Taking All He Gives

What a great day

2011-06-26T17:48:00.000-04:00

This day started pretty lazy-we slept in and had brunch about 10am. We were headed to a village for worship at 1:30pm. We arrived to a warm welcome and great music. Some we even recognized. My favorite part was singing "How Great is our God"-what a heavenly sound to hear more than one language being sang to the King!!! That was worth my plane ticket!!!! Afterwards we played soccer with them for awhile. We headed back to New Life to worship with the sweet people we have been with all week.

And of course right before worship here we had the blessing of seeing and speaking to all of you at Quest!!!!! That was wonderful!!!! We were so excited about seeing all of you!!! Thank you for praying for us! How amazing is God that technology allows us to communicate a world away.

Worship here at New Life Church was wonderful. The praise band ROCKED!!!! My favorite part of praising was singing "Mighty to Save" and while singing we were asked to sing in English by ourselves....it was sweet! Brian's message was "People get ready Jesus is coming" -we never know the day or time He is returning nor the day and time of when we will die. Tonight there are 3 more people going to Heaven-2 new brothers and one sister....HALLELUJAH!

After service we hung out and the party began!!! We danced and visited with the people. Good times!!!

Tomorrow we head back to Hungary bright and early. Long day of travel.
Praise and Prayers:
New brothers and sister in Christ!!
Good times with wonderful people.
Safe travels and safe travels to come.
No problems crossing over the border back into Hungary.

Hodge podge

2011-06-25T11:45:00.000-04:00

After our VBS adventure we rested for awhile. The girls played with the local kids in the village. Dr. Dave had a rabies clinic which had a few dogs at first and then the word got out and we had over 40 dogs (and one angry cat). A few "operations" took place too. It was a good afternoon.

Today and yesterday we also did a few construction projects and cleaned out a few supply closets.

The food has been very good. We are being spoiled by the Roma ladies cooking for us!!

This morning the men had a breakfast and men's ministry training with the local pastors. About 20 men were in attendance.

Three of our sweet interpretors.

A good time is being had by all.

Tomorrow we worship in a village with the Roma people in the morning and then we worship here at New Life church in the evening. We then pack up to head back to Hungary on Monday.

Pray for:
Continued safety and health-no one has been hurt or sick!
The team is getting along great-we actually like each other (LOL!)
Eyes and hearts and minds will be open to hearing God's word tomorrow.

Thank you for the prayers-I know they are working!!!

Holy Chaos part 2

2011-06-24T09:43:00.000-04:00

Friends brought friends today to "VBS"....lots of new faces and smiles. I'll let some pictures do all the talking...

Good times!

Holy Chaos

2011-06-23T18:08:00.000-04:00

Today was game on....we were expecting lots of children from the near by village-we were right. About 200 children came singing down the street to spend the morning with us. We had planned for them sports, Bible stories, face painting, music and crafts. It was what I've decided to call "holy chaos". The children were excited and ready to have a good time.

We fed them a light snack to start the morning and then we began the day. Much like a typical VBS back home we had each set of children for about 20 minutes to love on and play with and tell them about Jesus. The laughter and smiles were priceless. Just to take a second and realize that Jesus loves each one of these children and that He died for them is almost overwhelming. I will speak for myself and say that I have limits to my patience and my willingness to deal with people at times. Now give me 25 kids at one time, speaking a language I don't know, and it's hot and I'm tired and well the end result can be a mess-it is times like that when I stop to think just how patient God is with me....ever been there? The day turned out well. The kids had a great day, we survived it (LOL) and I truly believe God was glorified by it all. He loves us-we should love others....that's all we did today.

Just a few pictures to show our day (fyi:these pictures are just of what I got to take-much more was done and others have many to share later)

Our afternoon was spent relaxing and/or getting ready for tomorrow's round of VBS.

Our team split in half to visit 2 villages during the evening. One team went to a village and worshiped with believers at their local church. The other team traveled to a village and worshiped with believers at one of the homes. What a special blessing it is to worship with other believers. Just a taste of Heaven! And once again the angels rejoiced because we now have 2 new sisters add to the family of God!!

On the way to the village I traveled to we got caught in a rain storm. Once the rain stopped the sun shone bright and we were once again blessed with this.....

I just LOVE a rainbow.....

So continue to pray for us and for all those we get to love on this week.
Pray for:
Good weather for VBS
Logistics to work with 200+ kids
Patience
Safety for us (no one has been hurt-let's keep it that way)

Thank you for reading (comment please...we like them!!) and thank you for praying for us. We miss you all and will be home soon.

Remember...GOD IS GOOD.....ALL THE TIME!!!!

Village visiting

2011-06-22T17:10:00.000-04:00

Szia mindenki tőlünk -ban Ukrajna! (Hello everyone from us in the Ukraine!)
What a beautiful day we have had here. Now we were not told that the sun rises here at 4am...yes you read that correct 4AM!!!! My room was bright and shiny but I went right back to sleep :)

After breakfast we got to visit the Palanok Castle ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palanok_Castle) and get some great pictures over looking the city of Munkacs. We had pizza for lunch -yummy-then we went down to the center of town and walked around and had ice cream.

After dinner we traveled to a village to worship with them and bring God's message to them. What a heavenly sound to walk in and hear them singing "Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be the name...."[in Hungarian but God and we understood it!!) The people are amazingly beautiful (made in God's image how could they not be beautiful). Brian gave the message of how we HAVE to share the Gospel with everyone we know and met because they don't know if we don't tell them. He told them that when we die ONLY the relationship we had (or lack of a relationship) with Jesus is going to matter-we can't sit back because of fear and not tell others about Jesus and His saving grace and sacrifice for us. There are now 4 new brothers in Christ in that village-the angels are singing and we are rejoicing!!!! GOD IS GOOD!!!!

We gave out candy, hugs, kisses, and smiles. In return we got so much more-hugs and kisses and smiles and the love of Jesus on people's faces. God is so good to us to allow us to be a part of His amazing plan for those He created. Tonight was a great night.

And...today is my birthday (since this is my blog I thought I would share the info with you) so our sweet team sang "Happy Birthday" to me while we were at the castle. Brian told the church tonight it was my birthday and I came away with gifts-a basket and a necklace-what precious gifts from precious people. I told them that hearing them sing was what Heaven will be like and if I don't get to see their faces again on this earth I will in Heaven....what a glorious day that will be!

Tomorrow is GAME ON....we are expecting 200+ children here at the church to have "VBS" with -games, Bible stories, crafts, food, and lots of love.

Prayers needed:
Praise for ALL He has done so far
Praise for no one getting sick or hurt
Praise for new brothers in Christ
Praise for safe travel

Pray for good weather (it's hot here but we don't want rain!)
Pray for logistics to run smooth with all the children-flexibility is key
Pray for love to just abound

Thanks for praying for us. Thanks for taking care of whatever or whoever we have left behind. You are just as much a part of this mission as we are-we are the BODY of Christ and we need ALL the members!!!

Most Fáradt vagyok és Megőrülök -hoz ágy. Jó éjszakát -ból Ukrajna
(Now I'm tired and I'm going to bed. Good night from the Ukraine

All safe and accounted for

2011-06-21T14:45:00.000-04:00

We have arrived at New Life Gypsy Church in Munkacs Ukraine!!

Our flights from RDU to JFK to Budapest were pleasant with no issues and all our luggage arrived -thank You Lord!

We arrived in Budapest at 10:45am (4:30am EST)-I had the times wrong on the previous blog entry-sorry. We stopped and ate at McDonald's then headed out. We arrived here at the church at 6:30pm. We passed through beautiful countryside and quaint villages. It took an hour and a half to cross the borders from Hungary to Ukraine-which we are told is good timing. As we were driving we encountered the cows which we traveling with us to....

We arrived to smiles and hugs and sweet hospitality. We unpacked and then ate dinner. Dinner was yummy-chicken, rice, vegetables and ice cream!!

We are 6 hours ahead of all of you. We are tired but happy. Tomorrow is a day of acclimating to our surroundings and gearing up for the wonderful days ahead of us.

Please keep us in prayer. He has already opened doors and made this trip as best as it can be so far. Pray that all the people we get to love on will see Jesus-He who loves them the most! Pray for continued good health and patience and for us to move out of the way and let God do His thing!!!!

Talk to you tomorrow!!!!

Ready set go....

2011-06-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

Well we are packed and ready to leave. Our flight is scheduled to leave RDU at 1:09pm and arrive at JFK then leave at 7:40p (nice LOOOONNNNGGGG layover) for Budapest. We should arrive in Budapest at 10:50am (Hungary is 6 hours ahead of us so that's 4:50pm our time EST). After getting our luggage (which WILL arrive...speaking that now...no problems will be encountered!) we will head to the Ukraine. Our ride will be about 6 hours-has anyone been keeping up with the hours of travel yet? Hint: 2 hour flight to New York, 5 hour layover, 9 hour flight, 6 hour ride = REALLY TIRED PEOPLE!!!! [22 hours]

We will arrive in Munkacs, Ukraine very early on Wednesday June 22 (my birthday btw....what a cool way to spend my birthday huh?). Munkacs is 7 hours ahead of us. Wednesday will be a day of adjusting and getting familiar with our surroundings.

We will update you daily once we get there. Please pray for:
*safe travels
*health (no sick stomachs!)
*patience and flexibility
*luggage arriving on time
*our families back in the US
*the sweet souls we will meet
*that ALL we meet will see Jesus in us and surrender themselves to Him

Thank you for ALL your love, support, prayers, thoughts, money, and just being the Church. God is SOOOOO good and thank Him for allowing you to be a part of His master plan!

Third Day Simpsonville SC

2009-10-17T19:38:00.000-04:00

I went to Simpsonville SC to see lots of friends and Third Day. Had a great time. Tried to post these on Facebook and got tired of trying so here ya go....

GLORY REVEALED

JARS OF CLAY

THIRD DAY

What to do....

2009-09-18T15:59:00.002-04:00

I like to read other people's blog. I love to see their website and then I come to mine. BORING....What in the world do I have to write about that anyone would want to see? Probably nothing but I want to write so....
I'll start this thing back up and figure out how to make my own layouts and then I'll make world peace because I have the time to do all that I want to do...LOL!!!

Wow

2009-08-14T17:41:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted since May!!! Man I'm surprised my blog hasn't gotten up and left from lack of attention.

What a busy summer I've had. Been working on the house and work has been unbelievably busy also. I guess that's my excuse. I will try to do better here. I will post some pics of our remodeling soon (I hope).

Come join THE BOOKMARKS

2009-05-20T04:08:00.002-04:00

Do you like to read? Want to discuss what you read? Come join us then. Mark Lee of Third Day has started a book club online. THE BOOKMARKS.

So what are you waiting for???? Come on over!

Thing to do #36 See George Strait

2009-05-18T04:12:00.011-04:00

It has been WAY too long since I saw the King of Country Music George Strait. He just doesn't come this way much anymore. I know remember why I used to go see him quite often. Before my "obsession" ;) with Third Day, George Strait was the only artist I had seen more than twice. I went with Ali (we seem to have the same tastes in music!). We had a nice evening.

George sang 25 songs! I do believe we got our money's worth!

Here is the set list:

Write this down

I just want to dance with you

Ocean Front Property

Wrapped

Run

The seashores of old Mexico

The Fireman

I can still make Cheyenne

Texas

Honk if you're honky tonk

I hate everything

Check yes or no

She'll leave you with a smile

Heartland

I ain't her cowboy anymore

How bout them cowgirls

The chair

Give it away

River of Love

Amarillo by Morning

Troubador

I saw God today

Unwound

ENCORE

Hightone woman

Folsom prison (Johnny would be proud!)

The cowboy rides away

GREAT SHOW!!!

My pics are not that great. I was too far away to get close ups. I took pictures of the screen so they are not crisp but good enough to say I was there. Here are a few of them....

The Rest of the Story

2009-05-04T21:56:00.021-04:00

*Names and places might be omitted due to security issues so pardon the generality*

So after the "ordeal" we had trying to leave Raleigh we headed back to the airport on Thursday. Now here is another cool God moment. Our son Scott was coming to Raleigh on Thursday (yeah he planned to come home while we were out of the country). Well since our plans had been delayed we would actually get to see him. He landed at RDU at 10:30 and our flight was at 11:30. We stood at his gate and he was quite surprised to see us when he got off the plane. We talked for a few minutes and then headed off to our gate-I thought it was rather cool.

Well the plane was delayed again due to issues at JFK (not flying through there anymore if we can help it!). Finally got to JFK. As we were getting settled on the plane at JFK we saw three verbal arguments break out over where people were trying to put their luggage. Whoo hoo! Otherwise the flight was uneventful.

First day there was just settling in and resting (no sleep though-I was up for 37 hours before going to sleep-just can't sleep on a plane). The family we stayed with were wonderful. They have lived in country for about 13 years-amazing. Their son and I hit it off right from the start because he is a big Third Day fan (how about that?). We figured out that we have a friend in common. Brian (a Gomer who lives in KY)has been to see them several times-what a small world! We crashed about 9ish-early day tomorrow.
**********************************************
Tomorrow (April 18)-funny how I feel like I lost a day somewhere! The time difference is only 4 hours ahead though so not too bad. We headed out about 6am with a 7 hour trip ahead of us. The country is about the size of California with mountain roads so it is slow going. The mountains there are just beautiful. There was still snow on some of them. Lunch was a trial -we ate tangines. There are meals cooked in a tangine pot-ours consisted of goat meat, potatoes, peas and bread. You don't use utensils-you pinch off a small piece of bread and use your right thumb and the bread to get your food (no left hands please...they are used for other things!). We needed to learn how to eat this way since all the villagers would be eating in this manner.

We arrived at the Stephen and Niccole's midafternoon. This is the family that our church is going to concentrate on supporting for years to come. They are a sweet, humble family. They have 4 children and have lived in country about 1 year. They are in the process of learning the language (the villagers have their own native language -not the country's language of Arabic).

Stephen works for a company that helps provide wells/water to villages. We got to go along and be a part of a contract deal with a local village. Jenny and I were privileged to sit in on this because women do not usually accompany men on their business affairs. It was very interesting although we didn't understand the language.

The next day was a rest/lazy day. We spent it with Stephen and Niccole and their kids. We went to the Painted Rock park and just played around.

On Monday we went back to Stephen and Niccole's. Stephen took the men and went to hammer out the contract deal. Jenny and I went shopping with Niccole. Then we went to the Neddy. The Neddy is where the local women gather to do crafts and sewing projects. We collected material and yarn from TMBC and brought it to them. They were so excited about getting the stuff. They all gave us hugs and kisses. We then were invited to Huda's house (a friend of Niccole) for cookies and tea. This was a very good day.

On Tuesday we headed back north. We shopped at the Souk (Market) and then paid a visit to a family along the way. We ate lunch with them. We had bread (I gained 5 pounds on this trip from all the bread I ate!), tangine, apples, oranges and POPCORN! I was in the middle of nowhere and I had buttered popcorn! :) We drove to the coast and had dinner with some friends. We left the village life and were now in the tourist section much like home.

On Wednesday we left to drive further north and see more of the coast line. Shopping and rest. On Thursday we shopped more and then went to spend time on the beach. I saw the OTHER side of the Atlantic Ocean.

On Friday we proceeded east where it got much hotter. The temperature was already 97 degrees by the time we got there. Shopping in the Medina (Old City). Got all packed to head home.

On Saturday we left for the good ole USA. No issues until JFK AGAIN! We landed late -does JFK ever have flights that land on time? We barely got on the flight. Our luggage didn't so we got that on Sunday afternoon.

Now for some pictures:

This is what most people wear over their clothes
At Stephen and Niccole's house

Brian, Me, Jenny, Stephen, Niccole and their family
Coca-cola
Lobby at our first hotel
Everyone has a different door

The village were we had popcorn!
Reminds me of the Shire in the Hobbitt

Stopping for sheep in the road

The view from our friends house!
Lunch-fresh sardines

Yep that's a goat head!
I like to take pictures of flowers, trees and shrubs

Painted Rock park
Hidden Mickey!

I love street signs in other countries.

Our first hotel room.

My favorite picture of the trip.
Our second hotel room.
Goats in the trees!!!

Cracked me up!

Fishing nets

Ta-Da
Shopping
Yep had chicken nuggets.

The other side of the Atlantic Ocean

God's plan not Wendy's!

2009-04-15T21:35:00.002-04:00

Yesterday (April 14) we packed up the car and headed to the airport to leave for our trip. We got through security just fine and waited to board the plane. We taxied to the runway and then were told that we had to wait. Storms in New York were so bad that we couldn't take off to get there. We were told we would wait an hour. After that the pilot told us that New York was now over 2 hours behind in landing order so we had to go back to the airport and get off the plane. We realized that we would not make our connection in New York. So once off the plane we got in line to talk to the agent and make new plans. This ended up taking another 2 hours (I could NOT work at the airport!).

While doing all this we met a couple and their friend who were traveling to the same place we are (some of you know where but for this blog update I will not be saying specifics). The wife was in a wheelchair and has cancer. Before we left to come home Brian asked if we could pray for her. We circled around her and prayed for healing in Jesus' name. Can I just tell how humbled I felt at that moment. About 30 minutes before that I was upset because our 11 day trip was now going to be cut to 6 days and then God smacked me up side the head. He let me see that He is TOTALLY in control of my plans whether I know realize it or not. You see...our trip was supposed to be Monday April 13 to April 23. Two weeks ago Delta called us to let us know that the 2nd leg of our trip was cancelled so we could either get a refund or change our fly out date. So two weeks ago God changed the day to Tuesday April 14th. Then we get delayed in Raleigh and met people from the country we are traveling to (we would not have talked unless stuck)and then we get to pray for them. We have been invited to their house once we are in country.

So...tomorrow we start ...wait the trip has already started. We go back to the airport and see what God has in store for us. Please pray for us to be obedient in whatever happens. Pray that I will keep my critical spirit at home (or actually get rid of it totally!).

I will update this if possible. There is internet access just not sure if I'll get to be on it much. We come back the 25th so we did get to add 2 more days to our trip which is great.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and prayers. We need them!!!

NATIONAL CHAMPS!!!!

2009-04-09T23:34:00.001-04:00

This is a few days late but it is still sweet to me!!!

I will let pictures tell the story!

THIRD DAY on the third day & thing to do #29

2009-04-02T18:28:00.036-04:00

I wrote this blog before Mark Lee told us to post something humerous about Third Day. There are WAY too many of those times to pick from...so I'll just give you this and refer you HERE to see other Third Day related blog entries.

On April 1st I went with Joanne to Fayetteville NC. The goal: the see my 40th Third Day concert! I'm not even close to some of my friends (Corrine, Jamie, Traci-I know they have seen over 50 shows!) but hey it is my milestone! I've been going to Third Day concerts since 1995 (does that at least count for longevity?) Anyway...it would be hard to pick my favorite shows but this one would be in the top 5!!! We had front row seats in front of Mark Lee so my pictures are a Mark Lee "love" fest. I did actually get some good pictures of Scotty (he is hard to get most of the time). Tai and David were difficult. I got Mac but the side of his face mostly. He didn't venture to our side often (we picked on him at the Meet and Greet about it). I think it is because he is left handed (so am I) so he tends to go to his left while on stage. No matter...great show!

The show started with "This is who I am". I haven't heard this song at all since the Dallas Texas show-I've missed it! It is just a fun song. I don't remember the order of the songs but here is what was played:
This is Who I am
Rockstar
Tunnel
Call My Name
Thief
Got a feeling
Cry out to Jesus
King of Glory
God of Wonders
Consuming Fire
Run to You
Slow Down
Otherside
Revelation
*Acoustic Set*
I will always love you
Sky Falls Down
GIVE!!!
Blackbird
Love Song

Very nice mix of Old School and new! I think the guys were having a great time!!

Speaking of my 40th show. We went to the Meet & Greet before the show. I told Mac and David it was my 40th show. Mac asked if I had any request and of course I said "Give". It is my favorite song period! Well during the acoustic set Mac took requests. They played "Sky Falls Down" then asked if there was another song. David saw me and pointed at me. Mac told me that "he didn't know the words". He turned around to face me and told me I could mouth the words to him. We (the band and I) told Mac that David knew the words and ....David Carr sang the song!!!

Mark Lee also helped Mac sing "Sky Falls Down" during the acoustic set. It was a great time!

Well the real reason you came here...onto my pictures.

Before the show Meet and Greet (very quick but I got my poster signed finally!)

Mac comes out to sing with Revive

This is the greatest picture of a cymbal EVA!!!!

One of MANY MANY of Mark Lee!

I finally got some decent pictures of Scotty!

Where's David Carr?
"Here I am" -David Carr

"I'm hiding again" -David Carr

This is from the back of the coliseum...I thought the screen was cool.

I know this is blurry but I love the look on David's face.

God of Wonders

I got VERY VERY few pics of Tai.
"Call my name" I LOVE to hear Mac see this song live!

Can you say...BAD MIKE STAND!!!

"If you had any fun here tonight it was because of Mark Lee"

The show always ends WAY TOO SOON!

FINAL FOUR BABY!!!!

2009-03-29T18:26:00.004-04:00

FINAL FOUR BABY!!!!!

Third Day on the 3rd day of the 3rd month on square root day!

2009-03-03T10:08:00.015-05:00

It is that time of the month when the awesome Mark Lee asks us to post about Third Day on the 3rd day of the month. Read about it HERE.

Today's post will be mainly pictures. I went to see Third Day on February 7th in Williamston NC. What a treat! I was very excited to know that Third Day was coming close to my house again. Williamston is in the middle of nowhere really. I was born in that area of NC so yeah...there is nothing much there.

Ali and I left in time to get there early (it was a GA show). After some issues with nepotism (yeah) we got second row seats so I'll not complain too loudly.

The show was very very fun. The guys seemed to really be enjoying themselves. We got a mix of old songs and new from Revelation. Nice mix I believe. I did want to hear "This is who I am" so maybe that will find it's way back to the set list for the Tour. And there was NO "God of Wonders"....yeah!

So since my ability to write a review stinks I'll just post my pics. They didn't turn out as well I would have liked...I think the dirt in the air (it was a horse barn that had dirt on the floor!) caused some of the problems.

Good show, good friends, good time as always. And this was my 39th Third Day show....gonna have to celebrate at the next one!!!

Looking for...

2009-02-10T15:02:00.001-05:00

Genna...does anyone know her? I sent an email but haven't heard from her.

Might have to do another contest to get a winner.

Winner

2009-01-14T00:16:00.000-05:00

The winner of my fabulous contest is....

GENNA!!!

Now wasn't that exciting???

Please pray

2009-01-09T02:48:00.003-05:00

I would like to ask you to pray for Mark Lamberth's family. Mark was in a dirt bike accident on December 12th and yesterday Mark went to be with the Lord. I don't know Mark or his wife (Angie) or son (Nolan) but I have read about them on a couple of the blogs I frequent. You can go to their website here.

His family needs your prayers. I love what Stacy wrote. She said that
As wife and mother I cannot fathom Angie and Nolan's pain. Angie has said she already feels so lonely. Some might say, "All we can do is pray." But, friends, that strips the Lord of His power. We get to pray, and in that we get to experience Him and commune with Him as we lift up this precious family.

We GET to pray...yeah we forget that the One we pray to has ALL the power and prayer does matter to Him and prayers are answered.

The body of Christ should lift up Mark's family in prayer. Hope you will stop what you are doing NOW and pray.

Sad day

2009-01-09T02:00:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a very sad day in my life. I rounded the corner approaching my house and saw my dog Scout lying in the ditch. I just knew she had been hit and killed. I flew in the driveway and ran to her. She was still warm so I knew it had to have happened recently but she had already passed away. My heart was (is) broken. She never went in the road so I don't know what caused her to do so. There were skid marks near where she laid so I know they tried to miss her. I called Brian and he turned around to come home. Brian just cried his heart out when he got home. Scout was Brian's baby. He brought her home 11 years ago from Fort Bragg. He was doing his National Guard weekend and found her in the woods. She loved her Brian now. Just a very sad day. We buried her next to Alex (my Australian Shepherd who died a year ago tomorrow). My other 3 dogs have looked for her all day. Gosh I'm gonna miss her.

I have some of the greatest friends ever though. I've gotten text messages, phone calls, emails, visits and dinner from my dear friends. Thanks if you are one of the those people.

Here she is...

Third Day on the 3rd, 8th, um 9th

2009-01-09T00:13:00.003-05:00

Well the 3rd is supposed to be Third Day day which was overlooked by Mark Lee this month ;). So he has asked us to post on the 8th but I'm at work and it is now the 9th....

Don't know what to write so I'm going to do a contest. In the comments section leave me your dream set list at a Third Day show. Make it 12 songs with 2 encore songs. Just curious as to what people would love to hear. Pick ANY Third Day...no matter if they would never in a million years actually play it. I will randomly pick a comment (using some randomizer that I found) to pick a winner. Your prize....I have extra Revelation CD's and an extra Christmas CD. You can choose which one you want. If you have both then I'll find some pocket lint or something to send you :).

I will stop this contest on Tuesday January 13 because I will be out of town this weekend. Gives you lots of time to think and post.

Done!!

2009-01-06T01:13:00.007-05:00

My kitchen is done! Okay well we have a few touch up paint spots and we are done. Here are the pictures.

Fridge side

Eating side with view of sliding glass door

Right side of eating area

Left side of eating area

Eating area with curtains closed

Sink side (left)
Stove side
Left corner
Right fridge side
Left fridge side
Left side counter top

This used to be unused space. There was not

enough room to put a door so we hung curtains.

Sink
Soda crates with key holder
More soda crates
Seat cushions

Table decorations
I don't want anything on the fridge so I put a corkboard

and stick on chalk board on the side of the cabinet.

Storage on side of stove

These are pictures of the living room. I think this is the next room we are planning to paint.

New bay window. As you can see there is no sheetrock on either side of window. This needs to be sanded and then we can repaint. We are going to go with a lighter shade of beige.

We bought a slip cover for the couch.
This used to be a window before we built the bedroom on in the late 90's. We plan to put mirrors up behind each shelf. The items on the shelves are from different countries we have traveled to or Scott has traveled to...there are more but they are packed up somewhere in the chaos.

So we will start a new project soon. Oh joy...

Things to do percentage

2009-01-04T17:21:00.002-05:00

So I started my 101 things to do in 1001 days in May. I have until January 2011 to finish the list. I accomplished 14 things. I have done 13% of my list. Not too bad I think. Time to start trying to accomplish more.

I tried the watch the meteor shower Saturday morning to get that one done but we had some of the thickest fog ever so yeah....not my fault because I actually got up at 3am to see the show. Went outside and realized I couldn't see anything so I went back to bed.

So those of you that are doing this...how well did you do?

Give me a break

2009-01-03T23:06:00.004-05:00

Well it is always a good idea to try to save money but of course this seems to be on everyone's mind these days. I've been reading about people saving $100's with coupons, freebies and such. I've never been much of a coupon clipper (I only clip what I buy but I don't go searching all over for coupons). I decided to try to save money and start looking for coupons. I spent over an hour last week online going to different sites to finally find 5 yes FIVE coupons I would use at the grocery store. I used them but was told at first that they might not be honored (I was at Walmart). The reason being is that people are printing bogus coupons at home so the retailer can't get their money back from the manufacturer. They let me use them but I was ticked that I spent so much time online and quite possibly will one day be told I can't use them. Well I joined a few sites and very intelligently made a new email account to send the stuff to...I went to the account today (I joined on December 31ST) and I had 5 emails and 448 spam emails!!!! I unsubscribed to every one of those sites.

So...give me a break. I don't have the time, the patience or the desire to obviously do what it takes to save lots of money. I believe these women I read about have NO life and can just sit on their computer all day.

Has anyone found a decent site to get freebies or coupons that the stores will take (btw...Rite Aid will not take any computer printed coupons). Oh I forgot..the freebie sites want your life history and then they want you to subscribe to crap you don't care about....not free in my opinion.

So I'll get off my soapbox now. Guess I'll just have to quit eating so much to lower my grocery bill!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

New year, new look....

MySpace Graphics & Free Myspace Layouts

I hope 2009 is a fabulous year for everyone reading this blog! May you be blessed!! Thanks for reading!

Thing to Do #16

2008-12-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well I finally read the Bible in a year! I read through the Chronological Bible.

Not gonna lie here...I fell behind a few times so I didn't actually read it daily but I caught and finished today. Brian asked me if I actually learned anything or did I just read it to say I do so. Hmmm...both. There were days that I was just reading to read but God opened my eyes quite often to things I hadn't seen or read before. I like the Old Testament being in order because the prophets were mingled with the kings and all the history made sense.

Now I want to read through The Message in a year. We will see if it happens.

Time well spent though.

Immanuel

2008-12-25T06:06:00.003-05:00

May you realize that God became a man. He came in the form of a baby to live as we do. He came to bridge the gap between us and Him. He came so that we could be saved from our destination which is Hell. His name is Jesus. May you realize He came to save you and may you surrender your life to Him.

Immanuel God with us has come!!!

"For a child is born to us a son is given to us and the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE" Isaiah 9:6

visit Tim Bott's Inkwell Greetings to see more of his works.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Spekkoek

2008-12-25T02:49:00.004-05:00

No I didn't misspell anything...that is the gift we got in the mail this week from Brian's Tante Irene. Brian is of Indonesian-Dutch descent so he has really really good dishes that he grow up on and I get to enjoy sometimes now too. This cake is a layer cake (about 15...I really couldn't figure it out) and delicious. The interesting thing about the package was this: the return address was from CA and we didn't know the person. Brian opened the package and there was food in it. Food from someone we don't know...we weren't going to eat it! Brian talked to his aunt and she told us that she sent it to us. This cake is labor intensive so she had someone make it for us. It is wonderful! Here it is....

I will be enjoying this cake for days!

Update

2008-12-22T19:17:00.002-05:00

For those of you reading...I got the official word today that I have been reappointed so I have a job for another 4 years. Thank you Lord!

Brian's transfer papers went to the Colonel today so we will find out about that soon also.

We put knobs on the cabinets in the kitchen but it turned COLD today so nothing else got done.

I start midnight shift tonight and I'm hoping that everyone just stays home and behaves!!!

Waves

2008-12-20T13:02:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! Just posting to post. Life is what it is right now. Been going to work, fixing the kitchen, and NOT shopping!

Work is going fine. Busy as usual. Waiting to see if I get reappointed for another 4 years (we find out on Monday). I don't expect any surprises but it's nice to know if you have a job or not. I'll let you know.

Brian is looking to change is duty assignment with the Highway Patrol. Lots of reasons why but it has to be approved by the Colonel. I'll let you know about that too.

The kitchen is about done. We have to put the veneer siding on the 2 more cabinets and paint them. Then we have to put the door knobs on the doors and we will be FINISHED!!!! Right now my kitchen is the neatest and cleanest room in the house which is quite comical. I am constantly walking in there to straighten something. I guess when you remodel or have something new you obsess over having it neat.

We will start on another room shortly. Not sure which one. The sunroom needs to be painted but it's cold right now. We don't heat that room so I really don't want to be stuck out there painting in the cold. The living room needs to be repainted so I guess we will clean that one out and start on it. Joys of home ownership.

The spare room will probably not even take shape until the summer. Kinda bummed about it because I want a scrapbook room and that room was supposed to be the first one I worked on. I've already bought all the stuff to decorate it but it will happen.

Scott's room...no comment! ;)

Our bedroom needs to be repainted too but what a job that will be!!! The ceiling is semi-cathedral so that has to be painted too...might have to hire someone for that job.

Need to stain the deck and repaint the front porch.....do you see that this will not end anytime soon???

Shopping...not doing any. I've bought one gift for my mom. We have spent a fortune in our house so we need nothing. I don't have much else to buy other people. So if you don't get a gift it is not because I don't like you because I do...it's because I'm broke and lazy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

checking in

2008-12-10T12:37:00.002-05:00

Well not much is going on right now really. Brian and I went to Myrtle Beach this past weekend. His Highway Patrol unit had their Christmas party there. We had a nice time shopping (well looking I only bought one thing). The dinner was nice because I had filet and lobster. It just cost us more money than we needed to spend right now. The unit Brian is with is spread out across the state so the families don't know each other the way the district does. So every year we travel somewhere (last year was Asheville) to spend the night and eat dinner with people we don't really know. Just a waste to me.

This weekend we are going to Boone. We are headed to Samaritan's Purse to help with Operation Christmas Child. I believe this will be the 5 or 6th year we've done it. What a great time we have helping out with the shoe boxes. I head up the trip and usually have about 20 people from church come. It is a great time.

We are still plugging away at the house. It's hard to get motivated when the weather is cold though. We are still doing things in the kitchen. Need to finish painting the cabinet doors and putting them up. We have some up but no hardware on them yet. I replaced the faucet AGAIN today. We've replaced it 4 times now (each one has leaked)...not happy about it at all! I've been painting today too since it's 70 degress today.

The remodeling has required me to not decorate for Christmas this year. I'm pretty bummed about it. I LOVE to decorate my house for Christmas. I decorate the entire house. We have a small plastic tree on the kitchen table and that's it. We haven't bought any gifts and aren't going to. No one in my family needs anything. We have told them not to get us a thing. We are buying a goat through World Vision instead. This Christmas might just be the best yet since we aren't stressing out about things.

Well, the paint should be dry enough for another coat now. Have a great day!!!

Christmas Tree Ban

2008-12-05T10:27:00.003-05:00

At my great alma mater UNC-Chapel Hill the Christmas trees have been removed from the libraries due to complainants. Here is the story.

People complained about the Christian display. Maybe I'm an idiot but I never associated my Christmas tree with my Christain beliefs. The tradition actually has pagan origins. But that's not the issue I want to raise. I want to know why we as Christians allow everyone to quiet us. I'm not a tolerance supporter but isn't it interesting how we are to tolerate everyone but Christians?

We need to stop catering and stand up for our beliefs. Yes I know that UNC is a state supported university but that's not part of my argument. The big picture is that we as Christians need to be bold about our faith. Do not apologize for Who you believe in and don't compromise for the sake of not offending someone. Jesus offended alot of people not because He was rude but because He stood firm on His beliefs and convictions and called people out about their lack of faith.

This is the best time of year to tell people about Jesus. Although some people (ie...the people in the above mentioned article) do not wish to be told about Jesus other will listen. People's attitudes change and divine opportunities exist everywhere you look. There are two simple ways to do this during the Christmas season. If you send out Christmas cards send ones that tell others about Jesus. I love the Santa and funny ones as much as anyone but why not send out the best news and gift someone could receive. I've done this for years and I've been able to share Jesus with many of my friends, co-workers, and family because of the card. I've also gotten letters back from family members telling me to "not send out phantasmagoric literature to us please". They still get Jesus Christmas cards! The other simple thing you can do is to tell everyone you see "Merry Christmas". At many of the retail stores the employees are told to say "Happy Holidays" and not "Merry Christmas". Well, I can say whatever I want. I usually try to say it first and see how the cashier reacts. Some will say it right back and others will stop and think about what to say. It also usually brings a smile to the other person's face.

No matter how hard people try to take Jesus out of Christmas we should try harder to make sure we celebrate Him.

December 3rd

2008-12-03T12:00:00.003-05:00

EDIT: Mark Lee did actually post a Third Day on the Third post so here ya go.

Now in the habit of posting about Third Day on the third day of the month. Mark Lee started this idea although he has yet to post today...must be tired from his trip to Hawaii!!!

Well this month I want to talk about one of the main reasons I admire and support Third Day. I've been blessed enough to afford to go to alot of shows in the past 10+ years I've been a fan of theirs. I've gotten to know the band members as more than just Rockstars. I've had conversations with them about life not just about a great show. The guys are very down to earth and I believe they sincerely walk the talk. They don't put themselves on a pedestal and come across as more spiritual than their fans. They are men, husbands, dads, brothers, uncles, sons, etc. just trying to follow their Jesus. This is what I admire the most about them. I was listening to one of the concerts on WIRED Radio and it always warms my heart to hear Mac pray. I know sometimes when I'm at the concert I want to just hear them sing and play songs. Oftentimes God "hits" me upside the head to tell me that I should be singing to Him. Yes I come to be entertain and I believe God has no issue with that but when it's time to stop and focus our minds and hearts to God then I need to stop thinking about the next song they will sing. Everyone at the show has issues and just to be able to stop and worship the ONE who can solve those issues is a blessing. I enjoy going to concerts in general and lately they have all been Christian artists. I don't necessarily think the band has to pray and say Jesus every 5 minutes but I've come to realize that it is very nice and comforting when Mac stops the music to acknowledge Jesus for who He really is...our Lord and Savior.

It isn't easy staying on track and I think one of the best ways the guys manage to do so is because of Nigel James. If you haven't met Nigel you are missing a blessing. He is an amazing man of God. Check out his blog and see all that God has Nigel involved in around the world. Read this article about The Man Behind Band.

Third Day has used their God-given talents to encourage and entertain me since 1995 (yes I've been a fan that long) and I look forward to the next decade!!! God bless guys!

Santa or No?

2008-12-01T09:20:00.005-05:00

You should read Stacy's post...I think it's great. I don't have children (well mine is grown) so I don't really do the Santa thing but we sure did growing up. I had no issues. Keep it all in perspective and I think it's fine. So what say you?

Now for the greatest Christmas show ever. "A Year without Santa Claus" is my most favoritest (yes that's a word...well maybe not) Christmas show. Enjoy the video...sing aling if you know it!!!

Done!

2008-11-30T09:42:00.002-05:00

I did it. Another successful NaBloPoMo! Thanks for reading and tagging along. I'm not leaving ...just not gonna post daily probably. I need topics...it's hard to figure out what to write about.

Well I'm going to leave now....

Star struck....

2008-11-29T13:00:00.004-05:00

There are only 2 actors that I HAVE to see anything they do...Mel Gibson and Johnny Depp. Now I've found out that Johnny Depp will be a very busy man. He will be playing in a fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean", "The Lone Ranger" and "Alice in Wonderland". Man I will be in movie star heaven.

I just love some Captain Jack Sparrow!!!!

Next comes the greatest director and the greatest actor together again....Tim Burton and Johnny Depp..."Alice in Wonderland"....Johnny will be the Mad Hatter...oh my goodness....March 2010 I can't wait!

[SIDE NOTE]....any other Tim Burton fans out there....he is just amazing...

And can you see Johnny as Tonto in "The Lone Ranger"? Well I'm going to!!!

And according to articles Johnny will be part of an animated project called "Rango"

There is also two more projects "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" and "Public Enemies" that I will be checking out.

So who are you star struck with????

Coolest tree

2008-11-28T09:27:00.011-05:00

Growing up I was not very prissy....I'm still not. I was a tomboy with the best of them. Loved to be outdoors. My favorite toy was my Big Wheel. I wore the wheels off of them (I got a new one each Christmas because I wore it out).

I grew up in a neighborhood full of boys so I guess I had no choice. Now my favorite thing to do was climb trees. I never met a tree I didn't want to climb! Now the best tree on the planet for climbing was at my cousin Crystal's house. It is a Mimosa tree. It was low enough to the ground that we could just jump up and reach the limb. It had the greatest nooks and crannies to sit on. That tree ROCKED! I looked forward to going to Crystal's because I knew we would play in that tree for hours. Well yesterday driving home I told Brian I wanted a picture of that tree. Now my cousin hasn't lived in that house for over 15 years. It would be kinda strange to drive up in someone's yard and take a picture of their tree so I told Brian to slow down as we passed by....I was excited about this picture....

I miss that tree....

Thankful

2008-11-27T20:19:00.007-05:00

Today is the day we eat too much and think about all we are thankful for in our lives. We should be thankful daily. I am more blessed than I can put on paper or on the internet. Family, home, dogs, job, clothes, food, heat, A/C, car, good health....that is just the top of the list.

The day started great with a call from Iraq. Scott sounded good. We talked Carolina basketball and such. I'm very thankful that God has protected him while in Iraq!!!

Then we went to my aunt's house to eat. Good food, great family. And yes Angie we had deep fried turkey!!! Okay how about some pictures.

I told my uncle (who was cooking the turkey) that my sister-in-law couldn't believe we eat deep fried turkey. He said "well it says 0 grams of trans fat"....cracked me up so I took a picture.

Here is the bird soaking up the trans-fat oil!

YUMMY!
Best chicken salad EVER and the turnips ain't bad either.

Now this is why I come....my Aunt Linda's potato salad. I took the rest of it home with me...guess what I'm having for lunch tomorrow?

Here's my plate....

Here's my pregnant cousin Crystal....pregnant woman with fork...get OUT of her way!!!
Okay this is for Scott....we had my aunt's neighbor take the picture....as you can see she didn't quite get all of the sign...it says" WE MISS AND LOVE YOU SCOTT".
Take two...we added more family that had just walked in....
This is for my friend Jen. Her son is currently in Germany. This is his first Thanksgiving away from home. The sign almost got cut off in this picture too....Thank You Blake for what you are doing for our country! Praying you stay safe!!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

Getting closer

2008-11-26T09:52:00.002-05:00

Well today I transfer the food from the old fridge to the "new" fridge. We will move the old one out tomorrow and have our living room back! Still painting the cabinet doors (they take forever!)Afterwards we can put the hardware on and put them bad boys up. I have to finish painting the two new floor cabinets and then we can put all the food away. Slowly but surely this will come together. I just might have room in the living room for a Christmas tree....not really sure if we are going to even bother with it this year though.

Pictures will be forthcoming soon.

The next stop the remodeling train is the sunroom. We have moved the bench back into it's rightful place. We have put the "new" cabinet in...I'm not sure what that thing is...I think it is a sink cabinet. We got it free when we bought the fridge. I'm not putting a sink in it so we had the extra countertop (you have to buy the entire length even if you don't need it!) cut to fit the top. I need to clean it and get the rust off of it. I'm going to like it out there...somewhere to put my laundry stuff and my extras (you know when you get a good deal on paper towels or toilet paper and have no where to put it....now I do). We have to paint the room still but the entire room (trim and walls) will be white so that isn't such a big deal. We've been looking for window treatments. We bought shades and have decided against it so now we are on the hunt again. I really dislike looking for stuff like that so I'm just kinda not caring at all.

After that I will clean out the bedrooms and the attic. I plan to have a HUGE yard sale in the spring. I'm getting rid of as much as I can! When that is finished I can get the house ready to paint the rest of it. I'm NOT painting the other rooms. I am going to start saving my money and someone else is going to come in and paint my house. You see all of the rooms need to be repainted. That is just not something I plan to deal with again.

My scrapbook room might be the only room I tackle just because I really want it finished NOW! We are getting the bunk bed out of there tomorrow and giving it to my brother. We have found a day bed for $50 that we are getting on Friday. I haven't decided if I want to paint the walls blue or white again and just dress up the walls. I can't wait to get that room like I want it. I bought a computer desk also to go in there. I NEED a place to put my laptop and our bills and such. Right now they are in a cardboard box beside my bed. It is driving me crazy! I hate sitting on the bed doing the bills and typing on the laptop (like right now). It is a major pain right now to print anything off the computer so I need a real place!

So much to do.......God give me patience!!!

Thanks for reading. Have a great day and if you are traveling to visit family....be careful!

Mashed potatoes?

2008-11-25T22:49:00.000-05:00

So what part of Thanksgiving are you?

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Ordinary, comforting, and more than a little predictable

You're the glue that holds everyone together.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

&$%*#&%

2008-11-25T12:35:00.000-05:00

yep that's how I feel today.....

Tagged

2008-11-24T10:49:00.004-05:00

I've been tagged by Jen so here I go....

1. What is your funniest childhood story? Well it really wasn't funny to me but my parents tell it to everyone. I was 8 years old when my brother was born. So I spent 8 years being the only child...I liked it...I liked the attention. Well the new baby comes along and no one knows that Wendy is alive (or so I thought) and no one paid attention to me. Well, we had company over one evening and I was tired of being left out so I climbed up onto the big console tv (anyone remember having one of those?) and I stood up on the tv and said "pay attention to me!!". Well, my dad did...to my hind end. He spanked me right in front of everyone and made me go to my room. Yeah...not so funny for Wendy but my parents seem to love that story (and so does my brother!)

2. What would your dream dress look like if you could design it? Something to fit perfect! Long and flashy but not hoochie-mama looking. I like black so some bling on the dress would flash it up some. Oh and you KNOW the shoes have to be sassy to match!

3. What weird habit does your hubby have? Not so sure this is a habit but it sure is irritating...he is the LOUDEST freakin' person in the morning when he is getting ready for work. I work shift work so our schedules do not always match so he often gets ready before me....I still have time to sleep but he is so stinkin' loud. He has to turn every light in the bedroom on just to get dressed ....now mind you....he is a Highway Patrolman. He has been wearing the same thing to work for 20 years...why does he need all that light? He wakes all the dogs (I have 4) and they are loud too...so it just makes my morning "lovely".

4. How many cookbooks are in your kitchen? About 5...they are decorations because I don't cook!

5. Granny panties or loyal Victoria's Secret girl? um...neither....hipsters from Target

6. My favorite memory from 2008 so far is... my 4-fer weekend seeing Third Day. I got to see ALOT of my friends from all over the country...I got to spend time with Jamie and Lori...I got to see Third Day 4 times in 4 days....it was a blast!!!

7. I secretly .... wish I had a job where I could stay home

8. I could really go for... a trip to Greece!

9. We are going to have a big snow storm and you will find me... totally dreading it...I have to go to work even when the weather is awful. I can get a ride from the Police but it is a pain.

10. I knew he was the one...when we went to Chick-fil-a and we both put mayo on our fries. I don't like ketchup and thought I was the only one that put mayo on the fries. My husband's father is from Holland so that is something they do in Europe so Brian grew up doing it. Yep...we still do it.

Now for my tags.... I Tag:

Happiness Is....

Kodiacbear's Journey to Ironman

Voice on the Wind

Favorite Thanksgiving food

2008-11-23T10:54:00.003-05:00

So what about Thanksgiving dinner makes your mouth water? I don't particularly like turkey so that's not it at all. Now of course us Southerners have found a way to make turkey (which is fairly good for you and not too fattening) full of fat and down right delicious....DEEP FRY THAT BIRD!!! If you haven't had deep-fried turkey you are missing out. Yummy....

Now my favorite dishes at Thanksgiving are:
1-Ham...I love ham...anyway you make it. My aunt has this great recipe (which I need to get from her) for baking the ham with Coke....it is very juicy and yummy.
2-Potato salad made by my Aunt Linda....you will NEVER taste any better potato salad period
3-Veggies....I'm a veggie person (not a vegetarian but I think I eat more veggies than meat). I just love some good ole butter bean, field peas, corn, string beans, collards, etc
4-Sweet potato cassorole....I actually make this (which is unusual because I hate to cook). The recipe is just too simple and the dish ends up tasting almost like dessert.
5- Pecan pie....just had over the whole pie and no one will get hurt!

So....what do you look forward to eating on Thursday? What's your favorite recipe....will you share?

Here is the sweet potato cassorole recipe:
*3 cups sweet potato (you can cook the sweet potatoes but I have found that the canned version works just as well)
* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 cup of butter melted

Mix all together and put in baking dish

*2-3 cups of choppe pecans
* 1 cup of brown sugar
* 1/2 cup of butter (not melted)
*1/4 cup of flour

Mix all together and spread over top of sweet potato mixture
Cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees

ENJOY

Winter

2008-11-22T20:04:00.002-05:00

Is my very least favorite season. I HATE being cold. When it gets below 65 degrees I am cold. There's just nothing I like to do outside when it is cold. I have yet to figure out why anyone wants to put sticks on their feet and slide down ice/snow. And yes I've been snow skiing before....got hurt and now I have arthritis in my knee because of the nasty fall I took on that trip.
And yes snow is very pretty but the problem is two-fold....ONE: our area doesn't usually get snow. We live in the part of the country that gets cold enough to snow but then it warms up enough in the daytime to melt it all...then it freezes at night again. Never fun. And TWO: I have to be at work no matter what the weather. We don't get to claim inclement weather. Now I do have the option of getting the Highway Patrol (being married to a Trooper helps!) or the Sheriff's department to take me to work. I do that alot when the weather is nasty. I'm not about to try to drive in that mess and risk wrecking my car.
I can't work out in the yard which I enjoy because it is just too cold. Even taking the dogs out is awful.
So...I just thought I would let you know that my mood during the winter isn't usually the best. Come on summer!!!

Third Day Johnson City TN

2008-11-21T08:14:00.000-05:00

Go HERE to see my pictures from the show.

24 IS BACK!!!!

2008-11-20T09:57:00.002-05:00

I watched very very little tv. If Brian is home it is usually on the cartoon channel. We deal with so much junk at work that we like to veg to animated shows that require no brain power. I don't sit down much to watch tv and if I do it usually enjoys a ball of some kind (football, basketball, etc). But there is one show that I have watched since the first episode and I can't miss it! That would be 24....and boy have I missed it. Well this Sunday (November 23) I get 2 whole hours of Jack Bauer!!! Dude I can hardly wait! Season 7 starts Jan 11th and 12th....4 hours of Jack! WHOO HOO!!! I love their website...they have a countdown to Sunday!

http://www.fox.com/24/redemption/

Any Jack Bauer nuts out there???

Tracking...

2008-11-19T13:48:00.002-05:00

Just wondering who reads my "very" interesting blog. Does anyone use a tracking device to see who reads their blog? I would like to know but don't know which tracking device is the best.

I'm going to add those who comment to my blogroll (eventually...I can't seem to find the time to sit at my computer!) but I would like to know who else is out there.

Change of plans

2008-11-18T13:25:00.002-05:00

I had planned to paint and run a few errands today. Well about 9am I get a phone call from work. I was given the day off because they owed me my Veteran's day holiday. Well, I had to go to work because my interview was today.

Let me explain. Every 4 years I have to be reappointed to my job as a Magistrate. The Clerk of Court interviews us and decides if she will nominate us. Then the Resident Superior Court Judge decides who to appoint. I've been a Magistrate for almost 8 years so pray I continue being one!

But...all that messed up my day. Now I'm going to start painting. We still need to finish the door trim and the door. Then I have to start painitng the Sunroom. (No it NEVER ends!)

Oh...and it's snowing....interesting day.

Have a great one!

Kitchen update

2008-11-17T09:04:00.005-05:00

We are getting there people. We are almost finished painting. I just have to paint the trim around the doors and the back door. Then I have to paint the cabinet doors. I'm moving stuff back into the kitchen and getting back to some sense of order in the rest of my house. Today I will be a cleaning hound!!! So here are some pictures ....

Brian priming the wall

Yes I'm standing in the "sink"

Before...the cabinets will go on the wall and the fridge will be in the middle

Hey whatever works!
So much paint....

I think we are going to paint the wall behind red so this might change

Finished wall
We decided not to put the cabinet doors back on the top cabinets. We painted the back the same as the wall and added these very pretty vases Brian found on Craig's List for $30 (for ALL of them)
The lighting stinks in this picture. The wall is red, the cabinets are white. There will be white doors eventually. We put stainless steel behind the stove.
Here is my very cool sink I found at Habitat for Humanity for $25

Here is the sink FINALLY put in

How cute is this....I'm going to put another on the other side of the stove.
Someday when we are no longer here and someone removes the stainless steel this is what they will find.... :)

Tired and now ill

2008-11-16T22:41:00.001-05:00

Well I'm tired. I've been running around all. I almost forgot to blog so I sit down here. I write a blog about the progress in my kitchen with pictures and captions. I post it to the WRONG blog....I try to transfer it here and nope it won't work. So...I guess tomorrow's blog will be about the kitchen. I'm done for the evening.

Thing to do #46

2008-11-15T08:55:00.001-05:00

This is my "recycle more than I do" thing to do. Brian and I have recycled for years. I've been wanting to do more. We have to take the recycling to the dump because it is not picked up by the county. We finally bought some big trash cans and are now recycling most of what we use. I haven't jumped on the whole GREEN thing but I do believe we can recycle quite easily and we should do it.

Here is an interesting article about recycling.

In the USA, people throw away at least 162 tons of garbage a year. It would fill 1000 football fields piled thirty stories high. Each American throws away 4-6 pounds of trash each day. Landfill trash is covered with dirt. Ten percent of America's trash is being recycled. If families recycled things like paper, glass, and aluminum cans, and other things that are in their garbage, trash would be reduced by 25%.

Thing to Do #62

2008-11-14T07:40:00.001-05:00

This seems fitting to talk about today since I saw Third Day last night. I wanted to do a Third Day 4-fer show weekend. That trip was planned in the Spring and I looked SOOOO forward to it. My husband had a mission trip planned to Morocco on the same week that the Texas/Oklahoma show run was happening. What timing! I could leave and Brian not miss me! I was all about it. So....I flew to Texas and became part of history .....I believe there are only 5 Gomers that have done 4 shows in 4 days. Me, Jamie, Traci, Kendell and Lori. Jamie has done it twice!!! I've posted my show pictures HERE.

Here are some pictures from the RED RIVER ROAD TRIP as we named it... (blogger is being a pain so the pictures are posting in no certain order)

Corrine, me and Dan (nice to see Corrine after MANY years and to finally meet Dan!)
Love Miss Jamie!
Sunnie is beautiful inside and out!
Good dinner...better friends!
Bari rocks!

Need some caffeine!!!
YXMA....Tai didn't want to play nice (Dallas show)
A whole gaggle of Gomers! (Dallas show)
Me and Mike (the Wired Rep...nice guy!)

Road buddies!!! Stephanie Lee (Mark's wife) ....we should read her BLOG

Lori, Jamie, Nigel and Me (Nigel is Third Day's touring Pastor....AWESOME man! Read his blog HERE)

Me and Cebrina Me and Sylvia and Jason's GOAS

Flashing the bling
Me and Corrine in San Antonio
(Out of order...blogger is ate up today) At Cracker Barrel with Lori, Jamie, Ricky (Lori's brother) and Lori's s-i-l...I'm horrible with names...can't remember her name right now). Ricky kept throwing things at us)
On the way to Cracker Barrel...2 thumbs up! Road trip to Cracker Barrel
"Lori, you suck at pancakes. Let's go to Cracker Barrel"....Ricky Caldwell
Show 3 San Antonio

Ghetto style
Working at the car wash....
Yo yo....3rd show dude

Me and Chance....I think when I first met Chance he was actually shorther than me!
Will the Cowboy be in OKC?
Yes we did...
Down with my home girl Lori (Lori rocks if you didn't know that!)
Rolling down the highway.....
Love me some Switchfoot!

WE FOUND THE TAMBOURINES!!!
SCARY!
Jackalope
hmmmm....
conehead!!!

David Carr is our HERO!!!!
Play that tambourine Wendy!
Lori on the tambourine
Shelly kicks in...
Driving and tambourining (is that a word?)....Jamie rocks
Mike and the girls

Yes the Cowboy did show up in OKC!!!!

SHOW ONE....DALLAS TEXAS

SHOW TWO- HOUSTON TEXAS (love this picture!)

TAKE TWO...SHOW TWO...HOUSTON TEXAS

SHOW THREE ....SAN ANTONIO TEXAS (David is having issues)

SHOW FOUR....OKLAHOMA CITY OKLAHOMA

What a wonderful trip I had!!! Memories that will never fade!!! Love to all the people in the pictures!!!

Road Trip

2008-11-13T06:08:00.001-05:00

Leaving this morning very shortly for Tennessee. I'm going to see Jamie, Traci, Jason and Sarah.....oh and some band called Third Day. Pray I get there safe! I'll be returning with more pictures to share.

PEACE OUT HOMIES!

Thing to Do #34

2008-11-12T08:23:00.001-05:00

Quick post today...lots to do as usual.

My thing to do #34 is replace windows. That has happened now. We have new windows all over the house. They look really good. I can already tell the difference in the temperature of my house. By this time we are feeling the drafty winds in the kitchen and sunroom. That is no longer an issue. Now I just have to save money to buy new window treatments.

Thank a soldier

2008-11-11T08:34:00.002-05:00

Today is Veteran's Day. Most people have the day off. Do more than just enjoy your day. Thank a soldier (active and/or retired). Whether you agree with what is going on in Iraq or not you should thank a soldier. Freedom isn't free.....

here are my favorite soldiers.....(my dad, husband and son)

Thing to do #18

2008-11-10T01:52:00.006-05:00

I posted some on this subject earlier but wanted to post that I had actually finised it. I wanted to replace the kitchen floor. When we moved into our house in 1995 the kitchen had carpet in it. Yeah...I don't understand it either. A few years later we replaced it with laminate tile (cheap). We decided to finally do something nice and permanent. We decided to replace the kitchen floor and the dining room floor. The dining room floor was hard woods. I hated to tear up the floor but we decided to make the room look like one big room which required replacing the entire floor. When we ripped up the tile and the linoleum (ugliest stuff I ever saw but I forgot to take a picture of it) we found hard wood. Why would you ever cover over your hard wood floor with ugly? I bet this house was beautiful when it was first built. The man who lived here was a carpenter and built this house himself. I thought about trying to keep the hard wood but realized it would be way too much work to try to get the junk off the wood to make it look good again. The floor looks really nice and I'm going to enjoy it. It should be easy to clean. Here are the pictures.

Patience

2008-11-09T09:18:00.002-05:00

I'm lacking in that area right now. I'm asking that whoever reads this blog would pray that Brian and I would have the patience needed to finish our remodeling. We started in July....JULY!!!! We were supposed to have our windows replaced and then paint the house. Well, Brian decided that he wanted to remodel the kitchen. That was fine but we have changed our minds several times with what we wanted. I changed his mind on things because of money (or lack there of ) and we planned to paint ourselves. The guys doing the remodeling took FOREVER to finish the windows. They were also supposed to do the trim work around the windows and the new doors they put in...that didn't really happen. Where they did do any work it looks AWFUL so we have had to redo the work. All we were going to do is paint once everything was done. We have now had to finish the trim ourselves and start painting. This of course has to happen when we get off work and on our days off. It is very frustrating.

Yesterday we finished the red wall in the kitchen. This has taken much longer than we hoped. Problems arose when we noticed a bubble in the paint. Brian tried to fix it and now it looks realy bad. We will probably have to sand and start over on that part. NOT HAPPY.

We just need to be appreciative of the fact that we have a house. Even if it is chaotic right now. We need to be patient with each other and not lash out.

Thanks for reading and praying. This too shall pass.

Goodness

2008-11-08T09:11:00.002-05:00

I have no idea what to write today. I don't know how people find such interesting things to write about daily. My life revolves around getting my house back to normal. Today is paint day again and it is raining AGAIN!!!! We are just going to have to paint anyway. I can't live in this mess another month. I have to work tomorrow night and then I'm off for the next 9 days. I will be breaking my neck to get the kitchen finished. (except Thursday and Friday when I'll be going to TN to see a certain rockin' band and some great friends). Sooooo...that's my world.

Any suggestions about what to write about?

Life is a trip

2008-11-07T11:34:00.002-05:00

so in the midst of remodeling which seems to be lasting forever....our hot water heater goes out....we should get a new one this weekend....well we go to my mom's to take a shower and find out that she has run out of gas and therefore has no hot water either....yeah this has been a very interesting couple of months....but I'm blessed and I have much more than I need...

Who's there?

2008-11-06T08:02:00.000-05:00

Just wondering who reads this awesome blog I created? Drop me a comment if you do!!! I would love to add you to my "have to read list" if you are not there already.

My Hope

2008-11-05T07:00:00.002-05:00

I will say that the election results (all of them) were not to my liking and that's all I'll say about that issue.

I will say that I pray our country will realize that Obama and all the other people elected are NOT the answer to the issues in our lives and our country.

My husband started singing "God is in control" this morning while getting ready for work. I told him that the song that is stuck in my head is "It's the end of the world as we know it"...not very spiritual huh? As I sit and type this though there is a song that comes to my mind that is perfect. It is "My hope is You" by (of course) Third Day. Here are the lyrics:

To you, O Lord,
I lift my soulIn you,
O God, I place my trust
Do not let me be put to shame
Nor let my enemies triumph over me

My hope is you
Show me your ways
Guide me in Truth
In all my days
My hope is you

I am, O Lord,
filled with your love
You are, O God,
my salvation
Guard my life and rescue me
My broken spirit shouts
My mended heart cries out...

I'll be singing this one all day.

May you have a blessed day!

On His Throne

2008-11-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

Well today is the day we have all been looking forward to in one way or another. One: to finally vote (if you haven't already) and change the current powers in Washington DC or two: just to finally quit seeing all the ads on TV, radio, the side of the road, my telephone!

Many approach this day with anxiety and doubt and dread. I will be honest here. I don't care for either presidential candidate really. I don't particularly like my choice for governor in NC either. The judges running for office in my area aren't totally in line with my views either. Sooooo....with all that said I did vote so now I can complain!!!

Seriously though, I am sooooo glad to know that God is still on His throne today. He didn't get up and take a break. He knows exactly who is going to win each office and He is not shocked or worried. That is where my comfort comes from...knowing that and that alone.

Lord I come to You today to ask for peace. Whatever the outcome of the elections I know that You are in control of all. You will take care of me. You have my best interest at heart no matter what this world throws at me. I will not fear the unknown. I will put my trust and faith in You. I will be a positive light in this dark world. I will let others know where my peace and confidence come from...which is You. Thank You in advance for calming any fears, anxieties or worries that creep into my mind and heart. Amen

It's that time....

2008-11-03T18:25:00.002-05:00

of the month...you know...Third Day on the third day of the month....

So what really cool Third Day related blog shall I write?

I think I will "borrow" an idea from Traci....

Third Day adventures by the numbers:
13: number of years I've been a Third Day fan
37: number of times I've seen Third Day in concert
10: number of states in which I've seen Third Day
17: number of official Third Day merchandise shirts
3: number of unofficial Third Day shirts
3: number of official Third Day jackets
1,423: number of miles I flew to do my 4-fer Music Builds Tour weekend (one way..not round trip)
1,289: number of miles that Jamie, me and Lori traveled on the road during our 4-fer Music Builds Tour weekend
6: number of copies of Revelation I bought (guess what's for Christmas!)

Now why do I do this????? Because I do whatever Mark tells me to do ..... ;)

busy busy

2008-11-02T16:45:00.003-05:00

Today has been a busy day. I went to church then came home to try to make a dent in the remodeling/cleaning. Instead I stuffed boxes for Operation Christmas Child. If you don't know I am talking about go HERE to see videos about this ministry. I have been involved for years and get such a blessing each year. We are also going to Boone in December to help out at the processing plant.

Now I'm doing much of nothing.

So that's my day.

Let's do this thing

2008-11-01T09:00:00.002-04:00

Okay I'm going to try to post every day in November. Might be worth reading...don't count it though. We are going to have this house finished by Thanksgiving or I'm moving out!!!

We are heading out today to get a new hot water heater. My brother is going to help put it in. Then I'm going to change out my clothes....summer in the attic....winter hanging in the closet.

My mom gave us (me, Brian, my brother and sister-in-law) gift certificates to one of the nicer restaurants in town so dinner is going to be nice!!!

I'll post some pictures of our remodeling updates tomorrow.

Slow Down

2008-10-30T10:04:00.002-04:00

That is what needs to happen in my life. Nothing gets done and a thousand things need to be done.

We did finish putting primer on the kitchen walls. We painted one of the walls. We are painting the kitchen yellow and red. Three walls yellow and one wall red. Red is a very LOUD color. It is very telling....we had to sand again after the first coat because you could see what was missed. We need to do one more coat. I think it is looking nice. After we finish that wall we can put our countertop in and replace our sink so we will have water in the kitchen again.

Oh and our hot water heater died this week. Yep....life is a trip now. Just ready to be done with it all.

Work is okay. We have more new Magistrates which just makes the day long because I am constantly answering questions. I have to train another one (kinda tired of doing that but it should help me get reappointed at the end of the year).

Today is my "Friday" and I'm off for 4 days. Hopefully I'll get alot done in the house! Pictures are coming again soon.

Have a fabulous day!

Remodeling update

2008-10-26T17:53:00.002-04:00

Well there isn't much to update. Brian went to Morocco at the beginning of October. I went to Texas and Oklahoma at the beginning of October. Scott came home from Iraq for a visit at the beginning of October. So...nothing got done in the house during that time. We have decided to finish the work ourselves. We got tired of waiting for the contractors to do what they should have finished a month ago. Some of the stuff they did is jacked up too so we are fixing that. My goal this week and next is to get the sunroom and kitchen ready to paint. We have to finish caulking and sanding and then clean up so we can paint. I am off work for 10 days straight in the middle of the month...that is when I plan to paint (pray for NO RAIN...can't paint when it rains!). Pray for patience to deal with all this mess still all over my house! Pray I get this finished before Thanksgiving and can start straightening my attic. I really want to decorate my house for Christmas .... I LOVE to decorate at Christmas but right now I have no living room nor can I even get to my decorations in my attic. Soooo....that is where we stand. It will all be over soon I hope!

Music Builds Tour San Antonio

2008-10-21T19:46:00.000-04:00

Venture over HERE to see my pictures....

Music Builds Tour Houston

2008-10-21T13:43:00.000-04:00

For your enjoyment go HERE to see my post about Houston.

Music Builds Tour Dallas

2008-10-20T17:08:00.001-04:00

Read all about it HERE!!!!

Music Builds Tour OKC

2008-10-20T08:02:00.000-04:00

Go HERE to see my pictures from the Oklahoma show.

Let the madness....FUN....begin

2008-10-01T19:40:00.000-04:00

I am almost finished packing. I leave at 6am headed to Dallas!!! I am going to be on the go for 5 days straight. Four Third Day shows in four days. Yep...lost my mind....going to Texas/Oklahoma to find it.

Stay tuned....

Frequent flier miles week

2008-09-29T09:56:00.001-04:00

This week is going to be very interesting.

Scott left Iraq yesterday to come home for a visit. He will get here by Friday (I hope). Never know when exactly he will land in Atlanta. It will be nice to see him.

Brian leaves today for Morocco. He and our pastor are going to establish ties with the Berber people in the mountains. We plan to go back there in the spring (I will be on that trip) and bring the news of a Savior to them. Should be exciting!

I leave for Texas on Thursday. I CANNOT WAIT!!!! I bought tickets for this trip in the spring and I've looked forward to it ever since.....FRIENDS, THIRD DAY.....FUN FUN FUN!!!! Four shows in four days. I have lost my mind!!!

This week is going to rock. Just wish Scott wasn't coming home while we are gone but we will all be home next week together.

Keep checking in...I'll be updating my week/weekend. The house is on hold for now. We did get a few things done this weekend. The new counter top is in so that will be put in next week. I will start painting the kitchen and sunroom. Maybe we will be totally finished by November! Then I can start on the bathrooms! Yeah it never ends.

Have a great day!

My fridge

2008-09-26T20:30:00.002-04:00

I finally took pictures of our "new" fridge. How cool is this thing? It works great. I can hardly wait to get my kitchen finished and put the fridge in there.

Summer Reading Club (in the Fall)

2008-09-26T19:59:00.002-04:00

This is the last installment of my Summer Reading Club posts. Below is the list of books I read this summer. I read more than I thought I would. Good thing we aren't doing a Fall Reading Club because I have NO time to read right now.

Unspoken- Francine Rivers

Unafraid- Francine Rivers

The air I breathe- Louis Giglio

Lessons from the Road- Nigel James

UnChristian- David Kinnaman

You are Mine- Max Lucado

You are Special- Max Lucado

The Pawn- Steven James

3:16- Max Lucado

Your God is too safe- Mark Buchanan

The Jesus I never knew- Phillip Yancey

Quit digging your grave with a knife and fork-Mike Huckabee

Facedown- Matt Redman

Weight of Glory- CS Lewis

What's so amazing about grace- Phillip Yancey

So now I humbly (well not really) submit my entry to win something. I really need a new t-shirt, cd, poster....yeah I really do. And having it signed by the incredible, amazing, rock-my-face-off guitar player named Mark Lee would make my day :)

Thanks for the fun Mark!

Remodeling "heaven"

2008-09-25T20:26:00.002-04:00

Not really heaven...more like chaotic prison. I'm so tired of walking around boxes and trying to find things I need! But this too shall pass and we will have a nice kitchen.

We put up the new ceiling in the kitchen and painted it this week. I took all the hardward off of the cabinets (which took ALL day) and I've primed all of them. The molding is up around the room again. Now we need to caulk around the molding and start painting the walls. I have to paint the cabinets, walls (kitchen and sunroom) and doors/trim. Then after that is done we can put the new cabinets on the wall (we bought cabinets for one wall and kept the old cabinets on the other 2 walls).

Not much more will happen for about 2 weeks though. I have to work the next 2 days. Brian leaves for Morocco on Monday. I leave for Texas next Thursday. Scott is coming home from Iraq next week for leave (yep we are going to miss him for the first week!). Then we are going to spend time with Scott when we get home....sooooo....I'll have to live among this chaos for about another month (Lord give me patience!)

This is the new floor in my Sunroom

Here is my new ceiling and one of the new lights we installed

I was kinda sad when we tore out the hardwood floor

The beginning of the new kitchen floor

Finished product

This is how I feel most of the time right now. :)

Come see...Third Day pics

2008-09-23T22:32:00.000-04:00

Too lazy to post all the pics manually so here is the link.

http://flickr.com/photos/25796488@N08/sets/72157607461548773/

Hope you like them.

When Third Day comes to town....

2008-09-21T01:57:00.001-04:00

Wendy is in attendance! (btw...if you read the Third Day Boards this is the very same entry so just proceed to the pictures below)

Just haven't seen Third Day enough this year (yes I'm SPOILED!). I looked forward to this show for months. I was not disappointed. Good friends, good show, good times!

RED- I've seen these guys 3 times before (with Day of Fire and at Creation Fest). I enjoy them alot. The twins Anthony (guitar) and Randy (bass) are really nice guys. I was glad I could get there in time to see them. I hate that the crowd is very sparse during their set but we had a good time.

JARS OF CLAY- I will preface this by saying I'm not a JOC fan. Just never got into them. I have to say that I enjoyed Flood (one of the 2 songs I like) but that's about it. I couldn't understand Dan much after that. Ali was singing right along so since I didn't know the words I was lost. I didn't have a bad time just ready to have 3D come on stage of course.

ROBERT RANDOLPH- I will have to say that he and his family band are very talented. I did enjoy watching them exchange instruments and play them. Other than that...not sure why they are on this line up. The crowd looked bored. I told Ali at one point that they seemed to playing to and for themselves instead of the crowd. I was waiting to hear them sing....still waiting. They said a few "having a good time", "stomp your feet", "clap your hands"....not much else. Robert has a beautiful smile though and I did enjoy when he came out to play during the encore.

SWITCHFOOT- I have been a fan of theirs since their first cd. Since they don't do the East Coast often, seeing them live had not happened until this year. Last night was the 3rd time I've seen them live....I like them more each time I see them play. I little birdie told me that at a recent show Jon tried to stand in someone's seat and that person wouldn't let them.:eek: So I made a sign that read "Jon you can stand here". He read it and smiled then during "Meant to Live" he took me up on my offer. He came and stood right on the rail in front of me. Doug (yes Karen's Doug) helped him stand up there. FUN FUN! The lighting was very interesting (not sure how my pics will be). One of the funniest thing that happened was just between me and my camera. I put my camera to my face (I don't like to use the LCD view finder often) and thought Jerome had hit himself in the face with his tamborine. I started laughing and he looked at me like I was crazy. It was funny to me at least. And "Dare you to Move" is one of my favorite songs ever so to see them play it live is just great.

THIRD DAY- I try to be objective but gosh I'm very biased. My issue with the show was not the band at all. It was the camera crew. I have a camera guy standing on a cargo box with his butt in front of me blocking my view of Mark. Then to my right I have 2 really tall camera men blocking my view of Mac. I spent $140 to sit in the front row ...I don't care if I spent $.02 I should not have to see the back in of a camera man. They finally left after the 3 song minimum but I was not very happy and kinda missed the 1st three songs. Now that's my rant. Onto the show. I was dead in front of Mark and I totally enjoyed seeing him rock out on stage. He was working his butt off. He is an amazing artist. I couldn't see David very well but I did see that he was singing BGV's. That made me smile!!! I was almost too far stage right to see Tai. I did try to pay attention when he would sing (I love to hear his voice). Now this was the fastest hour of my life. I looked at the clock (we could see the time remaining) and there was only 6 minutes left....I was quite sad. I enjoyed hearing the new songs and a few of the old. I really hate to complain about worship songs and I know that the majority of the crowd doesn't get to see Third Day as often as I do but....I wish they would change some of the worship songs. "King of Glory" is the best one they have ever done ....bring it back!!! "God of Wonders" grates on my nerves but the crowd always seems to like it so I perservere through it;) . I do like to hear "Thief" live because Mac just sounds so passionate in the song but it sure kills the rock show vibe. With that said I will still buy tickets and still sit and listen to whatever they play. I really enjoyed having Michael from RED come and sing with Mac on "Slow Down"....they complimented each other nicely. Can I say I miss "Come on back to me"!!!! So now the show is over and onto the....

ENCORE- Third Day didn't leave the stage they just added people! Robert Randolph came out to play on "Otherside"....very nice!!! Then JOC came out and they sang "I'll fly away". I actually like the version that they do of this song. It was fun to watch and of course we all sing along. Lastly SF came out and "When love comes to town" made my night. I TOTALLY enjoyed this one. What fun they all seemed to be having. Mac, Dan and Jon all singing together....worth the price of my ticket. And can I just say that I think Mac has the greatest voice on the planet and I would listen to him sing anything...when he sang this last song I had to just stop in awe and realize just how amazing his voice is...WOW....just WOW.

MEET AND GREET- That went really well too. About 50+ people there. The guys came in and were sent to their corners;). We walked around to each member. It was kinda crowded and might have made more sense to have the guys walk to us but I know they are tired and this worked fine. Mike (the guy in charge of WIRED) was very very nice. I look forward to seeing him again. We walked around and got autographs, pictures and such then lined up to take the group picture. I like this idea although I really didn't want a picture with the band with me standing in front of them like some statute. So I stood between David and Tai and what a cute picture (see below).

So....I went to the show with Roland, Karla and Ali. Rhonda met us later. It was great to see them as always and it was really nice to sit with Rhonda for a show (haven't done that in a LONG time). Looking forward to the next show in....DALLAS!!!!!

(adding the pictures here at work is taking forever!!! I'll get back to you...here you go for now...LOTS more to come!)

THIRD DAY SHOW TONIGHT!!!

2008-09-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Yes I've seen Third Day 32 times (tonight will make it 33). Yes they play the same songs (well tonight will be new stuff from Revelation). Yes I spent ALOT of money to be on the front row. But you know what....I get excited EVERY SINGLE TIME I get to see them. I get to see friends that I haven't seen in weeks/months/years. I get to see the greatest band on the planet. And I get to worship the LORD OF LORD and KING OF KINGS. Life just doesn't get much better.

I'll tell you how great the show is tomorrow.

September 14, 1996

2008-09-14T21:57:00.001-04:00

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!

Praying for my friends

2008-09-12T03:20:00.003-04:00

Most of us are watching the news and praying hard. Hurrican Ike is massive. It is frightening to thing what might happen. I have friends in the path and I've been praying hard for them. I hope you will do the same.

These pictures are breath-taking. There are from www.nasa.gov taken from space. This just reiterates to me the awesomeness of our God.

Kitchen update

2008-09-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

Kitchen tile was laid yesterday. The grout will be up in today. We should be able to walk in there again by Saturday.

The plan for the kitchen is now this:
Tiled floors
Paint old cabinets and replace all the hardware
New countertop
New cabinets around fridge (there were no cabinets there before)...these cabinets wil have glass fronts
Paint walls/trim/doors
Buy rolling butcher block cart
"New fridge" (1950's fridge)
"New table" (see in post below)
"New" sink (we bought a white porcelain sink for $25 at the Habitat for Humanity warehouse)

Progress

2008-09-09T09:05:00.005-04:00

Here are some pictures of the progress...

Front window to a bay window

Old windows to new windows (we did this in all the bedrooms and bathroom)

Kitchen windows to a sliding glass door (I don't have a picture of the windows before....just the big hole in my house once they took out the windows and cut the wall)

Kitchen floor....what's left of the floor

A plan is coming together

2008-09-07T00:14:00.003-04:00

I've thought long and hard about spending almost $3000 to remodel my kitchen and I've decided that I'm not going to spend that much money. We had planned to replace all of our cabinets and then add more. I live in a house that was built in the 1950's. The kitchen is small and the cabinets are still in great shape. They just need a fresh coat of paint and some new hardware. That is what we are going to do-paint and refurbish. We are going to have a retro/vintage/1950's type theme. We bought a really cool table and fridge. Our light fixture is chrome and today we bought a white porcelain sink. I think it is going to look very neat. I don't cook alot therefore I just couldn't see spending so much money in a room that I will not be spending alot of time in and utilizing. This way it will be functional and neat.

The sunroom floor looks great. Tomorrow they will finish it and by Tuesday we will be able to start painting the room. Yeah!

Looking like this is a light at the end of this tunnel somewhere!

Here is a picture of my table.

Stressed out

2008-09-05T21:51:00.000-04:00

Unlike most people I know I do not stress out much. I tend to take life as it comes at me and I think I deal with it quite well. This past month has not been the case. I don't want to keep complaining in my blog but I figure this is where I tell the world what's going on in my life so it is what it is.....I do realize life could be ALOT worse. I told myself that over and over today. The remodeling of the house has taken on a life of it's own. I am VERY VERY grateful to my mom for replacing our windows (her gift to us). I am looking forward to a new kitchen and painting my house so it will look really nice. I don't enjoy the chaos around me and the dent in my finances that I wasn't planning on spending right now. I am a saver by nature and spending large amounts of money freaks me out. Yeah I'm freaking right about now. And then little things creep in such as the truck window that had to be replaced, my dog needs her rabies shot, my car needs the oil changed and today I went to take a shower and we have no hot water. I'm praying that it is nothing major but that will be determined tomorrow. So....I'm just a little out of sorts right now.

Most importantly (and this is where I ask for your prayers)Brian is sick. We believe he was bite by a tick and has Lyme disease. He has all the symptoms but the doctor couldn't see him today. The doctor did give him antibotics to start today and Monday he will go in to be sure. He has chills, fatigue and joint pain. I hate seeing him in pain and with all the other stuff right now it is wearing on us both. Just pray he gets well soon. Thanks.

Now it is time to go to work (the most chaotic part of my life!) and drive through the nasty weather that Hanna is bringing us.

Before you all think that I am a whiny human I do realize God is still in control and He has me tucked away in His loving arms....that's why I don't fall slam apart when times are stressful.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Update

2008-09-04T10:24:00.003-04:00

For the one or two people that care (if it is even that many) here is the remodeling progress.

Windows are in.
Sliding glass door is in.
Bay window is in.
Trim is pretty much done. Just a few touch up places that we will do when we paint.
Floor in sunroom has been removed.
Today the tile floor in the sunroom will be put down.

To do:
Remove kitchen floor. Replace floor.
Remove kitchen cabinets. Put in new cabinets.
Paint sunroom and kitchen.
Put everything back where it belongs.
Paint bedrooms.
Paint living room.
Replace bathroom floors.
Put in new sink in bathroom.
Buy shades/curtains for windows.
Save money to refinish hard wood floors next year.

This may be done by 2010!

Oh and I have been putting all the patio furniture and dog kennels up in the garage so the hurricanes will not throw them all over the yard. Gotta love hurricane season!

Third Day Live

2008-09-03T11:42:00.006-04:00

Check out Third Day's blog HERE

Well I haven't seen the Music Builds tour YET (16 more days and I'll tell you how very cool the show was!) and the Third Day LIVE tour isn't coming near me in the Fall (what's up with that???) so I'll venture into my past and talk about the last Third Day LIVE tour I went to....

Greensboro 2004
I went to this show with Sarah (I sure miss her). She had meet and greet passes which were VERY hard to come by back then. She told me that we were going to meet the band about a month before the show. I was more than excited about this because neither of us had personally met the band yet. We arrived several hours ahead of schedule because the seats were GA and of course we planned on being right up front. Staked out our spots and got where we wanted to be. The meet and greet was before the show so we headed out to get in line for that (we had some really great friends with us to save our spots). We were taken backstage and told how the M&G would work. We were taken back about 20 minutes later than scheduled so Jenn (at the time she was not the tour manager) told us that we could get anything signed we wanted but there would not be enough time for pictures. I told Sarah that I just might get kicked out b/c I planned on taking a picture! Well the band shows up and stands behind a table to meet, greet and sign. Warren Barfield and Toby Mac were there too but we missed Warren (he had to leave to get ready to swing).

The line went quickly but it was nice. I remember Sarah telling Mark Lee who she was on the message boards and he responded with "I've seen you on there alot". Then she told him that I was SirMax and Mark said "I've seen your name too" (yeah I thought that was mighty cool). Sarah had gift bags for the guys and Tai started playing with the stuff in the bags. I told David Carr that Ali Jacbos said hello (that started a long history of telling David that Ali said hey!) Brad was soooo very nice (can I say I really miss him!). We had a nice meet and greet (although I remember asking Mac if I could shake his hand which now seems so very dumb).

Now back to the show. Great show as usual. Fun show too. During "Come Together" Mac asks if anyone would like to sing with the band. Well figuring that 4000 hands would go up I raised my hand. Mac picked a guy from the middle and then pointed to me. Yep I jumped over the railing (with the help of Brittany's knee) and got right up on stage. I'm so glad Mac had the guy sing the first part because my brain drained of any knowledge of the words when the song started. Then I sang my part...what a fun night. I got to figuring later and realize that I was the first Gomer to sing on stage (this show was the 4th in the tour and the other 3 shows Mac didn't have people on stage). Mac carried this tradition through the Fall tour also.

So...my LIVE memory is a great one now to some pictures.

Yes I am aware that I'm sticking my tongue out at Mac...don't ask me...I don't know...

Done

2008-08-31T10:00:00.000-04:00

Okay so for 2 months now I have posted everyday. Not earth shattering posts but posts. That will not happen in September. Just too much going on right now. I will post often though. I still have to type out all the cool stuff I learned in my Amazing discoveries class. And next week I will be going to a class on Revelation taught by the same people. I am looking forward to that. So I hope to let you know what I learn.

Thanks for reading!

A big ole pile of SHIFT work

2008-08-30T10:00:00.000-04:00

Have you heard that song? I LOVE that song. I love George Strait so that goes without saying but this song is my life! Today is one of those days that I wish I had a different job with a normal schedule. I have been on 2nd shift for the past 4 weeks (we change shifts every 4 weeks). Today I change to midnight weekends. So to explain what happens today is this: last night I got off work at 11pm and tonight I go back to work at 11pm. I have worked 4 days straight already (we work 4 day weeks) but now I have to work 2 more nights so that is 6 days in a row (4 second shift and 2 midnight shift). So....today I get up and do a few things and then I have to lay down and take a nap so I can stay awake at work all night. Are you confused just yet? I am....

Moving furniture

2008-08-29T10:00:00.000-04:00

Today we are moving everything out of the kitchen. Monday the workers will start laying down our new kitchen tile. YEAH!!!!

Gotta love 'em

2008-08-28T13:34:00.002-04:00

So...we are remodeling the house. We are spending a pretty penny to do all this so did we need another expense???? Brian calls me last night at work to tell me this story:

B: I decided to take the kitchen table that Danny let us borrow back to him tonight. (Danny lives right next door to us). I put the table in the back of the truck but didn't tie it down since I wasn't going far. Well when I hit the brakes guess what happened?

W: The table went out the back of the truck bed?

B: No.

W: The table slid into the tail gate messing it up?

B: No

W: The table went through the back window of the truck?

B: Yes.

W: Are you okay?

B: Thanks for asking.

Yep....how's that for great? Men...gotta love 'em (I think ;) )

Accomplishment challenged

2008-08-27T12:30:00.000-04:00

My ability to accomplish anything lately is zero. I can't do anything around the house until the workers finish. I couldn't get on the internet for 5 days so I'm VERY behind in everything I do there (which includes paying the bills!). Now at work I'm having to train one of the new magistrates so I have no time to read (yeah I know that sounds awful but when I'm not working I am allowed to read...it is nice to be able to do that)....I just feel like I'm a hamster on a wheel getting nothing done in my life.

Soooo...let's get ready for work.

Hope your day is a good one.

feeling yucky

2008-08-26T17:16:00.000-04:00

I have felt yucky all day....yep that's about it...I slept til 1pm and then got up to be at work at 3pm.....oh joy

Too much stuff

2008-08-25T13:34:00.000-04:00

We have WAY too much stuff! I may never climb out of this clutter ....help me...I'm drowning....

Need something? I probably have it...want it???

Blah blah blah

2008-08-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Had to say something...hopefully a profound sermon will happen at church today and I'll expound on it. Stay tuned!

I need to get a prize or something

2008-08-23T12:47:00.000-04:00

Well now my internet at my house doesn't work...yeah NOT very happy about that at all....paying for it and can't use it. So....after the conference today (I'll be posting on it soon...very very interesting!) I came to Panera Bread. Now I had to eat lunch of course and I LOVE Panera Bread and they have wi-fi. This way I don't miss a post for this month!

Let's see...house still chaotic. The windows and doors should be finished by Tuesday. Then I can start painting the spare room and move all the furniture back into that room. I can get all the junk off of Scott's bed so he can sleep in it when he comes home next month. Then we have to start moving the furniture and appliances in the kitchen and sunroom so the new floor can be laid. We bought a "new" kitchen table (I'll get a picture and post it) and we are getting a 1950's fridge...matches the new theme of the kitchen. This house remodeling is crazy but exciting.

Now I'm headed to the mall just because I feel like it!

Hope all is well with those reading this...have a great Saturday!!!

goings on

2008-08-22T08:00:00.001-04:00

The Music Builds tour started tonight. Looking forward to hearing how the show went and seeing pictures.

Brian and I went to a conference last night called "Amazing Discoveries in lost cities of the dead". It is a conference about the wonders of Biblical archeology. The topic was on ancient Egypt. When I get the time I will write more. Very very interesting concepts. Tonight the topic is Babylon. Should be very interesting. I'll fill you in....

Free music!

2008-08-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

Like free music? I do! I will be honest and say I haven't downloaded this yet but I plan to once I get to my laptop (I'm posting from work...shhhh don't tell anyone).

Anyway Phil Wickham has a new cd out and it is free. Yep free. It has been recommended by Bart Millard of Mercy Me. That's enough for me to go see what it's all about. Also, I've seen Phil in concert and I liked him alot. So....what are you waiting for...go HERE and get the free cd!!!

Taking All He Gives

What a great day

Hodge podge

Holy Chaos part 2

Holy Chaos

Village visiting

All safe and accounted for

Ready set go....

Third Day Simpsonville SC

What to do....

Wow

Come join THE BOOKMARKS

Thing to do #36 See George Strait

The Rest of the Story

God's plan not Wendy's!

NATIONAL CHAMPS!!!!

THIRD DAY on the third day & thing to do #29

FINAL FOUR BABY!!!!

Third Day on the 3rd day of the 3rd month on square root day!

Looking for...

Winner

Please pray

Sad day

Third Day on the 3rd, 8th, um 9th

Done!!

Things to do percentage

Give me a break

Happy New Year!

Thing to Do #16

Immanuel

Spekkoek

Update

*Waves*

checking in

Christmas Tree Ban

December 3rd

Santa or No?

Done!

Star struck....

Coolest tree

Thankful

Getting closer

Mashed potatoes?

&$%*#&%

Tagged

Favorite Thanksgiving food

Winter

Third Day Johnson City TN

24 IS BACK!!!!

Tracking...

Change of plans

Kitchen update

Tired and now ill

Thing to do #46

Thing to Do #62

Road Trip

Thing to Do #34

Thank a soldier

Thing to do #18

Patience

Goodness

Life is a trip

Who's there?

My Hope

On His Throne

It's that time....

busy busy

Let's do this thing

Slow Down

Remodeling update

Music Builds Tour San Antonio

Music Builds Tour Houston

Music Builds Tour Dallas

Music Builds Tour OKC

Let the madness....FUN....begin

Frequent flier miles week

My fridge

Summer Reading Club (in the Fall)

Remodeling "heaven"

Come see...Third Day pics

Waves