Something your Mama would say

Know what I love? Saying something over and over and over. Trying to get my point across about something and no one is listening. Then someone else comes by and whispers the same. exact. thing. and everyone says, "Oh! What a great thought/idea/solution/opinion!" Yeah... that's always nice. Especially when you're pretty sure the whisperer took it from you in the first place. Even if they didn't, LISTEN UP, PEOPLE! Quit ignoring the people in your life. It was OBVIOUSLY something worth hearing if you were so jazzed to hear it second hand. Just imagine if you had been on the wagon when it originally came though! Please, don't drown out people who are talking to you. It's so frustrating (obviously) and demoralizing - not to mention painfully obvious. Please just treat people the way you would like to be treated.

Bob! Don't marry that harpy!

Al: Hey, you know how it is when you see someone that you haven't seen since high school, and they got some dead-end job, and they're married to some woman that hates them, they got three kids who, like, think he's a joke? Wasn't there some point where you stood back and said, "Bob, don't take that job! Bob, don't marry that harpy!" You know?

Dirk: Your point?

Al: Well, we're in the desert, looking for the source of a river pollutant, using as our map a cave drawing of a Civil War gunship, which is also in the desert. So I was just wondering when we're gonna have to sit down and re-evaluate our decision-making paradigm?

Sahara has got to be one of my very favorite movies. 

I have a super short attention span lately... or so it seems. I can watch an infinite number of consecutive Bones episodes, but if you ask me if I want to sit and watch a movie, I shy away from a commitment of that magnitude. An hour and a half of sitting in the same spot I've BEEN sitting for the past hour?! Lets not go crazy.

I love a good movie. Shoot, I've sat through ALL THREE Lord of the Rings movies with my Hubs. I'm not sure why a movie in the evening spooks me. It's not like I have anything else to do at 10pm on a Monday, right?! Must be the hormones.

He didn't say "some things."

Recently I've been thinking a lot about Romans 8:28. It says, "all things work together for good for those who love God for those called according to his purpose."

Last week at church our pastor did a whole sermon about that verse. One of the points he made was that the verse doesn't say we'll be able to see it all come together for good in the end. We just have to know that it will. He also said that sometimes God lets us see it come together in hind sight.

When I was about 2-years-old we had a gas stove with a mind of it's own. It gave my mom grief trying to light the pilot on it every now and then. My mom is smart. She knew the basic things you need to do to be safe and she certainly knew how to use a gas stove. Nevertheless, the stove turned in it's notice one day and blew up in her face as she tried to light it. It sent a fire ball out that covered the entire top half of her body. It burned her hands, neck, and face really badly. My Dad is a safety engineer and immediately jumped into action. He threw a blanket over her to put out the flames and then held her kicking and screaming in a cold shower for 15 minutes. She said being in that shower was more painful than being on fire. She didn't stop cursing him for a week - or so he says. I was 2, remember? Him holding her under that water saved her from SERIOUS, long-lasting injury. Because he acted so quickly, you can't even really see any scars on her. She came out of that horrible situation as well as could be hoped.

My Mom loves God. She knows Romans 8:28 by heart but struggled with WHY that had to happen to her. Nothing good could come out of being a human fire ball and then tortured.

When I was in 8th grade, we moved for the umpteenth time (Safety engineers move more often than the military I swear.) to a little town outside of Fort Worth, Texas called Decatur. We'd been in the house all of a week maybe. My Dad was off working crazy long days at his new project site when my baby sister, Natalee, who was just a toddler at the time pulled a pot off the stove and spilled boiling soup all over the front of her naked-except-for-a-diaper body. Her skin started falling off her stomach in sheets like it was melting. It was so horrible and gruesome. I couldn't do anything but stand there in shock. Without missing a beat, my Mom scooped her up and carried her up the stairs as fast as she could. She stood in the freezing cold shower with my sister, fully clothed, water running everywhere for a good 15 minutes while I called 911.

I can still remember the sounds of my sister screaming and my mom crying as she had to hold her down.

Since my Dad wasn't home, I rode in the ambulance with Natalee while my mom and other sister followed behind us in the van. My Dad met us at the hospital where I remember hearing the doctors telling my parents how badly Nat had been burned. The one part of the conversation I remember perfectly clearly was the doctor saying if my Mom hadn't held her under that cold shower to stop the burn from moving deeper into her tissues, she may not be alive. All of her vital organs were directly in the path of that burn.

My Dad wasn't home. This isn't something couples sit around and talk about in the evenings. Had that stove not blown up in my Mom's face, she wouldn't have known how to save my sister's life.

"ALL THINGS work together for GOOD for those who love God for those called according to His purpose."

Thank you so much Lord for giving us little glimpses into your plan. Thank you for the opportunity to see it come together and see how a tragic event was your mercy in disguise.

Me and my sister, Natalee.

I'm feeling sentimental today. My anniversary is coming up. I will have been married to the love of my life for 5 years. I think back to the crazy person I was before I found my other half and I completely understand why so many people are looking for what I have - a person to spend forever with. A HAPPY FOREVER! Honestly, we have our ups and downs. Most of those downs were in the 1st year - Ugh... But we have NEVER considered divorce. We have never said anything in the heat of the moment that we couldn't take back. Never walked out on each other.

I really truely believe he is the greatest man on the planet. I think he's the best possible father and husband this life has to offer. I often wonder how in the WORLD he ended up with a girl like me. I don't understand God's hand, but I. Am. So. Thankful. That man is my rock. He's there for me no matter how many days it's been since I showered and no matter how bad I'm feeling. (Because it's been time for bed and I'm still in my jammies from yesterday!)

He's amazing. I love him with my whole, entire heart. I could never be this happy with anyone else. He is my soul mate for sure. I love you Chris. <3

My eyes are getting itchy

Today was the first day of my semester. My three hour class took all of 30 minutes. I guess she figured we would need the rest of the time to go BUY and LOOK OVER our syllabus. The thing is easily 150 pages and cost me $8.50 at a print shop. I don't think I've ever had a syllabus over 5 pages in the 7 years I've been in college. Welcome to the nursing program! It's like death on paper, but I'm excited and I already have it highlighted and tabbed appropriately.

I have someone from pretty much every branch of the medical field tied to my family in some way. My mother-in-law works for the surgeon that will be taking Noah's tonsils and adenoids out this month. Chris' grandmother works for an ophthalmologist. So I called her today to ask about Noah's pink eye. Verdict is as I feared - it's almost a certainty it will work it's way through all three kids so get him to the doc for some antibiotic eye drops stat. Will do. Are anyone else's eyes feeling itchy? O_o

I'm sure his school is going to be THRILLED that he missed a week of school for something other than the tonsillectomy I warned them about. Missing 2 weeks of school in a month - albeit not consecutive weeks - is nothing to sneeze at. Hopefully he isn't scarred for life. I'm rolling my eyes over here... since, you know, sarcasm doesn't translate well in print. He's a smart kid and he'll catch up. Shoot, all he's doing is sitting around reading books through his goopy eyes anyway. That and watching lots of TV, but lets stick to the book story, K?

Seriously... my eyes are starting to itch. Where is the lysol?!

Why?!

WHY does jello take so long to set up? If I wanted jello 12 hours from now, I'd make it then. The pre-made jello packs are not the same. They're not the right consistency. Such a pain in the rear.

WHY don't people change their address when they move?! I've lived in this house for 2.5 YEARS and I still get mail for the people we bought it from... AND THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE BEFORE THEM. Seriously.

Rats!

I can't believe I missed posting yesterday! Not that I had anything go on to write home about.

I got all 3 kids to church (ON TIME! Woot!) by myself while Chris stayed home and tried his best to feel better. This time of year is killer on the medical budget. Speaking of, time to take my antibiotic.

School started this week. It's going to be interesting only taking one class this semester. Somehow only taking one class is way more intimidating to me than taking a full course load.

Tomorrow is my Lovey's birthday. I'm so proud to be his wife. He really is the greatest guy in the whole world. <3 Happy Birthday, Chris! I love you so much!