Blessed

Hola. It feels like it's been ages since I've been on, but really it hasn't been that long. I was trying to get on earlier, but couldn't log into my google account. I ended up updating my browser (firefox all the way baby!) and that did the trick.

Yesterday the kids had a day off of school so the teachers could get their rooms together in the new school. It was the perfect opportunity to celebrate Kirsten's birthday. We headed out to Pizza Hut for lunch, and then went bowling. I was kicking myself because I had left my camera at home. After a game she opened up her gifts, we went to Sears to spend some of her birthday money on clothes and came home to do her cake and icecream. She was absolutely tickled pink about the cake I made her.



I am so thankful for my girl. It's scary that she's 9 now. She's growing so fast, but she's still so sweet. Since today is her actual birthday she brought cupcakes to school which was well received. Caitlin and I went down and ate lunch with her at school. It was all in all a good day.

Busy, busy, busy...

Oye, here at sit at 6:30 in the morning, struggling to wake up. Nahla naturally woke me up at 6 for her emergency bathroom break. Usually I lay back down hoping to doze off till 7 but this morning I couldn't. There's so much on my mind that i just had to spend some time in prayer. Our church is kind of in a mini-crisis, my husband is going through stuff, and I'm struggling to keep my head screwed on right!

Yesterday was 'clean the house' day for us. Unfortunately we only got the kitchen and livingroom done. Half my kids were giving me such a hard time with helping out that I lost it. I admit, I blew my top. Started spewing out why was it so difficult for them to help their mom clean up, they live here too, and how would they feel if every time they asked me for something I answered with "Do I haaaaave to???" I wish I could say I was always level headed and completely cool and put together, but that is not the case. Especially when it comes to my younger boy. That child has a lying problem, and he has it bad! He's been getting away with it at school so it's increased at home as well. This little actor can turn tears on in the snap of a finger. He just turns the waterworks on and all kinds of adults start tripping all over him! It drives me nuts, because I know they're fake. He also can turn them off just as quickly!

*sigh* Anyhow, after I lost my cool and yelled at them all we actually got some work done. Then thankfully my hubby called. It had been a long while since I got to hear his voice, and it was nice. Feeling connected is vital for a relationship to stay together when the two people are so far apart. The good news is he had his company board yesterday and he passed! So he is this month's NCO of the month (finally!). He goes to the brigade board on October 2nd. If he does well at that he can reenlist, maybe get promoted. The woman that seemed to be trying to ruin his career is now asking to be transferred to another company because it is so upsetting to her that she didn't get her way. It's been a real struggle for my hubby, and I'm just praying that he's growing in the Lord through all of it. Unfortunately he smoking again. Which I really do not like. He said he'd try to be smoke free when he comes home in December, but my gut aches and says it isn't gonna happen. I'm praying though. I want a smoke free husband dang it!

Anyhow, today will be a bit busy as well, but not too bad. There's the usual teaching Sunday School in the morning, the kids will go on a treasure hunt this morning. What they'll find at the X on the map is a Bible. Which leads into God's word is like a treasure map, it will lead you to the greatest treasure of all, a relationship with Jesus. I hope the kids will enjoy it. My daughter surprised me last night. She can now recite all 66 books of the bible from memory! Which is really sad that I can do the Old Testament and the first 11 of the new. I'm gonna have to step up my game and catch up with her!

Anyhow, this afternoon I have food to prepare for the pot luck, and a birthday cake to make for my daughter's birthday party tomorrow, not to mention cupcakes to bring to school on Tuesday which is my daughter's actual birthday. Then back out to church. Somewhere in there I need to fit in buying dog food. So I won't get any creating done for a while. But that's okay. I must invest more time in my kids.

Okay, so I'm rambling, and I've been doing so for 20 minutes! Guess it's time to get off this couch and walk Nahla. She's been keeping my feet warm for me this whole time!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Small Town Goodness

Have I ever mentioned that I love living in a small town? I really really do! Today is homecoming day for the highschool of this school district. Every year they have a parade through St. George and I just love the feel of it all. You have all the kids lined up by the road to see the floats that the highschool kids make. This year the kids got to follow the parade with their wagons full of stuff to move into the new school. Yup, a brand new school that is just really nice. There is such an overwhelming pride too in the smaller towns. I mean, yeah, I had school pride when I was in highschool. But as I see these towns and how they really support and care about the schools, it's just totally so much more! It might help that you're actually a person in this school district, and not just a number. To my kids' teachers, I am Denise, not Mrs. Beach, or "Johnathan's mom". Okay, I'm rambling.

Anyway, I don't care if other's laugh. (I'm not technically a small town hick, cause I didn't grow up here, I just moved here a few years ago.) I'd like to share some pics. The parade started off with the firetruck.



Now I know why the volunteer Fire Dept. folks were at the station late last night. They were shining up their truck! (The firestation is diagonally across the road from me and one building over.)

Next was the Grand Marshal.

His sign says "A Cut Above the Rest."

Next along was the band.


Following the band were the candidates for homecoming royalty.




All three jeeps were donated by a local dealership to be used. See, that's what I mean, people caring about the community and wanting to be a part of it.

As for the class floats, they were all centered around Johnny Cash Songs.

Seniors had Ring of Fire



It was pretty funny, they had the "assembly line" for the falcons (their rivals that they'll be playing tonight) that were getting cooked. They had a bucket of chicken and were eating it.

Juniors got "Man in Black".



It was pretty cool cause each of the students were frozen in a position of an athlete in the various sports. On the tombstones are written "Falcons". You've gotta click on it to see it larger to really see it well.



Sophomores had Folsom Prison Blues



Obviously there's a "Falcon" in the jail cell with the Rock Creek Mustang being a jail warden.

The Freshmen had The Black Mobile, but there's was pretty stinky. lol Go figure, freshmen.

Anyway, I really hope we'll be able to stay here. It's a wonderful place for the kids to grow. This afternoon after the parade and picking up the kids Michael and I went to help out with moving from the old school into the new. I have an even greater appreciation for those poor teachers. They're using their own vehicles and moving their own heavy furniture. My back and hands are sooooooooooooooooooooo sore from just three hours of work, and those poor teachers have a lot more to do still.

Anyhow, I'm off to find something for dinner and try to unwind before getting my stamping done.

What the heck possessed me?

Mornin-mornin everyone! I'm up a bit early today, as after my mouse, or, err... dog, squeeked me awake this morning for her potty break, I decided to just stay up instead of trying to get a little more sleep in. I tell you, the pup is driving me nuts!! She has not only one, not two, but three different toys for her chewing pleasure. But is that enough for her? Nooooooooooo. Now she's begun going in Caitlin's room to find wonderful toys to chew on in there, and the bathroom! Now granted, the bathroom should be clean, but she's gotten a barrette, a hair tie and clothes out of there, and I'm just ready to blow! I put her in the backyard for a little while, but with no kids to play with she doesn't seem to like it as she had dug a hole under the gate and got out within 20 minutes. *sigh* So it's hard for me to get anything done down stairs (she's not allowed down there, cause there's simply too much stuff she'd destroy) without me putting her in her kennel. I can't stand to keep a dog locked up in a kennel all day, so I give up. I know one day she'll be a good dog, but right now she's more than a handful of a puppy!!

Today is slated to be a busy one. I have to call up the church's insurance company and see if I can work out some problems. That's always fun working with them. (Yes, that statement is dripping with sarcasam.) There's an 11am elders meeting I need to go up to the church to take minutes for, I have to bring a wagon up to the school at 1:30pm for my son to use in the parade. And I get to leave the house at about 3:05 to walk to the new school to pick up my kiddos. Promptly afterwards my oldest and I will head to the old school to help the teachers move.

It's going to be a big busy day. Tonight I have some stamping to do for a swap I signed up for... wow, this post is becoming my 'to-do' list aint it? Sorry, guess I'm thinking out loud so to say. Not having contact with my husband is starting to get to me. It's been about three weeks since I've heard his voice, a week since e-mail. He did call Sunday night, but I was at church. I never thought I'd be one of the wives that complained she hadn't heard from her husband in a week, but here I am. *sigh*

Well, off I go. Gotta get this day underway, take Nahla for her walk and get the kids off to school!

Baby Brain

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Nothing, absolutely nothing!

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Now we're talking!

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Leaves, Knees, and God things

I warn ya ahead of time, I feel this will be rather rambly.

These last few days have been buh-seee. (busy, emphasized!) My hubby no longer has Internet, and my moms on vacation, so I haven't unloaded on any one.

Lets start with leaves! The calendar says tomorrow is the first day of fall, but our trees have been shedding their leaves for over a week. And when you have nine trees in your backyard, plus at least five around the perimeter. All those trees leave a ton of leaves! And we're only at the beginning of the season! I love how pretty the landscape gets this time of year. I grew up in the desert where there is no such thing as four seasons. There's winter and summer, that's it. Oh wait, I forgot the monsoon season! But all those leaves are a lot of work. Thankfully I have three kids that are getting bigger and want to earn some money. So they spent a good part of the afternoon raking up leaves at $1 a bag. Meanwhile I'm inside trying to fix up a scrap area. A good portion of our basement was dedicated to homeschooling. Now that I'm not doing that anymore I think it's time to make some room for my crafts stuff! I really do love creating things, and it's been so long since I've done it. I figure if I can get my stuff out of the giant heap it was in I may get more opportunities. So, you just might be seeing some craft corner snap shots coming soon. :)

As for the Knees... my poor baby girl! I swear, that little girl's knees will be permanently scabbed till she becomes a teenager! And it always seems to happen at church. Wednesday she fell down in the parking lot and scraped up her knee. Ever since then she's had more falls. While they've been rather small falls, her scab keeps breaking open, making it bleed all over again. Then tonight at church she falls again, this time scraping the other one. And it bleeds, and bleeds, and bleeds and bleeds. The poor girl has two knees all bloodied up.

As for the God things... my Lord is so good. You know, he just blows me away when He decides to show me his Mercy and Grace. Our church is rather small, barely more than a year old. I teach the Sunday School, which is for ages between 6 - 12. We have five kids that are regulars, and two that come and go. So we average six kids, three of them are mine! Anyway, we started a new curriculum today that focuses on the Bible. Along with our studies, we launched a "Change that can change the world." fund campaign. Basically we're asking that people put a few coins in a container. The money we raise will be going to the Wycliff organization to help fund missionaries that are working on getting the Bible Translated into languages that don't have a Bible in their own language. Anyhow, this morning I gave a short presentation to the congregation about it. In one day someone brought in $70 worth of change they've been saving up, and another has told me that they will match what ever funds the children raise! God's just blowing me away. I had set a goal of $200 for the kids. I figured we only have three families represented in our little class, that that was a decent goal. But if we have $140 in one day, man, God has a waaaaaaay bigger goal than I ever could think of.

He also got me up singing worship tonight. I haven't been able to sing with the worship team since we moved buildings last March because I'm the only Sunday School teacher. Tonight when I walked in our worship leader let me know I was singing. lol I just love to sing out to my Lord. It's funny, when I sing regular old songs, my voice isn't all that great. But when I sing from my heart, adoring my Maker, it's just such a sweet song. It felt great to be able to do that.

This coming week will be busy, but I'll be around. :)

Getting Crafty...

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Oye...

Oye... that's the best word I can think of right now to describe how I'm feeling. From the rollercoaster mess going on with my husband and the Army, to a sick dog throwing up all afternoon, with trying to prepare for a scrap class and launch a new Sunday School curriculum all mixed in it, I'm just ever so slightly overloaded. lol

But you know, God is good! I am excited about the new study we're launching at church. Part of me really wishes I had more children in the class, I mean, three of them are mine, there's two other boys that are there every week and that's all of our regulars. We do have about three other kids that come and go but they're not there consecutively. Anyhow, the topic the next six months is all about the Bible. How did we get it, where it came from, it's message and authority. While trying to get the 66 books of the bible memorized in this time, we're also launching a fund drive for the Wycliff people. They work on getting the Bible translated into languages that don't have one. Some of these languages don't even have an alphabet. So it's big work.

I was able to get most of my work for that done yesterday, so I'm hoping today to work more on the scrap party I'm hosting on Saturday. I'm just struggling to get my demo album done. I want to make cards and crafts, not mini-albums right now! Creativity! I wish I could get mine to cooperate!

I'm here...

Hola!
I'm still around, I've just been busy. And you know, as I sit here trying to recall just where all my time has gone, it tends to be a bit of a blur!

Yesterday a teen girl that bought one of Nahla's sisters was walking by just as we were heading out for a walk. It was neat to see the two litter mates together. At first they were a bit apprehensive about each other, then they got to playing well. But then something triggered the aggressive side of Nahla. Their friendly pouncing and playing turned into mean noises and actual biting. We seperated them but Nahla just wouldn't let it go. I don't know if it's because it was her yard or what, but I was surprised. She's not aggressive at all with us. I must say I am going to be paying extra attention to her actions when she plays.

This Saturday I'm hosting my first ever scrappin' party. I'm scared! I've never even been to a scrap party/class never mind host one. I have a project in mind, but I don't know. There are some very crafty ladies in my church, and I fear they're going to be bored with me! To add on top of it all, I want to finish the project for myself so I have an example and I can help out women with my diecut machines, but I have no creative juices right now. I'm so tapped out there's no creativity in me right now. It's a shame really. I think I need to get researching on the net. I've gotta get inspired!

So, for now life just keeps on rolling along.

Catching up...

Wow, I actually never got on here yesterday. It was a busy busy day, but good! The kids' school had a "Freedom Walk" to commemerate 9/11. Thing is they had it in the gym because it looked as if it could start pouring any moment. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I went and walked with Michael, the gym teacher who was leading it had absolutely no clue what 9/11 was about. She was reading statistics off a piece of paper when one of the kids asked what the Pentegon was. Her reply? She shrugged her shoulders and said it was a building. I mean come on! But it was good to spend a little while with Michael.

Then my youngest and I ate lunch with Johnathan, since it was his birthday. Their school is so different than the one I grew up in. Growing up our lunch and recess was our only real time to just be a kid, be loud, talk with your friends. This school is a whole other creature. As a mom, I'm glad they have rules in place to keep the kids from getting out of control. But it's so odd for me. They have to ask permission to put their tray away, then they have to put their head down on the table to wait for a teacher to tell them they can go. If it get loud at all the lights go off and everyone has to be quiet. I mean, my kids are louder in my van than they can be in the cafeteria. Now I know why they're so loud when they get home from school! They aren't allowed to make noise at school.

Johnathan had Taekwondo class. My son just HAD to tell his instructor that it was his birthday. So he got 7 Birthday Kicks. It was hillarious. Then we went out to Time Out Corner. It's an indoor mini golf/arcade place. My boys each wanted to play pool with me. I'm glad to report that I won both games. Though not by a whole lot. lol We had pizza and Johnathan had a fun time. We ran home to have cake and finish homework right before heading to bed. Johnathan kept saying it was great day. I'm so glad he enjoyed it, and I am so thankful that my kids are thankful. He didn't have a big party, and our time out really wasn't much, but he truly had a good time, and I'm so thankful that he had a good day.

September 11th, 2001 is a day the rest of America remembers as a sorrowful day. And though I grieve the loss of so many, I can not allow that to take over. That day the Lord blessed me with my son.

Anyhow, as for today, it's already started out eventful. My morning walk in the rain with Nahla had another dog follow us home. Thankfully she was friendly. I called the number on her tags, but there was no answer. So off to City Hall she went. Today is filled with dishes and laundry. Michael has an eye appointment today. Wednesday he started complaining about his eyes hurting again. They better not make me pay another hundred and something dollars for a new prescription. We'll see what happens.

So off to work I go. :)

Keeping my head above water...

Ya know... Having a personal blog is a weird kinda thing. I mean, I can't speak for everyone, but at least for me, I start mine off for the sole reason of having an outlet to express myself. So many times it helps to just get something off your chest. You don't really want anyone to "fix" it, you just want the opportunity to express it. But then after it's started, there's things I start to type and tell myself "You can't publish that!" I become my own sensor, not wanting to give the impression that I'm weak, vulnerable, make mistakes and have differences of opinion with those around me.

So, the very thing I took on as a way to lighten my burden actually has the opposite effect! I know I must be careful, the Lord gives us instructions to watch our tongue, and He knows I struggle with that a lot! But why do I think twice about admitting I cried today? Why am I embarrassed to admit I'm struggling? Because I don't want to let others down? Folks are always telling me how "strong" I am, and how I can do anything. The thing is, they don't see me in my moments alone when I break down. When I cry out to my God for comfort, because I feel lost.

Why? Why am I afraid for others to see I'm human? Because I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me. I don't want to hear "It must be so hard with your husband gone." I don't want to be reminded of all my struggles! I swear I'm a walking contradiction! And I am more than happy to blame it on being a woman! (Gotta love the hormone excuse!)

So yeah, I cried today. I still haven't done my daughter's hair, we've had the TV on preschooler shows all day. I've spent over an hour doing the church's finances, trying to track down a few adding errors I've made and making out checks for bills. Shipping out an order or two, baking cupcakes for my son's class tomorrow, taking the puppy out for frequent potty breaks, and taking her on her walk. My kitchen is a disaster area, and the living room is only clean because of our new puppy! She forces the kids to keep the floor clean! I need to mow but I just don't have the energy. It's not super tall yet, so it'll survive. And in the middle of it all, I'm forcing myself to just keep going.

Tonight is Calvary Kids Club (CKC). It's kind of like Awana. This is what I had picked my oldest up from last week that he had his major attitude with me which led to him swinging at me. As I dug into the situation to try to figure out what the heck was going on, I found that there's another boy there that just started coming a few weeks ago. This boy is the same age as my son, but built more solidly. Well, he and my son had gotten into a heated moment, not an all out fight, but the tension was there. So when I picked him up and asked why his brand new sneakers were ripped already, he had all that tension in him that came flying out at me.

That night I had told him he wasn't getting to go to CKC the next week. My kids love CKC, but if that's the attitude I'm going to get from him after it, he doesn't need it. Now, a week later, and having time to really think about it, I'm not sure I'm going to have him go back to it at all. I mean, they do talk about God and a Bible verse, but a lot of it is playing with the kids and doing crafts. All good things, but I think what my son really needs is time with me. This poor boy is 10 years old and his father has not been a real part of his life since he was 3. He's had no real man to look up to, and now he gets like no time with me. So I think I'm going to give up my hour to myself every Wednesday night and spend it with him instead. I'll still get my errands done, but hopefully the two of us can reconnect. We'll see how it goes anyway.

Tuesday... and counting

You know, I think I had a bunch of pointless life ramblings to type about today, but now I can't remember any of them! I think that's a sign of old age (and I'm scared)! I DO know that I have a small video clip to share for this "Tickle Tuesday". I'm not sure it counts as tickling, but this is my blog, so if I want it to count, then it counts, dag-nab-it!

Yeah, so we have a little fun at our poor puppy's expense. The good thing is she's completely oblivious to the fact that there is now a video of her on the internet! She won't care.

Anyhow, the big event this week is Johnathan's birthday on Thursday. I'll be busy tomorrow making cupcakes to take to his school. The good news is he did much better at school on Monday. Hopefully it'll stay that way!

My daughter's birthday is later this month, and I'm just so thankful for my girl. I was asking her what she wanted for her birthday and she couldn't think of anything. So I asked her questions, "You couldn't possibly want more ponies could you?" (My oldest daughter is loves My Little Pony and has been collecting them for years!), she replied that she would like pony stuff, but not until her little sister is older and can play with her better.

So I asked if she wanted craft stuff, (another hobby of hers).
"No, I don't need any more."
"How about necklaces, bracelets, nail polish and stuff like that?"
"No that's too girly."
I laughed and said she wasn't helping me out. Her reply? She gave me a hug and told me she was happy with what she had. It about made me cry.
Her older brother chimed in and said, "How about Magic Tree House books?" (The school got them hooked on that series.) My daughter jumps up, "Yeah! I want books for my birthday!!"

I tell you, I am so thankful that my children give me snippets of hope that I am doing something right in raising them! Others may think we're odd, but I like us that way. :)

Okay, so HE knows better than I do

This last few weeks have been a bit hard on me. A whole new array of problems have snuck up since the kid's entered public school. Not that the school itself is the problem, just the changing of schedules and less time with my kids has started to effect things. Previously we would get our homeschool done by afternoon, then we'd go do their extra activities and usually be at the church for something or other. Now they get home at 3:30 and they still have school work to do, not to mention everything else. When you have three different kids that all need to do something with a parent, and you're the only parent available, it can get sticky. I simply can't keep up with those responsibilities, plus being expected to be at our church. I struggled hard with the decision to cut out mid-week service from my schedule. I'm viewed as being part of the leadership, shouldn't I be there all the time? I was getting down on myself, the passing remarks by others didn't help... But God...

But God is good, and never ceases to surprise me. Today as I was driving to the church to do some paperwork, I was listening to the radio. In the sermon the pastor mentioned how one of the biggest tragedies today is that Christian parents neglect their own family, often times for the ministry. It opened my eyes, made me see all the times these last two weeks my daughter has tried to hug on me, and I'd have to give her a tiny squeeze and go on to my "work". How each of my sons are grounded because of their angry outburst. Then this afternoon my pastor calls, and through our conversation he's relieved some of my fears and feelings about the whole thing. So now my shoulders' are a little lighter. Thank you Lord!

Well, it's Monday! I admit, I have not done any prep work at all for this Music Monday, so I'm just going to list my favorite band. I grew up with rock&roll so ThirdDay is a natural fit for me. I love that their songs range from praising to God to comforting those in sorrowful times of their lives. Awesome Christian Rock Group in my opinion. :)

If it aint one, it's the other...

*sigh* Boys!! I had shared that my oldest son and I had issues on Wednesday night. Well today just before lunch my kids' school calls asking me to come pick up my other son. Turns out he pretty much mimicked his brother but to the teachers. When I got to the school he had this smug little grin on his face, rather proud of himself for getting so much attention, and in his mind ultimately getting his way. He didn't want to do that math paper, now he didn't have to, he was getting to go home. Oh how nieve! That boy is grounded, he got a spanking, (yes, on serious issues like this I do smack their bottoms, please don't yelp at me stranger who might read this and does not know me or my kids), there's no tv, no video games, no computer, no anything fun until Monday. We'll see how his attitude is on Monday, see if it's improved and decide if he's not grounded anymore or not. Oh, and I made him do the worksheet at home. lol

I will never get boys... at the young age of my son, or at the older age of my husband!

Rain, rain, go away...

It's stinkin COLD outside! Less than a week ago we were down right hot. Now it's down right cold, and rainy and just dreary outside. It's like we switched from summer to fall in a two day span. I LOVE Christmas, but I don't care all that much for fall and winter. I so much more prefer spring and summer. But, there is a time for everything! I just need to accept it.

Today is my "Photo Friday" and though I already posted a pic in my MySpace album, I want to share it here. My oldest got his reading glasses!


I brought them to him in the middle of the school day. When I picked him up from school he proudly proclaimed, "I read 15 pages and my eyes don't hurt at all!" It was great news, and hopefully he won't hate reading so much anymore.

I'm late...

Yeah, I'm late today. I usually post about 10 hours earlier than this. What can I say, I've been under a little stress and decided to stay away from my computer this morning. Last night my oldest had another "episode". I don't even like calling them that, but I just don't know what else to label it. So he's grounded for like ever. Okay so not literally, but it's an "until I decide your punishment is done" type of thing. I think the fact that I haven't been getting all my sleep thanks to cute, cuddly little Nahla doesn't help either. But my God is big, and he'll see me through all things. :)
So, a thought for Thoughtful Thursday...

A life with love will have some thorns, but a life without love will have no roses.

Wednesday

Okay, I really have to come up with some more interesting titles than the name of the day. I mean really! But I just don't have anything else in mind. The vet yesterday went well. Cost a lot of money, but went well. Nahla is a 15 pound 7 1/2 week old puppy. The vet said she'll be twice her size within 2 months. She's gonna be big. Last night I stayed by her kennel until 2 in the morning trying to make her stay quiet. Eventually I had had enough I put the kennel outside. She stopped within 30 minutes. Who knows, she might be spending more nights outside.

This morning we reattempted a walk and surprisingly she did quite well. She's becoming rather attached to my youngest and loves to follow her everywhere. I think we tired her out cause after some water she went to her favorite spot and laid down. Yay! Quiet puppy at last!

Anyhow, today is the Wednesday What... and I found a news article that just me shake my head in disbelief. Even if you are not a person of faith, I think anyone in their right mind would find this outlandish. There is a Senator suing God. Nope, not a typo. Insane eh?

From the article on the ABC News Website:

(Senetor) Chambers said God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents in Omaha, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."

His reasoning? That he wants to prove a point that the courts should be accessable to everyone, no matter their wealth. Never mind the fact that he criticizes Christians, I don't understand why judges should have to waste their time with such a stupid case. Even if he won... what the hell does he expect the courts to do? Put God in jail? It's nuts!

Tuesday...

Oye... I want to label this Tired Tuesday! And I'm sure you can guess why! Yesterday our new chocolate lab pup was so mellow. All she wanted to do was lie around, the kids were kinda disappointed. That all changed at 5 this morning. She whined a little so I took her outside to potty. She did her business, I praised her and we came back inside. I laid down in my bed hoping for another hour or so of sleep, she reluctantly went to her kennel where she proceeded to whine, and whine, and whiiiiiine. Just about all the "experts" say you're supposed to ignore them. That's easier said than done! Her kennel is near my two youngest childrens bedrooms, my poor Caitlin came wandering out dazed. So I brought her into my room, where we layed in my bed talking about the puppy being noisy. lol Oh well, at least I got some cuddle time with my baby.

When I got up at 6 it was like there was a whole new puppy there. Her tail was waggin, she wanted to play so bad. Still whining and whimpering though, even after her morning meal and outside bathroom trips. She's still whimpering. So now I miss yesterday's pup. At least that one was quiet!

Anyhow, we have a trip to the vet today for the pups first shots. Poor thing. Today was originally supposed to be Tickle Tuesday. So I bring you a comic in Nahla's honor. If dogs ruled the world...

Ooops...

I realized late last night that I didn't post any "themes" the last two days. I had themes all picked out, but I just never got around to doing them. Maybe I'll take weekends off. After all, I want to keep my internet related duties in check.

Last week I had decided I'd label Monday's theme "Music Mondays". Saturday I found out that Esterlyn is returning to perform for our church. This got me so excited. We are in such a small building though we really need to find a place to host them that won't break the budget of our small little church. This will be an important part of my prayers, as they have a great sound for the youth of today, and we're currently trying to get a reservation with the Christian College which is neighbor to K-State University. What a perfect outreach!

Anyhow, since this is what's happening right now, I thought I'd highlight them today. Esterlyn, a great group of guys who love the Lord and are just trying to use His gifts to them to bring Him glory.

On a personal note, we got Nahla today, our new chocolate lab pup. She is so mellow it's crazy. It may be just because she's so unsure of her new surroundings, her tail had been between her legs a time or two, but mostly she's just been chillin. Which is driving my kids crazy because they want to play with her, but she simply doesn't want to.


That's our pup. So far extremly calm and mellow. We'll see if she 'lightens up' after she gets used to us.