Wordless Wednesday: Bridge opening up at night in St. Petersburg, Russia--The bridge must open for the boats to pass through...

Reading through the Bible

Ok, I am doing it...I am starting in Genesis and reading straight through! I have started so many times and gotten through the books that most people dread...and I love--like Leviticus...and then I stop eventually. But, yesterday I just started the OT once again and I going to keep pluggin' til I finish--I don't care how long it takes me! I have started the NT months ago and I am in Luke(yes, I read fiction fast, but I like to digest the word--not just skim!:0) ).

So, here we go on a wild Bible adventure...will you join me? I am using my favorite Bible to do this...my ESV Journaling Bible...it has sections on the side where you can jot your notes...I have the one pictured below...the brown one. John gave it to me and I love it!!! It' s right up there with the NAS version as close to the original meaning as you get. I have researched it, so that's why I mention it. I am not an amplified or message or living Bible girl...I am straight up an original text girl(another black and white detail of myself!)--if I could read Greek and Hebrew I would go to the real originals!! Maybe I should take those up as my next languages? I digress, I have to tackle Russian now, so they will have to wait.

The I's of Me--

i am: unique--many people would be surprised what goes on in my brain!
i think: all the time.
i know: that my hubby loves me.
i want: a pair of jeans that are long!
i have: more than enough!
i wish: I was never nervous about life and it's issues.
i hate: pride--funny how we hate things that we might struggle with ourselves.
i miss: my girls.
i fear: God.
i feel: freedom from school this week--the girls are with my parents in Florida.
i hear: Full House on the downstairs tv.
i smell: grilled cheesse.
i crave: frappucinos and quiet time.
i search: for knowledge in the health field.
i wonder: how our world became so much about "I, Me, Myself".
i regret: what I say or how I say it when I get upset.
i love: to read and to blog.
i ache: for nothing.
i care: that people read or don't read my blog:).
i always: check email and the mailbox.
i am not: a perfectionist, but I love order!
i believe: in Christ Jesus and the Word of God very strongly.
i dance: with my kiddos when our blog music comes on.
i sing: worship songs and Hannah Montana and Emily? songs("I don't think about it"--can you tell I have girls who are fans!)
i don’t always: remember to floss every night like I should!
i fight: going to sleep when John is not home.
i write: in a journal, my Bible and here on this blog and comment on others!
i win: at mad gab.
i lose: at spades and most games, unless it's against my kiddos.
i never: have had an inside furry pet.
i confuse: my mom and others when I try to explain myself--better to just not say anything--I end up confusing myself too!
i listen: to many deep conversations from another room(did this growing up...it's easier to not say too much when you aren't in the room---I 've also heard probably too much that was about me and wasn't intended for me to hear b/c I happened to be in the other room!!)
i can usually be found: on the computer or in the kitchen--cleaning or cooking.
i am scared: when I don't rely on Christ.
i need: Jesus!!! every day.
i am happy about: summer!

If you want to do the same I list...comment and I will check your list out on your blog:)

Thursday Thoughts

Since I didn't remember to do a Wordless Wednesday...I am posting a thought today. More a prayer, but what can I say...Prayer Thursday is not an alliteration!!

Please pray for these three people, right now as you read this post. On the left is Nancy(our Louisiana friend who led our first Russian mission trip in April 2007)--she has been in Russia for 6 weeks ministering to many orphans that need God's love so dearly...she is leaving on Saturday and is going through a lot of teariness saying "goodbye" to all of them...she returns several times a year, but saying goodbye is hard each time.
The middle one, I haven't met yet, but her name is Liza...here's a story about her from Nancy's blog---Liza, a precious young girl of 12, told Lena that she was praying the prayer until Victor said "...and give me a new heart, oh God" at which time she said she stopped because she didn't think she needed to go that far - she said her heart beat just fine and she didn't think she needed to get a new one. Lena explained to her what he had meant and Liza laughed and said, "Oh, well, then, yes, I want THAT new heart!" Sometimes we forget that the Christian phrases we use are like a foreign language to people who weren't raised in the church.
Anya is on the right--what can I say---we just love Anya!!! She is coming over to Humble, Tx to intern this summer, we think, in a children's department of a church. She loves loves loves the Lord so much and wants to share the love with all kinds of orphans, like herself. She works in a children's orphan hospital just so that she can care for them. She has quite a sense of humor and my kids just love her and can't wait to see her again!
Please lift them up to the Lord in prayer right now...Thank you! from them!

Is God Big or what?

This is about a 12 minute video...so when you have that amount of time, this is worth the watching! Janice, my friend from church, sent this to me and I am so humbled that God is such a loving God and takes care of us. Here is a link to a shorter version, if you don't have the time...this one is about 3 minutes. His website is...http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

Jelly Bean Day

We tasted beans with our eyes shut and guessed at the flavors! Then, we made muffins with jelly beans in them! Very sticky, but the kids enjoyed them. The jb's sunk to the bottom though...so it might need a bit of perfection in the recipe! Did you know that Thursday is Spring Cleaning Day? Today is Earth Day too, but personally, I think that the green organizations can go a bit overboard with the importance of the Earth--when they think that the Earth just appeared from goo not God. So, I can be nice to the environment b/c I am accountable to God, but thankfully not to goo!
So, we are just having fun with the jelly beans and not getting all serious with "Earth Day"

April 21st--Do you know what today is????

John just reminded me of the importance of today. It's Aggie Muster!The history of Aggie Muster is included in this article . It's kind of a Memorial Day for all of us Aggies out there...You are an Aggie if you attended Texas A&M University--for all of my out of state readers. All around the country and the world, Musters are held to remember those Aggies that passed away this year. A couple of years ago, we went to one here in Texas for our friend Kevin Hauser, a fellow Aggie who passed away in December of 2006.

My Motorcycle Engineers!!

Katie is such a cutie pie on this bike!! Boy, does she have our fair skin or what?!!

Isn't he the most handsome Harley Dude!? This is my hubby's work's booth at a fundraiser, mentioned in the post below. Mark is such the typical "boy"! We love him!

What a Team!! Can you say MOOMOO?

My hubby's c0-workers were discussing that all three of them wanted to loose weight and get more in shape. So, they figured out that pain and/or embarrassment were motivators to "guys" like them! They decided to run a 5K with their work's fund raiser this past weekend. John has been running to get in shape for this event. John, David and Brent said that the winner of this event would be bought lunch by the second place person and the loser would have to wear one of John's mom's Moo Moo!!! during their lunch! Yesterday was the big day!! John was first in, then Brent, then David...David was a great sport and the guys went to the manliest place--Big Joe's for lunch today. Here's the evidence!! Enjoy!!

EXPELLED Movie written by Ben Stein +

We saw it! The purpose of this movie is not to promote Creationism...but to question the validity of evolution and not just sit there and do nothing about the holes in this theory that even Darwin was aware of. This is just very complementary to the Truth Project that John and I are going through with our home group. I could only sit there and pray for these atheistic scientists to come to know Christ. If you watch the movie, don't forget to pray for these people that seem to be ignoring the truth and blaspheming the name of God. Ben Stein showed how these people's theories are so ludicrous.

I was tagged...I feel so loved!!

I was tagged(meaning ...asked to post about this topic) by Amelia over at Parkersanity--see side link.

What three skills or hobbies would you learn if you had all the time, tools, and money you needed?

1. Gardening--my friend Alisa keeps me inspired in this area, but I need more than inspiration...I need time, tools(no, I do have those), and money for it!

2. Writing--I would like to be an author--and co-write with my hubby!! We already have a book idea--bet you didn't know that about me! We even have the title already...but I won't tell the secret yet.

3. Nutritionist or a Herbal Doctor--OH how I would love love love to do this one the most!
For this, I would need time, tools, and money!!

So, will you be next in posting...Lauren, Kay, Ginger, Tori, Hannah or any of my blogging friends??? Leave a comment if you are going to post!

Helpful and Creative Blog Tips

Here are some of the sites that I have saved over time that provide free blog tips, blog designs and more. Just put your cursor over the link and click and you will be taken to some fantastic help!!
Free Banner Pictures--these are the pictures that you put at the top of your blog
free templates, fonts & backgrounds, jargon, reviews, tips
Scripture Tags--these go on the sides of your blog...from CWO
Great tips for bloggers--it's a guy's blog that helps you with different things...like scrolling words
Daily Scripture---you paste this into a page element and it updates automatically.
The best free backgrounds ever!! You do have to follow directions though.
Quizzes that you can put on your blog.

If you have a site to share, leave a comment. A lot of things that you see on blogs, you can click on them and go make one of your own. It's really pretty easy to do:). Hope that helps some of you find some fun stuff!

Wordless Wednesday Post---One of the many beautiful churches in St. Petersburg, Russia

Thin Tuesday Tips

What do you do to stay fit? Do you exercise? Do you eat certain things? Here is a short list of some of the things I do...some regular, some not so regular.

Eat a lot of fiber(sometimes I mix fiber in hot cocoa!, sometimes, I get the real thing in foods, sometimes I take Juice Plus--Fiber Thins--these are made from fruits and veggies and have something called absorbolean in them)

Eat loads of veggies--I have started to love them!!! I cook them, eat them raw--whatever!!

Fruit shakes with gse(grapefruit seed extract) in them and sometimes extra vitamin C powder for some boost to the immune system.

Drink a lot of water!!!!

Count my calories--I am not doing Weight Watchers online or at their company, but I do use their concepts to take some pounds off. I like it, but I pray that soon I will acquire more tastes for God's foods that are natural and eat for the health not the points.

Exercise--this is not regular for me...someday maybe, but not yet.

Leave a note below as to somethings you like to do...

You watched What?????--We get this all the time and have to explain!!

I just wanted to post about something that has been a great assett to our family...not in a spiritual sense(well, kind of, but not really) but in an entertainment way. It's called clear play. We find that there are very few movies out there that we can approve for our kids to watch or even us!! So, for awhile, we joined an editing company and rented edited movies(they literally removed all questionable content)...well, they were sued by Hollywood and had to shut down. We were left with no other way to watch edited movies...except there is a dvd player you can buy online or even at TARGET that will skip the questionable parts...EXCELLENT! We bought one for under $50(we actually needed a dvd player b/c ours had broken) and were on our way to enjoying films we wouldn't watch before. They let you monitor your level...for example, you can even edit disrespectfullness to parents!!! We miss a lot of unnecessary scenes/words/things...it's great...we get to see the plot without the mess!

Now, the dvd players are not High definition or blue -ray...so sometimes they have to be fixed, but they just send you a new player and you send back the old on THE COMPANY!! They have the BEST customer service ever...you don't have to wait on the phone, they call you back when it's your turn!! Who knew that was available?! NO, I am not getting paid for this, but I thought it would be interesting info to pass on. It does cost about $5 a month to continue getting the downloadable new movies(a year contract)...but hey, it's worth it for us. If there is a problem with the dvd player they update your subscription so you don't lose time for what you have paid for and your player is not working!

Check out the link at the beginning of the post!

Did you know?

Dr. Teresa Allen, D.O. says, "Drinking the sugar from one soda renders the immune system inactive for over 6 hours." This is verified by blood work. Is it any wonder our children have weakened immune systems? Good nutrition can help keep the immune system functioning and able to fight off foreign invaders. --from The Herbs Place online.

We are trying to go more natural, food wise and medicine wise. So, this is helpful info to know. Wow--6 hours!!

Have you ever taken homeopathic things/herbs/or just tried to eat more fruits and veggies? I have pulled out a cookbook lately that has all kinds of recipes for things mainly made with f/v's. The kids have loved the shakes we have been doing in the morning. Tonight, we had black eyed peas seasoned with purple onions that were sauteed in olive oil and with Bragg's Liquid Aminos. They were yummy! For lunch, we had chicken tacos and I had cut up some green bell pepper to top mine...and Katie tried some on her own accord and John too and they liked them! YIPPEE!

Any good ideas for fruits and veggies, leave a comment!

NEED your HELP!! Any advice? Ideas?

I have two "w" sayers when they should say "r"...any advice or ideas on how to work on saying r's correctly?? I have researched this online, but have yet to find any good ideas for practicing saying r's correctly. Here is an example of what is happening when the kids say their r's...instead of sounding like rabbit, it sounds like wabbit. I would not be concerned so much, but my six year old has not grown out of this, so I don't think my four year old will either. Have an idea, leave a comment:).

Wordless Wednesday Post

I know it's a Wordless Wednesday Post, but I just had to give this funny information about this particular statue. I made me remember it from a year ago!



The statue faces Saint Isaac's Cathedral, with the horse's posterior turned to the Mariinsky Palace of Nicholas's daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolayevna of Russia. This was said to have caused the Grand Duchess considerable discomfort.

Why do I blog--asked by my blog friend Lauren!

Lauren, over at another blog, wrote a list of why she blogs...she had her 100th post, so she wrote kind of a cheers to it! I love it! So, I am writing about why I love to blog and linking it to her post so you can read her reasons.
1. First of all, I will have to say that I love to read and in loving to read, I have developed the love to write(well, type). I don't like to handwrite things, b/c then my hand just gets too tired. I love putting my thoughts to print, although it can and has gotten me in big trouble(well, not so big, but some). If I ever become an author--which I have thought about, this is my rough draft and practice time!
2. I like to give people an update on our family and I am not a phone lover! There are a few times when I do chat on the phone, and the conversations are long winded. I love talking to my friends and family, but then where does the time go. I type faster than I talk and more precise.
There will come a time when I won't see all my close friends and family as much as I'd like and this is a great way, I think, to keep in touch!
3. You can't send a picture over the phone, unless you have a digital frame! I like pictures--they help the stories!
4. I like creative cute things and this is a FREE easy way to have them!
5. I don't have the time, space, energy to scrapbook and this is my online scrapbook! I love it!

If you have a blog, you answer why you blog! If no blog, why not try to start one! I can help you if you would like!

Have you ever frozen ketchup?

We learned today about materials changing states and so we did some examples. We also learned about chemical changes too.

We froze water to see it expand...and boy did it ever! They loved the result! We filled the water up to the top and froze it today.

Then we froze gum(I threw it out before I took the picture) , soy milk, mustard, grapefruit juice, olive oil(these are on the top row)

Bottom row: Rice Milk, jelly beans(they were gobbled up slowly) ketchup, hershey's syrup, and honey

This was our rust experiment, for which we needed Dad's expertise! I didn't know if any of these would rust, but John informed the kids that nails are galvanized so they don't rust, so...
we started with the nail and...
Dad scraped off the stuff so it would rust with the water we poured onto it! Thanks Dad!

t

My musical and dancing kiddos

Not dancing, not singing, just Matthew!
Bouncing and hanging out on my bed...
Trio!

PURE NRG DVD on their dance moves.


Boys will be boys!! Mark is such a boy when it comes to his dance moves! It's fun to watch!

Boy, are my kiddos dancers and singers! They just love music. We recently bought a dvd that features a kids group called Pure NRG. They are a Christian band that I was hoping would replace the Hannah Montana fan part of my girls...I was trying to change the music they listen to b/c I was the one that introduced them to it.

It's funny, I grew up being very anal about not listening to anything but Christian music, but as I have gotten older, I have changed in the way I think. I don't think all secular music is bad now, but as a parent I do want to be careful with what my kids listen to. All that to say I love Pure NRG's songs.

The kids really love the songs too b/c they are about God! They sound similar to the HM style of song, so it was an easy transition. Now they have fun and worship God at the same time.

cc