This would be our four-year-old Landon. (looks like Daddy)
Ashton this past summer. He's six now and in kindergarten! I can't believe it! (looks like Momma)
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
My Offspring
My site was looking a little plain so I thought I'd add some cute kiddos to spice it up a bit :)
This would be our four-year-old Landon. (looks like Daddy)
This would be our four-year-old Landon. (looks like Daddy)
Monday, December 18, 2006
Question...What are feeds?
Okay all you blogger friends of mine. Could you put in "Brook" terms what it means at the bottom of everyones site where it says "subscribe to: post (atom)"? Please someone help me with this. Does this somehow notify you of new blogs? I'm so used to "myspace" and it's taking me a while to navigate through the blogging world. Thanks in advance :)
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Something Currant
Wow, I have to say that I didn't know what I was getting into when I started this whole blogging business. I've been reading some of my friends sites and am blown away at the time and thought they have put into their writing. Please do not go on if you plan on getting anything like what I read on Amy's site about blessing and prosperity. You may be very disappointed. I can't pretend like I read all of her blog comments...believe me I wanted to, but my eyes kept crossing from all of the words. Plus, I don't have a computer at home so my time is limited here.
All of that to say, that I thought I'd write quickly what was going on with me this past week. Shawn and I were recovering from strep throat in the beginning of the week. Monday also brought Ashton's first basketball practice. Shawn also experienced his first experience coaching 5-6 year olds. It was very interesting to observe from the stands. I finally felt sorry enough for him and got off my rump and helped. I'm proud of him for doing something that is not so comfortable for him so Ashton could be more comfortable with his first team sport. I'm sure there will more blogs about their basketball happenings. Tuesday I got to play volleyball with our church team while Shawn recovered at home with the boys. It was great. Somehow we recruited this girl from Germany who played in the Olympics. I knew she was good Tuesday but didn't know she was in the Olympics until last night. It all made a lot more sense to me after learning that fact. She could jump serve and everything. I was no longer the "best girl" on the court which is one thing I like to be. But I also like to win and I like to play with good players. So I got to do those two things and it was a lot of fun! She even invited me to play sand volleyball with her and her friends when it gets warmer. The end of the week brought our church's Christmas play. It was Fri-Sun night. In fact it's going on right now. I'm in Shawn's office with Landon b/c he got booted out of the kid's room for being disobedient-gotta love it! I think he's just really worn out and ready to go home. I can't blame him; I do to.
Tomorrow brings the beginning of us preparing to go to Tennessee for Christmas. We've got to do all the fun stuff like get our car checked out, go through bills, laundry and pack. Oh and did I mention that I still have to do my shopping. Some where between now and Wednesday I've got to do that too. I'm excited though. There are some things that I can't mention in case the boys have suddenly learned to read that I've been waiting to get them. Okay, here's a hint...they've really enjoyed building things lately, so I will be searching for items they can do that with. We're not getting them anything big this year. It'll just get broken, lost, or they will loose interest in it in two days. I'm not going down that road again this year.
When we get back to Arkansas from Tennessee we're turning right around to Colorado for a ski trip with the teens! I am very excited to see the mountains and all of the snow. I miss snow I have to say. I want the boys to be able to play in it like I did as a kid, but I'm afraid they won't get many chances to do that here. Maybe I'll move somewhere colder...just kidding. I've never been skiing before and am pumped to do it. Shawn assures me he is a good teacher and that he'll have me going down the bigger slopes on the second day. I'm not so sure I'll even be able to get out of bed the second day, but we'll see. I think my legs...well no, my entire body will be in shock after skiing. I'll try to take pictures so I can share them when I get back. I'm actually not sure who is reading any of this besides Scott and Joyce. We'll see.
When I write my life down, it sounds so boring. I'm not bored though. I promise there's more to my life than a list of things to do, but right now with Landon repeating, "I want to go home, I want to go home" about a million times, I can't think of anything profound to share.
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. Jesus is the best gift I've ever been given. It was given to me by the best Father I've ever known. I am blessed!!
All of that to say, that I thought I'd write quickly what was going on with me this past week. Shawn and I were recovering from strep throat in the beginning of the week. Monday also brought Ashton's first basketball practice. Shawn also experienced his first experience coaching 5-6 year olds. It was very interesting to observe from the stands. I finally felt sorry enough for him and got off my rump and helped. I'm proud of him for doing something that is not so comfortable for him so Ashton could be more comfortable with his first team sport. I'm sure there will more blogs about their basketball happenings. Tuesday I got to play volleyball with our church team while Shawn recovered at home with the boys. It was great. Somehow we recruited this girl from Germany who played in the Olympics. I knew she was good Tuesday but didn't know she was in the Olympics until last night. It all made a lot more sense to me after learning that fact. She could jump serve and everything. I was no longer the "best girl" on the court which is one thing I like to be. But I also like to win and I like to play with good players. So I got to do those two things and it was a lot of fun! She even invited me to play sand volleyball with her and her friends when it gets warmer. The end of the week brought our church's Christmas play. It was Fri-Sun night. In fact it's going on right now. I'm in Shawn's office with Landon b/c he got booted out of the kid's room for being disobedient-gotta love it! I think he's just really worn out and ready to go home. I can't blame him; I do to.
Tomorrow brings the beginning of us preparing to go to Tennessee for Christmas. We've got to do all the fun stuff like get our car checked out, go through bills, laundry and pack. Oh and did I mention that I still have to do my shopping. Some where between now and Wednesday I've got to do that too. I'm excited though. There are some things that I can't mention in case the boys have suddenly learned to read that I've been waiting to get them. Okay, here's a hint...they've really enjoyed building things lately, so I will be searching for items they can do that with. We're not getting them anything big this year. It'll just get broken, lost, or they will loose interest in it in two days. I'm not going down that road again this year.
When we get back to Arkansas from Tennessee we're turning right around to Colorado for a ski trip with the teens! I am very excited to see the mountains and all of the snow. I miss snow I have to say. I want the boys to be able to play in it like I did as a kid, but I'm afraid they won't get many chances to do that here. Maybe I'll move somewhere colder...just kidding. I've never been skiing before and am pumped to do it. Shawn assures me he is a good teacher and that he'll have me going down the bigger slopes on the second day. I'm not so sure I'll even be able to get out of bed the second day, but we'll see. I think my legs...well no, my entire body will be in shock after skiing. I'll try to take pictures so I can share them when I get back. I'm actually not sure who is reading any of this besides Scott and Joyce. We'll see.
When I write my life down, it sounds so boring. I'm not bored though. I promise there's more to my life than a list of things to do, but right now with Landon repeating, "I want to go home, I want to go home" about a million times, I can't think of anything profound to share.
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. Jesus is the best gift I've ever been given. It was given to me by the best Father I've ever known. I am blessed!!
Sunday, December 10, 2006
"Distorted Beauty"--we're all being fooled
It's true, we're being fooled. Our impression of what is beautiful is being tweaked and we don't even realize it. I was floored when I saw the work put in to making on shot for an add. I'm also sure that this is not even the full picture the real work and amount of time it takes to make a model "ready" for the camera.
As girls we constantly want to become and more importantly, be viewed as more beautiful. It's sometimes so frustrating looking at those magazines in the checkout line which are covered in "perfect" women. Plastic surgery is on the rise and the age of women getting work done is declining.
And the poor boys/men out there you see these same faces (and bodies) in magazines too. WARNING-WARNING-WARNING you too are being fooled if you think these girls really look the way you are seeing them in print. I think there are a lot of guys who get married and are really disappointed in the wife because she doesn't "measure up" to the image. And frankly, we can't, it's impossible, unless of course we have a Super-Team available to assist us on a daily, or more realistically an hourly basis.
Check out this link to see what really happens to those who girls view as "perfect" and those who guys view as "hot".
www.campaignforrealbeauty.com --Just hit "play film" when the option appears.
As girls we constantly want to become and more importantly, be viewed as more beautiful. It's sometimes so frustrating looking at those magazines in the checkout line which are covered in "perfect" women. Plastic surgery is on the rise and the age of women getting work done is declining.
And the poor boys/men out there you see these same faces (and bodies) in magazines too. WARNING-WARNING-WARNING you too are being fooled if you think these girls really look the way you are seeing them in print. I think there are a lot of guys who get married and are really disappointed in the wife because she doesn't "measure up" to the image. And frankly, we can't, it's impossible, unless of course we have a Super-Team available to assist us on a daily, or more realistically an hourly basis.
Check out this link to see what really happens to those who girls view as "perfect" and those who guys view as "hot".
www.campaignforrealbeauty.com --Just hit "play film" when the option appears.
Bible Study Fellowship
A couple of years ago, I started attending Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). It's the best bible study I've ever been to. It will take me seven years to go through the whole study, but by the end of those seven years I will have a greater understanding of the bible than I would if I was just doing it on my own. A person can start coming anytime. Each year is a different study; this year is Romans. Talk about getting deeper with God. I'm beginning to understand all of the things I've just "known". I didn't think that by learning the "basics" of Christianity would help me understand who God is, what he has done for me and what he would like me to do for him. Right now, we're learning a load about faith. What do you think faith is really? It's a word we toss around everyday..."you gotta have faith", "I have faith in my husband", "I have faith that the game won't get rained out". The word faith is getting tossed around about as bad as the word love, (Rob Bell,from Nooma said "I love my wife, but I also love tacos??") I'm learning that it's not faith that's important, it is the object of your faith. What or who are you putting your faith in? Romans 3:22 says, "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." A person can't or shouldn't say, "it'll happen if you keep the faith". Faith in what, just believing that it'll happen won't make it happen, but having faith in Jesus, now that could do something!
It's so good to be in God's word and actually learn something. I really struggle with my lack of being self-motivated. In high school and college, I could make my body do crazy things in sports because I had a coach there instructing me and encouraging me. Bible study is the same for me. I need the accountability that comes with organized group study. I've grown to like the "guidelines" that come with Bible Study Fellowship and have even applied some of them to my personal life...like the importance of being on time...that was a hard one for me.
There are Bible Study Fellowship classes all over the world. There are classes for men in the evenings, classes for women in day or evening and also in some areas classes for singles. If you already have a devotional life then adding BSF to your life would only require 2 extra hours a week to attend class. An added bonus to those of you with kids is they have a free children's program where the kids learn what you are learning each week, on their level of course. The women's day classes accept children ages 2-5, and evening classes take kids kindergarten-high school senior.
Do let me know what you think about faith, your faith, or how the word faith is used around you. Also, if you want more information about BSF, let me know!!
It's so good to be in God's word and actually learn something. I really struggle with my lack of being self-motivated. In high school and college, I could make my body do crazy things in sports because I had a coach there instructing me and encouraging me. Bible study is the same for me. I need the accountability that comes with organized group study. I've grown to like the "guidelines" that come with Bible Study Fellowship and have even applied some of them to my personal life...like the importance of being on time...that was a hard one for me.
There are Bible Study Fellowship classes all over the world. There are classes for men in the evenings, classes for women in day or evening and also in some areas classes for singles. If you already have a devotional life then adding BSF to your life would only require 2 extra hours a week to attend class. An added bonus to those of you with kids is they have a free children's program where the kids learn what you are learning each week, on their level of course. The women's day classes accept children ages 2-5, and evening classes take kids kindergarten-high school senior.
Do let me know what you think about faith, your faith, or how the word faith is used around you. Also, if you want more information about BSF, let me know!!
Why No Cell Phones??
Okay, so we're getting a lot of grief over us not having cell phones anymore. Well, here's my response...who needs them! Since my mom works for Sprint, we got a huge discount on our cell phones. Her company was making some changes and our plan was going to change drastically and cost a lot more. Plus, we weren't getting very good service in Hot Springs anyway. So, we made a call to Sprint. They said that since we were on the edge of a "dead zone" that they would let us out of our contract. "Great" we thought now we have to get new phones and get set up with a new carrier...joy.
We thought we'd take a few weeks off from being accessible 24/7 and surprise, surprise, we found out that we liked not having them. It's great not having so many interruptions to life. Shawn and I talk a lot more especially in the car where before we were making lots of calls then. Some people still complain that they can't get a hold of us. (aren't cell phones for my convenience, not theirs?) Another point to my argument is that no one tries to reach us at home. Here's a great sample conversation....
dude-"Hey Shawn, I really needed to talk to you today. It was very important and I couldn't reach you anywhere!"
Shawn-"Oh, sorry about that. I would have liked to talked to you too. Did you try me at home?"
dude-"Well...no"
Shawn-"Sorry, but I do always check my messages at home and work and I didn't get one from you today. You should have left me one saying you were looking for me and I would have called you right back."
It's hilarious to me because very few people actually call us at home. I guess the possibility of us not being there, readily available as with cell phones deters folks from calling us. This tells me that what they had to say wasn't really that "important" to begin with. The fact is...cell phone users aren't really as accessible as they would like to think. Many of my friends have cell phone and never answer them...they just screen calls and call people back when they feel like it. To me, that's worse than just not having one. At least we answer the phone when people call. Anyway, I just got all worked up over this again and I didn't mean to.
So I would like to challenge anyone reading to go cell-less for a day or even a week. Just see what it's like, your "extra" time will amaze you.
We thought we'd take a few weeks off from being accessible 24/7 and surprise, surprise, we found out that we liked not having them. It's great not having so many interruptions to life. Shawn and I talk a lot more especially in the car where before we were making lots of calls then. Some people still complain that they can't get a hold of us. (aren't cell phones for my convenience, not theirs?) Another point to my argument is that no one tries to reach us at home. Here's a great sample conversation....
dude-"Hey Shawn, I really needed to talk to you today. It was very important and I couldn't reach you anywhere!"
Shawn-"Oh, sorry about that. I would have liked to talked to you too. Did you try me at home?"
dude-"Well...no"
Shawn-"Sorry, but I do always check my messages at home and work and I didn't get one from you today. You should have left me one saying you were looking for me and I would have called you right back."
It's hilarious to me because very few people actually call us at home. I guess the possibility of us not being there, readily available as with cell phones deters folks from calling us. This tells me that what they had to say wasn't really that "important" to begin with. The fact is...cell phone users aren't really as accessible as they would like to think. Many of my friends have cell phone and never answer them...they just screen calls and call people back when they feel like it. To me, that's worse than just not having one. At least we answer the phone when people call. Anyway, I just got all worked up over this again and I didn't mean to.
So I would like to challenge anyone reading to go cell-less for a day or even a week. Just see what it's like, your "extra" time will amaze you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)