2011

The dawning of a New Year is just hours away. 2010 has been a blur for me. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

As I reflect upon the last year a few things stand out to me. My passion for Africa was sparked, I sponsored my first Compassion child. I'll never forget the day I was looking at her family's information and I read that her family lives on roughly 25 dollars a month. A month. I am so rich and I forget that so easily.

I went to Ireland in April...it seems such a very long time ago now. A very neat exerience, even if the volcano tried to keep us there longer than we were supposed to! A wonderful time spent with Shannon, one that I will not quickly forget.

I participated in two weddings, Thom and Marlene's in March and Elizabeth and Ian's in June. The joining of two people into a beautiful partnership. I am so glad to have been able to share in their joy. A christian wedding is the best event...it really embodies the verse that says, "taste and see that the Lord is good."

My sweet boyfriend and I shared our third year anniversary of dating in May. I went camping with my church over Memorial Day as I always do. My boyfriend and I always take a night to go out to eat alone at a particular resteraunt and I remember the drive back to our campsite...how the hills were bathed in pale golden sunlight on my left and how the ocean sparkled with the setting sun on my right.

I continued my list of 1,000 gifts, being more faithful in writing them down in my little journal than posting here online. I love the way it has opened my eyes, made me aware of beauty, aware of HIM and how very much He loves me. I'm just shy of 700 and it amazes me that even though I have written down almost 700 gifts I know exactly what it was that I had written about when I re-read them. I am eagerly anticipating Ann's book, One Thousand Gifts, which will be released in January.

Completed my first quarter at a four year school. I ended my quarter with good grades and just a little more confidence than when I first went in. Just the push I needed to know that I can do it. One step closer to being done with school, one step closer to being able to become a wife.

Through all the highs there were the lows. The biggest being the loss of my sweet boyfriend's wonderful Great Grandma. A beautiful and kind woman who was gentle and caring. She had the best stories of growing up in the early 1900s and had a mind as sharp as a tack. When you're in your 90's and you fall and break your hip time is not usually on your side. Her presence is dearly missed. I am thankful that my boyfriend and I were able to spend the time with her that we could. We will see her again in heaven, she is with her Jesus and the love of her life. It is still hard though.

My second loss this year was the moving of my sweet friend Marlene to Arkansas. I was able to spend some much needed time with her at Christmas and after and it was a great blessing. I miss our time together, being able to just drop by and talk to her. Her kids are growing up and I miss not being able to share in their milestones. Our visit was beautiful and I know that we will continue to stay close, no matter what the distance.

Only God knows what 2011 will hold for my life. Highs, I am sure, but lows as well. It is during those highs and lows where I will make the conscious decision of how I choose to respond to God in each situation. I am striving to be pleasing to Him and each new day, hour, minute, is the chance to seek Him, draw closer, love more, live more fully. And that is my prayer for 2011, that I will be an active participant in my own life, not an observer from the side lines.

Arkansas!

My trip here to the Ozarks is coming to a close and at one o'clock tomorrow I'll be boarding a plane headed for home.

It's been a nice, but difficult, trip. I'm so glad my sweet boyfriend got to meet my Great Grandma, but again, I struggled with the changes occuring in what I will always view my Grandma's house. My mom ended up coming with me as a surprise to everyone here, she too wanted to see my Great Grandma before it was to late, and she was a great source of comfort. I'm really glad she came.

Despite the changes inside the house the yard was full of cardinals, nut hatchers, chickadees, and wood peckers as always. We went walking several days and saw an armadillo more than once! A first in all the years I have come to Arkansas. Not exceptionally bright animals from what I have gathered but they have the cutest little faces!

There is something about this state, all the trees and wide expanse that has remained untouched that does my soul good. It is so refreshing to drive for hours on a long country highway with only trees and a couple of houses and cattle scattered about. My sweet boyfriend can't stand the cold...but I could very easily see myself settled in a rural state like this.

I am currently at my girlfriend's house enjoying her and her sweet babies. It's so nice to just sit and visit. She moved in April of last year and her presence has been sorely missed in my life. We've got lots of plans for today, sugar cookies with the kids, library visit, going to a hobby lobby (cause we don't have those in California!) and then preparing a delicious meal of beef pot roast, potatoes, veggies, salad, cornbread, and shortbread for dessert. Lots of laughing, picture taking, and catching up going on. :) It will end to soon but I know that I'll be back and she'll be coming to California to visit.

My girlfriend and her family came up to my Grandpa's on Christmas Eve and stayed and then left until the 26th. It was fun to see the excitment of a little one on Christmas morning break up the monotony of all the older folks. We got some flurries of snow but nothing that stuck.

I'm going to go enjoy the time I have left with my girlfiend and her sweet babies. One o'clock tomorrow will be here before I know it...back to home and work and school and life begins to pick up again.

One Solitary Life

"Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty and then for three years was an itinerant preacher. He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled more than two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of those things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself….


While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed on a cross between two thieves. While he was dying his executors gambled for the only piece of property he had on earth - His coat. When he was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.


Nineteen long centuries have come and gone and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever were built, all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life."
- Excerted from the book "One Solitary Life"

shag!

I've been playing around on blogger and noticed that there is a "stats" tab. It allows you to see how many people have visited your blog in the last day/week/month/year. It also shows you what search words people have put into search engines that directed them to your blog.

I just have to say that the fact that someone searched "shag the were squirrel" and was directed to my blog made my day. :)

And if you haven't heard that book on tape, it is a MUST. My family used to listen to it when I was little whenever we went on a camping trip. Classic!!

*UPDATE* I have now scoured the internet for the wonderful book on tape about Farmer Johnson's lead hunting dog that got bit by SHAG the weresquirrel and then became a weressquirrel himself and started to hoard cabbages, because they were the perfect shape, round, like nuts and to NO availe! It's as though the book never existed before! So depressing!!!

**UPDATE** My mom still has our book on tape! The name of the books is "The Curse of the Squirrel" a stepping stones book by Laurence Yep

out of the mouth of babes

This is so worth the watch...this little girl knows her stuff!


The story of Jonah from Corinth Baptist Church on Vimeo.

WILMM: salt

Why I love my man reason #18

A week ago today my sweet boyfriend stopped off at the grocery store to buy me some salt. Actually he stopped off at SIX grocery stores to buy me salt. I had a presentation at school on the salinity of ocean water (the reason why it's salty) and I wanted to do an experiement that involved dissolving salt in water. Normal salt makes the water cloudy, so I needed pickling salt. My sweet boyfriend offered to stop at the store and look for me on his way home. I had no idea he would go to six different stores to look for me!

He couldn't find it. Apparently pickling salt isn't a bigger seller in southern California. Who would have thought?

He bought me sea salt, with no added iodine and it worked perfectly. His willingness to take initiative and ask me if I would like him to stop at the store, and his perserverance that went above and beyond touched my heart.


And my presentation?

I got the first perfect score of the class. :)

changes

Well, I signed in to write a little bit because I felt like writing and found out that my layout had been destroyed. I am bit out of sorts having my background changed...I suppose someone who's home has been robbed would have a similar (but much stronger) feeling.

I'm not completly happy with this new look but I am hoping that the wonderful blog I got my last template from is just under maintence and will be back soon.

Well...it is now 2:30 in the morning. So I suppose instead of actually writing I'll head off to bed. :( Here's to hoping my blog doesn't do anything crazy while I'm away!

fall is here!

I'm a southern California girl. And, a city girl at that. I love fall, but often times it seems as though my sunshiny state just skips right over it. Few of our trees flame with brillance and our weather can be fickle. But this fall, it's actually fall.

Apples growing on a neighborhood tree. :) A silent harvest unseen by most. I was simply fortunate enough to notice it as I walked by.

Rows of corn stalks growing high at a farm a couple of hours from my house. This city girl's heart loves to wander in fields of corn and marvels at the straight rows and laden stalks.

Pumpkin on the vine! I'm used to seeing pumpkins stacked up at the grocery store, but to see it still laying in it's bed of dirt, still attatched to the mama plant, so neat!

1000 gifts list 589-599

589) house full of family visiting

590) picture coming out better than expected

591) pumpkins on the vine

592) corn stalks high

593) weather finally cooling off

594) him in his sweatshirt

595) getting to share an exciting new time with Shan

596) almost time to add a new blanket to my bed

597) Christmas present ideas

598) sitting close to him and feeling his body shake with laughter

599) talking to Lizbeth on the phone for over an hour

From David learn to give thanks for everything. Every furrow in the book of Psalms is sown with the seeds of thanksgiving. -Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667)

1,000 gifts list 547-556

547) history alive and real and fun

548) nivea chapstick

549) sharp, new razor

550) hot water for showers

551) playing skip bo with sweet boyfriend

552) Buddy sleeping with me through the night

553) smell of the tent trailor

554) Grandpa calling to say he'll be here tomorrow!

555) everything dusted, vaccumed, swept, and mopped

556) mom's appreciative and kind words

"People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea,

at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular

motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering... Now, let us

acknowledge the wonder of our physical incarnation— that we are here, in these

particular bodies, at this particular time, in these particular circumstances.

May we never take for granted the gift of our individuality."

— Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

Africa

If you had come up to me and told me a couple of years ago that I would have a desire to go to Africa I would have laughed at you.

I have a desire to go to Africa.

My interest in Africa started when I learned about Invisible Children and the fact that thousands of African children are abducted from their homes and forced to become child soldiers by the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). This army that uses these young boys as cannon fodder is lead by Joseph Kony, an evil man who claims that God wants him to do this.

Then I watched Hotel Rwanda. A movie based on the true story of Paul Rusesabagina who takes action during the Rwandad Genocide, a civil war that breaks out because of labels that Dutch had assigned to the people of Rwanda when they used to rule their country. They categorized the people into two groups, tutsi and hutu. When they left they left the power to the tutsi and and this continued for several generations. Many of the hutu wanted power and one day, when over the radio, they were instructed to take up their machetes and murder thier neighbors, their friends, their co-workers who were of tutsi blood, they did. This happened in 1994.

My interest for Africa was further pushed when I became aware of Katie, a young woman exactly my age, who left home and family to move to Uganda to feed, love, and educate children in slums, or just completly in poverty. She is an adopted mommy to fourteen Ugandan girls. Fourteen girls that she feeds, clothes, and bathes. Fourteen girls that she prays over, puts band aids on, and disciplines. It is not a joke, it is her life. Along with helping children her ministry, Amazima Ministries helps Ugandad women to make necklace and sell them to an American company. That company, 147 Million Orphans, then sells the necklaces and sends half of the proceeds back to the women that made them. They're awesome necklaces, and I encourage anyone to buy one and support those women.

Then Kristen went to Africa with Compassion International abd blogged about sponsoring a child. God has spoken to Kristen and her husband and they are now in the process of opening up a home for pregnant girls in Africa. Won't you consider joining them as The Mercy House is launched and lives are transformed? Visit The Mercy Shop, each purchase makes a difference. My heart was touched by her stories and her photos, and doesn't the Bible say to much is given, much is required?

So my next step in the Africa journey was taken. I sponsered a little girl, her name is Dorcas. Her birthday is coming up on October 15th. She lives in Kenya with her parents and siblings. I have never met her, but I love her, and it is our God that can knit the souls of two people together who are worlds apart and our God that can take a couple of hours of baby-sitting money a month to change a life.

Now I wait. I wait to see what God will place in my life, where I go from here. I desire to go to Africa. I don't know if this is a God driven desire or an Elizabeth desire. Maybe it's both. My church goes to Kenya each summer. We will see what happens them. For now, I'm going to sit tight and enjoy the ride.

who I am today

One of my best friends, Shannon, is taking a class and for an assignment she had to write about ten exeperiences that have made her into the person that she is today.

So I started thinking. If I had to list ten experiences or reasons for who I am today, what would they be? This is my list in the best chronological order I can get it in.

1) My grandparents moving

My mom's parents moved to Arkansas when I was quite young. Befor they moved they had lived five minutes away from us and I had spent a lot of time at their house. The move was very sudden and it was hard for me to lose my grandparents to a place so far away.

2) becoming a christian

My chrsitianity makes me who I am. It is the reason I have the worldview that I have and I have no doubt that I would be a much different person without Christ in my life. I remember very vividly the night I was in bed reading a book and it described hell. It talked about how horrible and aweful it was and it was then that it hit me, "That's where I would go right now if I died." I had been raised in a christian home my whole life, had attended vacation Bible school, learned about God with my parents. But I hadn't made it real. I hadn't accepted Him as MY personal Lord and Savior. I was just trying to piggyback onto my parent's salvation. If I recall correctly I was eleven years old at the time. I remember kneeling at my bed and telling Jesus that I didn't want to go to hell. I didn't want to be seperated from Him and that I knew that I was a sinner. It was as though a burden had been lifted off my shoulders and I cried. I know that it is not an emotional thing for everyone and I truly believe that God knew that I am an emotional being and that I would doubt my salvation. I think I was given that experience so that it would be imprinted into my mind and that when doubts would come I would have such a strong memory of that experience that I would be able to overcome my doubt.

3) Wales

The summer before ninth grade my youth pastor approached me and told me that our church would be going on a mission trip to Wales. He said that our head pastor had come to him and asked him to pray about inviting some of the youth to come along. He prayed and invited five highschoolers, and I was one of them. I remember telling my dad excitidely that Justin wanted me to go to Wales and my dad told me that it was a lot of money. I think he just didn't want to see me get hurt. I told my dad if God wanted me to go He'd provide. And He did. And he continued to provide for the next 3 years. Even with a church change God provided a way for me to go and the money to go. I really have no other word to describe it than miraculous. I was able to see God move in amazing ways in Wales, my eyes were opened to the darkness that so many people are enshrouded in. I have a Welsh flag hanging on my wall still, and Wales holds a special place in my heart. I long to see a revival in a very spritually dead country.

4) Kathleen

Kathleen was the mother of a good friend I had in highschool. She was a beautiful woman inside and out and her passion for God was amazing. I learned so much about being a woman of God from just the couple of times I spent with her then I had in all my years of attending church. She lived out the verse, "pray without ceasing" and had such a joy and peace about her that I was instantly drawn to. She was compassionate but could be firm and had a deep love for God and her family.

5) My Grandma's death

In 2005 my Grandma Helen, the same one who had moved to Arkansas, was diagnosed with having stage five brain cancer. She died less than a year later on January 7th, 2006. Her death has been the hardest thing I have ever had to experience. I miss her more than words can say and am deeply saddened that she will never see me get married or have kids. I miss her hugs and her laugh and being able to spend time and talk with her.

6) SET 122

While I was at the junior college I attended I took a class, SET 122 (Special Education Technique). This class required 90 hours of volunteer time in a special education class. I went into it not knowing what to expect and came out of it with a heart for kids with special needs.

7) Jason

Jason is my sweet boyfriend who is the polar opposite of me. He is shy, I'm more outgoing. He's brillant with math, I can't understand any of it. When I'm upset he encourages me. When my temper flares he lovingly puts me in my place. While I was not dating him when my Grandma passed he has been there with me through the grieving process, holding me when I'm upset, telling me it's ok to cry, consoling me when my Grandpa re-married and gently telling me it wasn't ok for me to hate his new wife. He loves me and my family and he's generous and thoughtful. He has a strong sense of justice (even though he cheats while playing games and makes up rules...) and makes me laugh. He loves the Lord in a quiet, solid, way and will wake up at 4 in the morning on Thursday mornings to go to Men's Bible study. He is my better half.

8) J

After falling in love with special education after my 90 plus hours of volunteer work I applied to become a special education aide and got the job. There was a little boy in my class, who I will simply refer to as J, that stole my heart. He was difficult to manage but smart and I was assigned to be his one on one. Working with him has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done. It's also been one of the most rewarding.

9) Travis' birth

My sweet friend Marlene was pregnant with her second child and asked me if I would like to be persent during his birth. I stayed at the hospital through her labor and was blessed to experience the absolute miracle of birth. I don't think that anything else in the world can compare to seeing a new life for the first time or the look on mom and dad's face the first time they see their baby. It is somethign I will never, ever, forget and I am truley honored to have been able to be a part of it.

10) Lizbeth's wedding

One of my best friends since 6th grade was recently married to her college sweetheart. She and her husband are a wonderful example of a christian couple and I strive to be like them. I was honored when she asked me to be her maid of honor and I strive to a friend worthy of that title. She is the very first of my group of friend's to have gotten married and I cried when she told me she was engaged. I was so worried about losing her but my fears were completly unfounded. I will never forget the intense highs and lows I felt during her wedding planning and actual wedding.

So, what about you? What ten things have shaped you to make you who you are?

WILMM: my biggest supporter

Why I love my man reason #17

My sweet boyfriend is my biggest supporter.

No matter what I'm going through he is there, backing me up, encouring me and loving me. It could be taking a class, fights with my parents, worrying about how we're going to split time between our families, anything.

One of my best friend's got married this past June and the pastor was talking about how once you are married it is you and your spouse against the world. Not that you are looking for confrontation or confliction but simply that once you're married it's about the two of you. We have been dating for a little over three years now and when I heard that I thought to myself, "Can we be like that? Us against the world?" Yes. I think we can. And I think already we have had to start becoming like that.

Being in a relationship is tricky. Especially for things like holidays. Having to share between two immediate families (I don't even want to count the extended family) can be difficult. So I'm glad that he's my biggest supporter. That he's willing to take my hand and insinuate, "hey babe, it's me and you against the world." That feeling of always having someone on your side...it's invaluable.

when your heart is grieving

Sometimes life hits you like a ten pound bag of bricks. And sometimes it is the simplest of things that brings up the strongest of emotions.

I mentioned to my sweet boyfriend that I wanted us to go visit my Grandpa in Arkansas this Christmas. My great Grandma lives with him and he has yet to meet her and as each day passes I am reminded that time slips through fingers like sand and each day is a new grace and you just never know what a day will hold. And I long for the man I love to meet this wonderful woman I love.

We don't even have real dates yet, just tossed around talked about dates, not a sure trip. And I'm sitting on my bed with the comforter she made me and it hits me. The one I love will never meet the Grandma I was closest to. And suddenly a trip for my sweet boyfriend to meet the mother of my favorite Grandma hits home and tears fall hot and heavy and I grieve the time that was lost and the time to be that will never be shared with her.

I think of giving my sweet boyfriend a tour of the house, her house, that is no longer hers but now my Grandpa's new wife's. And my Grandpa's new wife is nice and kind but she is not my Grandma and each change of the house is a vicious stab at my heart that reminds me that she is no longer here, that this is no longer her house. And my mind wanders through the rooms of the house that she loved and I remember painfully each detail of each room that is no longer as it used to be and tears fall faster and I wonder what else has changed in the time since I have last gone. I wonder if I will ever be able to manage a trip to that house alone.

And I suppose that when your heart is grieving afresh a loss that is old that that is when Abba Father is wrapping His arms around you tightest and there is no need to explain because He understands and sometimes a good cry is all you need. And grieving is a messy process, not clear and laid out like I would like, but something that can hit you after nothing has phased you for months. And it can be as simple as seeing a cookie jar shaped like a rooster or making your first quilt and realizing your Grandma would have been so proud of you.

And I am thankful. Thankful for tears that wash relief and thankful for memories that, while painful at times, bring more joy than pain and thankful that I was able to make those memories. Thankful that my Grandma is with Jesus and thankful that one day I will be there too. Thankful that my Great Grandma is still here and praying that my sweet boyfriend will be able to meet her. Thankful that each day is new, that He is good, that His grace endures. Thankful for love and for family and for ties that bind, for a cross and three nails, for blood spilled, for bodies healed from cancer and the hope of the future. Thankful for a boyfriend who will wrap his arms around me and let me cry, thankful that he does not try to rationalize it, doesn't tell me it will get better but just lets me cry. Thankful that my Heavenly Father is wrapping His arms around my Grandma and that His plans are always greater than our own and that those plans are of peace and hope and that the same God who is holding my Grandma is holding me.

1,000 gifts list 494-502

494) all my quilt stuff baught!

495) raspberries blown on legs and laughter that follows

496) wisdom of 4 year olds

497) songs sung in Italian

498) advil working on headaches

499) baby talking in his sleep

500) halfway to 1,000!

501) buzz of cicadas on a  hot August day

502) Wal Mart ice cream

Gratitude is a living reality. A seeker has to know that his most powerful capacity is gratitude. What God has is infinite Compassion and what we have is gratitude. God's gift to man is infinite Compassion and our gift to God is an iota of gratitude to be placed at His Feet. Gratitude-power can never be surpassed. It is the only satisfaction we can offer God. This is not because God needs our gratitude but because He needs ample opportunity to enter into us in a more effective way, and gratitude increases our heart's receptivity.


(From A God-Lover's Earth-Heaven Life )

blissful summer nights

It's been so long since I've written. And not because I haven't wanted to, but because I've been exhausted. The month of July for me is a crazy one, between house-sitting and working at a day camp that lasts ALL day, and baby-sitting the only thing I want to do at the end of the day is fall into bed.

July is coming to an end and I have only one more week of camp. Sad but nice all at the same time. I've finally gotten into the groove enough so that I can go do things on the weekend and yesterday night was a beautiful night.

My sweet boyfriend, good friend, and I went to a local out door concert. It's held at our local arboretum (that I am in love with) and is a full orchestra. Being the frugal tightwad that I am we bought the cheapest tickets available which means "bring your own blanket and fight the hoards of other tight wads who are coming". So we did. :) And it was FANTASTIC.

This may sound funny, but my favorite part is the fact that we were on the ground and could lay down. There is nothing so lovely as laying next to the one you love under a canopy of trees and stars and listening and FEELING music from an orchestra. I do believe that angels will play cellos in heaven. I love the relaxed atmosphere and the ability to soak up the music without having to wear uncomfortable clothes or sittting rim-rod straight in an uncomfortable chair for two and a half hours.

And, as for the cello...don't you think angels will play them in heaven!?

Blog Biography number 2- preschool and kinder years

Preschool/Kindergarden years

Preschool seems to be defined as "3 and 4 year olds." When I was almost three my litle brother was born. He was born on Easter. I have no recollection of visiting them in the hospital but my mom says that I ate her mint chocolate chip ice cream.

When I was four I went to a "Special 4's class". The only thing I remember doing there was making an alphabet book and that when the teacher asked what "O" stood for I proudly said, "Oprah!" and she laughed.

I made an, "About Me" book in that class and it's pretty fun to look at still. We all laughed when we looked at the picture I had drawn of my family because first of all everyone was an "x" body with a floating head. Everyone was smiling except my mom, who was without a doubt frowning.Being a teacher's aide now I would definatly wonder why any of my kids would draw their mom that way. My dog, cocoa, also looked like a flying tooth. I sucked at drawing, still do. According to my book my favorite color was red, yet the cover of my book was purple and it was tied together with pink yarn, colors I remember being absoulte favorites. My favorite food was ice cream, I was 3 feet 8 inches tall, and weighed thirty nine pounds.

I spent lots of time with my grandparents, who lived a mere 5 minutes away. They were a big part of my life growing up and I had/have a very special relationship with them.

My mom and dad decided to homschool us so I never went to a traditional pre-school. However, my kept me busy and by the end of preschool I was learning to read. I don't remember much else but I do have vague memories of learning what each letter said and how many different sounds they had.

I know that our family wen to church every week but again, I don't have any specific memories. My real memories start when I am around 6 and after my youngest brother was born.

I have some silly memories of things like my parents declaring that it was time to, "put us away" and having my dad hang me in the coat closed by the back of my shirt. I'm not quite sure how he did it without it choking me but I do remember being terrified as the door closed and it got very dark and I also remember my parents laughing.

I also remember my dad tossing me into bed and then "tucking me in." He would lift the entire mattress and tuck the sheets in real tight and I remember not being able to move and loving it.

I remember my mom letting us make "magic pudding" on Saint Patrick's Day. She got pistachio pudding and put the powder in a tuperware bowl. Without the milk the powder looks white. She then added the milk and had us shake the bowl and it "magically" turned green. That is a very vivid memory.

I know I was a chatter bug, my parents said I never shut up. My mom says that every though that passed through my head came out of my mouth and that I drove them nuts often times. Other than that I don't have very many memories of being that age.

Next week: Age six/first grade

WFMW: microwaveable bakers chocolate

I love chocolate. I also love things dipped in chocolate. With strawberries in season chocolate covered strawberries are a must.

For those people that are real cooks, or have the time to do it, you buy baking chocolate and use a double boiler to melt your chocolate.

For the rest of us who want fast, no-burn, easy clean up you can use Baker's Dipping chocolate.

This stuff is awesome. I buy mine at Albertson's in the baking aisle. You heat it up in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, usually another 15 seconds and the chocolate is ready to go. I put my dipped stuff on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, throw it in the fridge for a couple of minutes and it's ready. SO easy. And TASTY. I've used other microwaveable dipping chocolate but none of them taste as good as this. This works for me!

Check out Works for Me Wednesday for more tips!

Blog biography number 1

Janna published a post on Works For Me Wednesday a while ago stating that she wanted to do an autobiography of sorts for the next 15 weeks starting today. I love this idea because I am big into history and recording and fun little facts and stuff.

Today's first topic is: Details about my birth/how I got my name.

SO...

I was born on a rainy Wednesday evening in April. The firstborn of my parents three kids. My mom is a tough cookie and didn't want any unnecassray medicine used while I was being born. The nurse on duty wanted to put an internal fetal moniter on me (a little device they screw into baby's head to moniter the heart rate). My mom asked the nurse if I was in distress and when she responded that no, I wasn't, my mom told her she wasn't going to stick anything into my head. The nurse then wrote "Uncooperative" in large letters across the top of my mom's chart. :)

As my mom was being defiant my dad was fighting the flu. He didn't want to tell the doctors he was sick because he was afraid they wouldn't let him be in the room for my birth. So, in between the doctors and nurses comings and goings my dad took swigs of pepto bismol out of the bottle he had in the pocket of his shirt.

My mom gave birth to me after over 24 hours of labor (sorry mom!). I was born not breathing so they rushed me out of the room and didn't allow my mom or dad to hold me. The staff must not have been very good because they didn't tell my parents where they had taken me and no one ever came back to reassure them that I was ok. So I guess about an hour later my mom informed my dad the he needed to go find her baby.

I turned out to be ok (obviously!) and I was named Elizabeth. My mom said that she knew I would be a girl, although the doctors never told them what I was. My parents really liked the name Sarah but my last name has s's in it and it just didn't flow very smoothly. Elizabeth is my maternal great grandmother's middle name. My mom really wanted me to be called Beth but that never ended up happening.


June 17th: pre-school/kindergarden years

WFMW: sun tea

It's just not summer for me unless we've made some sun tea. This is something that I remember my Grandpa doing ALL the time when I was little. There's just something about putting out water and tea bags and bringing in a hot glass jar full of lots of tea!

How to do it:

Step 1: Get a clear, glass, drink dispenser (or jar)

step 2: fill it with water

step 3: place 4-5 tea bags in the jar, screw on the lid

step 4: leave it in the hot sun for a couple of hours to steep (usually 2 hours is the min.)

step 5: bring it in, remove the teabags and dispense in a glass full of ice. For those of you who like to ruin your tea, you can always add sugar!

step 6: ENJOY!

What about you? What drink screams "SUMMER!" for you and your family?

Storytime by Nathan Greene

I work in a school. I love it. So when I saw this picture it touched my heart.
 Nathan Greene is the fantastic artist.

You hold me

 This is the song I want played at my memorial service.

WILMM: constant reassurance

Why I love my man reason number #17

He joined my dad and left me for our annual Memorial Day weekend camping trip. I joined them on Friday once I g0t out of work.

When I got home from work on Wednesday I found a note on top of my laptop.

"I love you so much. I couldn't forget about you my love. I cannot wait to see you!"

I smile when I read his note, he knows me so well. "I couldn't forget about you my love." It is this phrase above all others, this simple seven word sentence, that causes me to smile.

I constantly wonder why he loves me. Why, out of all the people there are to choose from, he chose me. I have this ridicules fear that someday he is going to be walking about his normal daily routine and it's going to hit him. I'm not that great. I look at the other girls who are smarter, wittier, more charming, prettier, more carefree and I worry. Worry that one of them will steal his heart away and I will be forgotten.

While this is my first "official" boyfriend my heart has been hurt and wounded and it has taken time, lots of it, to begin to seal the cracks that were formed. This fear of the unknown, of being left without warning, is a repercussion of that. And sweet boyfriend, who knows my story of hurt and sorrow, is gently teaching me to trust again. Sweet, innocent, pure, trust. Without it a relationship is nothing.

Most days my head and my heart communicate brilliantly and I know that what I have found is true love, the kind that is a conscious decision. But sometimes, on those rare days, my heart betrays what my head knows and what three years of dating has  been proven and I become anxious and worry about all of the horrible possibilities that are out there. Somehow he always seems to know when I am experiencing those days.

And so, on a day where I come home to an empty house and shed a tear because I miss his company and I know that it will be another two days before I truly get to spend quality time with him, that simple note stuck to my laptop makes me smile and gives me that extra reassurance I need.

I wonder if he will ever know how great of an impact that simple note had on me. I put the note in my drawer and smile. My head and my heart are again in agreement.

1,000 Gifts list 377-387

Memorial Day is gone, and with that my vacation. Each year my family and a large number of people from our church go camping. It's a tradition that is more than 20 years old and that my family has been graciously allowed to join in on.

Carpinteria is a quaint little beach town near Santa Barbara. It has a main street with small shops on either side. Without fail there is a Farmer's Market on Thursday and a Flea Market on Saturday. It's the type of place that hardly changes, save maybe a store or two differing. It's a soul soothing place. We may only go once a year but things don't differ much from one year to the next. Carpinteria is something that we all count down to and eagerly await. Days of bike riding, beach lounging, game playing, and fellowship are what we look forward to.

On Sunday we are led from our campsite's to the little campground amphitheatre by Johannah playing Amazing Grace on the bag pipes. She plays and we file out of our campsites, the pied piper leading the rats, although unlike the rats we are led to the truth of everlasting life, not death. We all meet in the amphitheatre where we have Sunday Morning worship, the best kind, where it is simply a guitar and voices praising together. Then different families get up and do a short skit that either acts out a Bible story or conveys a Biblical truth. They read the verse or verses that pertain to their skit, (which are often hilarious) and then sit down. We end in a song of praise and more often than not we walk down to the beach where someone gets baptized. Indeed, my own little brother got baptized a couple of years ago. This year we did a baby dedication (the first one!) and prayed over members of our mission teams going to Zimbabwe and Peru (also a first!).

It was not a matter of finding the gifts tucked into the days, but having the time to jot them down one by one as they flowed in a continuous, endless, stream.

377) hills bathed in golden sunlight
378) listening to sweet boyfriend chatter away
379) warm bowls of pea soup
380) full moon rising over water
381) falling asleep to boyfriend's voice drifting from his tent
382) the way Carpinteria never changes drastically one year to the next
383) waiting for the grunion to run
384) Sunday morning church skits
385) Foster's Freeze tradition with old friends
386) church family gathered around campfire
387) listening to the waves in the dark

"Gratitude is a living reality. A seeker has to know that his most powerful capacity is gratitude. What God has is infinite Compassion and what we have is gratitude. God's gift to man is infinite Compassion and our gift to God is an iota of gratitude to be placed at His Feet. Gratitude-power can never be surpassed. It is the only satisfaction we can offer God. This is not because God needs our gratitude but because He needs ample opportunity to enter into us in a more effective way, and gratitude increases our heart's receptivity." -A God-Lover's Earth-Heaven Life

WFMW: aboratum and public garden locator

I live in a city surrounded by cities. I'm a country girl at heart and love pretty scenery. However, to get that I have to go to a specific place. We have an aroboretum near my house that I love. You have to pay to go in but a year pass is $40.00. It's one of the best $40.00 I've ever spent.

I love going, especially during the spring because everything is in bloom.

Recently I discovered that Better Homes and Gardens has a local Garden and Arboretum locator. You can search for each state and even some parts of Canada. I found out that I have SEVEN gardens/arboretums within reasonable driving distance from me. 7! So, if I ever get bored with the arboretum I do go to I have plenty of options!

The arboretum and garden locator works for me! Check out Works for Me Wednesday for more tips!

1,000 gifts list 350-360

350) Palmer style cursive

351) old typewriters

352) history

353) pajama days

354) planted flowers, still alive!

355) birthday pies

356) unread books

357) swollen, pregnant bellies

358) misty May mornings

359) mama and papa goose with little gooslings

360) boyfriend in jeans

"You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you." Sarah Ban Breathnach

WFMW: page protectors

I like page protectors. I use them quite often.

When I'm in school I use a page protector to hold my class syllabus and any other imprtant pieces of paper for my class.

I've put pictures in page protectors so that I can put them on my bulliten board without punching holes on them.

We use them at work all the time as a make-shift white erase board. It works exceptionally well. We use it a lot for tracing, placing the sheet on the inside of the page protector and having the kids trace over the top. It works much better than laminating because for some reason the ink seems to stay in the lamination. It doesn't seem to stain the page protector.

I know people who print out their recipes and place them in sheet protectors in a binder. That way when they cook they don't have to worry about keeping the book open and they don't have to worry about their recipes being ruined.

So, tell me, what do you use page protectors for?

Check out more helpful tips at Works for Me Wednesday!

WFMW: watercolor pencils

Our kids do art at school about once or twice a month. This month the teacher had them coloring a picture of poppies with colored pencils. The twist is that they are actually watercolor colored pencils. You use them just like you would a normal colored pencil, then you take a paintbrush, dip it in water and paint over the area. The water turns the colored pencil into paint! It's really quite neat.

We used the crayola version at school. I looked EVERYWHERE here and couldn't find them.

However, Michael's, or Hobby Lobby has their own version. I got 24 watercolor pencils for about five bucks. And, since they give out 40% and 50% off coupons that makes it pretty darn affordable.

I wouldn't suggest trying to do a background with them but for something detailed, like flowers, getting really nice detail is great. The pictures that our kids colored/painted were off Iclandic Poppies printed out in grayscale. She had them trace the lines with a regular black colored pencil and then color and shade with the water color pencils. It turned out looking REALLY nice.

Watercolor pencils work for me! Check out We Are THAT Family for more tips!

Seperate, assimilate, or infiltrate?

This past Mother's Day our sermon at church was excellent. Not very motherly, however they did give a gift card to the mom with the most kids in each service, the winner at my service had eleven kids.


Our pastor talked about a christian's purpose in the world. He summed it up with three words.


1) separate


Christians are not to separate themselves from those who are not christians. We're not supposed to stand back and watch people live their life with our hands in front of us making an "x" and saying, "bad people! BAD!"


2) assimilate


Christians aren't supposed to assimilate to the worldly culture. He used the example of Daniel being taken to Babylon. Daniel was taken because he was smart and handsome. He had it all. He was told to eat food that he wasn't willing to, so he didn't. And God blessed him for it.


When he taken captive he was trained in magic, soothsaying, and astronomy (Daniel, Chapter 2). However, he didn't change his beliefs. He was steadfast. He KNEW that his God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the only true God. So when the king sent out to the decree to kill all the wise men Daniel asked him to wait. He got together with his buddies, they prayed about it, and God revealed to Daniel what Nebuchadnezzar's dream was, as well as the meaning. When Daniel went to the King he told him plain and simple,


"The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.


28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:


29 As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.


30 But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart."


Daniel was taken away from his home. His family, his community and support groups. He could have gone through his training and not stuck to what he knew what was true. But he didn't. He could have assimilated. He could have decided, "You know, I was taken captive, I'm never going to return home, I might as well just do what I have to do to make life easy on myself." But he didn't. He refused to assimilate.


So, if you don't separate and you don't assimilate what do you do? Exactly what Daniel did.


3) infiltrate

I realize that that sounds sort of sneaky and awful, infiltrate, as though we are sneaking in the enemy camp and learning all their secrets. That's not the mental picture that should be coming across. However, the idea of Christians being in the world not just in churches or Bible study is true. I’m not suggesting that we should live our life incognito, living as though we don’t know the Truth. I mean we should be a part of life. An awesome example that I can think of is Triple X church, a ministry that sets up a booth inside the porn conventions and passes out Bibles. They don’t stand outside screaming that the people involved in that lifestyle are going to hell. They get in there. They meet people. They are open and honest and upfront and gentle. A light shining on a hill. The salt of the earth. You can't be a light if there's no darkness. Community is vital to keeping your relationship with Christ healthy, but if all you ever do is hang out with christian people you're missing the point. Jesus came and hung out with the tax collectors, prostitutes, and *shudder* sinful people. He also called us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Our goal is not to find people who aren't christians and wow them with our holy lifestyle. lifestyle according to God's standards, not the worlds, and hopefully, hopefully by doing that we will be a light. We're not going to win anyone to Christ by standing on a pedestal but if we are real people, with real love and care and concern (and yes, you can be loving without watering down the Truth) with real problems and difficulties, we can hope that instead of seeing us, people will see He who is within us.


It's a beautiful balance, to be able to infiltrate without being so stand-offish that we scare people off but strong enough to not assimilate. I know I'm not always there, but I'm working on it.


So what about you? How do you live your life? Do you separate, assimilate, or infiltrate?