Update

I am at a Starbucks right now checking my email real quick. We have been all over the place in the last two weeks! We left Waco last Thursday, went to Tyler until Saturday to visit my grandparents, then to Lufkin to visit my other grandparents, then to Katy until last night to stay at my aunt Kerry & uncle Steve's house. They were unfortunately not there, so we had the house to ourselves. I had packed up yesterday and came into town since last minute Justin had Mother's Day Out. After school, we went back out to Katy since we still didn't have power, I unpacked the car to settle in for the night, and then at 6:15pm got a phone call that we had power! We hightailed it back to Houston and got to stay in our house. 12 days of traveling and staying in 5 different places - somewhat chaotic! But the blessing is that Justin was able to sleep great in wherever and whatever we put him in. I haven't slept in the same bed with my husband in almost 2 weeks. Great to be back, even though we have no internet, cable, phone, etc. Going to the grocery store to stock up every single item we have to replace, which is the entire batch of food. But hey, our electric bill is going to be dirt cheap, our house has no damage, and now we are returning to normal, somewhat. So many pictures to post on another day. But I leave you with a pic of the newest instrument Justin can play, the harmonica. Thanks to Birdee, he played this musical toy the whole time he was at my parents' house. Until the next time I can get online.....

Jenise's 30th Birthday

Two weekends ago we celebrated Jenise's 30th birthday. I don't know what my social calendar will look like once everyone quits turning 30 - it's been fun to have so many birthdays to celebrate! We started off the evening getting pedicures at iNails over off Woodway & Bering. The birthday girl and a few others got a massage as well. Here's a photo of Jenise, Katie, & Jennifer with their wine and pampering.

The after photo of everyone's toes!


We then went to Cyclone Anaya's for dinner. We rushed over there thinking we would have a long wait, and then realized it was going to be a slow night. A pic of me & the birthday girl.


A 50th birthday party was being set up right next to us for about an hour. The birthday boy didn't show up til later, so Jenise stood by one of his "Old as Mold" decors. Then we sang happy birthday to a sparkling cake.


We had a guest from the 50th birthday take a photo of the group. You wouldn't believe how many pictures it took us until he got everyone in the photo. L to R: Kim, Katie, Jennifer, Jenny, Jenise, Tracy, Allison, Julianne, Wendi, & Shannon.


A fun night for everyone! Now onto 31...

Hard to Believe by John MacArthur

Jay Brown, our Sunday School teacher, gave a talk recently and read us the first few paragraphs from the book Hard to Believe, by John MacArtur. I couldn't write it down fast enough, so one evening I went to Barnes & Noble and wrote down the passage verbatim. Then I came home and typed it up and forgot to finish the post. So here I am finishing my thoughts on the matter. I haven't read the book, nor did I buy it that day. At the time I had so many unfinished books that I have been reading that I didn't want to add another to the list. Basically the message from the passage is how some churches today are catering to our every needs. Which in turn dilutes the message and meaning of what living for Christ really means. He told us to stay grounded in a church that isn't afraid to step on toes in case they might hurt someone's feelings. Unfortunately that's how so many areas in churches are today. I am thankful that our pastor doesn't mind doing that very thing. When we were going through the 10 commandments recently while studying Exodus, Pastor Gregg told us that he was going to step on toes that day, but we should respect him for trying to tell us truth. Is your church full of truth or full of fluff? Read the next few paragraphs from the book...

"The first role of successful merchandising is to give consumers what they want. If they want bigger burgers, make their burgers bigger. Designer bottled water in six fruit flavors? Done. Minivans with then cup holders? Give them twenty. You've got to keep the consumer satisfied. You've got to modify your product and your message to meet their needs if you want to build a market and get ahead of the competition.

Today this same consumer mind-set has invaded Christianity. The church service is too long, you say? We'll shorten it (one pastor guarantees his sermons will never last more than seven minutes!). Too formal? Wear your sweatsuit. Too boring? Wait'll you hear our band!

And if the message is too confrontational, or too judgmental, or too exclusive, scary, unbelievable, hard to understand, or too much anything else for your taste, churches everywhere are eager to adjust that message to make you more comfortable. This new version of Christianity makes you a partner on the team, a designer consultant on church life and does away with old-fashioned authority, guilt trips, accountability, and moral absolutes.

One suburban church sent out a mailer recently, promising an "informal, relaxed, casual atmosphere", "great music from our band", and that those who come will "believe it or not, have fun." That's all great if you're in a coffeehouse. But anyone who claims to be calling people to the gospel of Jesus with those as his priorities is calling them to a lie.

It's Christianity for consumers: Christianity Lite, the redirection, watering down, and misinterpretation of the biblical gospel in an attempt to make it more palatable and popular. It tastes great going down and settles light. It seems to salve your feelings and scratch your itch; it's custom-tailored to your preferences. But that lightness will never fill you up with the true, saving gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is designed by man and not God, and it is hollow and worthless. In fact, it's worse than worthless, because people who hear the message of Christianity Lite think they're hearing the gospel - think they're being rescued from eternal judgment - when, in fact, they're being tragically misled."

Bathroom Project

I went to Waco recently last month and was visiting my buddy Lauren's new house. She was telling us that she had used spray paint to change her 1990s bathroom decor into a modern finish. $5 and a whole new look. Could this left-brained individual handle an easy yet creative task? I decided to try it out. I went to Home Depot and bought some American Accents Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. We turned off the electricity, took off the light fixtures in the master bath and downstairs half-bath, and started to spray. I was very pleased with the results, and for such a cheap fix!

The light fixtures in the master bath we not only a beautiful gold finish but had some leftover texture on them from the previous owner's do-it-yourself paint job on the walls. I cleaned off the glass covers, sprayed the fixtures, and loved the finish. Here's the before photo:

Here's the finished product. Would look better if I had better light coverings, but then the cost would have offset the project cost.


Downstairs bathroom needed more work. I sprayed the gold fixtures, and cleaned the light coverings.

Right before I put the light covering back on, I broke one. Convenient, huh? So for $6 each I bought new ones at Home Depot. The entire fixture looks ten times better.


I also attacked the towel ring.


After picture.


I took the mirror down, took out the glass, and sprayed the frame. Here's the before and the after with the lights above it.


It's a start. Now about that wallpaper....

The Shack

I actually finished this book a few weeks ago but haven't had the time to put my two cents in about it. I'm always curious of a book that boasts of Christian principles, creates controversy, and is a fiction work by an author. I understand the controversy, but I still think everyone should pick this book up and read it. To quote my mother: "Any book that bring me closer to the Lord is worth my time to read it." The big stick in the mud that is getting people's panties in a wad is the fact that the Trinity is presented in human form to a broken individual in the book. And God is a black woman. Now I don't see God in my mind as that, but the author clearly lets you know both in the preface and throughout the book that this was how Mac, the main character, could relate to God. So if you can put that aside, I think anyone who has gone through a tragic event in their life (sound familiar, Hurricane evacuees?) should read this book. End of story. I cried, I couldn't put it down, I felt like I knew more of the mystery of our Lord. I'll leave you with a quote from "black woman God" to Mac, explaining his confusion on why He was a black woman:

"I am neither male nor female, even though both genders are derived from my nature. If I choose to appear to you as a man or a woman, it's because I love you. For me to appear to you as a woman and suggest that you call me Papa is simply to mix metaphors, to help you keep from falling so easily back into your religious conditioning. To reveal myself to you as a very large, white grandfather figure with flowing beard, like Gandalf, would simply reinforce our religious stereotypes, and this weekend is not about reinforcing your religious stereotypes."

So put your Gandalf preconceptions aside and go read this book....

Still in Waco...

Sorry for the lack of posts. Not a chance to get on the internet much with Derek hogging the computer while he watches the stock market tumble. Lots of photos to post at a later date, much less all the events we had before we left town. I've been gone from my house for a week. My aunt Kerry & Uncle Steve went and cleaned out my refrigerators yesterday. Shane had gone ahead of them to leave them a key and was making fun of all the "healthy" meals he saw in our other freezer as he dumped them out before leaving. My neighborhood is a mess. Look at this link from Kaki - last 3 photos are from my neighborhood. The projected time of getting power is after Monday - very vague if you ask me. We are heading to Tyler today to see my grandparents, then maybe to Lufkin, then maybe to Houston to stay with an aunt and uncle. Who knows. Derek needs power to work, I need to power to function, etc. We are so blessed we don't have any damage to the house. Praying for those who lost everything. And since it's best to have a photo with each post, here's a pic from last Friday. We went with my mom & my mother-in-law, Tracy & her 2 kids, Justin & Barrett. We met Ann, Katy, & Lauren, as well as what seemed like the rest of Waco. Both of our mothers asked why we put ourselves through that chaos. I told them it was never that bad in Houston - it's just that there's only one Chick-fil-A in Waco.
From L to R: Charley, Lauren, Barrett, JT, me, Ann, Mabry, AnnMarie, Katy, Tracy, & Harper

The stuff I have stumbled upon

Whenever I am checking my blogs on google reader, I will find something I like and send it to my email. I intend to read it more closely later, but sometimes I get behind. I was trying to sort through my 200 emails now that I am back online and started remembering some of the things I found. Thought I would share the random nonsense.

For those of you looking for ideas for a boy's birthday, check this link out for boy transportation parties.

Ever wanted to make brownies in a crockpot? Check out the link here.

As hilarious as this looks, I could have used this thing at times when all Justin wanted was momma's touch. This is called the Zaky.

Instead of a smoothie, make you kiddos some berry yogurt pops.

As absurd as this sounds, it makes sense when your toddler goes from using nice cool wipes to hard crunchy toilet paper. Fix that problem with toilet paper foam. Tutus & Turtles always have fun facts to read about. That's where I found the last three bits and pieces.

For modern digital scrapbook templates (I know there are a lot of scrapbook junkies out there), check out how fast they grow stationary. Read the Hostess with the Mostess link for fun prints for the fall.

Cupcakes take the cake always has fun cupcake ideas. Here's an easy idea: make lollipop cupcakes. This is a cute kid's party idea from The Entertaining Kitchen.

The Design Sponge was posting about dino coat racks. Though it looks kooky, it makes sense to help with the coats all shoved in that hall closet.

Tip Junkie was posting about birthday parties and baby showers for about two weeks. Lots of great ideas from all her readers. Check out some of the baby shower posts here, here, and here.

Update on where we are...

We are alive, dry, and full of power in Waco right now. I haven't been online very much since Thursday so I appreciate everyone who has called to check up on us. On Thursday morning Derek & I were watching the news and decided we weren't evacuating (again, like three years ago for Rita) for Hurricane Ike. 2 hours and 10 panicked phone calls later from all my buddies in Houston and I had quickly started reviewing my options. Derek called and told me he wanted me to go to Waco. I was stunned. Justin was all packed ad ready to go to Mother's Day Out, Barrett was playing with toys, and I had nothing packed. So I quickly started moving around and realized I needed to get gas. After 15 minutes at the neighborhood Kroger and not moving at all in line, I dropped Justin off at MDO and went to get gas off Longpoint. Barrett fell asleep in the car and I just let him take an early morning nap. Which was great because I had so much to do.

My buddy Tracy and I kept going back and forth between what to do and when to leave. We decided we would meet at the Junods and take her two kids and my two boys (Justin & Barrett, our guest) in their Sequoia. We crammed in all four carseats and our luggage and started on some back roads to avoid the 290 traffic. After getting lost a few times and taking some wrong turns, we ended up making the trip in good time. Thanks to my buddies in Waco, Ann, Lauren, & Katy, who brought all their booster seats and pack 'n plays so that we wouldn't have to pack all that stuff in an already packed car.

Derek and Tracy's husband stayed behind at our house in Houston. They brought in all our stuff from outside and got ready for the nasty storm to hit. They stayed without power for about 24 hours. They cooked on the camping grill, walked the neighborhood to see all the destruction, and drove to Paul's house to verify that everything was okay. Derek came up to Waco Saturday night and Paul came up Sunday morning. My in-laws were wonderful in letting us all crash for the weekend. The kids have had a blast running all over the house and playing in the big backyard. I'll post some pictures once I get my cord to connect my camera to my computer (which is in Houston, along with so many things I wish I had thought to bring). We just moved over to my parents house this morning for a change of scenery. Tracy and I snuck away to listen to David Crowder at University Baptist while my parents kept the kids.

I am worn out but glad that we are not at our house, without power, with the stench of hundreds of dollars of food starting to deteriorate in both of our refrigerators. There are worse situations...

We have a visitor

We have had the privilege of having Barrett Junod stay with us all week. Nick & Wendi are in Doha, Qatar for the week working out all the details for their big move at the beginning of November. For those unfamiliar with the Junods, let's just say they are the reason why Derek could easily move back to Houston every off-season. When we knew no one, Nick & Wendi would bring us into their circle of friends and always make us feel welcome. We even all four lived together in their brand new home one off-season - how many people can do something like that? But all this info is for another post that I am dreading to write. :-)

I haven't taken that many pictures this week. Sorry about that. But sweet Barrett, in his growing yet still limited vocabulary, calls me Mommy all day long. Probably because he can't say Aunt Shani yet (and why is that? how hard can that be?). Then Justin will say Mommy louder, just to remind him that it is really his mommy, not Barrett's. Here is a random assortment from the last 4 days.


Barrett is really good at saying cheese. His mother is training him well. Barrett is beating the chips with the sprinkles. Justin & Roxy watch Barrett eat Cheetos (I promise this was the only day he ate Cheetos - I didn't feed him junk all week, promise!).

Me & the boys in the bed early one morning. Why do I keep posting pictures of me still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes?



Barrett has gotten the privilege of having a bubble bath every night with Justin. I was going to bathe them solo so that both boys could do as they pleased. But both want to do it together. First pic is of them saying cheese. The second is Michael Phelps in action.


Barrett loves Roxy. After Justin passive aggressively takes things from Barrett, then Barrett will go lay on Roxy in his own "I-need-to-beat-someone-up" mentality. Both boys were kissing Roxy on the mouth last night. Barrett likes to do it open mouth, just like his father with Baker & Brody. I got a pic of Derek & the boys after they wrestled for a bit.


Little acrobat. Picture of me & the boys after Hudson's birthday party on Sunday. I was holding Barrett so of course Justin wanted to be held as well. Two little cuddle bugs. Justin has loved having a brother for the week. Brooks is with another family (Kim Hall & her three girls) this week, so I know there will a happy reunion between him & Barrett this weekend. Since I won't be able to hug this little boy's neck in a few weeks, I am thankful for this quality time to spend with him. Justin goes to MDO today so little Bee and I will hang out just the two of us. Can't wait! I'm going to miss my Little Bear....

Biblestudy

I just finished a wonderful biblestudy with 6 other ladies here in Houston. It's No Other Gods, the Living Room series, by Kelly Minter. (There's also a book form that is not labeled the living room series - not the same concept.) It is an eight-week biblestudy with recipes at the end of each chapter. The purpose is for women to get together, share a common meal, and share how the study applies to their lives currently. What led us to start this was that Beth Moore facilitate this from her blog, giving us a list of questions to discuss every two weeks. We met 5 times over the summer, switching houses/hosts each meeting. Women all over the country participated - all 50 states were represented. Some women met in houses, others did it by themselves. I know that we all have a "little buddha man" or golden calf mentality when we think of idols. But as one of my fellow biblestudy goers said the last night at our last meeting, it doesn't have to be a tangible, material object. Near the end of the study I started prioritizing what was important in my life and what was taking too much of my time. I realized how much we were flying through money this past summer. Derek & I sat down and crunched down on the budget. We've gone back to the cash system so we can both see the tangible leftovers from the month. I feel so relieved having a stopping point. Sometimes it's so easy to keep filling my life with stuff, only to realize how empty you still are after each purchase. As we were in the process of this, stuff around the house starting falling apart. New tires for the car were needed, refrigerator leak which caused hundreds of dollars of damage to the wood floors, the front yard has a fungus, the oven wouldn't shut, my new engagement ring that replaced the one I lost a year ago irritates my finger so that I don't wear it anymore, etc. Seems like little stuff until you start thinking about the funds it will take to fix it all. Which gets you right back in the cycle of spending.



My favorite passage in the book that applied to my current season of my spiritual life is this:
"When we refuse to bow our hearts to the functional gods in our lives, we inevitably become separate from them, and sometimes from others. The time-lapse between the emptiness and God's filling can sometime create spaces of anxiety, fear, and questioning that can lure us back to our idols. The space can also spawn urgency, hastiness, and a false need to overly explain ourselves to others. Sometimes I fight an overwhelming need to explain my decisions when really the best thing to do is to simply rest quietly in my convictions with the Lord. Sometimes the best response is a peaceful, humble non-response."

So I just need to sit back and realize that the Lord has great plans for me. What that is, I am not sure. I think the first on the list is for me to go to bed. So on that note, check out this biblestudy the next time you want to start up a new one. I loved it.

Cheese

The neighbor kids came over to play with a blowup bouncy thing they let us borrow for awhile. I told the kids to get on it and say cheese. Justin saw Luke & Grace with their hands on their faces, so he decided to copy them before saying cheese.
We brought the little tikes table in for easier eating for the kiddos. Justin is trying to get everyone to hold hands before they pray. He didn't get any takers. Thought that counts, right?

New Tricycle

Derek's parents wanted to get Justin a tricycle for his birthday. After doing some research, asking around, and taking the tall factor into play, I decided on the Kettler Junior Trike. I like it because of the pole in the back, which is helping right now since Justin can't figure out the pedals right now. It also has an adjustable seat, which a lot of them do not. He LOVES his new tricycle. At first all he wanted to do was push Derek on the trike, but we had to tell him that wouldn't work. So then we hid the pole so that he would ride it, not push it. I finally was able to get some photos on him on it yesterday. We rode to the neighbors house and back since it was so nice outside (no humidity!).



He's saying cheese in this picture. I was literally laying on my back on the ground trying to enough of him and the trike in the picture. I'm glad our neighbors couldn't see my attempts at being artistic.


Thanks, Grandpa & Grandma, for the new tricycle! We love it!

Another day

Derek usually goes & gets Justin in the mornings when he wakes up at his punctual 6:30am. I have my quiet time before getting out of bed. Justin loves nothing more than running to the bed, jumping into my arms, giving me a hug and a little birdlike kiss, then climbing under the covers with me. Derek thought that this particular morning was a photo opportunity. In case you were wondering why what mad woman would put a picture up with her retainer and nightguard still in the mouth while wearing a Race T-shirt from the 1980s. Softest T-shirt ever, thanks to ole Snuf. Roxy was so pleased to be invited to our little slumber party.

On a random note: I was told that anonymous people couldn't leave a message on my blog. I changed that, so now anyone can leave a comment. So don't start trying to all leave one at once...

I updated my faves and friend/family blogs on my homepage. Lots of new Midway buddies in the bunch with some decor, creative, kid blogs for those that have to time to browse through. I don't have the energy to post about each one, so just roam on your own time. They are all on google reader - sign up for it before you ever read another blog. And you must read Shane's if you feel like laughing til you spit or rolling your eyes at the same time. I don't know where he finds his videos or his stats, but they are hilarious. Especially the post about work pranks.

I just received an older version of Photoshop in the mail. I now have to learn how to use it (or just get some actions to do it all for me). All to say that hopefully in the next month my photos will start looking a little different after I process them. Yippee!

Firehouse

Last Friday we went to go visit our room for Mother's Day Out. Open House, if you will. Afterwards we went to go to lunch with two other classmates and their mommies. We went to Firehouse Subs, a new sandwich joint that was franchised in Florida. We used to go all the time in baseball, and so naturally were excited when it opened. The kids get a fireman's hat as part of the kids meal, so Justin has a few stashed in the car.

Our buddy Luke Pine with his hat on backwards
John Bethancourt, a younger buddy from class that doesn't like hats yet
Help me, I'm in a house on fire!
Luke looks like he's not too worried about the fire

Mother's Day Out

Today was the much anticipated first day of Mother's Day Out. I had envisioned these pictures out by the front door of a smiling child with his backpack on. The dream went downhill quickly when we started to get dressed and he tried as hard as he could to make the process as difficult as possible. Then we went outside for photos and he wanted nothing to do with his backpack. Then Miss Kitty showed up, so the smiles were gone as he chased the neighborhood cat around the yard. I caught a few smiles before heading the 0.2 miles to school.



He was hesitant at first but wanted to carry his lunch inside himself. Then he ran to the ball toy along with four other boys. The teachers quickly diverted his attention to the puzzles, where I took a quick photo then raced out of the room blowing kisses.

After the quickest 5 hours of my life (where I thought I would get SO MUCH done), I went to go pick up my boy. They had all just woken up from their naps, and this was the dazed expression that he had until we got home.

So I thought, he must still be tired. So I put him in his bed with (STUPID DECISION) his smoothie drink to lure him back to sleep. Side note: I've never put any type of drink on the crib with him, much less anything other than water. After an hour of the occasional noise but overall quiet, I heard him singing. So I go in to find smoothie drink dribbled all over his bedding and crib. And he starts laughing hysterically, thinking that I'm the sucker for leaving him for so long. So the next 30 minutes were spent cleaning up the mess. Some great idea I had.

But he has been a delight the rest of the day! Looking forward to Thursday...

In honor of Labor Day...

Our Sunday School teacher, Jay Brown, gave a talk on 1 Timothy 6:1-2, in honor of Labor Day. Considering it is a holiday for those that labor daily, I thought this was an appropriate topic to think about as everyone goes back to their work day tomorrow. The passage really spoke to both Derek & I on how we should treat those with authority over us. I felt convicted since I really didn't respect a lot of my unbelieving bosses in the dental field. I would have been such a better employee if I had.

The first verse refers to an unbelieving boss. Since we are believers, we should still respect that boss so that we don't give that person a bad idea of what a Christian is. The second verse talks about a boss who is a believer. Basically it states that we as workers should work harder for their respect (serve them even better), versus assuming that since they are a Christian that we will get a bigger bonus, better review, etc. So even if your boss doesn't treat you justly, we are still commanded to respect them out of our Christian obedience.

Jay gave us 8 points of application:

1. Do what our boss says and do it completely
2. Talk to our boss and about our boss respectfully (in and out of the office)
3. Eagerly perform the tasks at your job
4. Perform your job excellently
5. Do your job diligently
6. Complete your job humbly
7. Manage with patience and impartiality (if you're the boss, your authority is not a means to threaten)
8. Work from the heart for eternal reward

Someone who comes to mind on these points is Jessica Lundy. Her blog, ironically titled Teaching with Heart, shows how no matter how crummy your situation, she still has an excellent attitude about her circumstances.

So for those out there doing the daily grind in a cubicle, try to remember these points when you're having a bad day.

Kids at the Party

I realize it would just be easier to send the link to the Snapfish album of all 120 pictures, but what would the fun in that be? Why not extend Justin's birthday into a multiple blog session? Here are some shots of the kids. I caught every one of them in a photo - some just better than others.

Luke on the slide. Aubrey deep in thought. Birthday boy doing the splits.






Barrett with Nick. Brooks in the water.


Harper with Paul & her little brother. Asher having fun.

Caden checking out the place. Marin wanting to get in the water.

Chance running for the water. Henry enjoying the slide.


Hudson saying hello. Major cuddling with Stephen.

John David in the confines of the stroller. Kaylinn having a blast.

Lily in her pretty purple suit. Emery & Lily (yes, two different Lily's) playing with toys.

Grace waving at the camera. Luke leading the pack of boys into the water.

New train table & geo trax from Papa Snuf, Birdie, Aaron, Elise, Shane, & Kaki