It is NOT lemon.

You know how some family stories and sayings keep popping back up and make you laugh years after they have happened?! Or when the story can be tweeked to fit a current situation and then we all laugh again. That happened to Kaitlin and me this week.

A few years ago... ok, it was last year, just kidding, it was a few years ago. Kaitlin and I went to Walmart by ourselves. It was a Boy Scout weekend and all our boys had gone camping. As we walked into Walmart, the huge bubble gum machine caught my eye. I wanted some gum. I got out my quarter and got a HUGE piece of yellow gum. Yellow being the key word here. I couldn't get the whole thing in my mouth so I bit off a nice large chunk. It was just what I wanted, sugary sweet- NOT LEMON. As I was enjoying my gum experience, Kaitlin asked if it was lemon. " Nope, I said, just wonderful gum flavor." I offered her some and she declined.

5 seconds if that long later, "Is it lemon?"

" No, it is not"

5 more seconds have passed, "Is it lemon?"

"No, it is not"

3 seconds later" Is it lemon?"

By now I realized that I might be hearing this same question 10,000 times so I took evasive action. I said, "Yes, it does."

Without missing a beat, Kaitlin responded with "I knew it!"

We both laughed and laughed.

From then on, Kaitlin has tried this tactic. Now, when she asks me something, that she knows the answer to, I just respond with "lemon gum" and she mostly stops.

This week Kaitlin had to give a 10 minute talk in her Egyptian History class. She was not the only one to give a talk, there were 9 other 10 minute talks before hers. She knew she wanted her audience to be alert for her talk...what to do...bribe them.

She went to a local bakery and got the most wonderful iced sugar cookies. She handed them out in class. They loved them and her and her talk!

She had one left.

She brought it home and gave it to me.

As I bit into the wonderfulness of the cookie, she said ,with a sneaky smile and twinkling eyes, "Is it lemon?"

It was not.

The DRESSES have arrived!

This box arrived last week!!!!
We had special help with the box.
This was inside the box! You all will have to wait until December 18th to see the rest of Marisa's wedding dress. She put it on and pranced all around the house. She loves it just as much as she did when we bought it. It is stunning.
We also got all the bridesmaid dresses and the flower girl dresses.
Here is some of the detail on a few of the dresses. All the dresses are the same color but different styles to suit the girls.All in all it was a fun week at our house.

Birthday Month

You already saw this picture, but I wanted to put in on again. I just love it. It began my birthday month celebration.
I got these two fun books from my brother, John and sister in law, Elaine. This is eye candy for me.
On my birthday day, there were lots of secrets. Marisa kept telling me to not ask any questions. I like to be 'in the know'. Kaitlin came home from class early and I was instructed to get in the car. She drove. We went to Luby's for lunch! I love Luby's but, alas, no family members do. Marisa doesn't mind eating there but has many other places she would prefer. They took me to Luby's! I had Tilapia and fried okra and mashed potatoes. yum!
Kaitlin had the kitchen crew meet us there. Here are Suzanne and KimT.
Sandy and me.
KimT and Barb
The wonderful peanut butter cookies Sandy made. I look drunk in the picture. I think I am foaming at the mouth thinking about eating these cookies.
Cards and a book from Suzanne.
My friend, Jennifer, joined us too!
In the afternoon, Kaitlin and Marisa appeared again with this box.
Oh, my. These were so good. They brought one for all the kitchen crew. One is already missing.
It is carrot and raisin and it was fantastic.
Barb gave me this hanging basket. It is still beautiful.
I was blest with earrings, stationery, no-bake cookies, books. How much fun have I had?? LOTS!! and I still have another week. I love April.

I am pointing for you

“In small and large ways, when we create beauty–in our environment, relationships, music, cooking, poetry, and celebrations–we push back the effects of the Fall and express our hope for the new heaven and new earth that God promises. When we give artful attention to detail, we point people to a truer and better reality. When we offer beauty, we touch something in the human soul."

The author is Andi Ashworth, from her book "Real Love for Real Life: The Art and Work of Caring"

This was Andrew's status on facebook and it reminded me of my mother.
Once when I was at my mama's house, not too long before she died, I needed some ibuprofen. When I went to the cabinet where she kept her medicine, I was welcomed by a beautiful vase. I pulled out the vase and asked her why she would keep something so beautiful, put away. Mama told me that every morning, she had to take several medicines. In order to made that easier, she put that beautiful vase up in her medicine cabinet so she would be greeted by beauty every morning.
I always try to keep beauty around my house.
Calendars

a darling angel

a beautiful vase
Even the wash cloths under the sink. I like bright colors.Where is the beauty in your home?

What a great day looks like!

You know that feeling when all things align themselves just right. When what you plan, really does happen, just like you planned it. We had that this weekend.

Marisa needed a car. She voiced that she liked Elements. Carl was looking for low miles/ great price. He found that in an Element. Marisa didn't really think he was looking at Elements.

Marisa had to take a 3 hour test on Saturday, in order to continue with her education courses. She wasn't too aware of what we were doing. She was in the 'test zone'. While John took her to take her test, Carl and Robert got the Element.
When they got home with the Element, we hatched our plan. Meet John and Marisa out, so there would be lots of cars in a parking lot. Park the Element next to my van. We told them to meet us, after the test, at a new second hand store. We got there early so they wouldn't see us get out of it.
We told the boys to put all out purchases in my van. Robert's job was to notice that the temporary tag, on the Element, said 'May 17', which is Marisa's birthday. My job was to ask Kaitlin to get her camera and take a picture of Marisa next to the Element, which had her birthday on it. Marisa wasn't too sure about that. John didn't know what was about to happen.
Carl them held out the keys and said "Do you want to drive it home?" Notice the hands in her pockets.
She was stunned. She wouldn't take the keys for the longest time.

As soon as she took the keys she hugged me, pretty much, still speechless.
She is stunned still.
This is about 20 minutes later. She couldn't stop smiling.Before she drove away, she needed to name her car. (all our cars have names- the explorer is Marco, Kaitlin's car is Moto, Andrew's car is AU tricky tricky, they didn't like what I wanted to name my van, so it is just Mom's van, Marisa did drive the Foxvan) Carl suggested Titanium since that is the 22 element. (Marisa will be 22 on her birthday). Marisa like Optimist from the movie Transformers. So we now have Optimist Titanium in the drive way

It made me think of the verse in James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

All in all a very fun day!

Remember what I told you about TOMS

Interesting poem

Science begins in brain;
Philosophy begins in mind;
Poetry begins in ear and mouth;
Religion begins in breath.

For science to say anything about life, it must experiment;
for philosophy to say anything about life, it must exhaust words;
for poetry to say anything about life, it must listen;
for religion to say anything about life, it must fall on its face.

Where science ends, philosophy begins;
where philosophy ends, poetry begins;
where poetry ends, death begins;
where death ends, religion begins.


By Allan Roy Andrews

I found this and I am still pondering it.

A different kind of poem

Could you do this? I plan to try. I'll share my efforts.

Get your Library Cards Ready!

I have never written down a list of the books I have read.

My sister in law, Elaine, gave me a book for Christmas, that I have faithfully been writing the titles of the books I have been reading in.

Here goes:

Leaving Yesterday by Kathryn Cushman. Very good. It was a quick read and thought provoking. It made me wonder just how far would I go to protect my children. I read it while the power was out in our house in February. It kept my mind off how cold, hungry and mad I was that the power was out- well, it mostly took my mind off those things.

Miss Buncle's Book by D E Stevenson. I found D. E. Stevenson from a blog on my blogroll and what a feast I am having on her books. This book is very sweet and funny and you will love it and will be so glad there is a sequel. Miss Buncle is very observant and writes a book about her neighbors. The hilariousness that follows will keep you laughing.

At the Scent of Water by Linda Nichols. This book grabbed me from the first page. It is a book about forgiveness and family's and life. This book made me cry but there was enough hope so that it was not a downer.

My friend, Monica, got me on a Grace Livingston Hill kick. I found a list of her books that all have a Christmas scene in them! The Substitute Guest is a delightful book. One of my favorite lines is ...and wrapping paper and ribbon made a bright confusion everywhere. Can't you just picture that? The Prodigal Girl is by the same author and has the same review. Quick, pleasant read.

Miss Buncle Married by D. E. Stevenson. Just wonderful. Not quite as good as the first but you will enjoy it.

The Church Ladies by Lisa Samson. Very good. I have read one other book of hers and now I plan to read them all. In this book, forgiveness plays a key role.

New Mercies by Sandra Dallas. I also plan to read all her books. There were twists and turns in here that I didn't see coming. Very good. I tried to read Tallgrass by her but I couldn't get into it. I may try it again later.

Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas. What a good book. I plan to reread this again soon so that I can gleam so more of the wisdom out of it.

The Listening Valley by D. E, Stevenson. just wonderful. breath of fresh air.

The Canopy by Angela Hunt. I cannot recommend this book and I don't plan to read any more of this author. From the beginning you know that the author has an agenda. I was ok with that. Her writing style made me want to find out what happened in the book and to the people. The book has 394 pages. On page 367 she introduced all these weird spirits that I didn't feel added to the story, they just weirded me out. I skimmed the last pages to find out the rest of the story but didn't enjoy it.

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. This book was so good. The setting is 1986 and WWII. It is the story about WWII and the affect it had on one family. I couldn't put this book down. I had to tell the story to Marisa and Kaitlin so they could enjoy it with me.

Happy Reading!

Anne has created a monster!

My friend, Anne, that goes to church with me, was the one who told me about requesting books online from the library. Now I can't control myself. Here are my latest ones. How am I to read all these by May 10th? I'll figure out some way- I am thinking that there won't be too much picking up or cooking for awhile around here.I'll write a book report soon on some I've already read if I have time with all my new reading :)

Is 150 enough?

Friends.

I like having lots of them.

I don't like it when they move on whether physically or just emotionally.

I like things to stay the same.

I read in the book by Dee Bresden The Friendships of Women that friends are either annual or perennial. Some are just for a season and some are for a life time. I want all to be for a life time. Or if friends are to be just for a season, I, somewhat, wish I knew from the beginning or at least knew when the end was about to happen.

I have a friend now that is moving on and I don't like it. I am trying not to take it personally. Maybe there is someone else that needs her more than me now.

I just read that social scientists have concluded that we can only have 150 relationships at a time. Their study was brought on by social networks and all the 'friends' you can have there.

I guess my 150 is changing all the time. I guess yours is too.

Here is are some thoughts Kaitlin found at where-the-heart-is.tumblr.com

when people walk away from you,

let them go.

your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you,

and it doesn't mean they are bad people

it just means that their part

in your story is over.

I found that interesting and comforting.

I need to realize that every gift we have is from God. And friends are truly a gift. I need to be thankful for all that I do have instead of bemoaning that which I perceive is not mine any more.

Thanking God for my 150 today.

Student Competitive '10

The student competitive is up at UALR now.
Here is Kaitlin with a picture that was taken by her friend, Sara. It is on the opening wall and greets you as you walk into the exhibit.
Here are the two pictures of Kaitlin's that got in.
Here is Ross' picture done in Illustration on the computer. Several of my friends thought this was a water color.
Here is our friend, Elizabeth. She is a painter.
Here are Kaitlin, Ross, Elizabeth, Marisa and Joey in the art gallery. Kaitlin and Marisa have been blest with good friends.

A wonderful concert

I am thankful for all I have and am still learning from my children. Andrew introduced us to Andrew Peterson and from there we have learned about so many wonderful artists - Andy Osenga, Andy Gullahorn, Randall Goodgame, Jill Phillips, and Ben Shives.

In January or February of this year, Kaitlin saw on Andy Osenga's facebook that he wanted to play some house concerts. He asked, on facebook, where should he go? Kaitlin wrote that he should come to Little Rock. He wrote back and asked if she could make it happen. She did!

She contacted our pastor and he told her to get some music together for some of the elders to listen to and get their okay. She did. They gave the okay.

She, with the help of our amazing church secretary, Peggy, made cards to give to all the church members to tell them about the concert.

It was set for April 8 at 7:30. Andy O got there about 6 pm. John, Robert, Kaitlin and Marisa were his roadies. They set up speakers, mikes, guitars, and the merch. We at first didn't know what merch was. He kept talking about his merch. (It was his merchandise) Now we are regular roadies!

Carl got to the church and helped. He ran the sound for the evening.
Kaitlin doing a sound check.
The concert! It was fantastic. He sang songs that we knew and some we didn't. He sang songs that he has written for others that we knew from them singing. He told lots of stories about his songs and that made them mean more to us. He sang for about an hour and a half.

He thanked Kaitlin for bringing him here. Kaitlin asked him to bring Behold the Lamb to our church. He told Kaitlin how to do go about asking. She is going to begin that soon!He could not have been nicer and was very approachable. I felt like we made a new friend that night.

Here is the chorus of the last song he sang. We know it because Andrew Peterson sings it but Andy Osenga wrote the words. It was a beautiful way to end the concert. May it bless you too.

And in the end, the end is
Oceans and oceans
Of love and love again
We'll see how the tears that have fallen
Were caught in the palms
Of the Giver of love and the Lover of all
And we'll look back on these tears as old tales

'Cause after the last tear falls
There is love

Are you barefoot or wearing your TOMS

In 2007 Kaitlin found out about TOMS shoes. She can't remember if she heard first from her cousin, William or a friend from UALR, Joey.

She put TOMS on her birthday list last year as did Marisa.

Blake Mycoskie is the founder of TOMS shoes. He was moved to start his company when he found out that in some countries children can't go to school if they don't have shoes. His company gives a pair of shoes to a child for every pair you buy. The reason the company name is TOMS is, if you buy a pair today, he'll give a pair tomorrow to a child. The word tomorrow wouldn't fit on the back of the shoes so he shortened it to TOMS.

Here is Marisa as she left today.

We are blest with TOMS shoes. Kaitlin even has a pair of boots. I would have put them in the picture but they are very unique so they have to be on, for you to know they are boots! She loves them.
Kaitlin and Marisa can't go barefooted today but they are wearing their TOMS. Kaitlin favorite pair are a pair given to her by her friend, Brittany, that another friend, Ross painted.

For a time such as this

Read this and be encouraged God can work in all kinds of governments

Count your blessing, name them one by one

All the below pictures have one common denominator.

Do you see it?

or rather him?



Andrew was feeling left out when I wrote a post about the wonderful children that live with and near me. So here is a post just for Andrew.

Andrew, you will always be very special. Your birth made me a mama. I wish we lived closer but I know that God is Sovereign and we are just where we need to be. I am thankful for all the times we get to chat on the phone and for the times we are together. We do have fun without you but it is not the same as when you are with us. My favorite times are when we are all together, no matter where we are. I try to use the ache I feel when we are not together as a reminder to pray for my friends whose families cannot be together because of death or for other reasons and also those that just don't enjoy being together.

We are greatly blest. Andrew, I am blest to count you as one of my blessings!