Sunday Seconds

Our current sermon series at church is entitled "The Simple Path." The sermons have included video clips from an outreach program called I Am Second. I think for the next several Sundays, I will post some of the videos. You will see several familiar faces and get a glimpse into why they believe what they believe. The first one comes from Dallas Cowboys Tight End Jason Witten. Enjoy.

Free Chocolate is Here!

"Times are tough and we at Mars want to help. How, you ask? Every Friday through September, Mars will give away FREE* real chocolate to 250,000 people. That means you can enjoy your favorite Mars candy brands—M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, 3 MUSKETEERS®, MILKY WAY® and DOVE®— for free*!"

Actually, this promotion from Mars has been going on for several weeks, but I am telling you about it now because I have maxed out my freebies.  Didn't want the 250,000 of you who read my blog to beat me to the chocolate.  You can only sign up four weeks per household.  Anyway, to take advantage of this delish promo click here.

Thursday Thoughts

I received this email from my uncle. So, rather than forwarding it, I decided to post it here.  Enjoy.  It was written by Regina Brett and originally published in The Plain Dealer-Cleveland on Sunday, May 28, 2006...

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Patterson Book Reviews

I recently finished the 5th and 6th books in the Women's Murder Club series. In my opinion, they were not as good as the first several. I think his assistant writer, Maxine Patero, is bringing in too much love triangle stuff into the mix. If I wanted to read a romance novel, I would read a book with Fabio on the cover. Get back to the "I can't believe they just killed off that character" theme. Makes for a much better page turner.

Carlie Graduates

My apologies for the delay is posting this.  Things have been quite crazy around here.  Last Thursday was Carlie's Pre-K graduation.  She still has one more week of school, but they mainly just have Kindergarten testing.  She had a special part where she said Ephesians 6:1, unfortunately we sat on the wrong side and got no pictures of that.  Carlie has learned so many things and is reading short books, telling time, and wants to tie her own shoes by the end of summer.  The pic with Daddy didn't turn out well so it isn't on here.  

 

GCA's 2 Prek-K classes.  Carlie is on the bottom right.

After receiving her diploma.

With Grammy and Pawpaw.

With Little Bro.

With me.

Her teacher, Mrs. O.

Friends, A.C. and K.P.

Work in Progress

So far things are going smoothly on the room makeover.  We did discover what was behind door #1 on our ceiling.  A big box not connected to the attic with a large slab of insulation.  Our contractor had never seen anything like it, and he has been building and remodeling houses for a long time.   Interesting.

Apparently the carpet has been changed a few times.

The secret behind door #1

The Bachelorette: Keeping My Word

Yes, it is that time again. Another ridiculous season of the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise. I say "ridiculous" because after last season's scripted fiasco blew up in ABC's face, it is hard telling what they have up their sleeve this time. But, as I said when Bachelor Jason ended, I am not going to watch this season. In case you haven't heard, this season has not even finished filming, which leads me to believe ABC could go in all sorts of directions with this to give us a "shocking" finale. I'm sure they have paid Jillian a nice chunk of change to sign on the dotted line and take part in this. From the looks of the previews, the only prerequisite for the 30 guys trying to make a name for themselves in Hollywood is to look good with their shirt off. Enough about that. I took the liberty of finding a few of these hopefuls to blog about...

Jillian... we all know about her.

Mike.  Okay, I think this guy seems a little "too perfect" and looks to be as cocky as A-Rod, but he has two things going for him.  One, his name.  Two, he owns a baseball camp.  How cool is that?

Mike.  A break dancer.  Really?  Did you try out for "So You Think You Can Dance?" and get rejected so you thought this was the next best thing?  Or, are you hoping by appearing on Bachelorette that "Dancing With the Stars" will pick you up and add a break dancing element?

Greg.  The only reason I have him on here is because he strangely looks like a morph of Jason and Jeremy from Season Deanna.  Am I right?

Kipton.  If it wasn't for his name, this guy would be super cute.  Maybe he was named after a grandparent's last name or something.  And, he has the same haircut as my hubby.  I see him making it a long way unless he is a total jerk.  

Juan.  He's a general contractor.  Jillian's an interior designer.  They could have one awesome house if they got married.  And, he's from Argentina so he could have a cool accent.

Caleb.  Thought he was trying out for the David Cook (American Idol winner) look-alike contest.

So, that about covers it.  Since the likelihood of a marriage coming out of this is slim to none, I guess the main draw for this show is which one of these lads can ABC convince and pay enough to be their next Bachelor.

Sleeping on the Couch

Well, work on our bedroom is underway so we have been sleeping on the foldout sofa.  It hasn't been that bad, but it will be nice to have all the furniture back where it goes as well as having a 21st century bedroom.  We decided to go ahead and get the remaining popcorn scraped off in the kitchen/dining room areas so everything will be smooth.  Craziness to come, but well worth it.  I will keep you posted on progress.  

Tomorrow we will learn what is lurking behind door #1...

The only two lights in the entire room...

Don't ever buy a house with 30-year-old wallpaper.  The glue doesn't come off the wall.  Don't you love the hidden stencil that was revealed as well as the stylish wicker fan??

Happy Mother's Day

This morning we went to brunch at O'Charley's. The "Kids Eat Free Everyday" is a nice incentive. Carlie had her heart set on their mini blueberry muffins and had a near meltdown when she found out they had taken them off the menu. Gasp! Luckily they did have mini cinnamon sugar donuts with cream cheese dipping sauce that did satisfy. Guess who ate most of those? No, not me. Noah, plowed through them. I think there were 12. I looked down half way through my first one to see only three left and his face covered with cinnamon, sugar, and cream cheese dip.  That boy can eat.  

When we got home, we took a few pics outside.  

My egg and cheese brunch quesadilla... Yum!!

Ha Ha, I got the last donut!!!

Get your cinnamon and sugar paws off the donuts!!!

Maybe these are better than the blueberry muffins...

Just a Reminder

Today is...

National Day of Prayer

Photo from flickr.com

It's never too early to start, 

It's never too late to start.

He's always listening.

101 Things...

You should do with Your Kids Before They Leave Home. I am a little behind on my book review postings. Believe it or not, I have finished 2 more Patterson Women's Murder Club books and am currently reading the 5th in the series. Anyway, here is a sampling of some things to do with your kids before they leave home... (all photos from flickr.com)

35. Dance together in the ocean waves.

64. Pile up the pillows, dim the lights, and watch a movie.

79. Instill a passion for Thriftiness.

93. Model the value of hard work and self-discipline.

Derby Day

I could really care less that Paris Hilton will be at the Derby. If I were to wager, which I won't, I would put my money on Chocolate Candy. Why? Duh, chocolate candy is the best thing ever invented (besides electricity.) A little FYI, the horse is owned by Jenny Craig. Yes, that Jenny Craig. Odds are 18-1 so that's a big payout should you go with it. Can Paris Hilton spell "D-E-R-B-Y"? Something tells me she can spell Mint Julep.

Financial Peace Revisited

Last night we finished leading our 13-week Financial Peace University class.  I must say it was awesome.  Everyone had tremendous stories of how this class has changed their life.  There were 26 people (some couples, some singles) in the class, including Mike and me.  At the start of the class, the total consumer debt was just under $600,000.  This does NOT include mortgages.  After 13 weeks over $75,000 of that debt has been paid!!!  A big congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. B. who paid off a whopping $17,000 in 13 weeks!!!  That's gazelle intense!!  

We hope everyone will continue to apply the principles they learned.  We look forward to leading another class in just 38 short weeks.  If you are interested in gaining Financial Peace, click on Dave Ramsey under Interest & Insight for more information or click on the FPU logo.

Fun at Des Peres Park

6 kids for a picture- at least we tried...

B. with Mrs. G.

Strike a Pose

Pup pup gets a ride on the swing

Cards Game

Thursday we met Mrs. A (aka R2) at Busch Stadium for the Cards game. Despite the now $20 parking fee (which I find to be ridiculous), we had a fantastic time. Of course, when the Cards win 12-8, and El Hombre hits 2 home runs, it doesn't get much better than that.

If you are planning to bring the family, the Family Ticket Pack is the way to go. For $15 you get a ticket, pretty high up, but the view is surprisingly good, and a coupon for a hot dog and soda. A hot dog and soda at the concession stand will set you back $9, so $15 for all is not a bad deal if you are going to a game anyway. The kids enjoyed it, and thankfully want to go again.

The Infamous Laura Pic Has Arrived...

Cardinal Nation Update

League: National

Division: Central

Record: 8-4

Rank: First

Rachel Says:   Yahooooo!!

Photo: AP Photo/ Ross D. Franklin