28 May 2008

30 Minutes With a Good Flat Iron...

My middle daughter, Natasha, has ultra-curly hair -- very pretty, but very difficult to manage! She has always wondered what it would be like to have straight hair, so we tried out our very nice, new flat iron, and Voila!


Actually, these pictures don't even do her curly hair justice! Usually, it's even curlier than this!
But after only 30 minutes of "flat-iron fun" (I sound like a commercial!), we had THIS:

PRETTY Cool, huh?
I still like it better curly. =)


24 May 2008

The Long and Winding Week...

Yeah, I know; Another sparse blogging week for me... Will things EVER slow down??

We are in the middle of a refinance on our home.

My oldest daughter, Nadia, has some mysterious illness that the doctors can't figure out.

We are TRYING to rework/replant our courtyard, but it KEEPS RAINING AND MESSING EVERYTHING UP!!!!

This weekend is GRADUATION Weekend for Elevate/Healing Place School of Ministry, as well as the huge Memorial Day Celebration at our church.

A dear friend of mine just had major surgery and another dear friend is having a birthday (the party is being held at my house).

So, things have been a tad hectic, but it all seems to be winding down now... at least, I hope so! I'm SOOOO ready for a relaxing summer break. Last summer went by so fast, I never felt like I slowed down! I'm determined to not make that mistake again.
More soon,
Summer =)

17 May 2008

I Don't Understand...

With props to Carole & Karen & Carlos:

I Don't Understand...


Why my 4-year-old wakes up at the crack of dawn on days when we have nowhere to go, but would sleep till ten (if I let her) when we have an early appointment!!!

Why people try to excuse evil by calling it "insanity."

Why I get so many political advertisement phone calls;
I mean, honestly, has a pre-recorded phone call EVER influenced someone's decision to vote???

Why people equate being skinny with being "healthy."

Why they didn't decide to make the new Indiana Jones flick 15 years ago before Harrison Ford needed Bengay and Denture cream?

Why it's perfectly fine to jump up and down, raise your hands, and clap at a rock concert, but if you do it at church, you're a charismatic freak.

Why dogs can't be house-trained as easily as cats; they're just as smart, right?

Why car salesmen have to SCREAM at you on their commercials;
it just makes me change the channel.

Why EVERYONE (it seems) has an iPhone except me!!


Tag! You're it; what don't YOU understand?


16 May 2008

Prince Caspian @ Midnight




The movie was even better than expected!
TOTALLY worth the loss of sleep. ;>)

Last night, I took Nadia & Natasha and we met Carole and E, Alex and Austin, Tori Ohlerking, Andrew Friedriches, and Tori's friend for the MIDNIGHT SHOWING of:

Note: this movie is a tad intense, so it might not be suitable for younger children. I doubt I would take anyone under the age of 8 or so, but certainly, each child is different in what they can handle.
We LOVED it and can't wait to see it again!

15 May 2008

In the Eye of the Storm

or storms...?

This past week, the girls and I made a whirl-wind visit to Arkansas to visit family since we had not been home since Thanksgiving. This was a very short, fast trip, but it was definitely NOT boring!
Not long after our arrival, tornadoes were touching down all over the state.
Arkansas has taken a real battering this spring.
Our old neighborhood in Little Rock -- Cammack Village -- was horribly assaulted by a tornado just a week before.
I took a couple of picture with my cell phone so I could show Clay.

Saturday night, we were in El Chico watching golf-ball and ping-pong ball sized hail fall to the ground for a good 3 minutes or so. My van now has very subtle -- barely noticeable, but still there -- round dents all over it. You can't really see them unless you look at the surface just right, but they are there. =(

Yesterday, against my father's advice, we started the drive home.
The first 3 hours were fairly uneventful -- just some light rain.
I was feeling pretty confident in my decision to make the drive.
Within 45 minutes, I would be seriously questioning that decision.

As we crossed the Mississippi bridge at Natchez, the sky turned a dark, sickly green -- something that anyone raised in tornado-prone areas knows is an ominous sign. I contemplated pulling over, but the rain was still light so I kept going.
In the vast, seemingly barren expanse between Natchez and Woodville, the rain became sheets of grey. I flipped on my flashers and kept going.
After all, there was NO guarantee of a forthcoming end to the storm.
The Weather Channel had predicted 2 full days of assault to our region.
I slowed to about 35 mph and pressed on.

To say that I was praying a lot during this leg of the journey would be an understatement!
My prayers were constant and unremitting.
All around us, it seemed, the sky was black and foreboding; and it was only 3:30 in the afternoon!

I looked for some kind of shelter -- any place to stop and wait out the worst of it -- but there was no safe haven to be found.

So we kept going.
For almost an hour and a half, we continued in this deluge, but something kept me going.
Once again, in St. Francisville, I considered stopping, but again, I passed up any possible points of refuge.
We made it home in record time -- a 2 hour journey completed in 3 hours -- just as the dark clouds were gathering above our house.

I can honestly say that I have never been happier to see my garage and hear the familiar barking of our yappy dachshund.
This morning, the newspaper revealed the extensive damage caused by these storms around our state -- and all around the path we had traveled!
It was most certainly divine providence that we did not stop or change our course.

And though my head and neck and shoulders are throbbing today with the residual tension of that drive, I feel so blessed to have come through the storms relatively unscathed.

I will say, it may be a LONG while before I want to drive in rain again!

11 May 2008

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

To all of my mothers ;) and to ALL the beautiful women in my life!
I hope your day is wonderful.

Sorry I'm not posting much right now... we are in Arkansas visiting family and dodging tornadoes!

07 May 2008

THE END

But NOT, actually.

Last night was our last class and final exams for
ELEVATE.
We graduate on May 25th!


Indeed, ELEVATE is truly ending...
We are the LAST class to be known as "Elevaters."

Next year, we will be:

HEALING PLACE SCHOOL OF MINISTRY

Pretty cool, huh?

I wonder what they will call us?


Yep, I've decided to go another year.
In fact, I think I may do 3 more years and go for the degree. I'm really excited about where this could lead me... I have absolutely LOVED this past year of Elevate; it has blessed me in more ways than I could ever say.

To those of you who have prayed for me and supported me and cheered me on,
I say: THANK YOU!!
I couldn't have done it without your prayers & encouragement.

I will keep blogging through the summer, so stay tuned for more adventures in...

well, whatever it is God has next for me!

06 May 2008

03 May 2008

Do You See What I See?

This will give you chills!
Thanks to my faithful reader, Mary, for sending this to me. It's a little long (8 min.), but definitely worth the watch, so stick with it...

Louie Giglio: