They're All Daddy's Girls

You know how it is. You're reading one of your favorite blogs when you notice a comment on it, which takes you to another blog, which takes you to another blog. Well, this time, the other blog was Veggie Mom's, and this was the post I read, or rather, watched. It made me cry. Of course, that's not saying much.

Tomorrow I'll post about our snow day yesterday. But this just touched me last night. Maybe because I'm as proud of my Daddy as the Bush twins are, and as the Obama girls will grow up to be.

My Husband Rocks!

I have multiple reasons Sound Man rocks this week, even though I'm getting to it late. I hope Katy Lin doesn't disown me. Check out her blog and see why she started this sweet thing called My Husband Rocks in the first place. She's got so many participants now I can't even count them all. Okay, on to the Rocks!

Right now, as I'm typing this, my husband is talking to our Golden Retriever. Why? Because he won't eat. The dog, not the husband. I have never in my life seen a dog, especially not a rescued dog, not scarf down food when given the chance. Yeah, well, I'd never met Jonathan yet. He is THE pickiest dog ever. Wait, no, because his brother Skip is just as picky. Why? You'd think that because someone lovingly took them in and saved them from a life of scavenging they'd eat whatever those loving people put in front of them. Which, in dog terms, is pretty dang good stuff. But no. So, my husband is patiently (or maybe not so much) standing in the kitchen, coaxing the dog to eat. I can tell you from experience it's exasperating. And we can't just leave his food out for him or Windi and Shadow will help themselves. I'm telling you, Sound Man would much rather be doing much more enjoyable activities.

Another reason he rocks this week is another lesson in patience. With me, no less. This week has been one more trial as far as homeschooling has gone. He has heard me gripe, complain, whine, cry, and that was just in the first five minutes of our first conversation Monday. The rest of the week was about the same. Yet he patiently calmed me down, chastised me when I needed it, disciplined our son as he saw fitting, and loved us both throughout. I know...I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that I couldn't homeschool without his support.

I could learn so much from his patience. Now, he gave up on the dog. I can't say I wouldn't have either. I guess he'll eat when he gets ready to. But I'm so glad he hasn't given up on me.

Thank you, My Sweet!

Because I like to laugh

Every Wednesday, Allie at The Pink Potpourri gives us something to laugh at. This past week, it was the video from AFV with the dog biting his own leg over and over. There are just some videos that are funny, no matter how many times you watch them. That dog is one of them. Here is another one. I think it may be my all time favorite AFV video.

You now have permission to think that I've completely lost my mind.

My Husband, My Hero

Those of you who know me IRL (in real life, for those uninitiated ones) probably know that I'm sick of hunting season. Sick. Of. It. I'm tired of camouflage clothes. I'm tired of guns. I'm tired of all the stuff lying around my house that can't be put away because it's for the next hunting trip. And while I'm very grateful that Sound Man wants to put meat in my freezer, I'm so over hunting season. My husband knows this. He knows and is patient with me. I am not a hunter, nor will I ever be a hunter, so he is patient with my groanings and complainings. Not that he likes them, but he is patient with them, as vocal as I may be with them. And I am vocal.

He and Kiddo left this morning at 4:00 a.m. on the dot. In 11 degree cold, no less, for the last hunt of the season. After stopping by Wal-mart to pick up a portable heater, they headed down through North Mississippi to the happy hunting grounds. Their route takes them through Holly Springs, past Rust College. Except this morning their route was interrupted by smoke billowing from the roof of someone's home. Sound Man saw the smoke and knew that whoever was inside didn't know what was going on. In a split second decision, he pulled the truck over and told Kiddo to stay put.

He ran up to the front porch and beat on the door and windows to try to wake the family up. A woman came to the door and was able to get her family out of the house before the smoke got too bad. The attic was in flames by the time my husband realized the gas needed to be turned off, and in spite of the danger he faced going back into the house, he and a relative of the family ran back in to try to shut it off. He said they couldn't find it before they were overcome with smoke and had to come out.

The family got out safely. Chuckling, he told me that the woman told her mom on the phone, "I didn't know why in the world this white man was beatin' on my window!" The area around Rust College is a predominantly black neighborhood. Yet my husband didn't let the difference in his skin color stop him from helping someone. I realized when he told me what she said that, believe it or not, there are people in this world who would have kept on driving, simply because they knew that most likely someone with a different skin color lived in that house. Sickening.

I have been crying since I talked to my husband. I can't really pinpoint one reason why. I have so many emotions rolling around my heart right now. First, I'm so thankful for my godly husband who put his plans on hold to save someone he didn't know. What did that show my son? Oh, I'm crying so much harder now, because I just realized that in my son's eyes, his daddy grew about 6 feet. Sound Man has always been his hero, but so much more, now. I'm also crying at Kiddo's bravery. He was told to stay put in the truck, across the street from the house, until Dad came back. He watched the whole thing unfold. By himself. Now, as a nine-year old boy, he was plenty safe, but he has not ever been put in a situation like that that I can remember. He's an only child and has been kept pretty sheltered. But he did exactly like Dad said and stayed put, even though he was scared. He grew up a little sitting in the cab of that truck.

And the last reason I'm crying is this: what if my husband had listened to all the griping and whining I've been doing about hunting? What if he had acquiesced and hadn't gone this morning? Would someone have been driving by at just the right moment? Would anyone have seen the smoke before it was too late? God has divine appointments in our lives, no matter if we like the circumstances or not. I'm hoping I will take every opportunity to see things from this perspective from now on.

Sound Man is pretty shaken up, smells like an ashtray, and will be coughing a little today. And even though he's already out at the deer stand, he's still my Hero. And forever will be.

My Husband Rocks! Friday

This week, Katy Lin prompted us to come up with two things, no matter how our week has been. First, she asked us to remember at least one thing our husband did or said in the past week that reminded us why we love him. And it made me giggle when I realized what the first thing was that I came up with. But seriously, it did remind me why I love him. Let me 'splain.

It is stinkin' cold here. Our average temperature in winter around Memphis is 40 degrees. Right now the wind chill is 5. That would be f.i.v.e. as in single digit 5. Five. I know for people who live up north and in the Midwest, 5 is nothing. Like right now, it's what, -80 in North Dakota? So I'm good with at least positive numbers. Tonight, I was shopping at Hancock's while Sound Man and Kiddo did their own manly shopping at Sportsman's Warehouse when my phone rang. Expecting Sound Man to tell me to cut my shopping short, I answered the phone. Instead of telling me to come out to the cold, cold van, my sweet, thoughtful, precious husband uttered these words that caused my heart to leap for joy: "You want a Venti Decaf White Chocolate Mocha?" Oh, the bliss.

Okay, so I'm being silly, but seriously, it does make me so thankful that my sweet husband knew exactly what I would need to warm up after being out in the cold. He loves me so much!

The second part of her suggestion was to come up with a "Generous Wife Tip." Something that we do or would like to do more often to make our husband feel loved and respected. This I'm going to combine with another challenge that Kristen is doing over at We Are THAT Family. You may have noticed my very Valentine-y button over there on my sidebar. Kristen is challenging us to kiss our husbands with purpose every day in February. Not just a peck on the cheek, either. A lay-one-on-him-and-make-him-remember-why-he-married-you-in-the-first-place kind of kiss. So, starting February 1, I shall take it upon myself to make that sacrifice to smooch my husband every day. Bring on the chapstick!

Side note here: If anybody can tell me how to make my button over there not cut off on the side, I'd really appreciate it. Sometimes Blogger drives me nuts. ETA - Thanks, Katy Lin!

Anyway, as we approach the most romantic holiday of the year, I hope you will start thinking about ways you show your husband (or would like to show him) how much you love and respect him. Your marriage can do nothing but benefit from it!

You Don't Have to be Frumpy to be Modest!

I love me some Sarah Mae. Her blog, Like a Warm Cup of Coffee is always challenging me in one way or another. Sarah's not afraid to put it out there, that's for sure. She is firm on her convictions and knows why she believes what she believes. I love it. I'm always in her cheering section, knowing I would never be brave enough to tackle the issues she's tackled over the past year, even though I completely agree with her. I'm a chicken like that.

However, this week she has brought up the issue of modesty. Working with women on a regular basis as a small group leader as well as the alto section leader of our Worship Team, I've had to deal with modesty issues quite a bit. Sarah has done a whole series about modesty, and has done it with excellence. She has not been judgemental, and has geared the whole series to Christian women. I have agreed wholeheartedly with every word she has said. We have a thing for the ladies in the Worship Team called "The Modesty Macarena" - cheesy, I know, but it gets the point across:

1. Cleavage - make a fist, pinky side down, and put your thumb just under the little dip in your collarbone. If your shirt is lower than your pinky, it's too low cut. I love tanks, because you can get them super cheap and have one to put under every low cut shirt you have!
   
   
2. Tight shirts - if you can't easily grab some material on the side of your shirt, it's too clingy or tight.
   
   
3. Showing some skin - if you can't raise your hands a little without showing your belly, your shirt is too short. Again, the tank is an outfit-saver here. Tuck it in, and you're good to go!



4. Tight jeans - same thing as the shirts, if you can't grab at least some material on the side of your thighs, your jeans/pants are too tight.
   
   
5. Above the knee - if your skirt comes above the knee when you sit down, it's too short.

These are our rules for singing on Sunday morning on stage, but they are good rules to follow every day. I won't go into the why's here because Sarah has clearly and Biblically explained why in her modesty posts. Please go check them out.

Now, onto the fun stuff! She challenged us to show everyone that You Don't Have to Be Frumpy to Be Modest! Meaning, she wants us to post a picture of our modest, cute outfits. I knew exactly which one I would post. Even though when I saw the pictures I almost decided not to post them (I have major body issues!) but my Sound Man told me he would if I didn't. So, here's my YDHTBFTBM outfit: It looks so much cuter in real life. Boot Cut jeans from Avenue (and yes, they are lower rise, but not TOO low!), Sweater/shirt from Kohl's, and the black version of the shoes. Oh, I do love those shoes. But I digress. I love this outfit because it is modest but too cute. I love the jeans, I love the sweater vest/shirt, I love it all. Plus, I don't have to worry about making sure I'm covered up enough. The first time I wore the shirt, I got so many compliments and people asked me if I had lost weight. It immediately became my favorite thing in my closet. I wonder if people will start to notice if I wear it every week?

Now, head on over to Sarah Mae's to check out the other ladies who are modestly stylish!

Sunrise, Sunset

As I thought about the title to this post, I had that song from "Fiddler on the Roof" in my head. But this is only about sunrise. A beautiful, pink sunrise that my husband captured with the camera this morning. I came into the dining room to find the camera sitting on the table. Wondering if I had left it there accidentally, I turned it on to see if maybe he had taken a picture or something. What a sweet surprise to see these images pop onto the screen.

This is my favorite one. It looks like flames are licking the clouds as the sun comes up over the horizon. Beautiful, just beautiful. Except for the power line stretching through the middle of the picture. Oh, well, the problems of living in the middle of town. But it's still beautiful, just the same. Thank you, My Sweet.

My Hero

No, I'm not talking about my Sound Man. Although he does fit that description. No, I'm talking about a dish detergent. No, I haven't lost my mind. And no, I'm not even talking about doing dishes.

See, one lovely day last year my Kiddo forgot to tell me that he had placed crayons in his leg pockets. The pockets that I didn't check before putting the pair of pants in the washer and subsequently the dryer. Oh, what a mess. All over my dryer as well as my clothes, was red crayon. Melted, waxy, red crayon. I cried. I wailed. I Googled. Yes, I put in "How do I get red crayon out of clothes?" or something along those lines. It said anything from WD-40 to Borax, but the one thing I had on hand was Dawn dishwashing liquid. Enter my Hero.

I used Dawn on those awful red crayon spots, washed the clothes again, and you know what? It worked. Dawn dishwashing liquid got out dryer-melted red crayon from my clothes! So, I figured, hey, it might work on all my grease spots. Nothing I've ever used before has worked, so what do I have to lose? And guess what? (you probably know where this is going, don't you?) It has worked. Every. Single. Time. Even clothes that I had put in the dry cleaning bag that had sat for months came grease-spot clean. Here, let me show you.

Here's Kiddo's shirt with two greasy stains on it. It has already been washed AND dried. I used to think, "Well, this shirt's done for!" But now I know better. See the grease stain on the shoulder and the one on the tummy? Here's a closeup on the shoulder:

Now, all I do when I find one of these stains is pull out the old Dawn liquid. It can either be the original or ultra, they both work the same.

And here's the shirt after washing.

Now, because I believe in full disclosure, let me say that this was with two washings. It was movie butter popcorn that made those stains. I had some on my jeans that required two washings, too. Man, whatever they use for that popcorn is scary industrial grease. Makes me wonder if I will ever order butter popcorn anymore, for sure.I have wanted to write Dawn and tell them what a miracle product they have in the hope that they'd send me a lifetime supply of the stuff, but that's probably not going to happen. Oh, well, I'll just let this little blog post suffice.

So, if you've got some greasy stains you've been putting off trying to get clean, try putting some Dawn on it (regular dish liquid might work too, but I've only tried Dawn). I really scrub it in the spot, then I leave it on for a LONG time. Like overnight. If not, it might need another washing to get it out. If the first try isn't completely successful, keep trying. Dawn has given me back many of my shirts that I had forgotten about in the abyss of the dry-cleaning bag.

Yes, Dawn is truly my Hero. At least for my laundry, where I need all the heros I can get. Whatever that means.

My Husband Rocks! Questionnaire

Katy Lin, who started My Husband Rocks! Fridays, has given us a questionnaire to answer about our husbands. I'm a sucker for those things! Check her out here to see why she started My Husband Rocks! Now, on to the questions:

1. Where did you meet? We met one weekend at the church we both go to now. I was in college and my best friend led the youth drama group at the church. I went with her to one rehearsal and met him there. I thought he was the cutest. Yes, I said youth. He's a little over two and a half years younger than I am. But we didn't start dating until I was out of college.

2. How long did you date before you were married? One year, four weeks exactly. Our first date was on March 11, 1994, and we got married April 8, 1995.

3. What does he do that surprises you? Little things, like after our Women's Ministry Christmas Party, he knew I would be worn out. He had cleaned the entire front of the house and had bought a bouquet of flowers for me. I walked in so very happily surprised!

4. What is your favorite quality of his? I love how deeply he thinks. He loves "getting" a movie. When there is a lesson to be learned, he loves to delve into it. He also has written poetry which allows him to vent stuff he can't necessarily talk to me about. I feel very shallow sometimes in light of his depth.

5. What is your favorite feature of his? His beautiful green eyes. I love buying him green shirts because they bring out the green of his eyes.

6. Does he have a nickname for you? Yes, but I'll leave that one alone for now. : )

7. What is his favorite food? Hmmm...he loves most of what I cook. I think his favorite meal has been Cajun pork chops with spinach apple salad. He also likes Mexican. Right now he'd probably say anything made with deer meat. Oh, and he LOVES Taco Ring.

8. What is his favorite sport? Football. Most definitely. But he also likes watching Memphis Tiger Basketball.

9. When and where was your first kiss? On my couch (with all four feet planted firmly on the floor, thankyouverymuch) in my apartment I shared with my two roommates. It was on our...hmmm, let me think....third date? Maybe? Definitely not our first. Nor our second.

10. What do you like to do together? EVERYTHING! We just enjoy being with each other. He still makes me laugh. We haven't had much time to spend just the two of us lately...we'll have to plan for that this year!

11. Do you have any children? Yes, one Kiddo. He's nine, going on thirty.

12. Does he have a hidden talent? He can sing, but he thinks I think he can't. Goober.

13. Who said "I love you" first? He did.

14. What is his favorite type of music? He likes all kinds, but his favorite is Christian. Within that genre, I'd have to say his favorite artists are groups that aren't mainstream, like Monk and Neagle. They aren't even together anymore, but he likes their sound. Groups out of the norm, he likes. David Crowder...definitely not norm. : )

15. What do you admire most about him? His integrity. He won't even pick up a dime from the sidewalk because it's not his. He does what is right, even if it costs him. He lost a job once because he didn't feel like what they were asking him to do was ethical. He asked to be transferred to a different area of the company, but they said there was nothing else available. So he took a job loss for his convictions. It scared me at the time, but I also knew that God would take care of us because he had done what honored Him.

16. Do you think he will read this? I know he will.

SHE

At our church, our women's ministry is called SHE. I'm so awful. I don't even know if that stands for anything. I know that our Bible study on Tuesdays is called GROW (Girls Raised on the Word), but that's about it. However, I know what SHE does. SHE covers all ministries for women, whether it's SHE Grows, where all women in our area are invited to come join in their choice of studies (last fall I led TrueFaced, but there were many other classes available), or SHE Encourages, where ladies make blankets to take to anyone in need. And I do mean anyone. Last year those industrious women made and gave out more than 2,000 blankets. And from the preschool moms' ministry to the blogging world, there are many women involved in reaching out to our community.

So, why am I introducing you to SHE? Well, mainly so I could post these pictures from Saturday night. Our Women's Ministry Director, Kam, graciously invited leaders, past and future, as well as our spouses, to her home for a game-playing, barbecue eating, picture taking fun time. And boy, did we have fun.

Let me say here that I love playing board and card games. When I say card games, no, I do NOT mean Poker! : ) I mean like Rummy, Phase 10, Skip-Bo, Uno, and my all-time, ALL-TIME favorite, Pit. Man, I love that game. If you know how to play, you know it's crazy. C.R.A.Z.Y. If you don't know how, here's what I'm talking about:

That would be me in the pink shirt, yelling the loudest, standing up I'm so into the game. But, like you see, all of us are spazzing out. For those of you who don't know how to play, basically you have to "corner the market" on a "commodity" like sugar, oats, oranges, etc. Once you have all of your cards of one commodity, you ring the bell and win the hand. You have to trade cards of the ones you don't want, all by yelling how many cards you have to trade. And everyone is doing this all at the same time. Man, I could never work on Wall Street. Here are some more pictures:

Me

More Pit

Kam and Me

Jamy and Ami

Clockwise, from Me at the end of the table: Ami, Jamy (she and I swapped places since she was hot and I was freezing!), Angie, Lisa, Jennifer, Cindy, Tobie

My silly camera Sound Man

The guys got so scared of us yelling they went upstairs to play pool.
That's Jack and Randy. And someone holding a pool cue.

We finally headed into the living room to play Spoons. It's crazy, too.

Tobie

Jennifer

One of my best friends, Jonathan's Aunt Lisa
(she and her family have Skip, Jonathan's brother)

Here we all are! Sorry this picture is so dark. Back row from left: Jennifer, Nicole, Ami, Lisa, Lynn, Judy, Kelly. Second row from left: Me, Kam, Angie, Jamy, Ola. Bottom row from left: Laura, Tobie, Cindy.

We had such a good time. There were tons of people there, which always makes things more fun. I'm so thankful I get to work with these ladies in one form or another.

My Husband Rocks!

If you read my blog regularly you know I post weekly (mostly) about my wonderful husband. My Husband Rocks! is not just a tag line. He really does rock because of so many things. What comes to mind right now is the fact that he has been going every weekend to try to provide meat for us this year. Yes, it does give him some well deserved relaxation as he's in the deer stand, but at the same time he is focused on providing for his family. I give him a hard time sometimes about how often he's gone, but it's really okay. Especially when he takes Kiddo with him and I get my own relaxation out of the deal.

Thank you, my Sound Man, for doing all you do for our family. I truly appreciate it. I know hunting season doesn't last forever. Just like I know that full beard won't last forever, too. Have I ever told you how much I appreciate your goatee?

I explain in my recap of 2008 where My Husband Rocks! comes from. I just had to do two posts in one day or my man would think he had been hunting so much I got ticked off at him. So there you go. : )

2008 Year in Review

Okay, seems like everyone is doing a recap of their blogs for 2008. So, since I'm such a follower (more about that later), I'll jump on the bandwagon, too.

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed blogging with and for you people. How can a person care so much about people she's never met? Well, I do care about y'all. Each one of you has opened my eyes to new things, and for that I am so grateful.

Okay, enough of the mushy stuff. On to the recap. Or whatever.

April 14 - It begins. Since that was basically just a test run, I'll link my second and third posts, which explain why in the world I have such a weird name for my blog, and why I have such a Southern sounding name.

Also in April came my love for bird eggs. It started here and continued with this. You have to watch the video in the second post. It's so sweet. Now, newborn baby birds are NOT cute, but it is beautiful to watch anyway.

Next came May, and if you've seen my "Beware the Cone" picture off to the left, that post was written in honor of another May happening. Go ahead. It's okay to read and laugh at my expense.In June, I started my Australia Posts, where I reminisced about my two-month long trip there the summer of 1991. If you'd like to read them all, click on the subject in my "The Silly Things I Talk About" side bar that says "Australia."June also brought about one of my favorite blog subjects, "My Husband Rocks! Fridays", started by Katy Lin. I get to brag and brag about my husband every Friday and tell the world that not all married women like to bash their husbands and talk bad about them. I wish there were so many more things I could do to honor my husband, but this one little thing is a tiny part of reminding myself what a wonderful man I have been blessed with.

July brought about a couple of crafting posts, which you can see here for the tissue paper decorations and here for the imperfectly beautiful pillow.

In August I won my first giveaway, which coincided nicely with my birthday. It's nice when things coincide nicely. I also got a blog makeover, recorded a CD, and got a dog.

Who, by the way, is now about 3000 times the size he is in this picture.

September brought about the spotlight on Mississippi on Blog Around the World, as well as my 100th post.

October was pretty uneventful but then November came and with it, more recording.
As well as some deer meat in my freezer, thanks to my mighty hunter.

And then came December, filled to the brim with Kiddo's birthday and all things Christmas.

Thanks to all of you who read my blog. You know how much it means to be read...it's being validated for the thoughts and dreams and creativity you lay out for all the world to see. Scary sometimes, but so worth it. I love you, my Bloggy Friends!