My Favorite Things! 2008 Product Review :)

Each year I stumble across such wonderful products that I begin to wonder how I've managed to live my whole life without them. This year was no exception. The only difference is, this year, I actually remember these fantastical (good fake-word huh?) products and figured if Oprah can share her favorite things, I can too. So, with no further ado, here are my favorite things of 2008!

Just Bunches honey roasted oat clusters. I'm SURE it's healthy. Just in case it's not though, I toss in a handful of blueberries. It's now a staple in our house. I buy 2 boxes at a time!

Cory gave me this Vera Bradley overnight bag for our anniversary. I've collected numerous pieces this year, but this is quite possibly my favorite!

My Dyson vacuum definitely lives up to it's advertising. It never loses suction. I have managed to suck up some incredibly odd items because it's just so powerful they're gone before I realize it!

Wipeout became an instant family favorite. The girls looked forward to watching it, quite possibly more than we did. We laughed until we cried and cannot wait for the next season.

Yeah, we just got these Mac laptops for Christmas, but they're already members of the family, so it won't be long before our desktop pc will go the way of the wind and get replaced with a Mac desktop. We even think Bill Gates has a Mac. Just a hunch!

Manic Monday!

Do you ever have those days where you have numerous things to accomplish and don't quite know where to start? That's today! I have spent the past month diligently working on our new church website and I finally launched it! However, working on the website meant I was not working on VBS, and as the director most of my job is early prep. I did manage to get a few 'issues' under control and now I feel a little more on top of my game. I am also co-teaching a class for our co-op next quarter, starting in January, and I need to meet with my team teacher and get some things organized for class. In addition to that, I'm in charge of co-op birthday's and we have had quite a few over the winter months, so I need to get postcards and prizes together! All in all it's well within my comfort zone, but there are times, like today, where my head begins to swim just thinking about it. Now I'm off to finish the laundry, clear the snow off the satellite dish and check on the cake that the girls insisted we bake! Hey, I think that counts as home-ec so HOORAY! We've schooled today :) Happy Monday Everybody! Give me a call. We're snowed in, so I'm not going anywhere!

From my family to yours...

Merry Christmas!

Still Snowing!

I was out again this morning shoveling snow, and yep, it's still snowing. And I don't mean a few inches, we're talking feet. Feet! as in 12 inches on top of 12 inches on top of 12 inches. I wanted to clear a path for the mailman, since we're expecting a few packages this week. Oh, and I need to give kudos to Under Armour (UA) athletic wear and Sorel boots. I had on a UA beanie-cap and my pink and black Sorels (man are they cute) and I was sweating. I ended up removing my heavy coat and shoveling in my sweatshirt! Did I mention the temperature is a whopping 8 degrees? As I do every year when it snows, I'm reminded that each and every snowflake is different. Every time it snows, in every place on earth, every year, there are no two flakes alike. This is absolutely astounding to me. How can people question intelligent design armed with this kind of information?! "God........does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, "Fall on the earth'; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength." Job 37: 5b-6

Snow much fun!

Wednesday the girls were so disappointed because I wouldn't let them play outside. But with temperatures in the single digits I was concerned that their little noses and fingers might not fare well, so I did the next best thing. I brought the outdoors.....in! You'd be surprised how much fun two little girls can have with a bowl of snow......actually 4 bowls to be exact! This morning I spent a couple hours shoveling snow and I took

some pictures so you can see how buried we are. This is the girls' play yard, and another picture of our back yard and garage. The news is saying we've broken our old record for most snowfall in a 24 hour period.

Draw a little Christmas

The girls are quite excited for Christmas, so yesterday I asked them to draw pictures for me conveying their excitement. Behold:

Cayla incorporated a little nature into her drawing by adding polar bears. You knew those were polar bears didn't you?!

Autumn, the purist, stayed with the traditional tree and presents.

Proving Faith!

Sunday night I was trying diligently to watch the Discovery channel's special on the Exodus. Some of the information was incredibly intriguing so I really wanted to watch it, but I absolutely could not sit through it and I had to change channels. In short, the show "revealed" how the waters of the Red Sea parted due to a natural phenomenon that occurs when the winds blow so rapidly that they separate the water. (editor's (that's me) note: oh yeah, and the winds blow so hard that it just 'happens' to dry the ground under the water, and then the water just 'happens' to close in when the Egyptians are trying to recapture the Israelites. That kind of stuff is always just happening.) This drives me crazy! I realize the goal of science is to prove things, but why do they have to go and 'ruin' it by trying to prove it? I mean, it's a miracle. If you can prove a miracle then it is, by definition, not a miracle anymore. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you can prove it it's not faith, it's fact. Faith is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1. Our entire belief is based on faith. Why must scientists and 'religious scholars' always try to prove everything? I don't mind them proving the existence of Biblical events, places and items, but it gets really frustrating when they try to 'explain away' miracles and other acts that can only happen under God's direction. Why can't they just have the simple, child-like faith that has worked so well for the rest of us? Trying to understand complex concepts? That's hard. Accepting it because God orchestrated it? That's easy!

Snow Day!

The girls had a blast celebrating our first snow of the season. It wasn't a lot, but enough to cover the ground and make the world white! The summer sand buckets came in handy for filling with snow and dumping on each other! Autumn has already told me that as the winter progresses and we get more snow she wants me to help her build an igloo. Who does she think I am? Frank Lloyd Wright? More like Frank Lloyd Wrong because I wouldn't even know where to begin building an igloo! Maybe just getting out there and playing in the snow with her will suffice!

Aging

There are certain things in life that really make it clear to me that I'm getting older. The calendar indicating my birthday each year, my walnut sized bladder, the fact that I have to hold papers at arms length to read them, and who could forget my arthritic thumb? But the final blow, the official Coup de grace arrived in the mail last week.

Yes, you're reading that correctly! My 7 year old is getting romanced by AARP! Not only can she receive incredible savings on car rentals, health insurance, eye care and dentures, but she'll get a year's worth of 'AARP The Magazine' for only $12.50 a year! Never thought I'd live to see the day.

Somebody hand me my cane!

On My Soapbox

It turns out my dad's heart attack would/could have been a lot worse than we were originally led to believe if he hadn't gotten in when he did. He had a 95% blockage in the artery that supplies blood to half the heart. After arresting the heart attack in progress, having a blood clot dissolved and a stint placed, his ticker is keeping time as it should. He'll still have to be extra careful for several weeks, but PRAISE THE LORD he was with Rob (the doctor) who knew the symptoms and got him right in. ------- If somebody has better information on this, please share because I'm open to opinions, but for now I have some serious reservations about this government bailout. Since when is the government (aka the taxpayers....US) expected to be responsible for every one's financial mishandling? ------- An employee getting trampled to death at a Wal-Mart on Black Friday is a complete travesty. This man was over 6 foot and 250+, you don't 'accidentally' step on a person, and you certainly don't do it to someone of this size. I simply don't get it. What is wrong with people that they would kill someone in an effort to obtain a TV? ------- In relation to the above story.....stores need to stop this hype over a 'steal of a deal' when they only have 2 in stock. If they have minimal stock they certainly don't need to advertise as if they have thousands. If it's really the deal of the century, a couple of savvy shoppers will find it!!! OK, off my soapbox!

Turkey Day Musings

What a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend we had. Proof is in the pictures; move your mouse over the photos posted below to read the captions! Here's my rundown: Best of the best: Being with family, watching the kids play together, Robyn's cooking (WOW! - tried to hire her as my personal chef, but no go!), Shopping (we got some great deals), Clare's baby Carson (he's my new gold standard for babies; that boy NEVER cries), Trivial Pursuit (my team won). Worst of the worst: Dad's heart attack on Saturday....that man will do anything to get out of shopping :). It was a small heart attack (the cardiologist said they don't use the word 'minor' since all heart attacks are serious), and he's scheduled for an angiogram on Monday. He's doing well, cracking jokes and being a great sport, but prayers are requested and deeply appreciated. "I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised." Psalm 18:3a