The Badge of Summer

It's summer, ya'll. Glorious summer. No school. Tons of free times for the kids. Swimming. Sleeping in. Sweltering temperatures. Sweat. Sunburns. Welts. Welts? Yes, welts. Welts and itching and misery. Grab the deet, ya'll, or you'll be wearing those badges all summer long. I'm talking about mosquito bites. I've got tons of those badges already, and I'm in misery. I'm itching all day. It's sad that my kids can't just rush out to play. Oh, no. They have to be wiped down with the mosquito-repellent and slathered with sunscreen. That is, when it's not too blazin' hot for them to even exit the house. And it is HOT down here, ya'll. Up in the 90's and getting hotter by the weekend. Well, I just wanted to share my summer bliss with all of you. Long live the token of the South - our expected pest this time of year. Our ambassador who brings the badge of the season.

I Just Like Pictures

Free Mistake

I will tell you a funny story. This evening, after supper and bathtime and everything, Buffalo Wings went over to our landlord's house to pay the rent. They are very nice and they love to see the kids, so Buffalo Wings decided to take Noodle with him. I walked outside as he was leaving, and he was talking to me through the van window. He was telling me about the poison ivy that attacked him as he was trimming hedges out there, and then showed me where it was (seriously, ya'll, he has got an awful case of poison ivy right now). I was holding Banana and as Buffalo Wings and Noodle pulled out of the driveway, I decided to go around the back of the house and the side yard to look at all of Buffalo Wings' hard work. The yard looked great. I made note of the poison ivy. I decided that the weather was lovely, so I would take Banana for a walk. I went to get the stroller out of the garage.

It was not to be.

The garage door was closed!

Not one door to the house was unlocked.

I yelled after BW, but he was already too far down the street, and I couldn't very well run with Banana in my arms, the hefty little man that he is. So I accepted my fate and just sat out in the yard.

It wouldn't have been so bad, if some Jehovah's Witnesses had not stopped over for a visit. I was a little embarrassed at my situation, but they enjoyed visiting with me out in my yard. They stayed quite a long time, and I was thankful for the company, but I wondered what a strange sight we must have been. We had a lovely talk under our pecan tree, and the wife held Aaron for awhile, and they were scared to leave me. They also comforted me by saying that the husband of the pair often accidentally locks the wife out quite frequently, especially as she is working in her flower garden.

They left and it was dark by that time and they made sure I would knock on my neighbor's door. I said I would and that if they ever came back, we could go into the house! Well, I knocked on my neighbor's door. And my other neighbor's. And my other neighbor's. Either they didn't want to associate with me, or really no one was home. So I walked around my house for a few minutes, but then BW and Noodle showed up. BW felt really, really, really bad. Lucky for him, he had picked me up a Frosty on the way! Always be prepared, just in case you might be in the doghouse for something, you know! I'm kidding - I told him it's a good thing that I do lots of stupid things on a daily basis, and this really wasn't a big deal. He hadn't even realized he had done it, of course. Now we can laugh about it and I get a free stupid mistake out of the deal!

Cute Pictures and More

I figured it out! And all in only one day! I've added links and pictures! I can do it! I had some help from my husband and from the viewing audience, so thanks, ya'll!!!!

Picture 1 - Banana in his highchair
Picture 2 - Noodle with a frog we found in the yard today
Picture 3 - Banana's bath in the sink
Picture 4 - Noodle and Chicken Nugget in "the most awsome tent you've (Mom) ever made!" last week when it rained and rained and rained
Picture 5 - Noodle and Chicken Nugget in the best toy in the world!!!! Think outside the box, ya'll!!!

I need to make a program note. My husband is no longer named Bratwurst. I told him what his blog name was, and he said that although he enjoys bratwurst a great deal, it really probably isn't his favorite food. He said that if he had to pick, buffalo wings would be his favorite. I thought, how insensitive of me to just make an assumption like that, so I apologized and will rename him Buffalo Wings.

Another New Amount

$679

Only $161 to go!!!!

Dance Recital

Here she is, that cute little Chicken Nugget. The top picture is in her ballet costume. The bottom picture is of her tap routine as she is actually performing on stage! The recital's theme was Cinderella. Isn't she a cutie? We are certainly very proud of her. She did a great job dancing in the rectial!

New Amount

The mail just came!

Monies to date: $504

Monies needed to date: $336

Praise be to God!

How Do I?

Hey, you savvy bloggers!
How do I snazz up my blog?
Add pics?
Links to other blogs?
And all that jazz?
Help me!

Funds to Date

Monies raised to date: $379

Monies needed to date: $461

Deadline: June 26

Dates of Mission Trip: July 31-Aug 5

Please continue to pray! Pray that all needed funds will come in. Pray for all of us as we prepare for mommy to be gone for a whole week. Pray for those who do not yet know Jesus, that our team may bring the love of Christ to them and that they will accept Him. Pray for safety of travel and work while we are in Hattiesburg.

Oh, yeah, and please pray for me as I prepare to teach Vacation Bible School at my church! VBS is June 19-23! I'll be teaching, what else, the missions class!!!! The theme for this summer's VBS is "Arctic Edge," so I get to teach about missionaries who are in Alaska! I'm very excited about this because I'll get to share with the kids my adventures hunting wolverines with my uncle while I was in Alaska last summer.

You Said . . .

"You said
ask and you will receive
whatever you need.

You said
pray and I'll hear from Heaven
and I'll hear your land.

You said
Your glory will fill the earth
like water the seas.

You said
lift up your eyes!
The harvest is here!
The Kingdom is near!

You said
ask and I'll give the nations to you!

Oh Lord, that's the cry of my heart!
Distant shores and the islands will see
Your life as it rises on Earth!"

"You Said"
Shane and Shane

I'll be posting things regarding my mission trip on this blog rather than on myspace. My mission trip to Hattiesburg, Mississippi is July 31-Aug. 5. Please pray for my preparation in every aspect - spiritual, emotional, physical. Please pray that the rest of the funds will come - already $310 of the needed $840 has come in, and I have not sent out a single fund-raising letter, though I do have one typed up and ready to mail. Please pray for the apprehensions I have about leaving my family. Please pray that others will come to know Christ through this work. I don't know anyone else on the team, but I ask prayer for unity among us - we will be of all backgrounds and denominations and will be working to fulfill one purpose, that of service for Christ as He works through us. May God's hand be upon us for safety and peace and all things as He desires them. This will be a challenging and amazing week, and I'm looking forward to how I will be stretched and how I will learn and grow at the feet of my Master.

"Oh, Lord, that's the cry of my heart!"

Come Thou Fount

Here is only a portion of the hymn that is one of my favorites:

"Oh to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee -
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it!
Prone to leave the God I love!
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above!"

and the lines just before it:

"Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God,
He to rescue me from danger
Bought me with His precious blood."

Words by Robert Robinson
Music by John Wyeth

And The Winners Are . . .

If you look on the previous post, "Who Said It?" you will see that Sonnet and Courtney are both going to win a prize. I'm a softie, so I can't let either of them go without a prize! I'm so proud of them for working so hard to find the answers to all the quotes! AND, Sonnet gets the bonus prize for guessing that all the folks quoted were from the South - darn tootin', dumplin'!

Upping the Anty

I forgot to add a prize to the mix - and this is a REAL prize, not a fake prize like some poeple cook up! I will allow my winner to choose a $10 Pampered Chef item, or I'll just send them a $10 gift certificate for a Pampered Chef item! This goes to the first person to get the most correct quotes, and I'll send a bonus gift for telling me the answer to the question of what all the folks have in common! Have fun, and good luck!

Who Said It?

Who can name each person for the quotes below?

1. "No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity."

2. "There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em."

3. "I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to."

4. "The reason a writer writes a book is to forget a book and the reason a reader reads a book is to remember it."

5. "It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it."

6. "In a way, I'd rather ride down the street on a camel than give what is sometimes called an in-depth interview. I'd rather ride down the street on a camel nude. In a snowstorm. Backwards."

7. "Science may have found a cure for most evils: but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all - the apathy of human beings."

8. "I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail."

9. "People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for."

10. "I leave this rule for others
when I'm dead,
Be always sure you're
right - then go ahead."

AND - what do all of these folks have in common?

Stay

I asked it
if it
would go away

I asked it
in the
politest way

I asked it
why it
nested there

I asked it
why it
must always stare

I did not
want it
it had to know!

"Please leave!"
Said I,
it said,
"No!"

I understand now
For older I am
Why some things stay,
while others scram

I think with wisdom
comes some pain
And that's why it stayed
In sun
In rain

I understand
some better now
why its stay
I had to allow

Without the hurt
the heal won't be
It makes more sense
today to me . . .

It was sorrow
I saw that day
and necessary
was its stay

AKS 4-23-06

Don't You Want to be a Blogger, Too???

He did it!
He's blogging!
Scott's blogging!

www.myspace.com/texasmath

Take a look!
Yay yay yay!!!!!

Wisdom From The Indigo Girls

"Every five years or so I look back on my life and I have a good laugh."

"Why did I think I could start clean-slated? The hardest to learn was the least complicated."

"Of all my demon spirits, I need you the most. I'm in love with your ghost."

"You can stand there and agonize till your agony's your heaviest load."

"The closer I'm bound up to you, the closer I am to free."

Who can name the songs?

Today's Tidbit

I'm trying to get my husband to start a blog, or to contribute to this one. He saw my friend Shane's blog, that had states and countries colored in on a map, indicating all the places he's visited. Scott thought that was cool and said, "I have way more than he does! I want to do a map like that!" And I said he could only do one if he blogs. You should all post encouraging words that would get him blogging. He asked, "What would I write about?" And I said, "Your life!" And he said, "That would be boring," and I said, "No, it wouldn't; people love to read blogs!"
So post away so that he will see how much you all want to read a blog by Scott!

Quote For The Day

It's late, and I'm tired. This is the only quote I could come up with. Anyway, no one reads this blog except me. So I want to make sure I enjoy it.

Here goes:

"Without God-centered certainty, one has no choice but to defend his ego and protect his rights."
Gene Wilkes
Jesus On Leadership