just because

today i'm kind of blah. i havent been feeling 100%. i'm sleepy, i feel old and worn out. one reason i could be tired is b/c jay decided to "play the organ" on his ipad last night...very loudly. i was dead asleep and next thing i know i hear obnoxious, haunted house music coming from the living room. i wasnt about to get up. so i just called him from the bedroom. he answered with "uh oh." yeah, he knew. i finally went back to sleep and then like kramer from seinfeld...he came flying in the bedroom (as if to announce he was coming to bed.) i told him i kinda hated him in my heart. he got in bed. flopped around for a while and went to sleep. thank God. i did not want to exercise but i pushed through my morning routine. i did get a (jackpot!!) bag of hand-me-downs today. i really have zero shame in praying for hand-me-downs. i try not to shop often. when i do shop i go to target & old navy and only hit up the sale racks. so getting a bag of stuff i...

For most people practice makes perfect. For me not so much. I’ve probably been snow skiing 8 times. So not very many attempts in my (almost) 33 years. But I can honestly say…I get worse every time. My last attempt will hopefully be just that…my LAST. I’m pretty sure I’ve never hated anything so badly in my life. I’d rather pet a cat, while wearing vibrams, on a moped, on my way to take down wallpaper. That’s how much I hate it. Here’s how this last trip went down. (literally) I used to go on youth trips with Christ Community when jay was the youth pastor. I loved him & I love teenagers so it wasn’t ever much of a sacrifice. (and I’m pretty positive the adults had more fun on those trips than the students…here are a few examples: One trip I won the award for fitting the most pretzels in my mouth at once. I think I got 28. Then I spit them out the window and it went all down the side of the church van. Nasty! On another trip the chaperones ordered pizza while the kids ate c...

I wasn’t going to blog today but I’m hoping it’ll entertain me so I’ll stop eating. Ever have those days where you just can’t seem to get full? I’m having one for sure. I even ate the leftover communion bread at church. That may be sacrilegious. Don’t tell keefee. Are you sick of hearing about vasa yet? I’ll keep it short today. He was fist-bumping people left & right at church. Awesome. He gave me another kiss on the cheek. and attempted to say buddy. The girls were as beautiful as ever. They had on the cutest dresses. Claire always has their hair looking super cute. My poor kids don’t stand a chance. Notice my hair? I’m proud of josh & Claire. I know they MUST be exhausted. Can you imagine? It’s like they have a walking newborn! They hardly speak his language yet he can walk/run. Ahh! Pray for them! Blogging is kinda like a confessional or something for me. I can’t help myself! i seem to admit everything on here… This time I’m going to confess my “fear” of most holiday...

Couple random things to start: Thanks to Tylenol pm I slept 12 hours last night. Booyah. I used to be addicted to diet coke. Now I may drink one a week. I have severe dry eyes. Its sooooo annoying. I haven’t put makeup on all week. I count steps when I climb them. cant help myself. I made my dad laugh out loud with my moped story. Jay’s feet look complete different. It’s awesome. I think taking down wallpaper (while wearing vibrams!) is one of the jobs done in hell. That 3 musketeer is still in the drawer. Lord help me. I hate getting gas, going to wal-mart, dust on fake plants, driving jays huge truck, the show that jay is watching right now, my huge big toe, things being out of place in my car, hearing people pop their knuckles, and folding a fitted bed sheet. I love burnt popcorn, eating bites of jays food, my husbands smile & laugh, my co-workers, the TA girls I get to know, smores w peanut butter, how personal God is with us, when I hear stories of people coming to Christ...

I barely finished reading the text from Claire saying they’d be home in 20 mins. I threw on whatever clothes I came across first. (I don’t match.) Took my phone off the charger, far from charged, and took off. Jay was trying to walk out to the car with me but he couldn’t figure out which guitar he wanted to take with him…I didn’t have time for that foolishness. I didn’t even shut the door on my way out. I impatiently waited at red lights and yelled at people who dared drive a mile under the speed limit. I normally don’t turn the radio on at all but I had to praise Jesus as I drove to meet my precious nephew. The closer I got, the faster my heart would beat. I thought I might pass out. (I’m aware of my psycho behavior…back off.) I finally pulled in the driveway. I took a deep breath, thanked God for all He’s done and tried not to RUN in the house. Walking (ok, jogging) in I saw a full table (ava, allie, dd, jack, wes and 2 beautiful moms – Claire & jill) and a tiny little guy ...

It is vasa’s arrival day! In honor of his new world I thought I’d write about his fabulous sisters. We’ll start with Ava since she’s the oldest. She will be 9 this year and in the 4 th grade. I can’t believe it. I talked to her on the phone this morning for a good 15 minutes. It was just like talking to an adult. She’s so wise. She has the sweetest spirit. It weirds me out that she’s so grown up & mature. I remember holding her the day she was born. I don’t know how it happened but somehow I got to be alone with her for like 30 mins. Oh I cried like a FOOL. I prayed over her asking God to give her His best always. She’s smarter than me. her vocabulary is insane. She was like 3 talking about “respite care” at dinner one night. Jay & I had no clue what she was talking about. We can’t convince her to sleep in. that girl wakes up crazy early. But here’s what’s precious. Ya know what she does when she wakes up?? She reads her Bible. P-R-E-C-I-O-U-S. She always desires to do the rig...

Just thinking so i thought i'd share. if it shows up correctly, this font is MINE. yep! it's my handwriting scanned into the computer!! how cool is that? myfonts.com fabulous! i forgot one thing i love about my dad. he took me "dates" every tuesday night one year of my life to show me how i should be treated when dating someone. it was precious. josh busted in regularly for free food. If you think my moped story was pitiful, wait til I blog about snow skiing. One of the things I love about my job is that no one cares what I wear or how I look. So today I ran home from the gym, ate something quick and came straight into work. i still have on a tennis skirt & t-shirt (with salad dressing splashed on it…oops) and there are 3 board members here. Well done ace. One day I am going to blog about one of the greatest men to ever live. Mr. Terry. Oh the hilarious, wonderful stories I have! I was just thinking about how much I love coffee. It reminded me of some other random...

tomorrow is fathers day. so i figure i'll write some of my favorite things about my dad. some are sweet, some old memories, some just plain funny. he doesn't feel the need to impress anyone. he is who he is no matter what. he will do anything for anybody. his quartet gets more gigs than my husbands band. if its an ugly, big t-shirt, he'll wear it. he wears tennis shoes with khakis. all of his pants are too short. if you tell him he has short legs, he'll tell you "they reach the ground." he used to take me to hartz chicken for lunch during preschool. pretty sure its where i got my carb addiction. i'll always remember him listening to sermons, reading his Bible and studying Gods word, often. still does. i love he never becomes content in his pursuit of Christ. he used to kick my brothers tail in basketball. he'd mouth off all night too. i will always appreciate how much family matters to him. he's always made us feel super importa...

after reading my randomness yesterday, jay said i needed to write about my moped failure. here's how the day went down... i was at the beach with about 10 close friends. we were in hog heaven. great condo, absolutely amazing food (thank you brad!) perfect beach & pool time, lots of laughter - it was fabulous. one of my favorite memories from this trip was eating confetti cake for breakfast with ashley. yum! we had the sheet cake & 2 forks, perfect. things were running smoothly. then someone in the group - not me - decided it'd be fun to rent mopeds for the day. so we threw on some clothes and off we went. i should've known this was going to be a bad idea. i don't do anything at the beach. that's why i love it. i don't play games, i don't play in the ocean, i might go for a walk...but really i'm there to lay out. so back off with your activities folks... but i didn't wanna be a stick-in-the-mud so i went. oh my. walking in the place i ...

I’m impatiently waiting to skype with josh, Claire & vasa. So I thought a random blog might help kill some time. I really hate the devil. I hate it when I let him get in my mind and trip me up. I hate when he convinces me of things that aren’t true. I hate when I allow myself to think on things that aren’t pure, good & holy. Forgive me Lord. I know that isn’t what you desire for me. Have I mentioned that I love vasa? I’ve tried to learn some Russian. But all I really need to learn is “I love you.” Poor kid. He’s going to be afraid of me. Will hawk is one of my favorite speakers. He taught at TA Bible study last night. I could listen to him every day. I never get bored. I never zone out. I just listen and learn. Being around will and hearing him speak brings an amazing amount of peace to my soul. I am very glad for him (and his entire family!) Is it bad that I drink a LITER of coffee every morning? I do. I use a liter water bottle to fill my pot…so there’s no denying that’s ...

If someone could choose an ideal childhood, they’d most likely pick one like mine. I've been blessed with fun, loving, supportive parents, a loving older brother and a peaceful happy home. Sure we had our moments but for the most part I’d say life was close to perfect. My parents expected a lot from us. Decent grades, giving our best with what we were involved in…but they never pushed us to the point of stress! I am forever thankful for that. They allowed us to try (and fail) at lots of different activities: karate, dancing, band, the list goes on & on! Both of my parents had full-time jobs all of my life. Yet I never felt like I lacked for time with them. Luckily they had jobs that allowed them to be home by 4pm every afternoon. We knew they’d be there. We knew they would greet us with joy! I never felt like I was annoying to them or felt like they were too exhausted from their day to want to see me or talk to me. How refreshing. I knew without fail a home-cooked meal would b...

few random thoughts: i need to start spell checking my blogs.  i really despise cats. (chas, thats for you!)  valentines day & new years eve are my least favorite holidays (both completed overrated.)  and tuesday is my least favorite day of the week. i love my morning runs at the park. well, when its stupid hot i have a love/hate relationship with running. but most days, i love it. during the school year i enjoy seeing cute kids with backpacks, uniforms and smiles walking into wynnton elementary. the crossing guards are always sweet and sometimes even stop traffic for me. middle school & high school students are entertaining on my way to the park. i'm so glad i'm out of school and even more glad i'm not waiting on a bus. when i get down near CHS i enjoy watching new drivers hit curbs trying to park. i also smile watching students study in their cars, put on makeup and eat cereal out of solo cups. i have some favorite runners/walke...

i am pretty convinced that when i get to heaven God is going to say with love "come on in, you brat." i really must be annoying. i'm never content. it's either too hot or too cold.  i'm either too busy or bored. i pray for things i don't need. i complain to Him about all sorts of silly things...like why peanut butter has to be fattening. i tell my family all the time that i'll visit their mansions in heaven during breaks from sweeping porches & doing touch-up work on the homes of folks who've lived better than me. i'm a "good girl." don't get me wrong. but i stumble over the same tricks of the enemy far too often. (and probably make fun of people too much.) i'm constantly amazed at the faithfulness of God. i shouldn't be. He's always, always faithful. but i still worry, doubt, complain, get nervous and question His ways. He does the sweetest things to remind me that He's in control. i love it. i wish i did a be...

next month jay and i will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. we've been best friends for close to 8 years. he's my favorite friend. i wouldn't say that if i didn't mean it. we have a unique marriage. we laugh often thinking what other people might think of our conversations & marriage "rules." we probably should've written our own vows. we've made certain amendments. here are some examples: if one of us is injured/disfigured because of something tragic, we're in it for the long-haul. BUT if it's because of something stupid...the other one is free to go. for example, jay just bought a motorcycle (which he had to raise ALL his OWN money for from bday, christmas gifts etc) so, if he gets injured riding that bike - i can leave him. because having that bike is stupid :)   another rule - we want the other spouse to remarry if something happens to the other. but i told jay a couple girls i hope he wouldn't choose in my absence. i also i...

josh & claire went to court and officially adopted vasa today!!!   BEST. DAY. EVER. jay and i did a happy dance in the kitchen this morning.  (good thing the military wife that stayed with us last night - that we dont know! - didnt walk in!) i know i will blog later today so i'm going to keep this short. i just had to celebrate our familys new addition. precious vasa!!  pray for his heart as josh & claire have to leave him one last time. pray for mine too...this is killing me. i may need therapy haha.

i don't really have anything to blog about today. so i think i'll just post some random facts about myself that no one ever really needed to know :) never let a girl named pancake wax your eyebrows. yeah, that happened. grapes tear up my stomach more than krystals. i can never have too many post-it notes, sharpies or flare pens. i eat the same thing for breakfast everyday and have for basically 3 years. i dont like overhead lights. only lamps. i have to lay on my stomach or left side to fall asleep. i love squirt butter. (strange, i know.) i love to fill out forms and check things off a to-do list. mouth noises make me go insane. i have to pray about that. i break into a sweat. i've always wanted to be a waitress. i pray (almost daily) for hand-me-downs. i'm terrified and excited to be a mom one day. (whenever that may be.) if i could eat whatever i wanted and never gain weight...i'd live on peanut butter, french fries, trail mix, birthday ...

well i've decided to start blogging. mainly for my mom. she is probably the only one who will ever read it. that's okay though. she's worth it. i'm interested to see how often i'll write. today my heart is in russia with my brother, his wife and soon-to-be son vasa. what a precious addition he will be to our family. i am obnoxiously awaiting his arrival. there are so many things that i am excited to introduce him to. here's a few...the precious & unconditional love of Christ, lots & lots of peanut butter (i hope he likes it as much as i do!), smores, family night, movies, toys r us, college football, his super fun "umple jay" and the rest of his awesome family. he's already changed our lives and we haven't even met him in person. so to my sweet nephew vasa - i pray that God continues to prepare your heart & mind for this new life ahead of you. i pray for peace, joy and comfort in the months to come as you figure this world out! ...