Monthly Archives: July 2009

July 15, 2009 · 6:00 am

Thank you, Journey. I Couldn’t Have Said It Better Myself.

Kris and I work into our schedule a weekly date night, unless he is flying all week trying to buy momma a new pair of shoes, of course.  We love date nights.  We talk.  I laugh a lot.  He holds my hand.  And, from time to time, I discover something about him I’d never known before.  I like that. 

We don’t’ really use this time to discuss our stuff.  You know, our “issues”.  Those are usually reserved for times after we put the kids to bed in our living room.  We like for date nights to be about enjoying each other and that occasional new discovery.  Not me pointing out to Kris how I need him to do this more or that less, thus, making the date night about me and not each other.  Read me?

I feel like I know Kris pretty well.  Of course, there was this recent moment where I watched the third installment of Pirates of the Caribbean for the one-hundreth and seventy-ninth time.  After the credits rolled, my friend pointed out that Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan had a son.  How did I miss that?  How did Kris miss that?  So, I called Kris to let him in on the little secret, and he said, “I know.” 

How could he not have shared that with me?  It’s like I don’t even know him.

You see?  Always room for discovery.

Kris Takle, I get the joy of rediscovering you.   I’m forever yours, faithfully.

Now, let’s end this blog before the lines get even cornier.

What’s your idea of a perfect date night?

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July 14, 2009 · 6:00 am

Breakfast And Flip Flops Are Always A Good Choice.

I nearly lost my Thin Addictives biscuits I’ve grown, yes, addicted to the other morning while watching The Today Show.  During a food segment, poor Matt Lauer and his gang had to taste a rather large hamburger. 

That’s just disgusting at 8:00 AM.

DE-SCUSS-TING.

That’s day food.  Not mornin’ food.  I can’t even think of eating day food until at least 10:30, when I’m usually ready for lunch but force myself to wait at least another 15 minutes.  Of course, I can eat mornin’ food at any time of the day.  Even dinner.  Why is that?  Why is a pot roast nas-stay in the mornings but eggs and bacon perfection for dinner?  And, why are flip flops comfortable year around?

I’m not one of those who can skip the most important meal of the day:  mornin’ food.  However, I don’t consume large mornin’ food portions.  Unless you take me to a breakfast buffet, then game on.

What’s your mornin’ food ritual?  Are you eating a breakfast of champions?

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July 13, 2009 · 6:00 am

Maude And Ethel.

This weekend, I enjoyed a movie with a really fun date – my Mom.  She’s even more fun because she buys my ticket.  She would’ve even bought my Junior Mints, but I didn’t really want to indulge.  Swear.  I snuck in my own water, too, because I’m a rebel.  I know, the streets, they fear me.

Movie?  The Proposal. 

Laughs?  Many.

But, what accounted for most of the hilarity were the two elderly women who sat beside me.  When (let’s call them Maude and Ethel) first entered the theater, I saw them in search for two free seats.  Mom and I had commandeered the best seats in the house.  My purse was resting on the seat to my left leaving only one free seat.  And, we all know the unspoken rule that there is always a seat between you and a stranger. 

I began to feel a little compassion for Maude and Ethel, so I broke the unspoken rule and removed my purse. 

“You can both sit here,” I told them, feeling pretty good about my overt sweetness.  Okay, perhaps “overt sweetness” is a stretch.  But, I did break the skip a seat rule.  And, that’s somethin’.

Right before the movie began I heard Maude and Ethel just a gibberin’ back and forth.  A gibber here.  A snicker there.  And, they weren’t ashamed of their vocal volume.  I leaned over to Mom, and told her, “Ya know, you try to do a good deed, then BAM – Maude and Ethel just won’t pipe down. 

And, they didn’t for the entire movie.

It was like going to a movie with my late Great Aunt Mabel.  Great Aunt Mabel was loud and followed up every statement with “I ain’t got no reason to lie,” which made me think she was really always lying.

But, this isn’t about Great Aunt Mabel.  No.  This story is about Maude and Ethel.

So, Maude and Ethel commented, sighed, and even groaned the entire movie.  The groaning was even more evident when Ryan Reynolds’ bare skin covered the screen.  And, when Sandra Bullock stood up in her Christian Louboutins without grabbing hold to something for balance, Maude shouted, “Ooohhh, I could never do that.”

In the end, I heard Ethel say, “Oh my gosh, I’m cryin!”

And, I was crying, too.  From laughing so terribly hard.  ‘Cause between Betty White and Maude and Ethel, you’ll have your mascara running in no time.  Thank goodness Maude brought her handkerchief.

So, yes.  I say go see the movie.  And, if you can take Maude and Ethel with you, it’ll make it all the more entertaining.

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July 10, 2009 · 6:00 am

No Animals Were Hurt In This Blog.

Meet Jake and Michel.

Michel Jake wp

I’m including Jake’s pic, because he, too, had a casualty in this story.

My friend, Michel, has no shame.  As a matter of fact, when I asked her permission to post her story, and *gasp* these pics, she responded:

“You know I have no shame.  And will do anything for my 15 seconds.  Kinda pathetic.  And, yet, e’ry time I pass a mirror I laugh.”

Well, every time I viewed these pics yesterday, I laughed.  Hard.

When Michel’s husband, Jake, fell asleep last night, she thought it a good idea to cut up one of his t-shirts.  Into strips.

Then, tie them in her hair.

Michel - before wp

Not quite sure what she was expecting.  And, I doubt what she got was the result she was looking for.

At least, I hope not.

The next morning, she removed Jake’s shredded t-shirt from her hair.

And, this, THIS is what she saw.

Michel - after wp

Oh.

My.

Word.

I know she makes her momma proud.

Thanks for the laugh, Michel.  You’re a good sport with terrible hair.

Have a good weekend, and please, have your pets spayed or neutered.

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July 9, 2009 · 6:00 am

Thankyousokindly, John Henry.

JH - self photog

Photograph taken by.  Yep.  John Henry.

I don’t allow my children to say “Shut up.”  Naturally.  However, I say “Shut up” when I’m surprised.  You know, like when someone says, “I just won a $10 million lottery,” and I respond “Shut. Up!”  Yeah, that “Shut up.” 

So, John Henry overheard a conversation much like the one above a couple of days ago….except, no one won a lottery else he would have chartered a jet plane to Bahamas and taken me.  I’m sure of it. 

The conversation concluded:

Me:  “Shut. Up!”

John Henry:  “Mom, careful with your words.”

Ouch.

A reminder that:

1) I need to model for my children what I’m trying to teach them.

And.

2) I need to always be careful with my words.

Always.

Our words shape our world.

Truly.

They really do.

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July 8, 2009 · 7:26 am

He Will Build You A House.

When I was pregnant with John Henry, I remember feeling homeless.  I wasn’t out on the street.  My parents let me live with them and consume all of their popsicles.  When John Henry’s dad walked out, I felt I had lost my protection, my security, my shelter, and my provision.

I called my dad, who was out of the country, and shared my thoughts with him.  And, I’ll never forget his response.

“Darlin’, when I get home, I’m going to build you a house.”

And, so he did. 

He called our very good friend and builder, Doug Wesley.  Three months later, a house was built.

I spent my first night in that house built with love the day I brought John Henry home from the hospital.  What I saw the moment I walked in is another blog.  But, what I felt was protection, security, shelter, and provision.

Just like my earthly father provided these things for me, our Heavenly Father will do so much more.  He will build you a house of safety, provision, security, forgiveness, hope, love, refuge….

Find your rest in Him.  Trust in Him.  He will build you a house.

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust him.  Psalm 91:1-2

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July 7, 2009 · 6:59 am

No Shiny Star Here.


Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe… Philippians 2:14-15

Do everything without complaining?  EVERYTHING???

Pretty sure I’m not shinin’ like a star in the universe every day.

You?

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July 6, 2009 · 7:45 am

The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia.

I’m a little late getting started this morning.  Our power went out last night for a better part of the evening, and well, you can’t exactly go to bed when it’s so dark can you?  That would just be odd.  So, I stayed up in the family room with, well, my family.  And, I’m not sure why I keep using, well, “well.”  I’ll stop it now.

When the electricity goes out, there are no distractions.  Ever notice that?  Of course, the tree falling into my parents’ backyard crushing a part of their fence caused a slight commotion, but there was no blaring of a television or surfing of a browser that turned our heads from one another.

Instead, we took turns trying to remember as many Reba McIntyre songs as we could.  That game appropriately started with none other than “The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia.”  Oh, and me belting it out like the red-headed diva herself, all sans the red head and ultra skinny waste.  And, great vocals.  Perhaps, it was my vocals that led to John Henry insisting on playing some 38 Special.  That and the fact that he’s never heard any Reba.  How did my parenting go so wrong?

Before we mustered up the courage to go to bed in the dark, we sat around and talked about our friend, Phil.  Phil stood in the presence of His Creator, the object of his affection, only a few days ago.  We talked about how there was no age discrimination in the lives he touched.  He touched the old, the young, and the really, really young.  I watched a 16 year old girl with uncontrolled tears covering her beautiful, young face, because one 63 year old man touched her life.

Phil Purser didn’t pastor a large church.  He wasn’t a missionary to some foreign land.  But, he was a pastor and missionary wherever he was to whomever he was with.  And, he was the greatest encourager I have ever known. 

May we power off more often, so our heads do not turn from one another.  And, may we all grow up to be a Phil Purser.

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July 3, 2009 · 6:00 am

All The Single Moms & Dads.

I wanted to title this post “All the Single Ladies,” but I just couldn’t make it work.  Another blog, another day. 

I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Kim Heinecke.  I met Kim in my bible study almost a year ago, and we instantly connected.  Our stories of divorce are similar.  And, our stories of how God healed our broken hearts are even more similar. 

I want you read her testimony.  Besides it being one of the most beautiful pieces of writing you will ever read, it will make you want to fall in love with your Father all over again – whether you’re single OR married. 

Kim writes:

“It is my testimony that when the Lord becomes the fountain of everything meaningful in your life – when He is your companion, your protector, your provider – you will never be lost or disappointed by what happens or doesn’t happen on your journey.”

Read Kim’s testimony here.  It’ll be the best thing you read today. 

I assure you.

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July 2, 2009 · 6:00 am

A Day At The Aquarium.

Yesterday could have hardly been better.  Between eating breakfast at a hometown local favorite, Cindy Beall re-entering the blogging world, and a big Beluga whale smiling at me, it was dang near perfection.

We took the kids to the Georgia Aquarium.  But, not before eating at Murphy’s.  Nothing like a pancake shaped like Mickey.

Aquarium - Murphys wp

I could’ve almost purchased my Yolo board with what we spent on our Aquarium tickets.  Oh, but we were making memories, right?  Okay.  Sure.

Here are a few of our pics.

Aquarium wp 2

Aquarium wp 4

Aquarium wp 5

Anna hardly walks anywhere.  Why walk when you can skip?  Or dance for that matter?

Aquarium wp 3

You can tell Kris is hardly fazed by her prance.  We’ve grown accustomed to the fact that she lives in Annaville.

And, finally, my favorite pic. 

Aquarium wp

I mean, I’ve never made a Beluga whale smile before.  My dad said this is just the way these whales look.  Whatev’.  I think he saw something inside of me that made a part of him happy – made him feel complete.  Or, he just looks like this.  I choose to believe otherwise.  Yes, yes.  He is totally smiling at me.

Then, we all celebrated by eating seafood.

Not. Even. Kidding.

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