Monday, June 30, 2008

Honor

A while back I talked about reading John Bevere's Honor's Reward. Here's an interview with him about that same subject. This is a principle that we try our best to live by. It's difficult, and sometimes we do it better than other times, but I just feel this is such a rich teaching, full of daily application. Part one and part two.

A Rant Against Socialism

By the incredible Dave Ramsey. Preach it!

Monday Headlines

I always say I'm going to make this quick, and it never is. But here's my latest quick attempt...

1. Birthdays this week - my dad's and my sister Holly's. Dinner at my parents' tonight. Yummy. And gluten free and kid-friendly! :)

2. Played for the Presbyterian church again yesterday. Very sweet people. And they had three visitors! I really do hope that church will grow again, and stick around. That community needs them!

3. Um...how did it get to be July tomorrow? I want to know.

4. We're doing fireworks at our house on the 3rd. We have the perfect place for the kids to stand BEHIND the fence, totally out of danger. I think it'll really be fun.

5. Painted the bathroom this weekend! Yay! After what...10 months? Now Nick just has to get the baseboards back in, and we'll be all civilized-like. It's a pretty sandy yellow color. I like it a lot. We also got low VOC paint, which hasn't been bad, except on Nick's allergies. It bothered me a little while we were painting, but we've just left the windows open since and it's airing the house out. I was worried about the chemicals. Glad it worked out.

6. We had another Maeve consultation last week. It's looking good for another client so far. It's REAAALLY hard, when a woman looks at you across the table and says, "Now, how many dresses have you done?" to say, "Well, 5." This client won't pull any punches. I totally understand her concern - I would be the same way, making sure someone wasn't going to rip me off. But MAN is it hard to be honest and yet try to calm their fears. She's excited, so I must have done okay. The dress she wants is really neat - a tiered ball gown in taffeta. She's about 5 feet tall, and has found it hard to find something that's not too poufy on her. We can fix that!

7. Finally got our stimulus check! We had a couple of nice dinners, and a few new clothes. Now to pay off some debt! :)

8. My house is a wreck. It's pretty ridiculous. I better get to it.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Um...

Does anyone BELIEVE that North Korea actually destroyed their nuclear reactor cooling tower? I mean, we'd all LIKE to believe it, but seriously.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The verdict

My friend Staci had her son Ben tested for gluten sensitivity, based on the HUGE improvement they saw on a gluten-free diet. They got his test results back, and I think they are fascinating. We've never done any testing around here, just live based on the results. This makes me want to have the testing done! This is the testing method Dr P recommends, which seems to be much more informative than standard biopsy...

Ravencrest visit

I went to Bible School in Estes Park, Colorado for a year. Incredible experience. There were 70 of us students. We lived, ate, worked and studied together on top of the mountain. We studied the Bible 5 hours every day. I played with the worship band and we led worship there as well as toured around some, playing for high schools, youth groups, etc. I made some deep friendships. We studied the Word until I couldn't take in any more, and still it came. It changed me forever. This place means more to me than I can express, and so do the people who were there with me.

A couple of weeks ago, we went back for a reunion of my class. Here are some pictures of us up there.


Two Fascinating Nerdy Websites :)

wikisky.org
digitalvaults.org

Monday, June 23, 2008

Another Home Birth Link

I wonder what the outcome of this will be? Will it cause the government to crack down on what they see as risky? Or will there be greater freedom and understanding of the safety and reasons behind choosing homebirth?

Monday Headlines

This morning, I feel the need to say how inaccurate of a representation of real life blogs sometimes are and must be. If you followed that sentence, more power to you.

1. I played for the little Presbyterian church yesterday. It was very little yesterday. I think there were about 15 people there. Most of them were about 80 years old. This church has been there for something like 50 years or more. Why is it dying off? I talked to a woman there one week, who has been attending there almost every week for 40 years. I came home feeling sad about this.

2. After my having to play that morning and then our own church, my kids were basket-cases, and we had to skip the birthday party we so much wanted to attend. Sometimes it's no fun being responsible.

3. We actually have a quiet week this week, by design. Having a hard time coming up with interesting things to say.

4. We have a month and a half left on our lease. Do we sign again? Do we move? We haven't found anything with a yard that is nearly as good a deal. There's this house a mile or 2 away that is totally brand-new looking inside (I looked in the windows.) :) 3 bedrooms, 2 car garage. Stacked front loading washer and dryer. 2+ acres. It's really pretty. They were renting it for $1500, but it's now been vacant for several months because nobody will pay that, even though it's a nice house. Maybe if it's still there we could make an offer (a much lower one!) in a month. It sure seems like a nice place to live. And very close to town.

5. I got a new student over the weekend. She's starting School of Worship in the fall and wants to get a head start. We are considering this a God-send, because I really needed a guinea pig for my curriculum. I can teach her from my own lesson plans and make sure they work! :)

That's about all I have this week. Maybe more later.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Whew

Found this link somewhere, for a commercial being run in Germany to encourage people to have more kids. Currently, the number of children people are having there is not enough to replace the Germans who die. The only thing keeping the population from going down there is immigration. Some info here and here. Population decline is even responsible for economic problems in some countries. I think it's weird that people have become so concerned about overpopulation. Um, God told us to multiply...if the earth couldn't handle it, don't ya think He would have thought of that?

Friday, June 20, 2008

Love this

I might have posted this before, but I'm listening to it again today. :)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

On Friendship

This may sound weird, but I feel like I'm just now learning how to be a friend. For those of you who have been friends of mine for years, please don't misunderstand. I love you all and appreciate your friendship so much! But I've never been the friend that I want to be.

When I was a kid I was homeschooled, and I had one girl, my third cousin, in my Sunday School class at church; the rest were all boys. After we moved, I had NO friends and I played with my siblings mostly. At our church after we moved, I met a group of girls who were totally cutthroat. They were mean to each other, and I constantly came home crying about something someone said to me or someone else. Drama!

Then we changed churches, and I had to start over again. All my friends in middle school had moved by high school. I started over again. I had a good group of friends for one year in high school, and then after two of them dated and broke up we quit hanging out. Then my best girl friend in that group quit talking to me and never did explain why, even after I asked her multiple times and begged for an opportunity to talk it over with her. Years later I asked again and she still ignored me.

After high school, most of my high school friends went away to college. I got a job working full time as the worship ministry secretary. I was in an adult world, and made friends who were older than me. Now the age difference doesn't seem that drastic, but then it did, at least to me. Christina was in that group of friends, hi! There was weirdness between one of the guys and me, so I quit hanging out with them eventually, and then Christina got married to another one of the guys. Somewhere in there, I went away to Bible school.

At Bible school I had terrific friends. We really were there for each other, and we had so much fun. But they all live all over the world. None of them live here. 8 years later, although we still love to get together, we will never be able to be "every day" kind of friends.

Another (rather lonely!) year after that, I went to ORU. ORU requires that everyone live on campus. After one semester of that, they essentially kicked me out of the dorms because they required me to buy a meal plan for their cafeteria, and I couldn't eat what they served. So I had to live on my own. Money was incredibly tight during that time, and I received multiple eviction notices on my apartment door. Then I would go to the "bubble" at ORU for classes, and felt completely different from the people living on campus. They would get upset about classes, or relationships or other things, and it felt so funny to me. I was dealing with just trying to stay there and stay healthy (I had a seizure at the beginning of my second semester) - who cared about a B- on a test? I felt like I couldn't connect on a deep level because nobody understood my world. I met Sarah (and my husband Nick) there, hi! (If others of you from ORU read this, let me know. :)

Then Nick and I came here and got married. We were the first ones of our group of friends from college to get married. Then we got pregnant two weeks after the wedding. Before we knew it, we were kind of in a different world from all of our friends. We love all of them so much still! But we needed people who understood our stage of life. They were no where to be found.

One day at mom's group, a group of us suddenly clicked. We decided to start a small group with our husbands, a couples study. We were all desperate for friends. Suddenly we found them!

I am continually challenged by these women. They offer to clean my house for me when things aren't going well. They send us birthday cards. We trade childcare. We laugh together. We throw showers for each other. My definition of what a friendship is, is being stretched and grown daily. And amazingly most of us have only known each other a few months! God is doing something in us that I almost had given up on.

So, Joanna, Megan, Holly, and Bek, (and your husbands) thanks so much for your friendship. I know Nick feels the same way when I say I hope we can raise our families together, and go to each other's kids' weddings, and grow old together as friends. Love you girls!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Ricki Lake Fires Back

Interesting news article about the conflict between Ricki Lake, who helped produce a documentary called "The Business of Being Born," and the AMA. Lake's stance, as I understand it, is that most of the pressure for high-intervention birth is related to money. Has anyone seen the film?

Monday, June 16, 2008

Monday Headlines

Gotta make this kinda quick today...I've been on the computer long enough!

1. TWO final fittings this week. Once we get really busy I don't know how we'll avoid that (hire a sales associate - any applicants? I am literally working on the job description. Wedding expos this fall, you know...), but for now it's super busy. Their weddings are both July 5th, so new pics will be up then. I can't wait for you to see these gowns. They are SO great.

2. Shower for baby Keaton tomorrow night. :)

3. My meeting for my piano curriculum happened last Thursday finally, and things continue to move forward. There is some talk of having 100 copies of volume 1 (beginner level) printed by the middle of August for use during the School of Worship school year. Seems a bit ambitious to me, but I guess it's possible. I have the first draft of my part done, it would mean revisions and design work mostly. Depending on the response to the first volume, we could release probably two more. And if Integrity would pick it up for their conferences (definitely a possibility, given New Life's relationship with them), it could mean thousands of copies sold. Just dreaming a bit here, but it sure would be incredible. It's in God's hands!

4. We are in the process of re-working Sundays around here, due to the complete and utter emotional crash that I go through each week. Nick and I stayed up late last night figuring out what to do. The girls' routines get so messed up on the weekend that we end up fighting about naptime all afternoon each Sunday. Very stressful, and I end up feeling terrible about it. We always go out to eat with my parents after church, but it's just not working...

5. I have a cold. Super lame. I promise I will keep my germs to myself. But by doze is stuffy... Super doses of Vitamin C, colloidal silver, and pulsatilla are in order.

6. Nick's Birthday was Saturday. In Pueblo they have this swim beach thing using river water. It's surrounded by sand and there's a water slide and you can rent paddle boats, etc. We went down there and it was SO fun. It was 90-something, which is practically a miracle. The sunshine felt wonderful.

7. Happy Father's Day, Nick. Thanks for being such a terrific husband and father to our children. I don't deserve you, but I sure do appreciate and love you.

8. Made these brownies for Nick's "birthday cake." They turned out delicious - really chocolaty and chewy. I didn't have any date sugar, so I used a cup of agave nectar and a little less milk and it worked just fine. I always have to bake her recipes at least 15-20 minutes longer than she says though. Weird.

9. We should FINALLY get our stimulus check this week. Looking forward to it. New highlights and clothes, perhaps? Paying off bills, certainly.

OK, so this wasn't all that quick...

Friday, June 13, 2008

The Myth?

Nick sent me this link, which is a transcript of John Coleman, the founder of the weather channel's, comments before the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. Hmmm...have we been tricked?

New blog location?

Nick found this site today, and after playing with it for a while, I think it has blogger beat by a mile. I may move this blog over there permanently. I'll keep ya posted.

Ancient Seeds

This article is exciting both to the gardener in me, and the little kid in me that still wants to be an archaeologist. :)

Thursday, June 12, 2008

A worthy life

I'm thinking about this passage this afternoon:

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."

Then he defines what a worthy life is:

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." (Eph 4:1-3)

What struck me about this passage is what's NOT there. Nothing about stewardship (keeping my house clean constantly), nothing about financial success (being able to buy nice things for my kids or even to be able to give thousands to church), nothing about anything related to achievement at all. Be humble, patient, loving and peaceful.

Isn't it funny how what God really asks of us is simultaneously so much easier and so much harder than what we expect?

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Down Day

I'm having a bit of a rough day...actually, if I'm honest, it's been a tough past month.

We're feeling the gas and food increases around here. We're seriously considering having Nick take another part time job to help out. That would probably put him at 65-70 hours per week. All of the business opportunities we're working on are growing, they're just not growing quite fast enough. Our other option is for me to get a job, and we don't feel like that's the right thing to do.

Long story, but I have a foot issue (not athlete's foot) that is incredibly painful, and that has been keeping me off my feet as much as I can get away with it. I think we're finally going to bite the bullet and have me go to the doctor about it. More money. Sigh.

Because I've been off my feet a lot, my house is a mess. It's pretty bad, folks. Hard to not get discouraged about it actually.

I haven't written much real content here recently, simply because I don't have much to say. I am seeking God for strength. I am reading John Bevere's Drawing Near. I am working on taking every thought captive. I am taking naps several times a week while the girls nap. I am actually exercising consistently for the first time in my life. I'm faithfully doing the things I feel God has called me to. I'm saying no to anything new.

But I'm tired.

We had a great, fun trip this weekend that we've been planning for months. The only problem with vacations is the coming home part...

I'm ready for things to ease up a little.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Updates

I changed the template on my blog recently and added a favorite blogs list today. Check it out!

COLDPLAY!!

New album is streaming at iheartmusic.com for free today - you just might have to install some stuff first.

Monday Headlines

1. Estes Park this weekend with old friends...SO fun. It was windy and FREEZING cold, but I enjoyed it so much. Our kids did so great, and just the change of scenery and time together was exactly what we needed. I'll post pics later.

2. Just found this. This is one of the many reasons we need the medical community. I love when they are able to do something right, and make life truly better for someone.

3. Sent the invite out for my high school reunion today. You never know what the response will be to these kinds of things. Did we decide to charge too much? Will people think it sounds fun? Will they go along with the slide show idea? You know...questions like those. We've worked hard. Hope people are excited.

4. We have a second fitting this week - the one where she actually gets to see what the dress will look like. Only the hem and the bustle left to do. Pretty exciting!

5. Nick's birthday AND father's day are this weekend. I need to give this some thought. Like, now.

6. Nick and I get a date tonight!

7. If you are a business owner or an entrepreneur, you need this. My dad has developed it. He has been in business for almost 30 years, and learned lots of things the hard way. He is now producing a monthly newsletter thing...really a crash course in business...to help people with their businesses. Everything from how to set up your business with the state, to how to make sure your books are in order, to a way to keep track of your current projects. I think it's going to be hugely helpful to people. Scroll down the page to see a picture of my daddy. :)

8. I have spent the entire morning catching up on email, phone calls, and other work I was behind on. Time to get off the computer!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

More Pictures

More of our cute pictures here.

Another Gluten Free Blog

...With some great-looking recipes! I have her carrot cake in the oven right now, made with Ener-G egg replacer. (The girls helped me make it for my birthday today.) And I plan to make the coconut frosting as well. Yummy!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Pictures!

Check out Megan Hardre's website, along with the entry in her blog that shows off some of our cute pictures. :)

A great Gluten summary

From my friend Staci...

Monday Headlines

Whew. What a week.

1. Nick was sick with the stomach flu for two days. The girls and I stayed well, for which I am very thankful. Hearing a grown man throw up is quite possibly the worst sound the in the world. Just sayin. You know, because I'm sure you wanted to know.

2. School of Worship graduation was Saturday. Always a good time. Always an honor to be involved with the school.

3. Saturday afternoon we had our pictures taken with Megan. I am SO excited to see them. The girls did incredibly. I couldn't believe how cooperative and happy they were. Expect to see pictures soon. :)

4. Saturday night Nick watched the girls and I went out for the evening. By myself. What did I do? Whatever I wanted. Sat at Starbucks, perused DSW, wandered around Goodwill (got 9 books and 2 videos for the girls for $10!). Like I said, whatever I wanted. It was wonderful to hear my own thoughts for a while. I really needed the break. We're planning to make this a regular thing. It makes me a better mom and wife.

5. Getting my hair cut tonight. Can't decide what I want to do. Rob always has good ideas. He's been cutting my hair for probably 10 years. I can't go as often as I'd like, but when I do I always love it.

6. I turn 28 on Wednesday. Yay!

7. Thursday night is a women's thing at church. If you're in town you should join us. Lisa Bevere is speaking and Kari Jobe is coming to lead worship. It's gonna be fun. A bunch of us from the mom's group are going and sitting together - feel free to meet us!

8. I meet with people about my piano curriculum before the thing Thursday night. We're brainstorming about what it should look like. I am so excited about this.

9. Friday and Saturday we'll be in Estes Park for my Bible School Reunion. I went to Bible school up there for the 1999-2000 school year, so we're having an 8 year reunion. :) We all were too excited to see each other, to wait two more years. We have kept in touch, and I can't wait to see my friends. That was an incredible year. I only wish we could stay up there longer.

10. Moe the cat made a cat friend this weekend. He's fixed and doesn't go outside, so it's doubly funny. We've been leaving the windows open, often until we go to bed at night. Saturday night he was sitting up on the windowsill and I kept thinking I was hearing a cat, but it didn't sound like him. Eventually Nick looked out the window and the neighbor's cat was sitting outside on the front deck. The two cats just sat and watched each other, occasionally doing that purr-meow thing (Brrrrrowwww?). They did the same thing again last night, for a couple of hours. You'd think they'd hiss or something, but they just sit and chat. :)

That's all for now. Hope you had a great weekend!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Top Secret Recipes

Have you ever wanted an In-n-Out double double, but been miles from Southern California?