly recommend it. Chris and I watched it last week and were just appalled at how far (or how backwards) things have gone.

Anyhoo..We move offices starting this weekend. So don't want to move. But it will be good once it's done. Other than that stock is low b/c we're getting it down to where we don't have to move as much. By we I mean the movers. ;) We have to do stuff too but no heavy lifting.

I love Jason Upton. Worship at it's best. Listening to Wait Upon The Wind right now. Barbara, if you have time u might wanna listen to it. I think u'd like it right now :) It kinda goes along with what u were writing about. (in my playlist towards the top of the list)

Getting excited-ish about Thanksgiving. I always have a hard time around holidays. Why, not sure. Thanksgiving and Christmas both in particular seem to be so centered around self and not on what they are supposed to be centered on and that always really REALLY bothers me. I guess I just don't understand why it is so hard for "us" to take our eyes off of ourselves. But, that's human nature I suppose. I am determined to enjoy Thanksgiving and be thankful for another year with my family, and my beautiful Grandma. Thank you, Jesus, for my Grandma. Thank you for not making me say "goodbye" just yet. I know, I always say, "Just one more holiday with her Lord." But I realize that it won't always be. And, that's ok. I'll just be thankful for today and "let" You worry about the rest.

The kiddos are so ready to put the Christmas decorations up. Have I mentioned this already? Feeling very de ja vu-ish. ANyway, at this point I'm thinking it will be late next week if at all b4 we get stuff out. There's just never enough time. Every time I think we have time, something else comes up and our time is taken away. Yes, we could say "no"..but it's just never that simple if u catch my drift. And, we do say "NO" to more things than you might think. At any rate, the decorations will be put up and I so look forward to a quiet day with my lil family to get that done. It's always so much fun. And, I love watching the kids put their decorations up.

Chris made a wonderful dinner both last night and tonight. Last night was shredded beef tacos. Then tonight he used the left over beef for nachos. My man is amazing. Truly blessed. He makes my heart leap for joy and warms my spirit with his embrace. I love you honey. I love you, I love you, I love you.

I dreamed of Fiji again today. Daydreamed that is. One day..one day. I'm pretty sure that my lil corner of Heaven will have a Fijian beach. :) And there I will sit in my Father's lap in complete peace with tears of joy streaming down my face..napping in His arms. Listening to stories and feeling His love like never before.

Well, I suppose I'll go now :) Here's a video for u to watch! Love you


Sunday, November 23, 2008

Have you ever wanted to read the Bible in chronological order? I HAVE! And I’m finding more and more people who do, too. They sell Bibles in this format, but you I've found that you can also get a chart online for FREE!

Here is the link to a chart that shows you what to read for 61 days in order to cover all of the "key" stories of the Bible.

http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/chronological.php

And then this link (below) takes you to a page where you can read the entire Bible in chronological order:

http://70030.netministry.com/articles_view.asp?articleid=31608&columnid=3801


We are joining with our buddies to read the key stories in 61 days (FIRST link) and then will go back and read the entire Bible in chron. order (second link) after that. Wanna join with us? We are starting today.

It is said that our relationship with our spouses and those around us reflect our relationship with the Lord. So, let's understand and love The Word more so that we can then in turn understand and love those around us better. Especially in this day and age, we really really need to be at a place in our walk with the Lord where we can reach out and touch and understand others as He would have us understand them. The world likes to confuse and water down the Truth, so let's get back to the MEAT of The Word and the TRUTH that it holds! Everyone is lovable, so let's learn how to love them better, together. Also, we expect that in the end we will learn to love ourselves more..it's impossible to truly love yourself (or anyone else) until you know your true identity in HIM.

We hope you will all join us on this great adventure of walking through the Bible as it happened! We plan on keeping in touch with everyone by email who is doing this, so feel free to "reply to all" when you want to share something or ask a question to the group. We're all "brothers & sisters" here, no question is stupid! We look forward to learning with you and growing closer together with you in the coming weeks. Sometimes it's confusing to understand how and why things happened in the Bible, but reading it this way will most likely help put the puzzle pieces together.

Please email and let us know if you are joining us so we can put together an address book for the emails. We are starting today, Sunday November 23rd. If you get this email late, no worries! You can catch up without too much extra reading if you start "now".


~Chris & Sarah


SOME PEOPLE ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE LINK TO THE 61 DAY READING PLAN. IF YOU ARE ALSO HAVING TROUBLE, FOLLOW THESE STEPS:

Go to:


www.biblegateway.com

On the left hand side, click on:

Additional Resources

At the bottom of the page, click on:

Reading Plans

At the bottom of the page, click on:

Chronological Reading Plan (61 Days)

Friday, November 21, 2008

Please follow this link. It will tell you all about how to print off and send a Christmas card to our Service men and women. It is free and well worth your time!

Cards must be postmarked by December 1oth, so don't delay!


http://www.redcross.org/email/saf/
Thank goodness the weekend is here. I need a BREAK! Worked 6 days last week, had Sunday "off" although Sundays are never really relaxing! Then back to work I went! It was a very long and draining week. And, we are now packing to move to a new warehouse, started doing that this afternoon. I'm so tired. Chris said I looked like I was going to fall asleep at any second when I got home. A full day of sleep would be MARVELOUS! Speaking of sleep, I had a horrible week of sleep..I fall asleep just fine but then start waking up around 4 off and on till it's time to get up. ANNOYING. But, at least I have a cozy bed to sleep in and a wonderful man to sleep next to! I just keep thinking my house is so messy. I haven't vacuumed in nearly 3 weeks which makes me want to hurl. The dog hair is filthy. The bathrooms have been quick cleaned but need a deep clean, in my opinion. Laundry needs to be done, floors mopped, everything else dusted..ugh..save me.

I made a huge pot of chili last night for Chris & the kids. It was yummy. While they were enjoying that, I went out to dinner with Kristi & Kim. Actually, I think they finished before I went out. It's blurry, but no matter. The girls and I went to El Gallo Giro so they could experience the magnificence of the Gallo. They LOVED IT!! Please be prayin for Kim, though, she's having a lot of serious medical issues right now and they can't seem to figure out what's wrong with her. She's had 2 MRI's in a week. A new born baby at home and a toddler. EEK!

Tomorrow we are goin out with Matt & Laura to hang out and also to go to a farm and pick out our Thanksgiving turkey! We might pick out a pig, too. See how much they are. But we're gonna try to split one.

Jess is gonna meet me on Wednesday on our way to Mom n Dads to give me the new Jason Upton CD..I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am. Makes my whole being leap for joy!! Ecstatic to listen to it while I bake with my Momma. Well, I guess really it will be me baking with Chris since Momma will still be at work. Maybe I'll be napping by the time she gets home. I just love thanksgiving and being with my family. We have so much to be thankful for.

Well, we've gotta get Ash to her Drama meeting so I'll chat with yall later. I LOVE YOU!!!!!! Have a beautiful weekend. The SON is shining!!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

So last weekend my Mom n Dad (lovely people that they are) took the kiddos for the weekend. AHH YESS!! NO BICKERING!! It was great. Truth be told, I think they needed a break from us, too. ;) Anyway, we had a super fun time. Got some Christmas shopping done (and groceries), went out to lunch one day and also went to see the new James Bond movie. The first night (Friday) we were in bed and snoring by 8:30. TIRED!! OK I was snoring, I think Chris made it till closer to 10 before he passed out.

Then it was back to work on Monday, it was a very busy day. Today wasn't so bad, I got caught up on a lot of work that had been piling up with us being so busy. So that was nice. Even one day without being able to tend to my emails creates a lot of havoc! I still have over 100 emails to check for on time deliveries.

Well, I guess that's all I have to share for now! Love ya

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Got this from Jenn tonight. Thought I would pass it on to you all so you could hear it from her mouth! They are so very thankful for each and every one of you.

"Hey everyone, just wanted to spread the good news about Joshua. We got the test results back on his bone marrow and biopsy and he is definitely in remission. It has been a long week here in Savannah, but we should be going home tomorrow. Thank you to everyone for all your phone calls, emails, texts, and especially all the prayers. They are very uplifting to us all. We can now close the book on chapter one ( having the Leukemia in his body) and start on "chapter two" (keeping it from coming back)!!! We still have a lot of treatments ahead, but I know GOD will have a hand in it and knows what we have in store! Please know that we have truly been blessed with the news of his remission but there will still be times when he struggles and has his down days. I hope you know what a blessing each and every one of you are in Joshua's life.

Be blessed,
Jennifer"

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I've got awesome news to share with you tonight :) Joshua got his preliminary test results back today and they show him being leukemia free! He's had a really hard week with treatments and his port so this was such needed and welcomed news. Please continue to pray for him as he keeps walking out this journey. They've got 4 years total of different treatments and things that they will need to do, but for today we all got WONDERFUL news. Praise the Lord, He is ever faithful. Thank you for all of your continued prayers!

In other news, it's Veteran's Day! Thank you to all of our Vets and their families..without you there would be no us. Love you, love you

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Smitty does it again..another awesome worship song!! It's amazing what God can and will do with a willing heart. Enjoy :)


Saturday, November 8, 2008

Well it was a great day! JBQ went awesome, J took 7th place individually and the team took 2nd! We were only 5 points behind the 1st place team. There was an issue with a girls buzzer in our last round so we had to start the round over and then lost that round. If we would have been able to finish out the round that the girls' buzzer wasn't working on we would have taken 1st place by a landslide! *sigh* Oh well. The kids had a great time and that's what matters. :) Mom and Gran (Barbara) both got to go to the match today and so did baby Monet (our niece)! Thanks for joining us guys! And, thanks for buying us grub, Gran!

Then we came home and brought Barbara with us. We hung out and watched the BSU game and then had a delicious pork roast dinner. Sat n chatted, played a game. It was a great night! She just left. It's so dark it feels like it must be 10, but no, it's only 6:41!!

Now I'm needing something for dessert, pumpkin pie sounds good but I'm not gonna go back out to Paul's to get it. Just not gonna do it!!!

J made a cool little project tonight all on his own. It turned out really great. It's called Charlie the Unicorn. I guess it's from an online video the kids watched with Chris. Anyway, I'll post a pic of it when he finishes it. He's gonna paint it white this coming weekend at Grammies house when they're there to spend the night. Grammie always has paints and stuff. Mommy doesn't! I should change that. We need a better craft closet. I'll just add that to the list of to-do's. Fab. Or, maybe I'll surprise J and get him the paint tomorrow so he doesn't have to wait so long to finish it. That would be fun. Yeah, I think I'll do that.

Well, I guess I'll go up and eat a ton of peanut butter M&M's to try to quench my Pumpkin Pie craving.

Have a great night!

Lovies

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Hi! :)

We're very excited to announce that we are now VERIZON customers!! We can now talk/text our Verizon buddies for free, thank you Jesus! Should save us all some cash.

I'm so excited (yeah, it's an exciting kind of day) that tomorrow is FRIDAY!! Has this been the longest week ever or WHAT!

We're gonna have breakfast for dinner tonight. I wasn't sure it sounded good at first but as my hubby started describing everything we'd make I got a little more into it. Now I'm so hungry I don't much care what we eat! We've been playing with our phones since 3:30 :) How time flies when you're wasting it! Well, it's not really a waste, but..

Well, that's really all I have to share for now. :) Have a wonderful evening. Love you!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Well, we're another day closer to Heaven. :) I think Dr. King is rolling over in his grave today. And the videos indicating he's not infuriate me. Race alone doesn't bring similarity between him & Obama. I'm sorry, it just doesn't. Not even close. I know some of you support Obama and I'm thankful to live in a country where we are allowed to have different views and still be family and friends w/o strife (and just for the record, McCain wasn't my fave, either). But, today my heart breaks for many different reasons but in large it breaks at this moment for the unborn babies who will never get the chance to live once he takes office. And, it breaks b/c I see how many people agree with him in that. But, I take great comfort in knowing that above all, God is in control. He is working everything for the good. He can move mountains. And according to the Bible, in the end, He wins..we win And that alone soothes my soul. But this isn't the time to be complacent. This is the time to put our big girl and big boy panties on and STAND UP. Let your voices be heard, and FIGHT. The outcome of the election wasn't a surprise..and I will pray for Obama and his family and his staff everyday, that the Lord will guide him and that he will change his outlook on many things..that he will do what is truly best for this country. He said in his speech (in essence) that he sympathizes with those of us who did not vote for him and that he will work with us and that he will be our president, too. Well, thank you. You don't have a choice. But, in being "our president too", I expect that you will listen to what we have to say, even if we are the ever growing minority. Anyway, that's all I have to say. I will not badmouth him. He is in this office for a reason and I accept that. I pray he does great things. I serve a mighty mighty God and I have no problem putting my life in HIS hands. It is the Lord who protects and fights for me, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Feel free to NOT comment on my opinions. We all have our own and that's fine, I absolutely support that. But, I don't want to debate with you. On another subject (sort of), I am so excited that this country has come this far in regard to racial acceptance. It's certainly been a horribly long road but in the "end", part of Dr. Kings dream was acheived last night. And for that I am thankful.

Anyway, Chris is on the mend. Which means we get to go to church tonight! Also means I have a ton of reading to do before church!

Got the email today that Barbara (Chris' Mom) is back from Cancun safe n sound. I'll be looking forward to pictures!!

Work has been very busy this week and today was full of cranky post election customers, as was to be expected. But, sales are up..apparently anger fuels spending! LOL Anyway, Gail has been really sick. I think she has the same thing my Mom's had for a week. Hopefully she will be better soon and come back to help us!

It's freezing in the office F A R EE ZING. My teeth are clinched together. But, heat is expensive and I need to save my pennies!

Have a wonderful day, know that I'm thinkin of you & lovin you!

((hugs))

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Oh yeah, one more thing..you gotta watch this video from Steve Harvey. It's goosebump worthy :)

















 We had lots of fun at the corn maze! Ash was with her TBQ team shopping so she didn't join us. Anyhoo, we got to watch pig races (SO CUTE!!) and play in the corn and run over Obama's face (the maze was in the shape of his and McCain's faces)..u know, all the fun stuff ;)


After the maze adventure we went on home, I made a carrot cake and then relaxed for a few minutes before Matt n Laura came over to watch the game! Matt also brought over his deer meat so he could grind it into ground meat with my Kitchenaid. How fun! And you know we busted out some Rockband while they were here, too..cuz that's just what we do. After that they went on home and I, as usual, went straight to bed and passed out probably mid sentence.


Oh, this is all disjointed now, but I got to go out with Kristi and baby Berkley to breakfast yesterday! We went to this super cute little restaurant in the old section of Nampa called Little Kitchen. Yummy! It was kinda spendy but we got a big meal and good service so it was worth it! The atmosphere was super cute, too. Anyhoo, then we went to Costco on our joint venture where we buy stuff and then split it up as to save money! Got lots of good stuff and spent less than 50 bucks! Then we went back to her house, split the stuff up and I left..off to Winco to finish my shopping. It was there that I nearly went friggen postal. I had forgotten that it was the 1st. Which means all the checks and welfare cards were filled. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every aisle was like a line at Disneyland. At one point the lines to the checkout were backing into the aisles. I almost just left my full cart and walked out so many times, it was SO claustrophobic in that place. And it was muggy in there b/c it had been raining all morning. Had to talk myself down from panic attack..also envisioned grabbing cans off of the shelves and just chucking them at people telling them to get the HELL OUT OF MY WAY!!!! It's green beans, you don't need to analyze it, just grab the effing can and GO!


Anyway, today was nice and quiet, even for a Sunday :) Got up n went to church then came home, ate some pizza and took a nap. Chris took Ash to TBQ practice, I continued to lay in bed with the heating pad. I forgot to mention that this morning b4 church I was sneezing (about 40 times..or 7) and threw my back out. My upper back and neck are all sorts of painful now. So after awhile I got sick of laying in bed (WHAT!) and came downstairs to roll on the exercise ball for relief (no) and do the 2 yoga poses I know to help (no). I think I'll just take a Zyflamend tonight and call it good. Will be better by mornin! Then Chris took us out to run some errands and get a bite to eat. J didn't have play practice tonight b/c Brenda is super sick, so he went with Chris and I. Then we went and sat in on the end of A's drama practice, chatted with some buddies and came home. I'm gonna start a new paragraph, just for fun.


Then we all sat here in the office and played with editing stuff on my Picasa program..adding eyeballs to our noses and my teeth to J's mouth..fun stuff like that. We got a pretty good laugh out of it. Hope the kids (I) don't have nightmares from it!!


Now I'm just sittin here chatting with you and listening to my Upton music. Ahhh, perfect.


Did I tell you that the MRI came back showing NO internal vascularity? I call that a miracle :) Doc Rogers said when he got the ultrasound results back showing internal vascularity that he was like "Oh crap. This isn't good." But then the MRI came back and showed zero internal vascularity which is specifically what Judy prayed against at church that night. Even more cool is that I never told her that there was internal vascularity. Amazing, eh? Anyhoo..I don't think I ever shared that with you..forgive me if I already did! :) Good news deserves to be repeated. Other than that I'm looking at a surgery date of Thurs. Jan 15th. And should be able to go back to work on that following Monday as long as I don't lift anything heavier than a phonebook. SWEET!!!!


Well, I better get goin. Have a wonderful night my loves!


((HUGS))