Words of Wisdom (or something like that) from Wild Man

Wild Man has really begun to chime into our conversations a lot more lately. It used to be that Prof and I could have a conversation and Wild Man would be in his own little world not even listening to us. However, this is changing now! See now that he is 4 and a big boy he feels that it is his duty to begin listening to and chiming into our conversations when necessary.

Tonight we were at Wally World and we were looking for a parking spot. As we were cruising the rows we saw this lady walking to her car. Now, without being rude, let's just say she was most likely not being supported up top and really needed to be and she was just rough looking. I turned to Prof and said, "See, I could look like that!" Then out of the back seat chimes in Wild Man. He says, "No, you can't look like her!" We weren't real sure where he was going with this, since yesterday, while waiting in line to pay at a store, he said, "That lady is fat!" (of course as loud as possible). But, then he said, "Mommy, you have to look like you." What wisdom! He already knows at such a young age that all people look different and that is not bad. It is good to look like who God made you to look like.

On a side note, that has nothing to do with Wild Man, we are pretty sure the rat issue has been taken care of! YAY!!! We have not heard them or seen signs they have been around in over a week!

Also, HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY, to all the grandparents reading my blog!!! We love you!

New Favorite Commercial

The Prof and I saw this commercial for the first time last weekend on our little getaway. I love it! It made me laugh so hard. Enjoy!

It is here!!

The new Fall/Winter Catalog from Initials Inc is now here!!! I know that most of you don't care, but this is a huge deal for me. Not just because I sell it, but because I just love everything in the catalog!! Anyway, there are some fun new products and some lower prices!!! So, check it out!

Fall/Winter 2007 Catalog

The Birthday!

When Wild Man woke up this morning I looked at him and said, "Guess what today is??!! He looked right back at me, got this really excited look on his face and said, "What?" I told him it was his birthday and he responded with, "No it's not! I already had my party." I think one day he will get it.

We had his well child appt this morning (which was great except for the 4 shots), did our normal lunch and afternoon routine, and then waited for Prof to get home from work, so we could get the real party on.

When Prof got home we let Wild Man pick where he wanted to eat. He picked CiCi's and we were very excited because we just knew he would pick McD's, like always. So we headed off to CiCi's.

While there several things happened that caught my attention and made me question the world we live in today.

There was a little hispanic lady that walked around taking everyone's dirty plates. She was really sweet and had a pretty smile. She very nicely asked me if I was done and then took my plate. She then moved to the next table and immediately began speaking Spanish. How did she know that guy spoke Spanish? Isn't that rude?? I mean what if he was an English speaking Hispanic? Those are just a few questions that flew through my mind.

Then, while I was processing that, I saw something that bothered me even more. Now, before I go any further, let me just tell you that I hate it when I see couples making out in public. I don't know why it bothers me so much, but it does. I mean go home, get a room, or something. Don't do it at CiCi's. However, tonight it was not the fact that the couple was all over each other that bothered me so much. It was the fact that they were both girls! I mean can I not just eat pizza with my kids anymore? I could not focus on anything at all until they left. Thank goodness that they got theirs to go.

Then not long after they left the sweet little cleaning lady made me laugh. She worked so hard to clean off this table. I mean cups, napkins, plate, and everything. As soon as she started scooting her little cart off, the couple sitting there came back with their food. Bless her heart she started apologizing all over the place and then just looked at me and laughed. Why me? I don't know. I guess she knew I was nice. Anyway, the couple impressed me. Instead of getting mad, which most people do these days, they were nice and told her not to worry about it. Way to go! I am glad in the midst of chaos there are nice people.

Our night ended with a few fits being thrown, a spanking, a lot of tears, and then the opening of the presents.

I love Wild Man to pieces and I am glad today was his birthday, but I am also glad it is time for me to go to bed. Happy 4th Birthday Wild Man!!

The Party

So tomorrow Wild Man turns 4! So hard to believe! We had a small, really small, birthday party for him last night, since tomorrow is church night. We really had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

Only Five Days Left To Save!! - Updated 8/27

Initials Inc is having a HUGE SALE!!! I know several of you have asked about it. Here is an updated list of what is on sale. Remember the SALE ends Friday August 31st! Buy now before your favorite Initials Item is gone! Have fun shopping!

View Catalog
Email Manders To Order

Sassy Bags - All fabrics (unless otherwise noted)
Baguette - $44.99 (Sold out of Brown and Red)
Prissy - $39.99 (Sold out of Red, B/W Dot, Kingston Paisley, and Carribean Paisley)
Jubilee - $41.99 (Sold out of Brown, B/W Dot, and B/W Gingham)
Tote - $46.99 (Sold out of Brown)
Swag - $46.99 (Sold out of Brown, Kingston, B/W Dot, and Hampton)

Page 10
The Saddle - $39.99
The Shopper - $24.99
The Canteen - $24.99 – limited quantity
Quilted Backpack Purse (Hot Pink and Teal) - $37.99

Page 11
Flower Power Jute - $27.99

Page 12
Spa Robe - $46.99 – limited quantity

Page 13
Urban Messenger (Red) - $37.99 – very limited quantity
Laundry Bag (white and chambray) - $19.99

Page 14
Golf Towel (navy) - $14.99 – very limited quantity
Golf Towel (white) - $14.99
Bat Bag (red and blue) - $24.99 – limited quantity

Page 16
Take Along Caddy (all fabrics) - $22.99 – limited quantity

Page 22
Kaleidoscope Folded Cards - $19.99 – limited quantity
Flower Power Folded Cards - $19.99 – SOLD OUT

Not in Catalog
Hostess Tote - $14.99 - This was the hostess gift for parties $750+

In The News

So, the Prof's school was on the news! Is it good or bad? I will leave that for you to decide. Watch it and tell me what you think. This should spark a fun conversation.

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=541a0478-84ac-49f1-bbdb-6c901b274603&f=00&fg=copy

T-O-R-I...What's that spell?

Wild Man loves to write letters. In fact normally he just makes marks and calls it what he wants to call it. However, there is one word he can spell, or I guess I should say try to spell. His sister's name. Today we were playing and I asked him to write her name. This was the first thing I got....

I decided to try to teach him how to put the letters in order, so I wrote her name and asked him to copy what I wrote. This is what I got....

Well, now we know 2 things. TORI can also spell TRIO and RIOT. And, Wild Man is a very smart little boy.

What is it? Why do I have 2 of them?

Hey guys. I decided to have a little fun with this post. I am going to post a picture and you have to guess what it is and why I would use it. You are allowed to ask questions, but only questions that can be answered with "Yes" or "No". BB is not allowed to play because she already knows. If you have talked to BB and she has told you then you are not allowed to play. If there is anyone else who I or the Prof has talked to about this, then you can not play either. However, those who are not playing are allowed to answer the questions, but only with "Yes" or "No".

Okay, here is the object. It is on top of my bar stool, just to give you a hint about the size. I will tell you nothing else. The rest you have to figure out. Let the guessing begin!

This is why we call him Wild Man

I know that I have put a lot of videos on here lately, but honestly I am addicted! I love that I have figured out how to share my life with all of you in video form.

Many of you know that Wild Man is not always so wild. In fact, around new people, he can pretty shy. So, some of you who read my blog might not believe what you are about to see. Let me just tell you that this is him at home. In fact, this is really why we call him Wild Man.

Enjoy!

Wild Man Singing, or something like that

Let the countdown begin!

It is that time again! Time for a new catalog. In just 2 short weeks, Initials Inc will unveil the Fall/Winter Catalog. As with the Spring/Summer Catalog, you can expect to see a lot of new and exclusive products.

Here are just a few things you can expect to see:

• A new Fabric exclusive to Initials
• Two new product lines ; The Home Fragrance Collection and The My Spa Collection
• Two new additions to the Sassy Bag collection; The Jubilette and The Wallet
• Upgrades on the Sassy Bags; Now they will all include the magnetic closure, improved corded handle, coordinating lining, and all gusseted bags will include feet.
• New Hostess Gift for parties totaling $750+
• There will also be some new package deals, where you can get more for your money!

Here are some ways you can take advantage of transition time:

• Order today what you still want from the Spring/Summer Catalog. There is no guarantee that the item you have been dreaming about will be in the new catalog.
• Book a party. This is a great time of the year to have a party and with the new catalog, it is sure to be a hit. Just think...you could earn enough Initials Bucks and Half Priced Items to buy most of your Christmas presents for a small amount. Also, the Hostesses of the first 5 parties done with the new catalog will receive a special gift from me! So, don’t miss your chance. Book your Squeal Appeal Party or Party On The Go today!

Let the countdown begin…15 days and counting!

Name Game

Kearsmom tagged me, so here it goes.

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

K - Kids - I have 2 kids, Wild Man (will be 4 in 2 weeks) and Little One (16 mo)
A - Amanda - my first name, and the name I am called when I am not on blogger :-)
T - Thankful - I am so thankful for all the ways that God has provided for my family.
H - Husband - I have the best husband in the whole world!
R - Right - This is what I am all the time and don't forget that! :-)
Y - Yes - The word I say more than I need to. However, I am not as bad as BB :-)
N - "N"initials consultant - I sell cute, cute, cute, purses and bags for Initials Inc and love it!!

Okay, so now I must tag someone. I tag B and Abby.

Have fun!!

I don't know what I would do without them!

I have to tell you that I have had one those days where my kids have just made me laugh all day long. I love days like today, because it is so much fun! They have just been silly all day. Here is a little, very little, glimpse of our day.

Little One loves her new ability to walk all over the place. She is really getting the hang of it and moving around pretty good. Tonight, while we were discussing dinner plans, she found a piece of paper and a pen. She then proceeded to walk around the house with the paper in one hand and pen in the other. She would look around and then stop and begin to try to write. It was so funny. It was like she was inspecting the house or something. Here is what she looked like....




Wild Man figured out I was taking pictures of Little One and he got somewhat jealous, so he asked me to take his picture. As I took the picture he started to jump up in the air. This is the picture I got....





This is why he is called Wild Man. Also, the strap around his leg is some contraption he made up that is hooked to the table. He loves to tie things to the table. I am not sure who he gets that from, but it is not me!

I seriously do not know what I do without my precious children to make me laugh! These are the times I want to to remember forever, especially on the not fun days.

My Best Friend's Wedding

I had the great honor this weekend to serve as the Matron of Honor in my best friend's wedding. KV and I have been friends since 1st grade, which is almost 20 years. God has definitely blessed our friendship and now He has blessed her with an incredible husband. They love each other so much, but most of all the love their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They know that He has called them to serve together for His kingdom. The wedding was very sweet and I was very blessed to be there to celebrate her special day with her. Here are some pictures of the Bridal Luncheon, Rehearsal Dinner, The Wedding, and the Reception. Enjoy!

Our Little Patient (Cont'd)

Here are some pictures of Little One in the hospital. We are so glad that she is better now.

Surprise!

Okay, so I know that I don't normally blog twice in one day, but this was definitely blog worthy, so I had to!

As you know, I am here this week because I am the Matron of Honor in my best friend's wedding. The Prof had to work this week, so he decided to wait and come on Friday, just in time for Rehearsal Dinner.

As always, we talked a million times on the phone today. We talked about work, the kids, and all the good stuff. Tonight The Prof called a few times to tell me he was going to his favorite bookstore and then to eat at Taco Bell. I knew his every move. Or, did I?

The last time he called I had just gotten on the Wild Man for something. Prof asked me if Wild Man needed to talk to him on the phone. I was in the process of getting Wild Man to come to the phone when The Prof said, "Just tell him to go to the front door." I said, "Huh??" Then he said it again, "Just tell him to go to the front door." It hit me. The Prof was here! I ran to the front door. I was so glad to see him. Yesterday was so rough at the hospital, it was great to see him! It was a great surprise that is for sure!

Our Little Patient

The Prof's parents brought the kids and I to Jackson on Monday. The reason for our trip this week is that my best friend is getting married on Saturday. I came in early so that I could help her do whatever she needed me to do and to help get her bridal luncheon together for Friday.

However, what happened yesterday was not in the plan at all. Little One woke up, as normal, refused to eat breakfast, which she has been doing for a few days, and then played with the boys for about an hour. Then she got sick. Before we knew it we found oursleves in the ER, with a very dehydrated Little One. After about 4 tries they finally got her IV started in her right foot. She had x-rays and a CT scan done as well (the CT Scan was because her eyes were doing weird things and they wanted to rule out an some sort of head issue).

After about 8 hours in the ER we were able to go home. She has been doing a lot better today, so hopefully the only events we will have this week will be those having to do with the wedding.

I will post hospital pictures soon. So check back later to see our little patient.

Drive On

Last night Little One and Wild Man went to bed so easily and went right to sleep (that is why I got to blog last night). The Prof and I were so excited! We had some quality one on one time and then got to work finishing some things around the house. We worked hard doing luandry, cleaning the kitchen (okay, so the Prof did). I had emails to reply to, a blog to catch up on and something other Initials work I needed to catch up. We finished everything about 11:30 and began making our way to bed. Then the unthinkable happened. Both kids woke up! Little One woke up first and in the process of getting her to go back to sleep, Wild Man woke up. Before we knew it is was 12:30 and both kids were awake, refusing to go to sleep. So, we did something we have not done in a long time. We piled up in the car at 12:30 am and drove around.

Little One thought this nightime ride was just for her. She talked and laughed and did everything but try to go to sleep.

Wild Man decided that it was fun to make Little One talk and laugh even more, so he made it his goal to encourage the no sleeping.

About 10 minutes into the drive, The Prof and I decide that they need Benedryl. So (since we wanted to keep then in the car) we stopped at CVS. No please remember, I am in my PJs (well shorts and tank - not something I would wear during the day). I get out of the car, go in and buy the Benedryl. I am sure the guy at the check out felt sorry for me, coming into CVS looking like that and buying children's Benedryl. I get back in the car and give one to Little One and one to Wild Man. Little One must have thought I had given her candy, because she immediately put her hand to ask for more. When I told her she could not have more, she was not happy.

At this point The Prof and I decide that maybe a little midnight snack might help. So, we pull into the Burger King at 1 am. Honestly this is the first time in my life that I think I have gone to BK at 1 am. Let me just tell you, there is a reason why the people that work there at 1 am work there at 1 am. The managers are very smart people. This poor little girl who took our order had absolutely no clue what she was doing. But, we got our order and she told us how cute our kids were, and the kids got to eat a midnight snack. Then it was back to the driving.

We drove around until almost 1:30 am, then came home and the kids went to sleep. I was sure they would both sleep in this morning, but I was wrong. I do not know how they can have so much energy after a night like last night. It will never make sense to me.

Is this normal?

Wild Man has learned how to dress himself now. It is a wonderful thing for us, because now I all I have to do is pick out his clothes, hand them to him, and then he does the rest (unless it is a day he gets to pick his own clothes). I really love watching him dress himself because I get to see such a sense of accomplishment on his face when he is done. He is always so proud of himself. However, there is one thing that he does that I just do not understand. After I give him his clothes he does this.....

Yes, that is right, he lays them out on the floor just like that. He does this everytime before he gets dressed. It is sort of funny and concerning at the same time. Is this normal? Should I be worried? I did not know that 3 year olds did stuff like this. I am sort of amazed. Look, he even puts the underwear in the right place (under the shorts). All I have to say is, whether it is normal or not, I am so glad he loves to dress himself now!

Spotted Cubes

I believe that sometimes, as Christians (or, really I should say Southern Baptist), we make life a little too complicated. Here is an example...

The Prof and I teach 4th grade Sunday School at our church. Like all good Southern Baptist Churches we use LifeWay material. This morning I was reading to the instructions that go along with a game that was in the material for us to play. It was a great game that really helped the children discuss ways we can show forgiveness, in a fun manner. Anyway, when I got to the second instruction, I got very confused. Here is what it said..."Have the child role the spotted cube and move the amount of spaces indicated." (or something to that nature) Well, me, in my lovely blonde world, started to look for the pattern to this "spotted cube" in my material. I could not find it, so, I reread the instructions, thinking maybe I had read something wrong. Finally, after about 5 times of reading it, I figured it out! Spotted Cube = Die ...Duh!! I mean why did I not know that? Of course, as Southern Baptist, we would never have Dice in our Sunday School classes. That would just be horrible. We will just rename them and then it will all be okay?!

Why, as Christians, do we do this to ourselves? I can assure you that every kid sitting at that table had atleast one game at home that had dice. Do you really honestly think that a fourth grader would think, "Oh, my teachers must think it is okay for me to gamble, since we are playing with dice at church"? I seriously doubt it. But, until us Southern Baptist quit focussing on the little things that don't matter...we will only be playing with spotted cubes in our Sunday School class.

New Tricks!!

Check out what Little One can do now! We are so excited! Sorry the video is a little dark, but you can still see it. Enjoy!



Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Wild Man's Week

So, this has been a week for Wild Man. He is has been a mess this whole week. It all started last Sunday when we started making him sleep in his room, with Little One. He has never slept well in the same room with Little One. We havn't really faught it either, because life has been crazy and it was just one more battle that we didn't have to fight. Now that Prof in break from school for a few weeks, we decided to tackle the battle. We had no clue how much "fun" it would be.

We made it through the first two night okay. The only issue was Little One and Wild Man talking for an hour or so before they went to sleep, but nothing major.

Tuesday night was when the real "fun" began. Wild Man figured out that he could really enjoy this bed time thing. The first time I went his room, he had turned his light back on and was reading. Okay, no big deal...I turned the light off and told him to go to sleep. However, the next time I went in he had gone into his bathroom and was making some sort of mixture with the bubble bath, soap, toothpaste, diaper cream, and my make up (which I might add took some climbing to get to). There was bubble bath all over the floor and door and all over Wild Man. Needless to say, I was not real happy...but all I could do was laugh. We cleaned everything up and he went back to bed. Prof and I were watching a movie, so we went back to the movie. Next thing we know, Wild Man has cracked his door open and giving us a puppet show with a stuffed rabbit from Little One's collection of stuffed animals. We laughed and then told him to go back to bed. Finally he went to sleep.

On Wednesday morning we all slept in, because Prof did not have to go to work. Normally, Wild Man comes to wake us up. However, he had other plans this morning. In fact, he found the pack of cookies Prof had bought the night before (which amazingly enough was unopened) and decided it would be best to let us sleep. At 8 am I woke up and turned on cartoons for him and told him to stay on that couch. I did not look at his room at all, because Little One was still asleep. I went back to bed. I dosed in and out making sure he was not into anything, but everytime I woke up he was where he needed to be. At 10 am Prof got up, because Little One was finally awake and he wanted to let me sleep in (isn't he so nice?!). Next thing I know he is saying, in a rather loud and urgent voice, "Amanda, you have to get up and come see this!" So, I hop up and run into the living room. He proceeds to tell me that he knows why Little One slept so long and that I should just go look in her bed. When I get to their room and look in the bed I could not believe my eyes. There was the pack of cookies! Only, it had been opened and about 80% of it had been eaten. The other 20% was all crumbs! The whole pack of cookies...GONE! At some point Wild Man had gotten up, gotten the pack of cookies, opened them, and then given them to Little One. What a mess! Wednesday was spent cleaning their bathroom and bed room, as you can imagine. I wish that I had taken pictures, but my mind was not even thinking about that in the moment.

The next few days were not so eventful. The only problem we had was convincing Wild Man that he can not get in bed with Little One. Her bed is not made for both of them. One of those nights I heard them in there just laughing and having the best time. I stuck my head in the door to tell Wild Man to get back in bed. His response was, "I am in bed!" He was right. He was in a bed...in Little One's bed with her! I mad him get out. The only other struggle we have had with this sleeping in his own room deal is that before he goes to sleep he puts on about 5 different outfits. We are still trying to figure out how to stop this.


Then on Saturday, the "fun" continued. Saturday morning we woke up about 9ish to the kids laughing and such. I went in the room to find Wild Man in bed with Little One and his basket of markers. Yes, the markers were in the bed too! So, you can imagine what I saw next. Here, imagine no more....take a look for yourself....

Let's just say, we are all very glad that he used his washable marker. He also drew a "T" on Little One's leg, but I did not get a picture of it, sorry.

I am sure that one day we will be glad we faught this battle now. But until then, we will be cleaning his room a lot more and most likely cleaning more messes. As a side note....Little One is not off the hook on this one. She starts most of the laughing and talking at night. She is really enjoying have someone else in the room with her at bed time. I do not even want to begin to think about what life will be like when she is not in a crib....life is fun!

Man of Many Talents

If you know the Professor, then you know that he is super smart. I mean he is beyond smart. I can not even begin to describe how smart he is. He is not just book smart. He can do just about anything he puts his mind to doing. When we first moved to seminary and were too poor for me to get my haircut, he looked online and learned how to cut hair. He did great job too! However, I did start going to get my haircut once we could afford it. Anyway, he just has this way of knowing how to do things.

A few months ago, we bought some material to recover our kitchen table chairs. I finally decided I wanted to recover them last night. I knew that I would need some help, so when the Professor got home from class we sat down to work on it. What happened next amazed me. The Professor just took over and did it all! How blessed am I??!! I am married to a man who knows how to recover chairs too! Wow! He did a great job. Take a look......

Rain Rain Go Away

If you watch or keep up with the news at all, then you know that we have been getting our fair share of rain, plus some, here in North Texas. We have not had one day where it did not rain in the last 2-3 weeks. Honestly, I am ready for it to change. I do not mind rain every once in a while, because I know that we need it. However, considering we have already well beyond our yearly average of rain, and it is only July 2, I think it is fair for me to say that I am ready for it to not rain for a while, and I have a feeling I am not the only one. We have not been affected by the flooding, but it is all over the news. People all around us are be affected by the amounts of rain we have been receiving. Last week alone, 6 children died, due to fast flowing water. There are people begin evacuated from their homes on a daily basis (not so much this week - but a lot last week). I do realize that there are bigger and more important issues in the world, but right now I would just like for the rain to go away. I would like to be able to go outside and have sunshine all day long! The kids are also due for some good swim time. Rain is in the forecast for the rest of the week here, but maybe next week it will go away....or maybe not.

What A Deal!!!!

Have you ever wanted to create your own bag? Well, now you can, thanks to Initials Inc. In fact, during the month of July you can do it for $30. Just ask me how!

To view the other products Initials Inc has to offer go to www.initials-inc.com. To order from Initials Inc contact me at askinkle@aol.com.

Old Friends

I do not know why some things in life amaze me as much as they do. I know that I serve a powerful God and that anything is possible with Him, but I am still in awe of how He works in my life and the lives of others in my life.

Last night I ate supper with some dear friends of mine. Katie, Maggie and I we little girls together. We played house and sleeped over at each other's houses all the time (well exepect for scaredy cat me who couldn't finish a night until I was way old - hahaha). Our moms were friends and our dads were friends. Our brothers and sisters were also friends. Those days were wonderful days in our life.

Then as most people say...Life happened. We grew up. All went our own ways. Each one of us is totally different from the other. We all of our own way of doing things and living life.

What totally amazes me about this, is that last night we got together for the first time in a very long time. I have not seen Katie in 5 years and I have not seen Maggie in probably 10 years. And, we have not all been together in about 15 years. But, when we got together is was like old times. We had the best time catching up and talking about life and about all God has taught us, now that we are old.

I am in awe how God has protected our friendship through all these years. I am looking forward to many more years of hanging out with my old friends!

My Space

I did something tonight that I thought I would never do. I joined the My Space world. I am not real sure what I am doing, but I have had fun playing with it. So, go check it out...

www.myspace.com/askinkle

Where is Manders?

This is the question most of you have been asking lately. Manders has not blogged at all in weeks and she is not commented on blogs like she used to.

I am here to tell you that I am still alive. The past few weeks have been super crazy at the Skinkle home. We have also, on top of all our normal activities, been spending tons of quality time, since the Prof has been out of school.

Since I have been gone a while, I thought you might like a little update...

The Prof has had a much needed break from school. He began classes again this past Monday. He will Monday and Wednesday for 5 weeks. After this, he will have a few more weeks of break and then the Fall semester will begin, which I don't even want to think about right now.

The Wild Man is becoming Wilder than ever. He is enjoying our, almost daily, visits to the pool. He was not so sure of the water the first time we went, but now when we go we can get him out. He has learned how to write a few letters and a couple of numbers. He actually enjoys sitting at the table and working in his workbooks.

The Little One now has 5 1/2 teeth. She is beginning to talk some. She can say, "Hey Daddy" "Night Night" and "Bye Bye". She mostly says, "Daddy". She is definitely a Daddy's girl. She wakes up from nap time looking at the front door saying, "Daddy Daddy Daddy". She has also enjoyed our pool trips. She loves lounging in her floaty. However, after about 20 minutes, she would prefer we just hold her. She is learning to color right now. She thinks she is so big holding the crayon and banging it on the paper.

I, Manders, am staying busier than I have been in a while. It seems like I never stop these days. In fact, today is the first day in a while that I have not had anything planned. It has been nice to just chill at the house. Next week I am doing something for the first time. I am driving both kids, by myself, to Mississippi for the week. I am not sure yet how I feel about this decision. You can ask me on Tuesday after I arrive in MS. Maybe the trip will inspire a blog post. I am also enjoying our trips to the pool. We have been going with another girl at the complex and her little boy. It gives me some adult time and sun at the same time.

Well, that is it for tonight. Maybe I can get my act together and beginning blogging more consistently.

Wild Man's Artistic Side

Tonight we had some friends over for dinner. We had a wonderful time. They have a little boy close to Wild Man's age, so they had a good time playing. Almost the whole time they were here, Wild Man sat at the table drawing very intently. Because we were chatting, we did not notice what he was drawing until later tonight. As I was going through all of his masterpieces, I found this one....

Wow! How did he know how to do this? He has never done this before! He actually drew a person! As you can I am very impressed with my little Wild Man's ability to draw so well at such a young age!

Being Content...Why Is It So Hard?

"... and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

There are many things in life that God has protected me from, because of being saved at a young age and growing up in a family that taught me how to follow Christ and what He has for my life. There are many decisions that young people make that I never had the desire to make, such as drinking alcohol or doing drugs. I thank God everyday for taking those desires away from me. I thank Him everyday for allowing me to live in a family where His Word was taught. I can honestly say He has never left me or forsaken me! So why then, is it hard for me to be content with my life?

When I read this verse it says to me, "You have God on your side. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. He is all you need. If you have Him, then everything else is just icing on the cake...be content with what He has given you." It seems so easy! I have Him in my life! He is there for me no matter what! He loves me despite of who I am! He has provided for every one of my needs! So why then, is it hard for me to be content with my life?

I believe that being content is one of the biggest struggles I have had my whole life. There has never been a time where I did not want something more. Everytime God blesses me with more, it seems harder to not want more. Why is that? Why is that I have such a wonderful family and a gorgeous apartment, but I still want more? I still want a dog, a new car, a house, a boat, unlimited tanning sessions, the ability to get my nails done anytime I want, a new body, cute clothes, and the list goes on. Why can I not look at what I do have and just be content? Why is it so hard?

I wish I had all the answers. All I know is that God is really dealing with me on this issue of being content. I pray that I will see the day when I can look at what He has given me and truly say, "There is nothing more I want. I am content."

Time Is Not My Friend

Tonight I was watching TV with the Prof and I saw a comercial that sums up my last two weeks. The comerical starts out with a women taking a shower (all you see is the back of her head - nothing horrible). You then start to see her grandfather clock begin to make its way to the bathroom. Then, the unthinkable happens. The grandfather clock flushes the toliet and the lady screams. The narrator than says, "Time is NOT your friend." To be honest I am not sure what the comercial is for, but it made sense to me.

The past two weeks have a whirwind of activity and emotion here at the Skinkle house. We have had so much going on. I have found myself at the end of each day with so many things to share on the blog, but so little energy to even sit here and make it happen.

So here is a snap shot of the last two weeks....

Sunday 6th - We had our first apartment event. We had an ice cream sundae bar. We had about 20 people come. It was a lot of fun!

Friday 11th - The Prof and I celebrated 5 years together. He surprised me by lining up a babysitter and letting me pick what we did for the night. We ate at Olive Garden and then walked around Grapevine Mills mall, where we each found new a shirt! We came home and put the kids to bed. Then we ate ice cream while watching 24!

Saturday 12th - We had our 2nd apartment event. We served a pancake breakfast at the clubhouse. We had about 13 people show up for that. We had a great time and really enjoyed getting to meet new people.

Sunday 13th - Mother's Day! I had a wonderful Mother's Day. The Prof made sure that Wild Man and Little One both had cards to give me. He helped both of them decorate and write in the cards. He also gave me a card with the movie "That Thing You Do." (We threw out our copy not too long ago - so this was a replacement). He also let me buy this beautiful wall clock for over the mantel. I did not have to cook all day and I just enjoyed being my kids and wonderful husband!

Monday 14th - B and D came to our new place. They are the first to officially sit on our new furniture. I am sure there will be a blog about it. We had dinner together and just enjoyed being able to spend time together. After our time with them, we headed off to an Apartment Life meeting.

Yesterday and today I have been battling a sinus infection, which is not fun!

Somewhere in all this I found time to plan the events, shop for the events, work out, eat lunch with our mentor couple (well the wife anyway) and keep the kids on their daily schedule. We have also had a lot of Welcome Visits to do. These visits are to people who had just moved in. We have enjoyed meeting these new people and are continuing to pray that God will show us what we need to do to meet the needs of those around us.

New Furniture

As you know, before we moved, we were in the process of looking for a new chair for our living room. The looking was put on hold while everything was up in the air with Apartment Life. However, as soon as we knew were moving the looking began again. Only this time, we decided to just get all new living room furniture. Lee and I have never bought really nice furniture for our living room, so this became a lot of fun! We looked for about 3 days and then made our decision. We went into the furniture store and told the guy we had been working with, "This is the one we want." He said "Okay, let me go check on when we can deliver it and I will be right back". When he came back he proceeded to tell us that the one we wanted was out of stock and they could not sell us the floor model. So, we were back to square one. We liked the guy who was helping us, so we decided to find something else in that store. He told us about one, that some how we had missed in the 2 days we lived there. How could we have missed it? I don't know! We saw it and fell in love! We knew right away it was the one for us! On Thursday of this week we received our new additions to the house and absolutely love them!!! I have to tell you that I feel like a big girl now. I have painted walls (I have always had only white walls, now I have Khaki walls), real carpet (the seminary used the industrial carpet, so it wasn't real), and new living room furniture!

The Loveseat

The Couch

Tagged

Okay, so Kearsmom tagged me the other day. So, here I go. I started blogging last June (June 06) so that I had a way to journal and share fun things about our family with those who do not live near us. I did very good and then life happened. Well, working full time with 2 kids happened and something had to go...so there went the blog. I started blogging again, once I became a stay at home mom. My intentions were to keep it about the family, and for the most part it has been that. However, I have now added a personal element, so those of you who read can learn more about me, and what makes me tick.

Blogging for me is therapy. I can not explain it, but there is something stress relieving about putting my thoughts into words. It gives me a place where I can be me and say what I think without people thinking badly of me. It also gives me a place where I can brag about my kids, or share funny stories. I guess it's my "happy place".

I really also like reading every ones comments and all the conversations that begin because of things I write. It is a lot of fun...and very addicting!

Anyway, that is why I blog. I tag BB! Why do you blog, BB?

The Storm

Tonight, the Prof and I packed the kids up and headed to church, like we do most Wednesday nights. When we left the apartment it was sprinkling a little bit, but we thought the worst had past, so we kept going. However, as soon as we got onto I-20 it started raining and then before we knew it we were in the kind of rain you do not want to be in. The kind where you have to strain to see in front of you. I kept asking the The Prof if we needed to turn around and go back home, but he assured me we were okay, so we kept going. The closer we got to the church the stronger the rain got.

None of us had supper yet, so we decided to drive thru Wendys. By the time we got to Wendy's it was raining so hard we could not hear the speaker. So, we drove up to the window, crack our car window enough so she could hear us and we could hear her and proceeded to order. The Prof was completely soaked by the time we got our food, but we got it, so that is all that counts.

We drove off and headed to church. When we got there, we decided to sit in the parking lot and eat. This way, we didn't have to drag everything in the building while it was pouring rain. We parked in the back of the lot and began to eat. As we sat there it began to rain harder. The next thing I saw was the light post in front of us begin to sway back and forth and then our car begin to shake back and forth, as rain is just pouring down around us to the point where we can not see a thing. Now, I am not dumb...I know at this point we are not just in the middle of rain. I have been, and still am terrified of extremely bad weather. So, I begin to freak out. I immediately grab onto Prof's arm and say, "I am so scared! This is not good!"

At this point Wild Man speaks up and changes the whole mood. He says, "Momma, you don't have to be scared. All you have to do is pray to God and he will make you not scared." He proceeds to bow his head and pray, "Dear God please help mommy not be scared." Wow! You know I have been working with him on being scared of sleeping in his room at night by himself. I think it is the neatest thing that he was able to remind me of something I had been trying to teach him. Wow! How amazing! God is good!

We did make it inside. We were soaked, but safe! As we headed home we saw lots of damage. There was not a tornado, but straight line winds that got up to 75 mph. This is one storm I will not forget!

Bulletin Boards

One thing I have never liked are bulletin boards. I do not mind looking at them, if they have been designed well, but I really dislike making them! This is something I do not get from my mom. She is an awesome bulletin board maker and she enjoys it! I personally do like being the one responsible for designing something that people are going to walk by and look at all the time. It is very nerve racking and that is why I dislike it so much!

This is the funny part, since I can remember I have always had a job where I was responsible for updating the bulletin board(s). Is God trying to tell me something? Or, punish me?

Anyway, as a CARES Team, we are responsible for the bulletin board in the Clubhouse. Yes, the bulletin board will not only be seen by every resident, but it will also be seen my anyone who decides they want information about Highland Park. PRESSURE!!! So, even though I very much dislike making bulletin boards, I found enough creativity to design this one......

The Cat

Unlike the Seminary our new place does allow animals. In fact someone living near us has a cat. The cat is a friendly cat and has decided a few times to make itself at home in our new place. The cat looks a lot like a cat I had in highschool, so it doesn't bother me too much. However, Wild Man can not take it. The cat really bothers Wild Man. He just does not like the cat getting near us or anything that belongs to us. He has made it his mission to make sure that cat stays away from us.

The funny part is that now all we hear about is that cat and what Wild Man is going to do to that cat if he sees it and what the cat is going to do back. He has come up with some funny situations. Tonight Wild Man told Prof that the cat had been throwing rocks at him. I am laughing out loud right now just thinking about it. I mean the picture of a cat picking up rocks and throwing them just makes me laugh! Oh, I love Wild Man to pieces! He definitely makes my world a happier place, most of the time.

The Move

You would think that because I have moved so much, that I would have this moving thing down. You would think that I had figured out how to do it in the best possible manner. However, it is quite the opposite.

I was not at all warned, at all by anyone, that moving with a 3 year old boy would be impossible! Wild Man thinks that every stack of stuff (and yes it probably really is just "stuff") is there for him to play with and spread out all over the place. In fact right now, as I type this, Wild Man is playing with the rope The Prof left out. Wild Man has decided that everything in the kitchen should be tied together and so that is what he is in the process of doing. The door, fridge, table, and chairs are all tied together. The funny part is Little One is right in the middle! So, like I said, Wild Man thinks everything is his to do with what he wants to.

Also, because we are moving so close, we have been taking things in shifts. So, we have some stuff there and some stuff here. It is quite confusing for some one who is as organized and scheduled as I am.

I am telling you this, to tell you that life is CRAZY right now in the Skinkle home. Nothing is where it belongs and there is not a schedule of any sorts right now. So, this will be the last post for a while. I promise as soon as things calm down I will post pics of the new place up. Of course I must take them first! :-)

Rubbermaid Storage Tubs

I am sure everyone, some where in their house or office, has at least one Rubbermaid Storage tub. Rubbermaid invented a wonderful thing when they thought up the Storage Tub! You can buy them in all different colors, shapes, and sizes. Some of them come with cute little snap on lids, while others come with just regular lids. They can be used for many different things, but mainly they used for storage. That is how they get their name "Storage Tub".

The Prof and I are organizers, so we love storage tubs. We love them because they are easy to stack and store things. If they get dirty, no worries! You can just wipe them down with a wet cloth. They very durable and are easy move, since they have the handles. We also love them because we can buy different colors. For example, all of our Christmas stuff in red tubs. This helps us know exactly which tubs to pull out at Christmas. I know we are crazy - but it works great!

We love storage tubs so much that on our 3rd move we decided to invest in some big storage tubs to move in. This would replace the boxes and we could reuse them everytime we move. We went to walmart and bought almost all of their tubs. We bought tall and short ones. Each were used for different purposes. We loved moving in the tubs, because they stacked up so easliy in the moving truck. However, I will be honest and tell you that I was not planning on having to use them this much already. They have moved with us 3 times now. And, now they are moving us one more time.

I have to be honest and tell you that I am not loving them so much right now. I sit here and look at them stacked up in my kitchen and think about everything I have to put in them. WOW! Well, my work awaits me! If I do not blog for a while, you can blame the Rubbermaid Storage Tubs!

Just a few of them!

The Easy Bake Oven

The Prof and I have lived in 3 different apartments on the Seminary campus. All of them were different in many ways. They all had different carpet, tile, cabinets, and some even were painted a different color on the outside. However, there is one thing that was the same in all three. The Easy Bake Oven. Yes, I called it an Easy Bake Oven. To be honest, I have never in life seen an oven so small, before living in seminary housing. The Easy Bake is a lot of fun sometimes, like when it is time to clean. It is also very smart. It just decides on it's own what tempurature it should be and how fast it should cook. It keeps us on our toes that's for sure! We have learned a few things about the Easy Bake. One thing is that the eyes on the top will lay down perfectly. So, we quit trying and just let them do their own thing now. The other thing we learned is that the Easy Bake likes cooking faster than she is supposed to. So, now we have to subtract 5 minutes from whatever the instructions say and then just watch it until it is done. This makes cooking just loads of fun. The last thing we have learned is that big pizzas will not fit in the Easy Bake and neither will large cookie sheets (no matter how hard we try).

As much as I have learned to appreciate my Easy Bake, I will not miss her at all when we move!

The House

A few years ago, when driving to Jackson, TN to see the Prof's sister graduate from college, Prof and I saw this house on the side of the interstate. We absolutely fell in love with it! However, we did not think fast enough to take a picture.

A few weekends ago we were back on the same road headed to Memphis and saw the house! We decided to take pictures of it this time. So, on the way home, we pulled over and took some pictures. Check out this house...

Several things came to my mind when I saw it for the first time. In fact Prof and I had very lengthy conversations after every time we saw it. We asked questions like...I wonder who lives there? How many people do they have to take care of that house? How people live in the house? And, why in the world do you build a house like that on the side of the interstate? Just curious.

What do you think?

Easter Skinkle Style

As always, my intentions were much better than I was. My plan was blog about Easter at the Skinkle house, yesterday. However, here I am at the end of today doing just that. Blogging about Easter at the Skinkle house.

I was very excited about Easter this year, because Wild Man is begining to learn about Holidays. This would be his first Easter that he might understand a little bit of what was going on. And, if he didn't, he would atleast have fun dying eggs and eating candy! Anyway, I had everything all planned out. We would dye eggs Saturday night. On Sunday we would get up and Wild Man would run downstairs to see what the Easter Bunny brought him. We would all get dressed up in our Easter attire and go to church. After church we enjoy some family time and let Wild Man hunt for the eggs he died the night before.

Yes, you guessed it! Our Easter weekend was not like that at all. it all started Saturday when we woke up to snow outside. None of it stuck, but it snowed all day Saturday. So, there went the cute Easter outfits. Then Saturday night Wild Man started running a very high fever. we managed to dye some eggs, but not a lot. On Sunday, Wild Man and Little One both woke up with fever. We did convince Wild Man to go down stairs and see what the Easter Bunny brought him. He really enjoyed that, but ended up going back to bed. The Prof stayed home with the kids, while I went to church (one of us had to go since we teach 4th grade Sunday School). When I came home from church, we watched movies and just did nothing all afternoon. Not at all what I had planned.

So, that was Easter Skinkle Style this year. I am very glad that the real meaning of Easter is not about dressing up and dying eggs. I pray that I never take forgranted what Easter is all about. He Is Risen!

Photo Shoot

Picture day at the Skinkle House is always stressful. For some reason I always plan pictures on days that are not good. For example, these are our Spring pictures/ Little One's 1 year pictures. However, we had to dress in winter clothes with jackets to get to the portrait studio, because it has been snowing today. Once there we had to all change clothes. It was loads of fun, let me tell you! They took about 95 pictures and then the most stressful part came. We had to pick out the ones we wanted to buy. We got this neat little CD with our pictures. I was thinking that it would just be of the ones we bought, but when we got home, I realized it had all 95 pictures. WOW! Anyway, I saved you some trouble, by weeding out some. However, I think there are still about 60. So, take a few minutes and enjoy!

The Party!

Tonight was the Party for Little One. We had a great time! We are so blessed to have wonderful friends who would give up their Friday night to celebrate with us. Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

What??!!

There are some things in life that I have just decided will never make sense. One of those things is Texas weather. We have lived here for 4 years now and every year it is the same thing. No seasons! Just Summer, with a few cold days. Oh, and when it is cold, it is cold. Now, the thing that I will never understand is how it can be 80 one day, snowing the next, and then right back up to 80 the next day. Okay, maybe it is not that drastic, but it close!

For example, check this out. Earlier this week it got close to 80. Today was not so bad, it was only 70. Tomorrow the high, according to Weather.com, is going to be 56. Now this is where it gets crazy. Saturday's forcast, for Fort Worth, is high 37 Rain/Snow. Yes! I said Snow! What??!! Does that make sense? Oh, and by next Saturday it will be right back at 80. Makes absolutely no sense!

Happy Birthday Little One!

Today was Little One's first birthday! Very Hard for me to believe that a year has gone by since she was born! We did not do anything special. Wild Man and I were planning to bake her a cake after we grilled hamburgers and cooked french fries for supper. However, the Prof suggested we out to eat, so there was no argument from me. :-) However, after dinner and running a few errands, there was no time for cake baking. She will have to wait until her party on Friday! The cake will be better than anyway. :-) We did have a few minutes to open some presents and here are some pictures. Enjoy!

History

Have you ever seen the "This Day In History" flip calendars? For everyday there is something significant that happened in history that day. If I were a huge history buff I might buy that calendar. I am sure there a history teachers all over the world that have one those calendars. However, I personally have no desire to own one, at least not right now.

I do think it would be fun to make a family one. You know for everyday of the year have something significant about your family history. I have been thinking and I believe that if we all set down and really thought about, we could come up with something for everyday. I even think that if we thought hard enough, we could each have our own flip calendars, with things that personally happened to us. Some days would have fun memories and some would be not so fun. Some would be times in our life that we laughed and some would times we cried. Some would be about births and some about deaths. These are all things that make us who we are.

Take a few minutes and think about today. April 3rd. I am sure if you think hard enough you will think of something that happened on or around April 3rd sometime in your life. Please feel free to share.

I will go first. To be honest my April 3rd was just last year. April 3, 2006. On this day last year, 4 weeks away from my due date with Little One, I ended up in the hospital waiting for Little One to make her appearance.

Reality

This weekend the Prof and I had some good friends commit to loving each for the rest of their lives. Weddings are always a special time, but for me seeing a wedding where I know the two exchanging vows have put God first and are serious about the decision is even more special. As I set next to the Prof and watched the wedding, all I could think about was the day the Prof and I exchanged our vows. That day was truly one of the best days in my life. I remember that day, like it were yesterday. Hard to believe it will be 5 years this May.

We did not particularly want to take Wild Man and Little One to the wedding, since there was 7 hour drive there and back involved and so a friend kept them here in Fort Worth. I can not begin to tell you how peaceful the drive was. Just me and the Prof in the car with no screaming kids. WOW! It is not everyday we get to do that. No only were we able to enjoy a quiet car, but we were also able to stay at a very nice hotel and enjoy uninterrupted sleep for a long time. We both sleep in pretty late and took our time getting ready to head back. It was nice!

We got home about the time the kids were going to bed, so last night we got more together time watching 24. The weekend was wonderful!

However, this morning it hit both of us like a freight train! The alarm went off for Prof to go to work and Wild Man got in bed with me. Soon after that Little One was awake and I do not need to say any more. I am back in reality! My nice quiet weekend is over! We have a busy week ahead of us with birthday plans, doctor appointments, pictures, and all that goes with Little One having her first birthday! With that said, I am going to workout now!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Who is in control?

The Professor and I plan everything. We are both planners and like to know how things are going to turn out. We already have the next few years planned out. The Prof finishes seminars in May 2008. We have decided if we begin applying in December of 2007, then surely by August of 2008 we will have a decent job. At that point we will move into a house and few months later add a minivan and dog to the family. Then, one year later The Prof will graduate! See, we have it all figured out.

While I was in Jackson a few weeks ago I had a friend call me and tell me about an awesome ministry opportunity. I loved the organization (I had heard of it before) and I really could see the Prof and I love being a part of this ministry. However, it would require a move. We would not have to move far. But, it is still a move. I immediately, without thinking or praying about it, said, "No! I do not want to move again until we move into our house!" See moving right now, even if it is a close move would mess up our plan. Plus the ministry requires an 18 mo commitment which really would mess up the whole job search thing. If we ended up doing this, then Lee would have to start writing his dissertation here, instead of the new office he wanted to have in our house. How could God want us to do this...it is against anything we have planned.

Wow! I have been here before. I have said no so many times. The same thing always happens. God always, at some point, says, "Who is in control? You or Me?" Then I reply with "Well you are, God. I mean I have commited to live for you 100% and well..." and it hits me! Have you ever had one of those times? Where God just totally calls you out! He allows you to have many sleepless nights, or makes you think about things over and over until that conversation happens? Well it happened to me last night (Monday night). After days of struggling with it, I gave in. I am putting God back in control.

As for the ministry, we shall see what happens. This may have been God's way of getting my attention and showing me that I had once again tried to take over. However, this may be God directing us to join this ministry team. At this point He is the only one who knows.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

The Farm Days - The One Where The Professor Broke Up 2 Fights and Got Hit With a Coat Hanger

The Professor and I worked at The Farm (Happy Hill Farm and Academy Home) from April 2004 - May 2005. We were house parents to 8 kids who had a variety of issues. We even had the Dr. Phil boy for a few days (that is our claim to fame - hahaha). We lived in a 2 bedroom apartment at the end of a house. The house had a formal living room, informal living room, huge kitchen, 4 bedrooms (with 2 beds in each room), and 2 bathrooms. In our apartment we had a monitor that allowed us to hear everything going on in the house. The only time we got to turn the monitor off was when we were off (which wasn't enough!). The Prof and I are very glad that God allowed us to move on, but we both look back on those days and would not change them for anything. We learned so much and have so many fun memories, as well as ones that were not fun at the time, but are nice to look back at now and laugh.

Our first shift had to have been the best memory of them all. It was the evening of day 4 of our first shift alone. The shift had gone pretty good. We had the usually problems though...boys getting up after lights out and getting into trouble. We had been trying to whole shift to figure out which boys were involved in the light night adventures, so we had a plan in action for that night (i will come back to this later in the story). After supper that night, since things were going well, I took Johnathan (who was about 8 months at this time) back to our apartment to give him a bath. Almost as soon as I got him in the bath tub, I heard one of our guys come inside and tell all the other guys, "Man, you gotta come out here! There is a fight!" I jumped up and ran to see what was going on. About that time the fight was over and The Prof was the hero that broke it up. Just as I turned to go back to the bathroom (where Johnathan, 8 months old was still in the tub) a fight broke out right in front of me...The Prof ran inside and broke it up. Yes, 2 fights in one night...he was my hero! :-) Anyways, by this time I remember where Johnathan was and ran back to the bathroom, finished bathing him and put him to bed. I knew this was going to be a long night. The boys settled down pretty quick and soon it was time for lights out. It was time for the plan to come into action. We waited for all the boys to get in bed, turn the lights off and then we pretended to go to bed. What the boys did not know was that The Prof was not in the apartment with me. He sneaked into the hallway without them knowing, so that as soon as he heard something he could catch them. I went back to room to listen on the monitor and see what would happen. About 20 minutes went by and then I heard them begin to move around. The next thing I heard will make me laugh forever. I heard someone throw something, heard the light come on, and then heard, "oh ----!" I knew they had been caught. What I later found out was that at night they had been playing tag, or something like that, with their coat hangers. The boy throwing the coat hanger that night saw a shadow and thought it was another boy and so threw it. However, it was the Professor. As soon as he was hit with the coat hanger, he turned the light on. The boy was caught and he knew it...so he said some bad words and jumped back into bed.

We will always remember our first shift as "The one where The Professor broke up two fights and got hit with a coat hanger" and we will always laugh about it.

Record Setting

In the almost 5 years The Professor and I have been married, we have been able to do many things together and accomplish many goals and dreams together. However, until this week, there is one thing we had never done. Until this week, we had never lived anywhere for a year. The longest we have ever lived somewhere was 9 months. We have now set a record, that for a while I thought would never be set. We have lived in one place for a year! Yes, that is right! The Professor and I have managed to figure out how to stay in one place for a lengthy period of time, well lengthy for us that is.

We moved into our lovely little (and trust me it is little) town home this week last year. We decided to move this week, because it would give us about 7 weeks to get settled before The Little One arrived (I was due May 3). As most of you know, however, we did not get that 7 weeks. The Little One only gave us 2 weeks. Oh well, we made it anyway.

Happy Anniversary to my little town home! We made it a year! Hopefully only one more year to go!

Little Red Wagon

Yesterday the weather was awesome here in Fort Worth, so The Professor and I decided to take The Little One and Wild Man on a ride in the Red Wagon. We had the best time. However, it really bothered Wild Man that The Little One kept trying to take his bottles of water. So, he rode the whole time with one hand on each bottle of water, like this...

I do not know what he thought she was going to do with the water, since she is not able to open it yet, but the water was protected anyway.

The Little One began pointing at things as we were riding. It was fun to see her point and hear her babble, knowing that she was trying to show us something. As you can tell in the picture Wild Man was too busy guarding the water to look at whatever she was pointing at. I really think maybe he thought that was all the water we had. Bless his heart!

We had a wonderful time and look forward to many more rides this Spring! Of course, next time maybe Wild Man will relax enough to enjoy it as well! :-)

The $25.86 Recliner

In June of 2005, The Professor and I moved back to Fort Worth to begin the PhD program. The apartment we moved to had a huge living room. Our wonderul futon was just eaten up by all the floor space. After much thought The Professor and I decided we needed a recliner. However, there was no money in the budget for a nice new recliner at the time, so we decided to try to find a nice used one. Our thought was we just needed to find one that could make it until we could afford a new one. So, the search began. After about 2 weeks of searching we found it! There was a Seminary student who had decided there was not enough room in their apartment for their recliner (imagine that - Seminary housing too small - hahaha). The recliner was in great condition and the price was perfect - $25. So, the recliner came to live with us.

The first night we had it The Professor decided to put it to work. So, he sat down and pulled the lever to lean it back. As he did that he also leaned on the back some, to help move it. However, the back of the recliner never stopped. In fact, the back fell off and The Professor fell out of the recliner backwards. I laughed so hard! Almost as hard as I am laughing right now as I type. (That moment will always be a fun memory for us) Anyway, he got up and looked at the chair only to realize that there was a screw missing. He figured out what screw he needed and headed off to Walmart. He found the screw for 86 cents and fixed the recliner.

The $25.86 recliner has been good to us for almost 2 years. However, he is tired now and ready to be replaced. I do not even sit in him anymore, because I do not want to be the one sitting in him when he completely dies, if you know what I mean.

Needless to say we are now officially recliner/nice chair shopping. Our prayer is to find one before the $25.86 recliner dies. However, The Professor is a thinker, looker, and low cost buyer when it comes to shopping, so we have many more recliners to view and sit in before the decision is made. Who knows how this will end? Will we be able to replace the $25.86 recliner before he dies? I will let you know!

Just for Laughs!

The Little One has decided she is tired of Wild Man getting all the attention just because he can talk. The past few days she has begun trying to make as much noise as possible do get as many people looking and laughing at her as possible. She is already as cute as can be be, but when she gets in this mode all you can do it laugh. When you laugh, she just has reason to do it more. She tucks her chin down into her chest and just goes at it, making the best motor noises I have heard, even better than Wild Man. I wish I could describe it better for you, but I think the picture of her face when she does it is worth much more. Just for laughs!

These pictures will definitely be saved for her future boyfriends, if The Professor allows her to date. :-)

Don't Give Up

I consider myself I pretty tolerant person. There are very few things other people do that I let affect me. To some extent that may be a weakness, but other times I am very thankful that I am that way. However, there are some things that I am not very tolerant of at all. We will not get into my list today, but I am going to share one thing that I do not have much tolerance for. The issue came up at lunch today and so it got me thinking about it again.

I have a very low tolerance for people who commit to serving the Lord 100% and then quit when things get hard or when something happens that they do not like. For some reason, there is a mind set in ministry that says, " I have committed to God and so He will not let me go through anything that will hurt me or that is hard for me." THAT IS SO WRONG!! In fact, I firmly believe that when we commit to live our lives for Christ, we commit to having trials. We commit to things not being easy. We commit to having things in our lives that sometimes hurts. The reason being that when we commit to live the life God wants us to live, we immediately get put on Satan's hit list. I mean think about it. Why would Satan want to worry about people he already has under his control? Wouldn't it make more sense to focus on those who are doing things he does not want them to do? Makes sense to me.

I do believe that God blesses those in His will and I believe that He clearly promises to be there for us and give us the strength we need. He has been all of this to me at so many points in my life. He has given me exactly what I need when I need it, even if my opinion I do not think I need it or I thought I needed it at a different time. God is good.

So, if you are a follower of Christ and things seem impossible, DON'T GIVE UP! Know that God loves you and He is your strength. Let Him be that for you. Let Him control everything and understand that as a follower of Christ you are promised trials, but you are also promised so much more. DON'T GIVE UP when it gets hard.

A Little Bit of Nothing

I found myself at the post office today mailing a package to one of my friends. While I was in line waiting for my turn, the little old lady behind me started talking to me. She started by asking me what I was mailing (a little nosey don't you think??). We continued talking some and I told her I was here in town visiting my parents. Then she said something that made me think. She said, " Well welcome to sin city". She must not get out much? I mean I know there is good bit of crime, but compared to other cities, I am not sure we can call it sin city yet. I listened to a few more stories from her, finished my business, and left. After I got in the car, the first thing I thought was, "Don't we all live in sin city?" I mean I would love to know the place where there is no sin. I would be the first to move in!

I had lunch with KV today. We had a great time, as always. We even ate somewhere other than McAlister's or Beagle Bagel. We talked about our families, and pretty much life in general. We even talked about some personal things in our lives that neither of us has told the other before. It amazes me to no end that we have been able to stay friends as long as we have. I mean we know just about everything about each other and yet we still love each other. In fourth grade we made a pact that if we were still friends when we got married we would be each other's Maid of Honor. She was my Maid of Honor when I was married and in August of this year I will be her Matron of Honor. Hard to believe. God has truly blessed our friendship.

The Professor is ready for Little One, Wild Man, and I to get home. I think mainly because he is getting tired of eating Spagetti O's, but I think he may also miss us some. He has enjoyed his freedom to venture to Half Price Books as often as he wants, and read without any interuptions. Read up Professor, we will be home before you know it! Enjoy the quiet while you can!

All in all I am enjoying my time in Jackson, as always!

Change

I have an addiction, that I believe is not normal. I am pretty sure than I am addicted to change. I am not addicted to the change I have no control over. I am addicted to the change that I have 100% control over. I love being the one to make the changes. I color my hair and change my hairstyle often because of this addiction. I also move furniture a lot. However, the things I like to change the most are things that can not be changed right now, and I am having the urge to change something.

So, I have decided to displace this need for change onto my blog. I have changed the template enough and have found one I like, so that will not change. However, as I think of things you will see some changes. The first change you will see is that I have decided the people in my blogs need to have nicknames. So, beginning on my next blog there will be nicknames. I will reveal them as I go and leave you to guess. Most of them will be obvious, if you know me well.

Change is good!

long time no blog

okay, so i know that i have not blogged in forever. the truth is over the past few days i have attempted blogging several times, but as soon as i know what i want to say, it leaves me or i decide i am not ready to blog about it. so, i end up just giving up and saying, "oh, i will blog tomorrow." it is not that i do not have a lot to talk about. in fact since i have been in jackson tons has happened that want nothing more than to talk about. i am just trying to decide what is okay for the blog and what is not. it may take me a while to figure it out. i am still alive and i am in no way giving up on blogging, just a little break while i sort my thoughts out.

random questions you can answer for me...
1. do you think i should create nicknames for the people in my blogs?
2. if you could read me write about one topic what would it be?