Monthly Archives: July 2008

What’s up?

Brooke had cheer camp over the weekend, 2 1/2 hours away from home.  The daytime schedule was grueling, but they did manage to sneak in a couple of hours of social time in the evening.  At one point I was trying to talk to her on the phone and it was crazy loud.  I said, “are you guys having a party or what!”?  She just laughed and said “Yeah”.  There were only 2 mishaps.  One, she forgot her spending money, so she couldn’t buy the overpriced $40 t-shirt that said cheer on it.  The other was, she fell and the coach called me.  Apparently she is a flyer, not something I’m excited about, and one of the bases grabbed her leg in the wrong spot, causing Brooke to bend her leg and fall forward.  She hurt her arm, but the trainer looked at it and said there was no fracture.  She took some Motrin and iced it, and all is fine. 

We went up on Sunday to pick her up and see the competition part of it.  I have learned that I’ll need to purchase some earplugs for the games, because I came out of there with a headache.  It was good though.  I can’t believe the stunts they’re doing already.  I’m used to seeing her gracefully dancing on stage, not flying through the air. 

Last night we went to our dance meeting.  It was good, and Brooke is excited at all the opportunities she was offered.  I can’t believe that school is starting in 2 weeks.  Where has the summer gone?  I was looking forward to a more laid back school year, but now I’m not sure that’s going to happen. 

Our garden is doing so well.  I picked our first cucumber the other day, and bell pepper too.  We’ve had several tomatoes, and we have two of the cutest little watermelons growing.  I get so excited when I go out and spot something new growing.

Going Green Tuesday

Did you know that those synthetic nylon bath poufs we use are made from petroleum and cannot be recycled?  Me either!  So if we would use an all natural and biodegradeable loofah, or a plain old washcloth, we’d conserve the energy used to make that nylon pouf and the environmental cost of disposing of it. 

Here’s the WOW factor!  If one in fifty of us would just switch over to the all natural loofah or washcloth, it would save a sponge big enough to soak up almost a million square foot flood of water. 

I think I’ll be switching over to the loofah instead of the washcloth.  I’m just thinkin about all the extra laundry to be washed, and it’s all piled up right now, so I don’t need anything adding to that. 

“Moore” Monday

 

FAITH ALWAYS PLEASES GOD,

EVEN IF IT PROMPTS AN OFF-TARGET

PETITION.  WE ALL ERR IN MANY

WAYS.  LET US ERR

ON THE SIDE OF FAITH.

Father God, according to Your Word, without faith it is impossible to please You, because
anyone who comes to You must believe that You exist and that You reward those who
earnestly seek You (Heb. 11:6).

Lord, I want to please You.  Build faith in me so my life will honor the life of Your Son at
all times, in every way.

Help me not be like the ancient Israelites who willfully put You to the test (Ps. 78:18).
They did not believe in You or trust in Your deliverance even after all the wonders You
had shown them (Ps. 78:22).

Please swell my soul with belief, and help me to trust emphatically in Your deliverance.

From Beth Moore, Praying God’s Word Day by Day

A few days late

I said I’d be back Monday, but a family vacation happened.  Brian and I flew home on Saturday, so all of us slept in our own beds for 2 nights before we left again.  Brian actually took a week long vacation, and we left on Monday to head over to Kings Island.  We planned on just hanging out in our room and relaxing that evening, but the room was not so nice.  We chose to save $10 a night and opted for the Red Roof Inn, instead of the Super 8.  Note to self-pay the extra $10!  Anyway, we decided to head down the road to check out the Bass Pro Shop.  A good time was had by all, and three out of five of us walked out with new shoes.  HHmmm…..

All of us were hungry, and Wednesday was going to be Brian and my 14th wedding anniversary.  We knew we’d be busy at the parks so we decided to do a nice dinner early.  We found this very nice Seafood restaraunt, and the food was great.  Zach had the fried crawfish, Matthew had catfish, and Brooke had shrimp.  Brian ordered the calamari for an appetizer and we had a little fun with letting them eat it before we told them what it was.  Evil, I know! 

On Tuesday we opened up Kings Island, and left 10 hours later.  Matthew was 2 inches shy of being able to ride most of the big rides, so Zach and Brian paired up and did the roller coasters.  I got away with only riding Vortex, and one of the indoor coasters with Zach.  Matthew kept saying “I love Kings Island!”  He got to meet SpongeBob and Scooby Doo, which was truly a highlight!  There was very little wait time to get on the rides, so I was thrilled with that.  We pretty much walked onto everything except the Rugrats Reptar ride in Nickelodeon. 

The highlight for me was finally getting to do the Xtreme Sky flight.  I’ve always wanted to do it, but never could get anyone to try it with me.  When we walked by and saw the sign that it was only $5 instead of $20, I took that as a sign.  This is where they hook you up, and put you on a zip line that goes up 160 feet in the air, yep that’s 16 stories, and you pull the rip cord and it’s like sky diving and hang gliding.  So Awesome, I’ve always wanted to do it.  I convinced Zach and Brooke to do it with me.  We did have to wait for a while because they only had one side running.  When we finally got close, they started putting the special suits on us and asked who would be the one to pull the rip cord.  Since I was the biggest, I had to be in the middle, so it had to be one of the kids.  Brooke immediately volunteered Zach, and he agreed.  We got up on the platform and they were hooking us all together when Brooke decided she didn’t want to do it.  It was up to Zach and me now. 

We started ascending, and boy was it high!  It took awhile to get all the way to the top, and part of me was thinking/screaming in my head, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, RISKING YOUR LIFE AND YOUR SONS!!!  But the exhilaration won out, Zach pulled the rip cord, and we were flying.  Flying through the air was so awesome.  We both had so much fun.  What a memory. 

The next day we went to the water park.  Brian, Zach and I all burned the bottom of our feet on the concrete, so that made walking and waiting in line on those horrible rubber mats terribly painful.  Matthew had a blast riding down those huge slides all by himself.  He was making up for being a little short the day before.  We stayed for about 5 hours, then went back to the room for a nap.  Feeling a little rested, we decided to go back to the park until they closed.  The big boys rode the racer and the Beast, while Brooke, Matthew and I made it to the Monster and the Fairly Odd Coaster.  We saw the fireworks and then headed out. 

I was thoroughly exhausted, and so were the kids.  They almost fell asleep at dinner!   We were all excited to sleep in our own beds on Thursday night, even if Brooke and I had to get up early to get her on the bus to cheer camp.  Zach slept in until 10:30 on his 10th birthday, and Matthew didn’t get up until 11:00. 

Summer vacation is coming to an end quickly.  I wish it could go on and on.  It doesn’t seem like we’ve had much time.

Houston

I only have a minute to check in and let you all know I haven’t fallen off the earth.  Brian’s parents took all 3 kids to Tennessee, so I joined Brian this week in Texas.  It’s work for him and I’m trying to help.  We’re also spending some time together and talking, which is sometimes hard to do with 3 kids!  I love my husband, and God is showing up a lot here.  I’ll have to share that later.  I’ll be back on Monday!  Come back then for the rest of the story.

“Moore” Monday

 

GOD ALONE KNOWS THE ULTIMATE

OBJECTIVE TO WHICH HE ALIGNS

EVERY DIVINE ACT ON BEHALF

OF HIS CHILDREN.

Father, is is unthinkable that You would

do wrong.  How I thank You that the Almighty

would never pervert justice.

Who appointed You over the earth?

Who put You in charge of the whole world?

If it were Your intention and You withdrew Your Spirit and breath,

all mankind would perish together and man would

return to the dust (Job 34:12-15).

Instead, my Lord, You have promised that

Your plans for Your people are plans to prosper

and not to harm, plans to give us hope and a future (Jer. 29:11).

Who is like You, Lord-the One who sits

enthroned on high yet stoops down to look on

the heavens and the earth? (Ps. 113:5-6).

Beth Moore, Praying God’s Word Day by Day

Recap

This week has flown by.  We’ve gone swimming, to the orthodontist, looked at cars, went to see Wall E, and hung out.  Swimming was great, orthodontist was frustrating, Wall E was really cute, and hanging out was relaxing.  Looking at cars was….enough to make me homicidal!  Seriously, the car market stinks!  Unless you’re a car salesman, then all the cars sitting on the lot are very rare gems, worth quite a lot.  And your trade in is worthless!  The whole thing has made me very grumpy!  I’m praying for God’s direction, because sometimes my heart tends to get in the way.  We just want to save a little money, and I would get much better gas mileage with a mini van.  I just never thought I’d drive a mini van.  I don’t feel old enough to drive a mini van.  No offense to anyone, because I actually really liked one when I gave it a chance.  It drives really nice, the keyfob that opens the doors and the back hatch are really nice, it is quite roomy, and has the same seating capacity as my Escalade.  I took it to CVS and got a couple of things, and there was quite a lot of room in the back.  I love the Stow and Go storage.  That would be great for the Hot Wheels, blankets, water bottles and snacks that we seem to always have rolling around on the floor. 

Now it’s decision time.  Anyone out there have a mini van with some suggestions for me?