A game of Tag

I was tagged by Abby to list the 5th pic from my 5th folder. This is a picture that my bestie Jennifer took of my sweet furry babies (who I'm so mad at for waking the non-furry baby up all day yesterday) the month before I had Kya. The idea was that this would be my focal point during labor. HA! Nick kept telling me look at the puppies and I wanted to scratch my eyeballs out (or his). Still, it's a beautiful picture!

I was also tagged by Abby to share 7 random facts about ourselves that people may or may not know.

Here we go:
1. "Domestic Diva":
I never thought these kinds of things were all that important, until I got older. Now, I absolutely LOVE cooking, gardening, sewing, and hosting. I am not all that great at any one of them, but I'm trying to get better with all. I get a serious high off a clean house, a day of yard work, an oven with a roast,a shirt stitched up, and friends on the way. I would have made an excellent 50's wife, no doubt.

2." Mission Field Wimp"
I would love to be a missionary, in fact I know that God has called me to be on the mission field one day. I really in my heart of hearts would be happy the rest of my life feeding the hungry, holding the dying, educating the poor, etc. I want Kya to be raised with these core values and I want to live a life less ordinary. However, the three things that hold me back: My extended family, my dogs, and my insatiable love of hot showers.

3. "Freaky Phobic"
I have a really weird phobia that only a few people know about. It's kind of hard to describe. Anything that is "embedded". It can be rocks stuck randomly in a cement wall, those frogs with the eggs on their back (oh my gosh, I'm losing it just talking about this). The only explanation I can think of (I didn't know about this until a year ago when my mom told me, I've had this phobia for years) is that when my mom was pregnant with me, she had a nightmare that she was covered in sesame seeds under her skin. It haunted her so bad, she wouldn't let my sister watch sesame street for months. Something about the thought and the word just makes me freaked out. Okay, I have to go throw up now.

4. "Rah, Rah, Rah"
A lot of people know that I was a cheerleader from junior high through college (a couple years off here and there-I was a mascot a couple of times too). What some of you don't know is my love/hate relationship with cheerleading. I wanted to be a cheerleader from the time I can remember. They were superstars in my eyes, and I have no idea why. It was my dream in life. Something about the rhythmic nuances of chants and cheers, the jumping, dancing, being thrown through the air...it's exhilerating! I never quite fit in with the cheerleaders though, I was always kind of on my own (until Tamara in high school and a few girls in college). The hate part, there are some REALLY mean cheerleaders out there! I've seen them and been in their wrath (i.e., being told the wrong uniform on purpose). I even married a man who loathed cheerleaders. And seriously, who decided that these girls needed to be practically naked? I remember coming back from Samoa as a missionary in college (where you weren't allowed to show your shoulders or legs) and my coach handing my new and improved uniform top... that was missing the bottom 6 inches. Would I let my daughter be a cheerleader? I don't know, I doubt it. If they had a cheerleading squad for 30 + year olds, would I join? NO DOUBT!

5. "And the winner is...DORK!"
So, I was a cheerleader, but an outcast of one. I have always been somewhat awkward in social situations and get intimidated by elitist. For some weird reason though, I was voted a class favorite every year in high school, and homecoming queen my senior year. Now, this may seem like I am boasting, but I really am not. You see, I am a HUGE dork! Like, the biggest! I think I went to ONE party in high school. I didn't hang out with the "popular kids", I wasn't in the "in" crowd. I just typically like everyone,unless they are mean. So, the lesson here: Being a nice person is more important than status. I hope I can teach Kya that. Poor thing will have to grow up with a goober of a mom.

6. "Do-Over"
If I could go back to my senior year in high school (ah...good times) and know then what I know now, I would do the following: 1) Study a lot more and make better grades 2) Not be such an immature brat (a.k.a. treating really good people not so good) 3) Follow my dreams. What dreams, you say? I would absolutely love to do one of the following for a career: a) Be a National Geographic Photographer (I'm no good at pictures, but I'd love to learn how and travel the world doing it). b) Become a farmer (the dairy kind where no animals are hurt and I can ride a horse). c) Be a rockstar!

7. "WATCH OUT"
Those who do know me, then you should know this little fact: I am a world class klutz! I run into walls, trip on my own feet, fall out of my chair. You name it, I've done it (and probably in the most socially embaressing moment possible). If I try to be sexy, it is laughable (my friend's favorite story of mine is when I tried to do that whole "dip your foot in the swimming pool move" in front a cute boy years ago and ended up slipping, straddling the the pool deck and the water and banging my head on the ground.) Yep, I gave up on sexy and smooth years ago.


I now tag: Adde, Jennifer, Becky, Mom, and anyone willing to share.

Cat-Scratch Fever a.k.a. Stretch Marks

When I was pregnant, I was one of those really annoying women who boasted about how I didn't have stretch marks with a big irritating smile on my face. Well, the Lord continually humbles me and did so again after Kya was born.
You see, the stretch marks came AFTER the stomach was stretched to capacity, then released. Much like a rubber balloon; after you blow them up...it's just never quite the same.
I got stretch marks on my stomach....bad! It really looked as though the government had created a new torture technique; dropping a feral cat down one's shirt while spraying the feline with water. And I was the test dummmy in this experiment.
Yes, I put lotion on nearly every day of my pregnancy and afterwards, you mean women who insist on that being the reason you didn't get called into the torture chamber.
So, for my 30th birthday, I bought "Bio-Oil". I'd seen advertisements, so I thought "why not".
Holy Crap! This stuff freakin' worked! In less than a month, my stretch marks were hardly detectable. Well, don't go sniffing my belly button or anything to look, but they are a far cry than before! I am still using it and hoping that the rest will fade into a complete oblivion.
If you are a sufferer of stretch marks anywhere...try it. If not, I loath you! (ok, not really. I just hate that your genetics in this area are better than mine).
I don't need "battle scars" to prove Kya's mine. I do however, want to possibly wear a bikini again...someday.
p.s. The above picture is my best effort at being a spokes model. I am SO glad the good doctor gave me some reports, I seriously was having too much time on my hands!

Watch Out Martha!

So, being the broke bloke that I am, I have to use my creative capacities in all areas. Upon taking out the Christmas decorations this year, my faithful wreath my mom made 7 years ago was quite literally falling to bits in my hands. So, I knew I didn't have the money to buy a new one nor materials to spruce up this one (get it..spruce...spruce pine...oh, never mind).
Rummaging through the dresser known as my arts and crafts mall, I found the following supplies: shredded bandanas (from making necklaces with my students), puffy balls, ribbon, hemp, and jingle bells. I used the original wreath (R.I.P.) and "TA-DA". It definitely fits my personality.

Lighten up!

Okay, my last post was so serious I couldn't stand not lightning the mood a little. Confession:
I decided to steal pretty flowers from a neighboring house while I was running and put them in my kitchen. Truth be told, every time I run by this house I take 3. I have just never seen hibiscus this color before and they last forever! So, I'm sure now when they see me coming they're thinking, "here's the crazy, flower-stealing jogger lady". Aww...aren't they so worth it?

Growing Pains

I am being stretched, pulled, manipulated, and banged up all in the name of the Lord. At least I think.
You see, resigning from my job was not ever an option for me. One morning I woke up and felt the Lord was putting it heavy on my heart to resign and teach piano. I prayed fervently about this decision and felt completely at peace with it, as did Nick. However, our finances now are saying something quite different. We haven't been this strapped since grad school. We are still tithing faithfully and without question. To non-tithers I know this sounds crazy to think of giving money away when you are the poor family who needs it, but it is God's money and it is an act of obedience and faithfulness (thanks Becky for the awesome book we've learned so much from). No, this is not financially strapped, like "oh darn...meager Christmas this year". It's the kind of "oh crap, I hope we don't foreclose on our house".
With all the stuff going on with Nick's parents and the toll it's taking on him, it's any wonder he gets up in the morning. There is very minor drama in my family, fortunately it's all about reconciliation type things...that's a positive, just taxing.
It has always been a habit of mine to think that if I am being obedient to the Lord in an area, He will automatically bless that area (i.e., tithing, purity, etc.), but that isn't how it works...the blessing is supposed to come from being obedient. OUCH!
I have been crying out asking where God is in all of this, only to have it smack me upside the head yesterday that He is right here (duh!). If this is my "valley", then am I really complaining (this is nothing)! If I can't trust in the Lord during this time, how will I be able to when times are harder. It's so easy to love and praise Jesus when our lives are feeling blessed and full, how much more powerful and growing is it to do so when we are feeling stripped? This is an elementary concept, yet hard for me to keep in mind. I just got done sending Adde Jeremiah 29:11, when typing I realized how applicable it is to my own life right now. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. This verse pulled me through the hardest thing we've been through (losing the first baby) and look at the blessing that came afterwards!
So, in this season of growing and deepening of our faith, please pray for our attitudes towards Christ above all....and if you'd like you can pray we sell the boat or Ed McMahon shows up at our door.