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Thursday, June 25, 2009

We have Lift-Off!

Last night we had our first group meeting for "Me, Myself, and Lies". Let me tell you it did not disappoint. We have a wonderful group of ladies! We took some time to get to know one another by comparing our demeanor to that of a specific breed of dog, to share something that we are praying about, and to talk about the gift that God's Word is. We missed those of you who were unable to come. Have no fear, at the next study we can share the dog demeanor we came up with for you at the next get together! (he, he!!) (I've posted Beth's video below for you to watch.)

Here are some things you need to know:
  1. The next time we meet will be Wednesday, July 15th due to a scheduling conflict with VBS.
  2. This means that you will need to complete 3 weeks of homework to prepare for this get-together. (No worries, next time you'll only have 1!)
  3. The next time we meet, we'll be meeting at Tina's.

I can't wait to dig in and get started!!!



Siesta Summer Bible Study (Introduction) from LPV on Vimeo.

Monday, June 22, 2009

See ya Wednesday!

Ok, Bible Study Babes, are you as excited about this study as I am? If you're not quite there yet, I think you will be when you read this post. We have 12 "for sures" signed up so far! Amazing, isn't it? Here's our list:


1. Tammy
2. Jen
3. Leslie
4. Kelly
5. Cara
6. Kay
7. Tina
8. Sherry
9. Vicki
10. Tonya
11. Laura
12. Mirella

If anybody else is interested, it's not too late! I believe God had good things in store for us!
I'll see you Wednesday at 6:30 at my house.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Father's Day

For Father's Day 2009 we set out to plan something different. We wanted to spend the day together having fun and making memories in an inexpensive way. We tossed around several different ideas, but finally decided on a baseball game, picnic, and swimming. I think we accomplished our goal! We had a blast and made some memories we're sure to talk about years from now.
We all loaded up and headed to Fassnight Park in Springfield. We started the day with a competitive baseball game.

Team 1 (They were all business, let me tell you!)
Team 2 The first inning it was neck and neck. However, in the second inning, Team 1 began to pull away with the help of 2 home runs. One hit by Tina and the other hit by Garrett. Not to mention the fact that Team 2 lost a key player, Abby. Her outs never counted and was, therefore, an automatic run. Unfortunately, she found better things to do. (i.e. playing in the water fountain.)

It was a hot one, Folks! We were extremely grateful for the breeze that God sent our way. In the end, Team 1 ending up taking away the win!After the game we made our way back to the shade for a picnic. Grammy brought some delicious homemade fried chicken, and I brought some homemade chicken salad. (Thank you, Leslie, for the recipe.) It all hit the spot!

When lunch was done, we made our way over to the pool. Even Poppy Gene went swimming with us! He even went down the slide!! Chase was all about dunking people. I think he got me under 8 times. He is one strong young man!!Needless to say, after swimming, we were all pretty wiped out. We headed our separate ways to clean up. (I even managed to squeeze a nap in.) Then, we met up at Tina's for homemade ice cream and brownies, along with a rousing game of bowling, Wii style.
Poppy Gene did a pretty good job!

We're so glad that Auntie Ann and Hannah drove down to join us! We just don't get to see them near enough anymore!!


It was a wonderful, memorable Father's Day! I, for one, sure hope this becomes a tradition.

Dad, happy Father's Day! Is it hard to believe that you went from a family of 5 to, now, a family of 12? We're all so thankful for you and for everything you've taught us and for everything you've stood for. You've taught us girls what it means to have a good work ethic and how to live within our means. You've taught us how to make good decisions, carefully weighing both sides. You've taught us how to be assertive and responsible. You taught us all of this and more through not only your words, but your actions, too. Most importantly, when we were growing up, you had us in church every time the doors were open. You put Christ at the head of our family. Dad, I'm so thankful for all of these things! I still have so much to learn from you. I love you!!
Papa, you are the one who started it all! Dad has passed on to us all that you've taught him. I love hearing your jokes and stories and hearing you say, "I love you, Babe." Papa, I don't believe I've ever met a more fair, honest, tender-hearted man than you. I love you!!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

My Summer "To Do" List

I love making lists! I'm even one of those crazy people who will make a list and purposely add things I've already done, just so I can check them off! I love lists!! So, here's my "to do" list for the summer, in no particular order. (It's a little out of hand!)

1. Trim bushes in front of house (check)
2. Plant flowers (check)
3. Clean out and organize garage
4. Repaint shed in back
5. Reorganize closet in the Laundry Room
6. Clean out and reorganize cabinet in my bathroom
7. Wash and wax car, clean interior
8. Start and finish scrapbook for Tina
9. Teach Chloe to "come"!!
10. Transfer old family videos to DVD
11. Wash windows and blinds
12. Reorganize closets in spare bedrooms and entryway
13. Shampoo carpet
14. Read, read, read!!!
15. Organize pictures on laptop
16. Find and try new recipes
17. Do a better job of updating school blog
18. Clean out magazine holder
19. Reorganize pantry (How does this get so unorganized?? I'm the only one in there!!)
20. Reseal deck
21. Spend quality time with friends!

Wow! I need to get going! Kind of makes me tired just thinking about it! (ha!)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Show Us Where You Live Friday - LAUNDRY ROOM & HALL



It's that time again! This week Kelly is hosting a tour of our laundry rooms. Mine is pretty small and simple, so I thought I'd include pictures of the hall, too.

LAUNDRY ROOM
The laundry room is so small it can be covered in 2 pictures. This is the view from the kitchen. The "organizer" on the wall is where I put all bills until it's time to pay them.

This is the view as you are walking in from the garage. I put anything that I need to return and/or take to someone on the dryer so that I won't forget it on the way out. (Except for the bleach, obviously. It's just there until I empty the one in the cabinet.) The blue "organizer" on this wall holds cards that I have picked out to send to people when I get the urge. The pink/brown bag is my lunch bag for school. I'm so happy to report that I won't be using that again until mid August!!

HALL

While there is not much to this either, it does hold 2 of favorite things. Here's the view from the living room. (Chloe thinks I was taking a picture of her. I really think she believes "it's all about her"!)

This frame holds pictures from a family trip to Colorado. We spent several days horseback riding in the Rocky Mountains. It was one of the best vacations ever!! I think the quote above it fits perfectly.

I love this! My sister, Tina, got it for me at Christmas last year. I love that you can see it from the living room, too!

Finally, this is a cut-out in the hall. It holds the "footprints" poem. What a great reminder that God is always with me! My dear friend, Kayla, got me this figurine. She's so thoughtful!

That's it for this week! On the schedule for next week is Master bedrooms!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Why didn't I think of this?

If you know me at all, you know I LOVE purses! I especially love big purses and I like to change them often. If you carry a big purse, you know what a pain it can be to find things. I can never seem to find my phone, a pen, or chapstick when I need them. I even have trouble finding my camera and ipod. Well, that's a worry of the past! I finally broke down (I say that because I'm cheap...I mean frugal.) and bought a pouchee at Farkleberry's. (I've been filling in there for the past 2 days.) This brilliant invention holds all of that important stuff that normally just falls to the bottom of your purse. I had the best time filling mine new one up! As you can see, it has enough room for my wallet, coin purse, camera, ipod, compact, and pens. And that's just in the middle. On the outside there are pockets for my cell phone, lipsticks, receipts, and more!! I love it!! Now, when I want to change purses on the spur of the moment, all I have to do is pick up this little gem and put into the new purse. Easy as that! It was well worth the $23.00!! If you're sold, Fran can hook you up with one of your own at Farkleberry's in Nixa!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Bible Study - time & place

Thank you, Jen, Tonya, and Kelly for letting me know your opinions. It makes it so much easier to make a decision when you know you're not doing it alone.

Here's the deal: We have some other ladies would like to join us, but cannot make it on Tuesday evenings. Is there any way we could do it on Wednesday evenings at 6:30? We'll plan on just meeting for an hour (15 minutes of Beth's video and 45 minutes of discussion). I am more than willing to host our first gathering, which will be on Wednesday, June 24th. I'll make some kind of snack for us. We can decide then if we want to rotate or just continue to meet at my house. Remember, we will only be meeting a total of 4 times since this is a summer Bible study.

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to share this with all of you! It's going to be such a growing experience: growing in Jesus and growing with each other. Can't wait!!

Just to remind you, here's the meeting schedule:

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 (1st Mini-Session/LAUNCH/Group instructions)

(DO WEEKS ONE AND TWO OF HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN.)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 (2nd Mini-Session/Group Instructions)


(DO WEEKS THREE AND FOUR OF HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN.)

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 (3rd Mini-Session/Group Instructions)


(DO WEEKS FIVE AND SIX OF HOMEWORK ON YOUR OWN.)

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 (4th Mini-Session/Conclusion)


What do think? How does this sound? Have you been able to rope anybody else into joining us? (Cara, I'm thinking about you here...)

Monday, June 15, 2009

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of...Style

I got some new decorative balls the other day. I also finally found exactly what I've been looking for to put them in. I got it at Boomland in Ozark.I found this very unique flower there, too.

Don't you love finding new things, things that you've envisioned, and don't cost very much?
I do!

Broken

I did something extremely difficult tonight. I did something that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was led by God to do. I bathed it in prayer and felt completely at peace with what I felt God wanted me to do.

I serve a mighty God. Just as I know this, I knew the devil is out there trying to do as much damage as possible. Tonight only proved that fact once again. Spiritual warfare is the worst kind. However, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Tonight I have peace in my heart, knowing I did what I was called to do. God empowered me and gave me a boldness only He can give. He shielded me from unkind, angry, accusing words.

While I left this place battered and hurt, I don’t harbor bad feeling towards this person. I was disappointed in their actions, tone, and words. However, I believe that there’s a bigger picture I can’t see. I don’t have to change the world, only trust in Jesus. He’s my creator and He’s working out His plans.

Lord, thank you for walking "into the fire" with me. You never left my side. Please work these things out. Guide me and help me to walk in Your light. Help me, now more than ever, to keep my eyes on you. I will wait upon You, knowing You will renew my strength.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Show Us Where You Live Friday - BATHROOMS


It's Friday and Kelly's Korner is hosting a tour of bathrooms! I don't know about you, but these are my least favorite rooms to clean! (Hopefully that doesn't show up in the pictures. Ha!)

Guest bathroom:
This is the view from the hall.

This room is very tiny. Here's my favorite part, though. I love this sticker from Uppercase Living that is above the toilet.

Master bathroom:
I love the shade of green in this room.

This bathroom has extremely tall ceilings!

I recently repainted this bathroom. This shelf was white and the baskets had blue linings. I painted the outside of the shelf chocolate to math the accent colors in the bathroom and I dyed the baskets liners the same color.

See ya next Friday!!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Work Day!

Wednesday we all headed down to Branson to help Grana with some yard work! The idea was for Grana to boss and us to work, but as you can see from the pictures, it didn't quite go that way.
Chase and his friend, Matthew, cleaned out the flower bed beside the house. Do you know of any other 12 year olds that would spend a hot day of summer vacation helping out?

Mom trimmed the bushes.

Tina and Garrett worked on another flower bed.

Grana and the boys burned leaves.


We had a great time working together!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Gearing up for Bible Study

Hey, Girls! Have you bought your books for our online Bible Study? I can't wait!! Before we begin, we need to decide on the time we'd like to get together. In her post, Beth writes about meeting on Tuesdays beginning with June 23rd.
  • Will Tuesdays work for you?
  • Do you want to do it during the day or during the evening hours?
  • Do we want to meet at once place or do we want to rotate?

I'm completely open to anything! I'd love for everyone to post their preference. Then, we'll go with the majority. What do you think? I'm anxious to see what you say!!!

A Movie - with one of my favorite guys!

Tonight Chase and I went to see the 10:25 showing of "Wolverine". There was a total of 8 people in the theater, which was actually kind of nice! We both really liked it and would recommend it. (Hugh Jackman and Taylor Kirtsch together in the same movie! What a treat!!) This is what I love about summer vacation; doing things on the spur of the moment. (Which is not usually me!)
When watching a movie, I don't like loud scary music, so I plug my ears often. When I did, I'd look over and Chase would be doing the same thing. We'd share a quick smile over it and continue watching the movie. Call me sentimental, but I know these moments of quality time are going to become fewer and farther between as Chase grows up. I soaked up every minute!

Chase and I share a love for the "night life". (As you can see from the time of this post.) This is a picture of him all set up with T.V. and food. All the essentials for a teenage boy on summer vacation, right?
Chase, you are such a special young man with many God-given talents. I couldn't love you more if you were my own! Keep making good choices and know that I'm always here for you! Thanks for a wonderful time!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Show Us Where You Live Friday - THE OFFICE

It's that time again! I love getting the chance to peak inside other people's home. I've gotten such great ideas from "Show Us Where You Live Friday"! I'll be sad when it's over. Today we are sharing our office.

This is the view of my "office" from the hallway. This used to be my least favorite room of the house until my friend Leslie told me about the white scrapbooking, storage cubes. Now it's one of my favorites.



This is where I pay bills. One day very soon it will also be where I scrapbook, as finishing a book for my sister is on my summer list of things to do.

These storage cubes are my favorite part of this room. I LOVE them! They conveniently hide everything and give the look that things are organized.

I'm sure you've noticed that there's a whole other side to the room I didn't picture. That's because it's a bit of a mess. Piled against the opposite wall are clothes and shoes from the "Great Closet Clean-Out" that I need to donate. Now that's school is over, I've also added several stacks of things to work on this summer, too. (Yeah, right!) It's not a pretty sight!

I can't wait to see your office!

It doesn't get better than this...

I got to spend today doing two of my favorite things: hanging out with friends and shopping!!!!!

Jen, Lauren, Leslie, Carson and I met up at Red Robin for lunch today. There's nothing quite like the feeling of being lost in conversation with some of your favorite people. It's even sweeter when you don't have anywhere you have to rush off to, or work to complete when you get home. Girls, I loved today! Spending time with you "fills me up"!



Today could only have been made better if Cara and Alysia had been able to join us! I'm looking forward to the 25th, though!!!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Catching Up

Last night my sweet Grana came and stayed with me. She is amazing! I so wish you all could meet her. When I was a little girl I would always go and spend several days with her at her house in the summer. Of all the things I remember, I most remember the times she would scratch my back and tell me stories about my mom and about my Gramps when I had trouble falling asleep. Every morning we would have breakfast and then we would go out onto the deck with the Bible to "start the day out right". I love talking and sharing with you, Grana. Your willingness to love and serve others never ceases to amaze me!

Speaking of loving to talk and share with someone...I got to have lunch with one of my best friends today, Kayla! It was wonderful! It seems that since we've now officially "grown up" we have a hard time finding the time to get together. What's wonderful about our relationship though, is that we can usually just pick up right where we left off. Kayla, I miss being a part of your "everyday" life, but am so thankful for the ease that our friendship has. Today was absolutely fabulous! I love that we have such a rich history of memories and special moments. (Several that could be used as blackmail! Ha!) We've shared some big events in life! Moments like graduating high school, graduating college, getting married, getting divorced, and hospital stays. We share a love for Jesus, family, music, horses, reading, and chic flicks! I believe that one day we will be able to share families of our own, too. Take heart and remember that in our wait God is NEVER inactive. The longer He takes, the harder he's working. Even though I do a pretty poor job of showing it, I hope you know how much I love you and treasure our friendship!