Thursday Thirteen #4

OK. Lots to blog about, stressful week, no time, yada yada yada... I decided to keep my T13 on the lighter side this week.

Thirteen Reality Shows I Enjoy

1. The Amazing Race - this one is hands down my favorite. I would love to be on it someday, though I won't bungee jump or sky dive which may prove to be a problem.

2. So You Think You Can Dance - my summer favorite! Sabra won this year and I'm so thrilled. How cute was she?

3. American Idol - Oh yeah. Talk about the stereotype of reality shows. I have a tendency to favor the third place contestant; Elliot, Melinda. I'd audition, but alas, I'm too old!

4. Project Runway - I admire these folks and their abilities with fabric, feathers, seashells, you name it. I am tempted to say "Bless you," every time Heidi says ""Auf Wiedersehen" to the eliminated contestant. Bravo has other great shows like...

5. Top Design - "See you later, Decorator". Oh, and one more...

6. Shear Genius

7. Fat March - a new one for me. It is interesting to see how well these folks are doing from just walking and eating right.

8. America's Top Model - OK. Tyra is annoying. I don't set the DVR for this one, but if it's on, I'll watch.

9. Celebrity Fit Club - mixing one mentally unstable former-star into every cast is a winning formula.

10. Supernanny - makes me feel a little better about my own kids?

11. Wife Swap - ah. A show based on extremes. Josh always asks me if i would want to be on Wife Swap. I just smile and shake my head.

12. The Pick-up Artist - thanks, Jess, for getting me addicted to this one. It's like a train wreck; I'd love to look away but I just can't.

13. Scott Baio is 45 and Single - I'm totally kidding! This show looks completely stupid. I just couldn't come up with a 13th show!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Friday's Feast #2

Appetizer
Describe your laundry routine. Do you have a certain day when you do it all, or do you just wash whatever you need for the next day?
Well, the way I lined the chores up for the boys is that they empty their hampers and the laundry chute on Saturdays and Wednesdays and I do laundry on Mondays and Thursdays. I ususally do about three loads each of those days. During football seaon, that increases a little!

Soup
In your opinion, what age will you be when you’ll consider yourself to truly be old?
Wow. I really hope to be like my Grandma and never consider myself truly old. She traveled, volunteered in nursing homes and took line dancing into her 80's!

Salad
What is one of your goals? Is it short-term, long-term, or both?
I'm pretty focused on goals with my business right now (private music lessons from my home). I am starting the season with about 26-27ish studetns and would love to have 35 or so by the holidays. It would really help us meet our family budget -- plus I get to work with more wonderful, fun people!

Main Course
Name something unbelievable you’ve seen or read lately.
I guess I'm always unpleasantly surprised by the violent acts I hear of on the news. Unfortuately, Baltimore has the second highest per capita murder rate in the US and we're praying God uses us to do something.

Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how happy are you today?
I'll give it a 8.5. I've got a lot of tasks on my mind and it's a little uncomfortably sticky, but overall, I'm a blessed girl!

Join the fun at Friday's Feast...

Thursday Thirteen #3

It's been a long day, but I can't retire until I share...

Thirteen things that make my kids really cool

I have four great kids -- three on earth and one in heaven. My angel will be ten always and my three down here are 13, eight and six. I love my little men with all my heart and the following are some things that make them extra cool.

1. They're funny. It's fun to watch their sense of humor develop. Joshua is getting rather witty in his old age and Micah comes up with the most random stuff. Jacob just knows everything.

2. They're cute. Matt and I constantly look at each other and shrug, wondering how we produced such adorable children.

3. They're smart. Josh managed an average of all A's and B's in his first year back in public school in four years. Micah's reading improved greatly this year and Jacob got smileys all the way across!

4. They're polite. Yes, we have to coax occasionally, but the manners are there!

5. They are troopers. We drag them all over the east coast doing ministry for five weeks every summer. They sleep on air mattresses and sit through services and eat all kinds of different food. Overall, they don't complain and keep a good attitude (better than me sometimes!)

6. They love music. Obviously, this is a family thing!

7. They're silly. Tickle fights, ear eating, pretending we're puppies... you name it, we can be a pretty silly bunch!

8. They're loving. I get three wonderful good night kisses, three hugs and three "I love you, Mommy"'s every single night. Aren't I a lucky girl?

9. They're creative. Joshua and Micah are really into drawing and they're both good at it. Jacob likes to make things out of other things i.e. cardboard, toilet paper tubes, pipe cleaners, etc.

10. They love Jesus. Joshua's relationship with the Lord has really grown over the last couple of years. They all ask so many great questions and we have some conversations that really make ME think!

11. They help out around the house. Josh is especially good at keeping up with his chores. They all help out though, from sweeping to laundry to taking care of the dog.

12. They like and appreciate the humor of the Muppets. It's important. The Muppets are an acquired taste and my kids get them. Yessssss. Micah walks around the house saying, "Good grief, the comedian's a bear!"

13. I love them. I just do. For every reason and no reason at all.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thrilling

Sarah Jessica Parker is my new hero.


It all started the other night when I was up later than I should have been (as usual) and Amanda Bynes was on Conan. I like Amanda. Joshua and Caleb were just the right age for the Amanda Show on Nickelodeon and the movie Big Fat Liar is a family favorite.

Anyway, Amanda was talking about her new clothing line called "Dear" that will be carried at a store called Steve and Barry's - never heard of it. She was saying that her line was geared at young women -- college student types -- and nothing in the line cost more than $19.95.... well, THAT caught my attention. She went on to say that she was inspired by Sarah Jessica Parker's line "Bitten" that was sold at the same store and aimed at the 30 and over crowd.

That would be me.

I went online and Googled it. Sure enough, SJP's line not only has adorable clothes, but they're ALL $19.95 OR LESS TOO! AHHHHH! I also found out that there is a Steve and Barry's very close to me at Eastpoint Mall -- not a mall I frequent, but close by.

So tonight, I picked up my BFF Jess, we dropped Josh off at football and drove to Eastpoint Mall. I knew ahead of time that I wasn't going to buy anything because money's a little... tight. It's OK, though. Jess needed some things for work and I was more than willing to help her find some stuff. And if I happen to try on a few things in the meantime, so be it.

Well, we were not disappointed in Miss Parker's (OK Mrs. Broderick) clothing. It was so cute, sporty and comfortable and, as promised, everything was extremely affordable. Jess was able to get what she needed for the cost of what she would have paid for one item somewhere else.

Now, because God likes me so much, He gave me a little bonus. As we were on our way back to the fitting rooms, we went by the shoes. Now get this - they have athletic shoes for $14.95!! I'm serious. They are a line by NBA star Stephon Marbury called "Starbury". My big-footed son needs shoes for school and get this -- they had up to size 15 (accomodating his size 14 foot nicely now and for a few minutes after that). Automatically, I thought that Josh probably wouldn't like them and that they wouldn't be acceptable socially in the world of Pine Grove Middle School. SURPRISE! When I mentioned them to him, he had already heard of them, seen them and (bonus) thought they were cool.

Ahhhhh. Life is good. I feel like it's a dream from which I don't want to wake up!

Nothing like saving money (or future money) to make a girl happy!

Friday's Feast #1

I was going to revert back to "Happiness is..." Fridays in August (I may move it to another day), but I just saw this meme on mama pajama's blog and I really liked it. So, for now, I give you my first installment of...



Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of pie?
Oooo. Peach. And I don't find it very often.

Soup
Name something that made you smile this week.
Seeing some of my piano and flute students again

Salad
What do you do to cool off when the weather is hot and humid?
We either visit a friend who has a pool, or visit the aforementioned $3 movie theater!

Main Course
You receive $1,000 in the mail with a letter that says you can only use the money to redecorate one room in your home. Which room do you pick, and what do you buy to spruce it up?
I would probably spend it on my craft room that is still under construction. I would get my big work counter, but lots of storage stuff and get a big TV/DVD player!

Dessert
Fill in the blank: My _________ says __________, but I __________.
My scale says keep going with your diet, but I ate the ice cream last night anyway!

To join in the fun, go to: Friday's Feast.

Thursday Thirteen #2

I know we're still fairly early into August, but my mind is already on school starting and all of the things in store for autumn. With the heat surge lately, it would be easy to be in a complaining mode so I thought I'd list...

Thirteen Things I Like about Summer

1. No socks. If I've never mentioned it before, sock are my nemesis. Seriously, if I were a super hero, Dr. Sock would be my sworn enemy. Especially with kids, socks are the worst. if you do take the time to pair them up from a load of laundry, inevitably there are always about three that don't have mates. They end up in the "sock basket" (I hope I'm not the only person who has one of those!) and stay there until someone becomes desperate. In the summer, it's sandals, baby, or better yet, no shoes at all!

2. Popsicles. You don't have to be six years old to know that popsicles totally rock. Especially the orange ones!

3. Sleeping in. Boy, this one is going to be hard to give up once school resumes. It's so nice to be able to just chill in bed, snuggle with the boys, or better yet, go back to sleep. This one segues nicely to...

4. Staying in your pajamas most or even all of the day. Now, before you decide we're just all a bunch of bums, just let me tell you that this one applies to the boys more than Matt and myself. But if you're not going anywhere that particular day, why the heck not! It's always comical when I tell the boys, "OK, time to get your pajamas... oh. Never mind."

5. Free movies at the $3 theater. We haven't been home enough to take advantage of this one as much as we have in years past, but we're hoping to catch a couple before the end of the month. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, they show a free kid-friendly movie. It's usually one we've already seen, but it's fun all the same and a nice relief from the heat to sit in an air conditioned theater for 90 minutes.

6. My clothesline. There's something about using the clothesline that I really love. As soon as the weather starts to get nice, anything that's not socks, jeans, panties, briefs or towels hangs out in our backyard to be dried by God. The stuff smells so good and I'm saving energy to boot.

7. Open windows. The one perk about not having central air is that we get plenty of fresh air from having the windows open. The birds chirping through in the morning is a nice thing to hear when you wake up. Late spring/early summer this year we were blessed with some really perfect, beautiful days.

8. So You Think You Can Dance. OK. Stop snickering. I really LOVE this show. Last year, I was a die-hard Benji fan. This year my money is on either his sister, Lacey, or Sabra. We'll find out next week...

9. Dinner outside. Our grill gets a workout most of the year, but especially during the summer. We have our patio all set up with tables, a canopy and our nifty mosquito candle torchy thingies. There's nothing like eating steak and potatoes out there, cooked masterfully by my husband.

10. Rita's. I'm not sure how far the Rita's empire spans, but you really need to get your self there. They have frozen custard, Italian ice and, when they are put together, wonderful things called gelatis. Fortunately, the closest Rita's is just down the street and we frequent it whenever possible.

11. Sweet corn on the cob. How did I move into a food theme here? But, seriously... corn on the cob... need I say more?

12. Long days. I can remember when I was a kid my sister and I used to throw the softball back and forth until we couldn't see it anymore. We'd head inside, always surprised to find how late it was. I haven't touched a softball in years, but I still enjoy waking up to sunlight and enjoying it well into the evening.

13. Flip flops. How do they engineer a piece of foam and some plastic to be so comfortable? I have a pair of pink ones that I bought at Wal-mart over two years ago and they are my comfort footwear of choice to walk around New York City (Matt is actually insisting that I retire said pair because they are getting, in his words "nasty." OK. They are a little bit. I bought a new bright green pair this year). Seriously, flip flops are a fantastic invention. My mom still calls them "thongs", which makes my sister and I laugh very hard, of course.

Hope your summer has been happy!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Start spreading the news...

I left our Chain Reaction adventure off somewhere in Massachusetts a few weeks ago. I figure I should add another installment and fill in the blanks.

We drove to NYC (under my superior navigational skills) from Mass on Saturday the 14th. We've been staying at Abounding Grace church on each trip to New York that we've made there for the last five or so years. Being there is honestly like being with family. We have a deep love and respect for Pastors Ricky and Arlene DelRio. Their son, Jeremy, is not only my husband's ministry partner, but one of his closest friends as well.

Abounding Grace has done an outreach called "Jesus Loves You New York" for many years. This year, instead of bringing a Chain Reaction to NYC, we decided to add the efforts of our team to the JLYNY outreaches. They consist of basically throwing a block party at a different park every day. It was a great deal of hard work, but we really enjoyed it. I was so proud of Matt and our interns and the way they put in many long hours and did a lot of challenging tasks.

Fortunately, doing outreach in NY every year always allows us a free day. In years past, we've done the Staten Island Ferry, Central Park, Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building. This particular free day was on what started out to be a very rainy Wednesday. Luckily, the rain went away and we hopped on the subway (which included our first experience with changing trains. We did well, though we almost accidentally ended up in Queens!) and went to the Museum of Natural History. Yes, this is the museum from the movie "Night at the Museum", though we found very few similarities in the appearance. We had a great time and saw about 2/3 of the huge museum before it closed.

We then met up with intern (and nephew!) Zak and his girlfriend, Whitney, who had flown in for a few days, and intern Jesse and his wife, Rachelle (also joining for a visit) for dinner in Times Square. We ate at a great Italian restaurant by the Ed Sullivan Theater where the Late Show with David Letterman is taped.

We jumped back in the next day with more outreach events. We continued through Saturday, which happened to be Micah's 8th birthday! I've always felt a little bad for Micah because his birthday always falls during Chain Reaction, but I realized to turn eight at a park in New York City with a moon bounce, cotton candy, a live band, etc. is not so bad!

A real highlight of Saturday's event was something that happened at the school by the park in which the party was held. Some of the young adults from the church teach at this elementary/middle school and have been able to build good relationships here. That coupled with the fact that Generation Xcel, the ministry's after school program, is located in the housing projects just across the street set the situation up for God to open some cool doors. There are several well-known artists and graffiti artists that are a part of Abounding Grace. They were able to paint some incredible murals on the columns in the school's playground. The messages weren't overtly Christian, but positive all the same.

We hung out for church Sunday and a few extra days to help with some of the post-outreach clean up that needed to be done. On Tuesday, Jeremy took us to the oldest pizza place in the country. It was a yummy way to end our New York adventure this year.

I am trying flickr.com to show you my New York pics. Jeremy uses it a lot on his blog and I thought I'd give it a shot. I like it because you can scroll through and look at individual pictures instead of having to wait through a slide show. Let me know if you like it.



Peace out -- for now anyway...

Shorts

I don't like to wear shorts. There's something about parading my 35-year-old alabaster legs around that is very unappealing to me. I would much prefer capris or even a skirt.

However, the last week or so has been so hot, that I feel I have had no recourse. I only have one pair of shorts that I really like -- a Old Navy jean pair that I got at Plato's Closet a few years ago. So I've been practically living in those for the last several days.

Truth be told, not having central air here at the house is not THAT bad. There are a few weeks out of the year that are pretty nasty, but I think we'll survive. Matt and I both grew up in houses that didn't have A/C and we made it. We have a window unit in the used-to-be-garage/ Matt's office/ our bedroom so we hole up there when we start to melt. As a matter of fact, I'm there right now :-)

So to everyone in Parkville, I apologize for that streak of glowing white you may see passing by. The weather will cool down soon and you life will return to normal.

Two years...

“You can shed tears because he is gone,

or you can smile because he has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that he'll come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all he's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see him,
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember him only that he is gone,
or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what he'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.”

My sweet, little friend, Emily Kopp, had that on her myspace with Cub's picture. I'm not sure where it came from; if it's a lyric to a song or a poem. I just know I liked it.

Yes, today marks two years since the car accident that ended our son, Caleb's, life at the age of ten. It's still a painful fuzz even after so much time and so many events. I have a lot on my heart today so, if you wish to ride along today, hang on.



Is Caleb still ten years old in heaven or has he celebrated the last two birthdays and turned twelve? Does he still like to skateboard, play soccer and draw pictures like he did here? Does he get to hang out with all of our relatives that have already passed on? Did God tell him how many freckles he has on his face? I tried to count them once. Did his teeth ever come in? Were they as crooked as they looked like they were going to be? I know. His earthly body is still here (we were explaining that again today to Jacob at the cemetery). It's just helps to speculate, I suppose.

To those of you that remembered that today was what it is, thank you. It blesses me so much when people remember. It keeps him "alive" in a weird sort of way? Sometimes, I worry that other people forget he was here altogether (though I know they don't) and when other people mention him, it makes me happy that he's still in their mind and heart.

Last night, I sat and listened to a song that I normally avoid. As I did, I pictured him in each stage of his life. It's SO hard to remember sometimes (with any of my children, really). My favorite part, which is the hardest to hear, is the end. I love the way it's worded.

"Weak and wounded sinner,
Lost and left to die,
O, raise your head for Love is passing by

Come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus and live

Now your burden's lifted,
And carried far away,
And precious blood has washed away the stain... so

Sing to Jesus ,
Sing to Jesus ,
Sing to Jesus and live

And like a newborn baby,
Don't be afraid to crawl,
And remember when you walk sometimes we fall... so

Fall on Jesus,
Fall on Jesus,
Fall on Jesus and live

Sometimes the way is lonely,
And steep and filled with pain,
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain... then

Cry to Jesus,
Cry to Jesus,
Cry to Jesus and live

O, and when the love splills over,
And music fills the night,
And when you can't contain you joy inside... then

Dance for Jesus,
Dance for Jesus,
Dance for Jesus and live

And with your final heartbeat,
Kiss the world goodbye,
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side... and

Fly to Jesus,
Fly to Jesus,
Fly to Jesus and live"

When Caleb passed away, someone gave us a copy of L.B. Cowman's daily devotional, "Streams in the Desert". Matt and I have read it together on several occasions. It's almost scary how this book coincides with our lives. Date for date, the words are always timely.

We keep it in the car which might seem strange, but for us it works. The boys and I were waiting in the car to leave for church this morning and I happened to pick it up, realizing that I had never looked at the August 5th reading. I turned to the page. The following is what I found there:

God was "pleased" (I Cor. 1:21) to take my youngest child from this world, under circumstances that caused me severe trials and pain (note - I don't remember reading before that she had lost a child). And as I returned home from the church cemetery, having just laid my little one's body in the grave, I felt a compulsion to preach to my people on the meaning of trials.

I found that the verse "My grace is sufficient for you" was the text of next week's Sunday School lesson, so I chose it as my Master's message to the congregation, as well as His message to me. Yet while trying to write the sermon, I found that in all honesty, I could not say that the words were true in my life. Therefore, I knelt down and asked the Lord to make His grace sufficient for me. While I was pleading in this way, I opened my eyes and saw this exact verse framed and hanging on the wall. My mother had given it to me a few days before, when I was still at the vacation resort where our little child had been taken from us. I had asked someone to hang it on the wall at home during my absence but had not yet noticed its words. Now as I looked up and wiped my eyes, the words met my gaze: "My grace is sufficient for you."

The word is was highlighted in bright green, while the words my and you were painted yet another color. In a moment, a message flashed straight to my soul, coming as a rebuke for having prayed such a prayer as, "Lord, make Your grace sufficient for me." His answer was almost an audible voice that said, "How dare you ask for something that is? I can not make my grace any more sufficient than I have already made it. Get up and believe it, and you will find it to be true in your life."

Life is hard. The bible says it will be. But we serve a God who has sufficient grace. Do I always feel so much at peace with this fact? No. I still have nights that I scream out in my head to God about my loss. Whether I chose to live in His grace or not, it's still there be offered.

I love and miss my son and can't wait until I get to hold him again. Until then, I want to seek God out for my purpose on this grain of sand and will really try to live in that state of offered grace.

Blessings and love.

My first Thursday Thirteen!

Well, as promised (it is August, you know), it's time for me to finally start doing the Thursday Thirteen as inspired by my friend, Ami.



Thirteen Things about Katy 1. I am not an animal lover in particular. I always felt like I SHOULD be because my sister is, but I tend to only love an animal if it's mine. 2. I am a "people person". Though I like time alone now and then, I really prefer to be around others and tend to function better that way. 3. I would really like to be on a game show before I die. 4. I am VERY good at French braiding hair, though I have no girls. Weird. I know. A friend's mom taught me at the campground we frequented when I was in middle school and it worked for me. I make them nice and tight and they stay in for awhile. 5. I stink at most sports. The only one I'm even remotely good at is foosball (table soccer) which may not even be a real sport. 6. I have no wisdom teeth. I was born without them, as was my sister. Jealous? 7. I am so freaked out by bats that I can't even walk by their display at the zoo. I've gotten a little better, but I'm still not a fan. 8. This may be over-sharing, but I have a tendency to pee my pants as a result of laughing too hard. It's happened on several occasions. I don't want to miss out on what's going on enough to go use the bathroom. That's just sad. 9. I am a board game freak! I've had to put myself on restriction from buying any more. I wish I had more time and people around more often who liked to play. Cranium anyone? 10. Creating things is very life-giving for me. I love a lot of crafts especially crochet, sewing and scrap booking. 11. I am not fond of my middle name (sorry Mom). It's Kay and kind of boring. Plus, it only sounds right if you use my full name, Kathryn, which no one does. I have kind of an obsession with names, especially long interesting ones. Truthfully, I've always wanted to change it to Elizabeth. 12. I've realized that I'm a bit of a picky eater, though I used to not consider myself that. There are a lot of foods that normal people eat that I simply don't care for. Some include iced tea, watermelon, pickles, mustard, green peppers and cottage cheese. 13. I like to sing and play the piano. You might have already known this! If you're a blogging friend, please join me with your own Thursday Thirteens!! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants



Yesterday...

Fifteen years ago yesterday, I married the man who continues to be my best friend. He's smart, funny, resilient, sweet, thoughtful and cute!

I never realized that day how much we would be required to go through together as a couple, but God is true to His word; He would never give us more than we could handle without His help. Together, Matt and I have driven seven different cars, moved about six times, been through four labors and deliveries, bought two houses, had three pets (not counting numerous carnival goldfish) and kissed probably a million times (yea!).

We've been though highs like getting something for which we've prayed, moving to an area we love, releasing a CD and celebrating birthdays and other special days. We've been through lows ranging from disappointments and financial distress to burying our son.

When we started dating, we decided to take life one day at a time and, though we (especially I) get tempted to rush ahead in our minds sometimes, this thought still seems to work.

We're excited and thankful about the first 15 years together and look forward to what's ahead...

The whole tooth and nothing but the tooth...

I don't know if he's afraid they won't come back or something, but Micah HATES to lose teeth. He seriously will fight it to the bitter end. The last two came out in June -- one coming in contact with a sandwich (yeah, that's how loose it was) and the other with a little help from Daddy.

Well, the last front tooth was hanging on by a thread, and despite how gross that is, I mean it literally. We were hanging out in Harborplace mall, trying to keep dry on the Fourth of July and Jess told me she and Micah had a "secret". He showed her that his tooth was just barely in. I, of course, pretended like I knew nothing (which for me is unfortunately easy sometimes!) and we went on our way.

So just before the fireworks didn't happen (see previous post), Micah's tooth made it's timely exit.



There's something just so darn cute about both front teeth being gone. Caleb had his out for his first grade picture and it was too cute.

Oh, and I did NOT forget to be the tooth fairy this time. Ha.

More to come about Micah. He turns eight in nine days in New York. How cool is that?

Somebody PLEASE stop this train…

…so I can at least take a nap or something! OH MY GOODNESS, the past six weeks have been CRAZY busy. (Do you like my incessant use of caps?). I am so sorry I haven’t blogged. Thank you, oh faithful ones, who have continued to check up on here, though all you’ve been finding is the same blog about rain. Boring, I know.

I figured I’ll recap at least, so you won’t think I’m just slacking and making all this “busy” hosh posh up. Buckle up and please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times.

I’ll go backward which, for my little mind, is much easier!

As I type this, I’m sitting in the music room of Community Christian Fellowship (CCF) in Lowell, Massachusetts which is our home for the next week. We’re beginning week three of our summer missions tour. We’ve done a Chain Reaction (CR) week at CCF Lowell for the last two years, though this is fifth year of doing a CR week in this area – we did two years in Haverhill, MA previously. This time, CCF has taken it upon themselves to do the event and we were invited to come and be a part of it. They’re calling it Caleb’s Dream, which is also an honor. Matt was the first speaker last night and was able to share about Caleb’s life. It’s all another step in the healing process. We’re looking forward to being a part of this week.

We kicked off in Baltimore this year which is actually quite monumental. We’ve attempted to do a week in Baltimore for the last two years and have run against obstacles that have stopped the event both years. We had a great group from Howard County. There were about 20 of them and they already came with a servant attitude. They embraced the CR concept quickly and whole-heartedly and were a joy with which to work. We were also thrilled to be joined by Lee and Debra, Jeremy DelRio and Ramon – all good friends and fellow ministers. Our fun day was Wednesday which happened to be the 4th of July. We went downtown in the afternoon and attempted to see the fireworks. However, God thought it would be really funny to see us all soaking wet before the night was over. About 15 minutes before the fireworks were scheduled to start and after managing to stay dry through intermittent sprinkles throughout the day, the day completely opened up on us and we got SOAKED! I mean, we’re talking all the way down to the underwear soaked. We still managed to have fun, though. My BFF Jess and her roomie Ali came with us and they are the very definition of fun.

CR Baltimore actually ended being more tiring than I thought it would be. Micah, Jacob and I stayed at the house so it was early out the door, come home late every day and we even had a family from Ohio that came staying with us two of those nights. I did crowdbreakers/scripture songs each morning and worship with our intern/staff dude, Jesse, each evening. By then end of the week, I had NO voice left. It’s all good, but was exhausting all the same! (Click on Jeremy's link in the right column. He has lots of pics on his blog... and his blog is cool to boot. You really should be reading it anyway)

We have three interns this year; Josh, Jesse who is a young man that we’ve known for awhile and our nephew, Zak. They stayed at our house all last week training and preparing for the next month of ministry. OK. Come a little closer. I have to tell you a secret… the most awesome thing about the past week was that I didn’t have to grocery shop OR cook! Matt decided that part of their process included meal planning, preparation, etc. so Katy did NOT have to cook at all this week! Yea! Happy me.

OK. Before that, I flew to Ohio for a weekend. My mom and sister have been involved in an a capella (that means no instrumental accompaniment for my non-musical friends out there) women’s barbershop singing organization called Sweet Adelines for years – seriously, my mom has been singing with them like all my life. Anyway, Sweet Adelines has competitions for quartets (that’s four women for you math whizzes) and my mom and sister have competed in various quartets over the years. Well, we’ve always wanted to sing in a quartet together and have decided, with many factors under consideration, that with the addition of my mom’s friend, Pat, now is the time for us to do a quartet. Now the challenge comes with the fact that we have one in Baltimore, one in Nashville and two in Ohio. So we’re practicing hard on our own and getting together quarterly (roughly). I’ll keep you informed…

Before that, it was the last week of school. The boys were very glad to be done. They all did well this year. Actually, just a few days ago, we got Josh’s final report card. He did very well, especially for his first year back in public school after three years of being homeschooled and one year or Christian school. He got all A’s and B’s as his final grades. We are very proud!



This takes us back to the weekend of June 15-17. I like to refer to this weekend as my “Kamikazee” weekend! Thursday, my parents came in for a visit. My mom and I both had had birthdays leading up to that and wanted to celebrate, along with an overdue party for Jacob’s birthday on Saturday. What my mom didn’t know was that my sister was flying in Friday night to surprise her (and we pulled it off, too which is HUGE because my mom is suspicious and hard to surprise!). Saturday, we had Jacob’s party and then took Mom and Dad out to a nice dinner for her birthday and Father’s Day, respectively. The next day (Sunday), we went to church and then, since I didn’t have anything ELSE going on that weekend, I had a recital for 13 of my 29 students! It actually went very well and my sister was able to stick around and be featured as a guest artist. We even sang a duet together. How fun.



My birthday weekend was before that. We had our friend, Lee, who Matt was in DOC with many years ago, and his wife, Debra, and their two boys here. They did a concert Friday evening at Moravia Assembly of God (incidentally, where we had the Baltimore CR) and ministered at New Covenant Tabernacle on Sunday morning. In between, we did Ft. McHenry and Annapolis. The day of my birthday (Friday the 8th), my friend Lynn picked Debra and Jess and I up early and we went out to breakfast and then on to see Joyce Meyer. It was really wonderful and the perfect way to spend my 35th birthday (I know, I’m old).

Whew.

Well, I think that catches me up. If you read all of this, I’ll buy you a coffee or something sometime! I hope my blogging can get regular once we’re done with the next three weeks; this one in Lowell, next week in New York City and then back to Massachusetts to Haverhill for one more week. We are looking forward to company in August, along with returning to teaching piano part-time, football for Josh and of course, one more month before we return to the routine of school and full-time work.

I’ll get back to my Happiness is… Fridays and actually want to do the Thursday Thirteen as inspired my my dear friend, Ami.

Hope you’re all having a great summer so far. God is good.

(Thanks for reading. It means a lot to me ☺ )

Rain

I am SO glad it rained yesterday. We got a little smooch from tropical storm Barry. Everything was looking so dead and feeling so brittle, but now the grass, trees and flowers look refreshed and alive again. Not quite as green as they should yet, but more alive all the same. It's so nice. Plus, it's like ten degrees cooler than it was and the humidity is much more bearable.

I like weather. God is smart.

(PS - only 4 more days until my birthday!)

Happiness is...

...having a sister!

I never told you what happened to the van.

When we came home from spring break in Ohio about a month ago, we stopped at Westfield Dodge in Westfield, New York to trade in our van for one with a little less mileage and some other extra niceties. We LOVE our new van! It has the Stow and Go seats, automatic opening doors, power locks that work(!), ponies, confetti... OK. Maybe not the last two, but it's cool all the same. Micah named the van Sally.



About two weeks ago, Matt was driving home from a prayer meeting on route 70. The car beside him lost control of her vehicle and started to fishtail. She ended up with her front end in our passenger side. Fortunately, Matt was alone in the car and no one was hurt (he was a little shaken and stiff the next day, but is fine). The other driver totally admited fault and felt bad for what had happened.



On another fortunate note, the other driver also has great insurance coverage. Our van is in the shop until the beginning of June and we are driving a Chrysler Town and Country that is even a little nicer than our new van.

So, though this made a few days particularly stressful, I am also very thankful for God's grace and all of the "best case scenarios" here. Even though we only got to drive our new car for about three weeks, I still have a husband who is in one piece, I am driving a car even nicer than the one we bought and all is generally well with the world.

So be blessed little campers.

And be careful out there.

Happiness is...

...my husband catching the biggest fish he has ever caught on Tuesday! He got to go out in the bay on a fishing boat compliments of his friend, Richard.

Needless to say he was a happy camper... er fisherman.

And I might add that we had a delicious fish dinner that night!

Way to go, babe!

Six years ago today...

...this little monkey came into the world.

Now, mind you, if he had come on time, his birthday would have been over two weeks ago! But, alas, today my baby, my final-born turned six. (See how much he's grown since last year.)



Jacob pretty much thinks that the world should stop and do whatever he commands on his birthday. He didn't have school yesterday. Because of conferences? No. According to him, because of his birthday. We actually had to have a little talk last night to clarify that having a birthday does not justify acting however we want. Believe it or not, I've spanked on birthdays before (gasp!).



Now here's the slightly amusing part. We were a little rushed tonight because Matt and I were going to the Youth for Christ banquet (more about that later) but we didn't want Jay's special day to go by without doing anything to celebrate. We are going to have an official party in a few weeks, but really wanted to commemorate today... well, today. So after the boys got home from school, Matt went to Baskin Robbins to get an ice cream cake. Meanwhile, I fed the boys their dinner and got ready for the cake. Now, even though I've used them since we moved, I couldn't find my candles anywhere. Blast! The only thing I could find were the special number candles: 0, 1 and 5 (which can conveniently be made into any combination of 1, 10, 5, 15, etc.) I was starting to panic a little. I had to have something for this kid to blow out! I discussed my predicament with Josh and he suggested, "Why don't we just use the 5 and 1 because 5 plus 1 is 6?" Time was running out so that was exactly what we did.

So even though it looks like my son turned 51 today, he really is only 6! Oh what a wacky, weird life we lead!

Happy birthday, Jay Jay!

A favor...

Hey friends.

Just a quick favor.

I was wondering if you happen to read this before Sunday morning, if you could pray for me. I've been asked to sing and share at our friends Pastor Tom and Rosalind Swind's church tomorrow morning. I don't mind the singing part, but speaking always makes me nervous -- plus Mother's Day can be a bit of a difficult holiday for me. I am actually going to share about Caleb tomorrow and tell my story of God's goodness and faithfulness in the midst of sorrow. Please pray that God speaks to the hearts of the people beyond my words.

Thanks... and a very beautiful Mother's Day to my mother (of course;-) and all my mommy friends out there!

Happiness is...

...ordering pizza online. Not having to mess with human contact on this one is kinda nice :-)

Now, THIS is stuff you need to know...

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Katy!

1. Katy was banned from Finland because of not wearing pants.
2. If you toss Katy 10000 times, she will not land heads 5000 times, but more like 4950, because her head weighs more and thus ends up on the bottom!
3. About 100 people choke to death on Katy each year!
4. There is no lead in a lead pencil - it is simply a stick of graphite mixed with Katy and water.
5. Katy is the male seed of a flower blossom which has been gathered and treated by bees!
6. While performing her duties as queen, Cleopatra sometimes dressed up as Katy.
7. Katy can grow up to three feet in a 24 hour period.
8. There are six towns named Katy in the United States!
9. The first toy product ever advertised on television was Mr Katy Head!
10. Owls cannot move their eyes, because their eyeballs are shaped like Katy.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

You can't handle the tooth

As somewhat "typical" Christian parents, my husband and I decided early on that we wouldn't put a lot of emphasis on the imaginary holiday characters like Santa and the Easter Bunny. We're not super dogmatic about it, but we don't usually initiate or make a big deal out of them. If one of the boys brings up Santa Clause in conjunction with Christmas we don't jump down his throat, but we do tell them that St. Nicholas was a historical figure and that their gifts come from family and friends. Wow. We're fun, huh.

For me, however, there is one exception.

I love the tooth fairy. And, yes, I lie to my children and tell them the tooth fairy takes their teeth and leaves currency in exchange. I really get into, too. When they ask questions about this and that with the tooth fairy I make up all kinds of stories and well-known facts pertaining to our winged friend. It seems that I've gotten more into it with my younger two than our older two. When Joshua or Caleb would lose a tooth, I'd put money under their pillow, but let tham know that it was good ol' Mom and Dad and not some fictional nymph.

I don't know. Maybe I'm loosening up in my old age. I think when I was a newer parent I was more concerned about the "correct" way to parent and now I see the value or having fun with this stuff.

So Micah lost tooth #3 last night (with a little help from his father and some dental floss). Immediately, we discussed the techniques of exactly where to leave the tooth, how the tooth fairy will find it, and what her plans are for said tooth.

So I tucked my little darlings in with the mental reminder to give Micah some time to fall asleep and then do the switcheroo.

There was only one problem.

I totally forgot.

See, 24 was really good last night and I was folding mounds of laundry at the same time and... I just forgot. So at 6:30 this morning, a very panicked 7-year-old is standing by by bed whining, "I can't find my tooth!" I rolled over toward Matt and mouthed "Oh crap. I forgot," and then in the same breath, "Let me go look for it, bud. Sometimes she makes the money hard to find." I headed upstairs, first to my wallet and got a dollar out and went into the top bunk. He was right. I couldn't find the tooth either (I did find it later when I was making his bed). So I headed back down with the dollar and all was well with the world.

My husband told him, "You're lucky. When I was a little kid, I only had a quarter under my pillow."

Micah said, "When you put a little kid under your pillow, you get a quarter?"




So though I may not be the best tooth fairy in the world, I've decided to make the most of it with the teeth we have left. Micah has several more to go and Jacob hasn't lost any yet. I'm imagining the tooth fairy may leave them not just dollars but notes and glitter and whatever else I can come up with.

And next time, I will try really hard not to forget.

Dirt

Ask me what I did today...





Well, thanks for asking.

We had dirt delivered today. Our front yard is a little patchy and uneven, so my husband went this week and ordered some dirt to fill in the front and grow some grass.

My husband is in Texas doing a Chain Reaction weekend at our friend Pastor Kevin's church. So I was given instructions to tell the dirt dude to back his truck up into the yard and dump the dirt there.

Well, the dirt dude shows up this morning (wearing khaki pants and a white shirt, which I thought was a strange outfit in which to deliver dirt) and says he can't get his truck in our yard that way and he's going to have to dump it somewhere else. I can tell this is NOT going to be good, but agree to let him dump it in the driveway, and I know my husband is not going to be happy because dirt indeed goes in a yard, not a driveway.

So, yeah. He's not happy. And I'm looking at the dirt thinking, "How hard can it be to move some dirt?"

Well, three hours later I have my answer.

Dirt is heavy, by the way.

Two shovels, a hoe, a wheel barrow, my 13-year-old son and my friend, Rachel, and I got all of that dirt into the yard and, though I know my arms and back will probably be aching tomorrow, I'm pretty proud of us. It was a lot of dirt and a lot of work but it's done and my husband was pleasantly surprised when I told him.

So that's what I did today. I moved a big pile of dirt. I could probably create some wonderful analogy of how that pile of dirt is like our lives and how we can overcome just one shovelful at a time....

... but I'm too tired!

Happiness is...

All of the beautiful, colorful things growing in my yard right now!!

Hey! I'm blogging again...

Wow.

I kind of missed the whole month of April, huh.

For those of you who have still been checking in and seeing the SAME DARN POSTS -- sorry.

I recently contacted a friend on myspace to ask him how he was doing and his respose was as follows:

Life is pretty good right now. I feel this tendency to say life is busy, but that's not it. Life is full. Which is a good thing. It's not overly exciting, but it's purposeful.

I decided that I really like that response. It sums up very well how I feel about our life lately. Things have been so busy that I feel like someone hit me on the head on New Years Day and I just now woke up and discovered that it's May! When did time get to galloping along so fast?

In the past month, we've celebrated Easter, dyed hard-boiled eggs and discovered our yard is perfect for an easter egg hunt, enjoyed a trip to Ohio to see family and friends over spring break, mourned the senseless death of 32 innocent people in the Virginia Tech shootings, lead worship twice at Emmanuel Christian Fellowship in York, PA, took on three new students, did four scrapbook pages, made another trip to Ohio (this time just me :-) for a Women of Faith conference and to see family and friends, met some great new friends, got the boys' 3rd quarter report cards and celebrated my husband's 38th birthday (he's old! hee hee).

No excuse not to blog, mind you, but busy all the same.

So I've got pictures and stories to share, but not tonight. I will leave you with a thought, though (and will get back to my Happiness is... Fridays tomorrow).

I flew out of BWI airport a week ago today. It was an overcast day. The half-filled plane took off in a fairly smooth manner and I began to settle into my window seat and enjoy the flight. I was tired, having gotten only about four and a half hours of sleep the night before in my preparation for leaving my boys for four days.

I must tell you that I'm the type of person whose mood is affected by the weather. On sunny days, I tend to be more productive and just in a beter mood overall. When it is rainy or overcast, I would be better off just going back to bed!

It wasn't raining, but the sky was gray. As the plane rose higher, I watched the houses, roads and cars get smaller. Soon, we were in the middle of a cloud, surrounded by it's white/gray fuzz. I got bored and considered closing my eyes and trying to get some sleep (not that I ever sleep well in airplanes).

Then, all of the sudden, it was sunny. As much as I hate to admit my stupidity, my first thought was, "I thought today was supposed to be overcast," but then I realized the sun was shining because we were over the clouds now. The day, or every day for that matter, was already sunny -- just covered by clouds.

My thought quickly turned to my life and some things I've walked through in the past few years. On my "cloudiest" days -- layers of grieving for my son, staying silent when lies were being told about me and my husband, even the intense pain of a kidney stone -- the sun was always shining. It just didn't feel sunny.

The thought literally brought tears to my eyes. I was brought to a realization that God is always there. I know that sounds really simple, but I think I forget that sometimes. It's so easy to focus on the fact that the sun isn't shining and forget that God is just on the other side of the clouds.

I hope you wake up and see the sun tomorrow -- whether it's behind the clouds or not!

(and thanks for sticking in there during my absence!)

Happiness is...

...going to the Mayland Fire Museum with you son's second grade class.

(Pictures coming tomorrow. It's been a very busy week and I'm too tired tonight!)

Happiness is...

Wearing stickers on your arm and a paper clip necklace around your neck!

Space... the final frontier

I am coming to certain realizations in my life. Matt and I together are also coming to realizations as a couple and a family. One of those realizations is that we want to spend time on things that are life-giving. Now, we understand stewardship and responsibility are huge factors in that -- that is to say, we can't just spend all of our time doing things we enjoy if we don't first have our family physically, financially, emotionally and spiritually cared for. With that being understood, the rest of the time we have needs to be spent doing things that bring life to us as a family.

I'll take it a step more toward the personal.

I am a creator (not THE creator. That's God. Duh). I find creating things to be very life giving; mainly music and crafts. Music is obvious. That's what I do and love. The craft thing is a bit of an addiction -- I've had to limit myself to three; crochet, sewing and my new one, scrapboooking. I've tried to figure out what's up with this particular obsession. I stockpile fabric, yarn, paper, buttons, baby food jars... you name it. I suppose it all comes back to the creating thing. It's life-giving to me.

So here's the problem...

As you probably know, we've been in this house for less than a year. Fortunately, my husband is very good to me (don't be jealous, ladies :-) and has allowed me ONE WHOLE ROOM to be my very own and devoted to crafts (and other stuff having to do with stuff I need to do, too, but mainly to crafts!). Again, that problem I mentioned? The room is not "done" yet. It actually became an overflow room for "crap" (pardon my language. I mean it figuratively, not literally) as we've gotten settled into the house.

The grand realization -- there is a bit of frustration in my day to day mind because I don't have the SPACE to be creative like I want to be (not for lack of house, but excess of unorganization). And I suppose the main reason I'm blogging all of this is so that I will be kind of accountable to get this room done. The ball lies in my court really. And I'm not that far from having it done. I just have to sort through a little more of the aforementioned crap (I've done a lot of it already), buy curtain fabric, match and buy a paint color, prime and paint the room and arrange everything in a conducive way to do what needs to be done. Simple, huh.

So should I set a date? Jeesh, that's scary. I guess I will and you can all hunt me down and tickle me if I don't get it done.

OK. (ahem) The date by which I want to have my craft room/office done is... Sunday, April 22.

I just wrote it on my calendar... in pen.

Oooo. That's scary. Roughly a month away with a Spring Break mixed in. It's right before I fly to Ohio for Women of Faith, though, so maybe I could consider that my reward :-) I like rewards.

Thanks for reading. Just trying to figure myself out here. I'll keep you updated on my progress!

Happiness is...

...scrapbooking with my friend, Lynn, while listening to '80s music.

Life seriously does not get much better.

American Idol

I like American Idol. I managed to get sucked in about every year.

This year, my money is on Melinda Doolittle. Period.

I liked LaKisha at first, but after Ms. Doolittle delivered her interpretation of "My Funny Valentine" a few weeks ago, I changed camps. I still like LaKisha and a couple of others, but I'll say it again, Melinda gets my vote.

I think there are a few in the top 12 that really shouldn't be there. There are a couple of contestants that try to cover up lack of vocal quality with runs and fancy schmancy singing. No thanks. I guess we'll just wait as there are picked off one by one.

Rumore has it that they're raising the age limit to 35 next year. I've always wanted to go for it, but have been too old. Not now.

Hmmmm....

Congratulations!

First of all, sending out a big happy birthday to my daddy today! Yea!

Second of all, my friend, Kate, had her baby today. His name is Jonas Caleb and he weighed TEN pounds and was 23 inches long! Whoo hoo. From all reports I hear, Kate and Jonas are both doing well.

Happy birthday, little man. Welcome to the world!

Ahhhh!

I am sitting here, listening to my five-year-old crying in his bed because I threw away his old toothbrush (which was a little gross, by the way). Mind you, he has a perfectly good, much cooler (in my opinion) toothbrush.

And yet he cries.

Sometimes, you just can't win.

Happiness is...

Old mailbox...

New mailbox...

100th Post!

Well, friends, this is officially my 100th post. How cool am I? I thought I would compose some somgs to commemorate the occasion (of course, I've stolen the melodies so you, the at-home viewer, can sing along):

100 Posts
(sung to the tune of "O Christmas Tree")

100 posts, 100 posts,
I've written just 100 posts,
(repeat)
100 times to laugh and cry,
I'll tell the truth and never lie.

100 posts, 100 posts,
I'll now shoot for 200 posts!



The Star Spangled Posts (work with me here!)
(if you don't know what this is sung to, then you have issues)

Oh say, can you read, by the computers light,
All my posts on my blog that come out of my head,
I like to write about life,
And my kids and my house,
And on every Friday, I can post something happy.
And the posts shall go on, through the days and the years,
And I hope, in the midst, you won't shed many tears,
Oh say does that blog of Katy's still say,
That she's happy to be here, posting blogs everyday!
(Ta da!)

Katy's Blog
(Sung to the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas")

Oh the blog of my friend Katy, is always fun to read,
She writes about some silly stuff, yes, silly stuff indeed.
There are links to other blogs there that are also fun to read,
Like Becca, Ami, Jen, Melissa - lots of stuff you need.

And one more...

Post Now!
(Sung to the chorus of "Oh Susanna")

Come on, Katy,
And post a blog for me,
'Cause if you don't I will be so sad,
And won't ask you out to tea.

OK. That's all I've got. Thanks for reading... 100 times!

I heart eggs

I made myself a scrambled egg yesterday. When I opened the egg carton, I saw...Now, I'm not sure why, but that made me smile.

I hope your eggs think you're beautiful, too.
(I know I do)

Happiness is...

The Office... it's SO very funny!

Too much sickness!

Hey everybody. I hope the sicknesses of winter have not been having their way with your family like they have with mine! There have been two brands of sickness with the Stevens: one is a not-quite-24-hour stomach that involves a decent amount of vomit, the other is a stuffy head, cold thingy. The latter sent Jacob to the doctor's office today with a diagnosis of a nasty ear infection coupled with bronchitis (which she said would have been pneumonia in another day).

So I've said all that to say that I hope your family is faring better than ours. Fortunately, we're on the tail-end of everything.

Stay healthy and warm!