December 30, 2010
Holiday Sandwich
So, today is my "meat" day. The day sandwiched between two trips. The first trip. The epic "Christmas Holidays in Texas" trip, we got back from last night. Some how we shaved a good two hours off our time. Umm...really have NO IDEA how we did that.
And then tomorrow we're going for a little mini retreat with the other Navigator Leadership Team peoples. Two more nights that I must pack for.
But first I must do a huge MOUNTAIN of laundry and some how put away all the wonderful presents we got for Christmas, plus go grocery shopping. Plus plan a meal for the weekend ( I'm in charge of the first meal of the retreat so I better make it good.).
All this to say that I have a lot to catch up on that will probably NOT get caught up on until NEXT week.
aka. 2011
That's right. 2010 is gonna be GONE.
I promise to write a really good recap of 2010. Stay tuned...
And then tomorrow we're going for a little mini retreat with the other Navigator Leadership Team peoples. Two more nights that I must pack for.
But first I must do a huge MOUNTAIN of laundry and some how put away all the wonderful presents we got for Christmas, plus go grocery shopping. Plus plan a meal for the weekend ( I'm in charge of the first meal of the retreat so I better make it good.).
All this to say that I have a lot to catch up on that will probably NOT get caught up on until NEXT week.
aka. 2011
That's right. 2010 is gonna be GONE.
I promise to write a really good recap of 2010. Stay tuned...
December 14, 2010
FYI...
So, I just found this old post, covered in dust in my archives. I've decided to add it to my "Favorites" tab, but I'll also link it here....I'm so glad I did my best to sum up 2005, especially since even now that year holds great significants to who I am today...
A New Year
A New Year
December 13, 2010
"On that very day"
I read this in my time with God this morning:
"At the end of four hundred and thirty years, on that very day, all the companies of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt." -Ex 12:41
It was fitting that I would read this today, because today-December 13th ( also, Billie Kinnaird's birthday...Happy Birthday Billie! ) 2004 I left New Zealand.
As many of you know, I had lived in New Zealand for almost three years while I attended the University of Otago. It had truly been one of the most wonderful, life changing times in my life. I had met amazing friends, lived in the most beautiful country in the world, and my relationship with God had grown like it never had before.
But, then, even with several opportunities to stay in NZ after graduating-God straight-up told me to leave. To this day I cannot remember exactly how He told me to leave, ( which is odd), but I do remember it being non-negotiable. I was suppose to go back to Texas. I was suppose to be there for my family. Period. Do it. Go.
I did ask God, though, if I could just stay in Texas for two and a half years. If maybe I wouldn't have to stay there forever. I asked if maybe after two and a half years-and I had done my "duty" I could leave?!
( I think secretly in my mind I thought I could come back to New Zealand after that amount of time..hehe)
And so I left and I cried and cried on that plane ride back to Texas....and you know what?! I got there...and...
it was awful. HAHA! You thought I was going to say that it was awesome, didn't you?!? Because that's USUALLY how these God-stories go ( all perfectly tied up in a bow all "testimony ready") ...but that's not the case.
You can ask my sister, and the rest of my family...but she and I crawled through THE hardest year of my life thus far-and that's counting the year that Brett was deployed!!
Every single day was difficult. And there were lots of times I just wanted to get on a plane and head back to New Zealand where it was "nice".
But, I stayed and we all fought it out. And during those hard times I learned a lot about God. In Exodus ( Exodus 10 verse 2) it talks about the plagues that God brings upon the Egyptians so that the Israelites will be able to tell their children and their grandchildren what God has done..." so that you may know that I am the Lord." The year of 2005 was a year of Faith Testing. And because of all the testing I was left knowing that, even when things are awful, and terribly sad, God is still God. And I knew then, without a shadow of a doubt that He was the Lord. I plan on telling Ransom this-and many other stories like it- in the hopes that, he too, will know that He is Lord.
So, time passed and I met Brett and we got engaged and we were planning our wedding for July 14th 2007. And then one day, I was doing my quiet time I was reminded in the tiniest of whispers-of the time I asked God if I could just stay in Texas for two and a half years. And the whisper told me to figure up how long two and a half years was...( lets all remember I was an ENGLISH MAJOR...math takes some effort! hehe!) And there it was...Brett and I were getting married and I was leaving Texas for good exactly 2 years, six months and ONE DAY after coming back.
Whether its 400 years or two years, or six months or one week...Time is nothing to God. As it said in Exodus, "on that very day"...not a day too early or a day too late-God called His people out of a time of slavery and despair.
I am greatly comforted by this lesson again today. Because there are a lot of things I'm praying for that have yet to be answered. And I may feel like we're unfairly suffering for 400 years like the Israelites. But I should know- we should ALL know that, when the time is right, ON THAT VERY DAY...God will act and He will show Himself Lord.
"At the end of four hundred and thirty years, on that very day, all the companies of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt." -Ex 12:41
It was fitting that I would read this today, because today-December 13th ( also, Billie Kinnaird's birthday...Happy Birthday Billie! ) 2004 I left New Zealand.
As many of you know, I had lived in New Zealand for almost three years while I attended the University of Otago. It had truly been one of the most wonderful, life changing times in my life. I had met amazing friends, lived in the most beautiful country in the world, and my relationship with God had grown like it never had before.
But, then, even with several opportunities to stay in NZ after graduating-God straight-up told me to leave. To this day I cannot remember exactly how He told me to leave, ( which is odd), but I do remember it being non-negotiable. I was suppose to go back to Texas. I was suppose to be there for my family. Period. Do it. Go.
I did ask God, though, if I could just stay in Texas for two and a half years. If maybe I wouldn't have to stay there forever. I asked if maybe after two and a half years-and I had done my "duty" I could leave?!
( I think secretly in my mind I thought I could come back to New Zealand after that amount of time..hehe)
And so I left and I cried and cried on that plane ride back to Texas....and you know what?! I got there...and...
it was awful. HAHA! You thought I was going to say that it was awesome, didn't you?!? Because that's USUALLY how these God-stories go ( all perfectly tied up in a bow all "testimony ready") ...but that's not the case.
You can ask my sister, and the rest of my family...but she and I crawled through THE hardest year of my life thus far-and that's counting the year that Brett was deployed!!
Every single day was difficult. And there were lots of times I just wanted to get on a plane and head back to New Zealand where it was "nice".
But, I stayed and we all fought it out. And during those hard times I learned a lot about God. In Exodus ( Exodus 10 verse 2) it talks about the plagues that God brings upon the Egyptians so that the Israelites will be able to tell their children and their grandchildren what God has done..." so that you may know that I am the Lord." The year of 2005 was a year of Faith Testing. And because of all the testing I was left knowing that, even when things are awful, and terribly sad, God is still God. And I knew then, without a shadow of a doubt that He was the Lord. I plan on telling Ransom this-and many other stories like it- in the hopes that, he too, will know that He is Lord.
So, time passed and I met Brett and we got engaged and we were planning our wedding for July 14th 2007. And then one day, I was doing my quiet time I was reminded in the tiniest of whispers-of the time I asked God if I could just stay in Texas for two and a half years. And the whisper told me to figure up how long two and a half years was...( lets all remember I was an ENGLISH MAJOR...math takes some effort! hehe!) And there it was...Brett and I were getting married and I was leaving Texas for good exactly 2 years, six months and ONE DAY after coming back.
Whether its 400 years or two years, or six months or one week...Time is nothing to God. As it said in Exodus, "on that very day"...not a day too early or a day too late-God called His people out of a time of slavery and despair.
I am greatly comforted by this lesson again today. Because there are a lot of things I'm praying for that have yet to be answered. And I may feel like we're unfairly suffering for 400 years like the Israelites. But I should know- we should ALL know that, when the time is right, ON THAT VERY DAY...God will act and He will show Himself Lord.
December 11, 2010
Holiday hogwash.
So, last night I threw another holiday party. There were ugly sweaters and I wore my totally awesome footed PJs that Brett and I picked up from the kids department at Target ( did you know that little girls XL is just my size?! Me neither)
Anyways. The party was a success on several levels. There were leftovers-which either means the food was bad ( and since I didn't make a lot of it and I ate all of it...I can attest to this not being the case) or there was actually enough to eat. And since one of my GREATEST FEARS is to not have enough food on hand to feed any boys that might enter my home...
( no one has YET to get me this cookbook:
that was a success. And by working together, Brett and I were able to win Candyland in the gift exchange...which, I was excited about because that game ROCKED when I was a kid. I hope Ransom likes it too....is it a girlie game??! I just thought of that...hmmm...hope its a gender neutral game. All kids like candy, right?!
Oh. And you should also know that Nutella Brownies. A MAJOR WIN.
Here's how to make them:
Mix 3 cups of nutella and two eggs together, then add 10 table spoons of flour. Then a big dash of cinnamon ( make that about THREE dashes) and then fill cupcake papers 3/4 of the way full and bake on 350 for 11 minutes. AND BOOM! Awesomeness. ( side note: do not expect a cakey brownie...this is more "fudge" like....or molten chocolate cake like...)
I mean I could just eat Nutella out of the jar, but they frown on serving straight nutella at parties so I guess they had to come up with another way.
SO, now that my last holiday party of the season is donezo. My mind can entirely focus on Ransom's Four Month Wellness appointment on Monday. ( OVER MY DEAD BODY are we going to go through the hell that the shots were last round...it WILL BE BETTER. Or like I said...there will be death. But here's a hint for you...I wont be the dead one...it'll be a technician giving shots who meets there demise.) So yes, I'm a bit stressed about it all...I hate, hate, hate taking Ransom to the doctor...but such is life. And Mama Bear may just come out to play...I'll let you know.
And then, then after THATS done with...I will focus ALL my attention on packing for our trip to Texas. Did you know that once you have children you must pack everything, including the kitchen sink so that you can travel in comfort?! Well its true. And so I have already started my list of things that I must pack into our car....my blood pressure rises even as I think about it. AND HERE'S WHERE WE GET TO THE HOGWASH!!!
So, in awesome army fashion...Army decides to send Brett to a class at Fort Stewart starting tomorrow until Wednesday...ummmm....and for those of you who are paying attention we leave for Texas on THURSDAY.
Good one, Army! Good one.
Army and I have been on pretty good terms lately. We've been smiling and making small talk when we run into each other in the grocery store...but NO MORE! Why does Army have to go make life all difficult again right when we were starting to get along?!?! OH SURE! Army's been giving Brett half-days for a week...I guess in the hopes that I'd forgive this little piece of "discomfort"...but why don't YOU try to get the oil changed and the tires rotated with a four month old?!?! And why don't you go take your child to get their shots and then deal with the next twenty four hours when the true shot-aftermath takes place. NO LAUGHING MATTER.
Anyways. This weeks gonna be fun.
December 09, 2010
Its been a life time.
Four months ago today Ransom was born. Its kind of hard to believe that its ONLY been four months!
We've had Ranger School, 8 visitors through our home, we've had Thanksgiving and my birthday, we moved Jaymon out of the house and moved Hayden in, we've had one Christmas party ( and another one tomorrow!) and with each passing day Ransom gets older.
Wow.
Anyway, if you're interested-you can go check out my recent "Letter to Ransom" on his blog.
We've had Ranger School, 8 visitors through our home, we've had Thanksgiving and my birthday, we moved Jaymon out of the house and moved Hayden in, we've had one Christmas party ( and another one tomorrow!) and with each passing day Ransom gets older.
Wow.
Anyway, if you're interested-you can go check out my recent "Letter to Ransom" on his blog.
December 06, 2010
Life lesson...
Today I went to the doctor...
While waiting for my meds I ordered a decaf latte from the overpriced coffee shop next to the pharmacy.
The barista was rude and not very good at her job. I was then a tad rude back.
I think she gave me regular instead of decaf.
The moral is that I am now wired and you should never return kind with kind when your coffee is involved.
While waiting for my meds I ordered a decaf latte from the overpriced coffee shop next to the pharmacy.
The barista was rude and not very good at her job. I was then a tad rude back.
I think she gave me regular instead of decaf.
The moral is that I am now wired and you should never return kind with kind when your coffee is involved.
First impressions
In 150 words or less...
In 140 characters...
I feel like the internet is constantly conspiring against my longevity, trying to get me to "nail down" what I'm about. I tried doing that in my "about me" section which you can find at the top of this page, but I'll warn you... I don't think it does my blog justice.
I'm reminded of Camren Diaz's character in the movie The Holiday ( incidentally, my new favorite Christmas movie) who's a Hollywood movie trailer maker and has the "gift" at making movies seem like blockbusters in 2 minutes or less...
I lack this gift.
Right now I lack the gift because I'm up at 3am having my 4 month old try to unclog my right boob. Yup. You heard me right. UNCLOG.
I'll probably have to go to the doctor in the morning ( the REAL morning, not this horrible fake one thats going on right now) since I spent much of yesterday in a shaky/ feverish state.... We are probably dealing with infection. ... Which is what I would like any new readers I might have to think about when they first read this blog.
INFECTION.
not really.
But, sadly this blog is limited not by word limit or character limit... No, it's limited by my day. WHATEVER day full of military wife-dom, full of new baby mom-dom, or soldiers ministry crazy-dom has to offer, THAT'S what this blog will spew.
For instance we have a new single soldier move in our attic this weekend. I think I'm going to like him, because A. He's from Texas. B. He's currently reading chronicles of narnia. And C. He laughs at me and my husband's joke ( important in any type of relationship)....
In 140 characters...
I feel like the internet is constantly conspiring against my longevity, trying to get me to "nail down" what I'm about. I tried doing that in my "about me" section which you can find at the top of this page, but I'll warn you... I don't think it does my blog justice.
I'm reminded of Camren Diaz's character in the movie The Holiday ( incidentally, my new favorite Christmas movie) who's a Hollywood movie trailer maker and has the "gift" at making movies seem like blockbusters in 2 minutes or less...
I lack this gift.
Right now I lack the gift because I'm up at 3am having my 4 month old try to unclog my right boob. Yup. You heard me right. UNCLOG.
I'll probably have to go to the doctor in the morning ( the REAL morning, not this horrible fake one thats going on right now) since I spent much of yesterday in a shaky/ feverish state.... We are probably dealing with infection. ... Which is what I would like any new readers I might have to think about when they first read this blog.
INFECTION.
not really.
But, sadly this blog is limited not by word limit or character limit... No, it's limited by my day. WHATEVER day full of military wife-dom, full of new baby mom-dom, or soldiers ministry crazy-dom has to offer, THAT'S what this blog will spew.
For instance we have a new single soldier move in our attic this weekend. I think I'm going to like him, because A. He's from Texas. B. He's currently reading chronicles of narnia. And C. He laughs at me and my husband's joke ( important in any type of relationship)....
So there you have it. In the morning I'll read this and think... Wow, really?!? You wanna tell a whole bunch of new readers about your boob issues?! And then I'll post this anyway, because that's how I roll.
December 02, 2010
A sign...
So, I was just reading through my blog roll like normal this morning and I read THREE blog posts in a ROW that mentioned "jeggings" ( a cross between jeans and leggings). Umm...
Whoa.
And they were not fashion blogs by the way...one was a "family" blog, one was a "christian blog" and one was a "kids blog"...
They have obviously taken the holiday season by storm.
This seeeeeeems like a bad idea, people. But luckily I made a pact that I would NOT buy myself clothes this season ( from September to February) and so I have already saved myself from the probably VERY bad decision of buying such an item.
But, if any of my readers have any kind of experience-good or bad with jeggings...I'd really like to hear about it.
Whoa.
And they were not fashion blogs by the way...one was a "family" blog, one was a "christian blog" and one was a "kids blog"...
They have obviously taken the holiday season by storm.
This seeeeeeems like a bad idea, people. But luckily I made a pact that I would NOT buy myself clothes this season ( from September to February) and so I have already saved myself from the probably VERY bad decision of buying such an item.
But, if any of my readers have any kind of experience-good or bad with jeggings...I'd really like to hear about it.
December 01, 2010
Preparing
The whirl of activity ( I almost said gaiety...but really, lets be honest, its mostly stressful) that IS December has come.
I ate my first advent chocolate.
Anyways...
I'm hosting two holiday parties this year. Don't know how that happened. I have not thrown a party since....ummm....gosh. Must have been J-Money's 30th birthday in July. Wow. That was a long time ago! So I'm making up for lost time by having a party this Friday night for a bunch of ladies that I know, plus any airborne soldier girls that I can get my hands on ( how hard it must be to be at Airborne school during the holiday season!) and then NEXT Friday I'm hosting the Leadership Team's Christmas Party.
We're doing crafts at BOTH parties. So I've been stocking up on my christmas cookie decor plus ornament decorating supplies...I haven't even BEGUN to fully think about the food yet. *sigh*
So yes, I say all that to say that this month is going to be busy-and what I really need to do is take a chill pill and remember just why I ate that chocolate this morning...
He is coming...
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God ( Is 40:1-3)
I ate my first advent chocolate.
Anyways...
I'm hosting two holiday parties this year. Don't know how that happened. I have not thrown a party since....ummm....gosh. Must have been J-Money's 30th birthday in July. Wow. That was a long time ago! So I'm making up for lost time by having a party this Friday night for a bunch of ladies that I know, plus any airborne soldier girls that I can get my hands on ( how hard it must be to be at Airborne school during the holiday season!) and then NEXT Friday I'm hosting the Leadership Team's Christmas Party.
We're doing crafts at BOTH parties. So I've been stocking up on my christmas cookie decor plus ornament decorating supplies...I haven't even BEGUN to fully think about the food yet. *sigh*
So yes, I say all that to say that this month is going to be busy-and what I really need to do is take a chill pill and remember just why I ate that chocolate this morning...
He is coming...
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God ( Is 40:1-3)
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