The new leaf

Okay, I've turned over a new leaf, and I'm going to tell you guys about it so that you'll hold me to it. You know those cars you get into, and you think they must've just had them detailed? Or they must not live in them like you do? Well, that's my new minivan. And in a minute, I'll take a picture of it and post it. Maybe I'll do that right now......no, I don't have my shoes on and I have 8 minutes until I need to leave for carpool. So you'll have to wait. But that's my car now, no my minivan, and it looks like we just detailed it on the inside! And it's been that way for 8 days now! And it's going to stay that way, because I'm really tired of it being disgusting! Love it!

Sweet friends, cherishing much

Sweet friends, sweet stories.

Last weekend, Daniel had the privilege of taking Sarah (on the right) to see a dance recital with her sweet friend Addie. They had a lot of different songs and dances that were beautiful, but the one that touched Daniel the most was when all of the Dads got on stage and their daughters danced with them to the song by Steven Curtis Chapman, "Cinderella." If you haven't heard it, it's about the precious relationship between fathers and daughters, and will make even the most manly shed a tear or ten. He said it was not possible to hold back - wasn't ashamed, either. Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there!

Michael Jackson - ok, I liked him a lot. In fact, when I was 12, I thought I would marry him one day. Is that crazy, or what? I remember staying up late for "Friday Night Videos" in the hopes that "Thriller" would come on. My best friend Kathryn and I have the words to "The Girl is Mine" memorized, and often play it out- she's Paul, I'm Michael. We all remember the best of Michael Jackson, the talent, the moves, the amazing voice, the family. I'm already letting the weirdo/quircky memories of him fade. I have plans to download his tunes to my ipod, to look for the documentary which we all know will be put together soon, and to keep my eyes open for his memoirs. But sadly enough, before yesterday, I hadn't given him much thought. I would've considered his music on my top 10 list of faves, yet had been able to replace him with others more recent. I keep thinking that we cherish the things that are no longer with us far greater than when they are right in front of our eyes/ears, etc.





This week, I cashed in on the massage gift certificate that Daniel gave me for Valentine's Day -- wooo hoooo!! Thanks again, Daniel! Anyway, the sweet girl that gave me the massage has the same thoughts about life and death that I do. It goes along this theme of MJ. Yet the difference is that she's seen all too often the quick passing of loved ones and has been able to learn to hold them close, to tell them how much she loves them, and to not let the sun set on any anger. It's sometimes frustrating to have the thought run through your mind that "this could be the last......." but it keeps you aware of what you have!





My sweet grandmother goes to a surgeon next week for a biopsy on her breast; she found a golf ball sized mass last week. It's scary for us all, but she's amazingly strong. She's 88 years old, and told the doctor that he better fix her up fast, "Cuz I'm going on a cruise in September, and I want to be well for that!" We'll be praying for her results to be negative on the c word!





I'm off to the pool - let me hear from you!





Kristie

TPC Sawgrass!!!! Okay, you golfers! I'm turning greener than the greens themselves! This weekend's tournament is my alltime favorite, mainly because I got a chance to watch years ago when Fred Couples was the hot ticket at TPC. If only I could be there again! It's such a plush, gorgeous course, and the surrounding area is just scrumptious for golfers. If I could beam myself somewhere this weekend, I'd go there. Looks like I'll have to settle for Macon and Mother's Day instead. Oh to be back in college, without a care in the world. But to all the mothers out there, what a wonderful chance to not only receive the thanks from the family, but to reflect on what an amazing job we are honored to have. Motherhood has been fantastic, and it's the toughest job you'll ever love! I love you, Mama, and I'm thankful for all you've taught me, most importantly your longtime warning, "If you have doubts about it, Kristie, don't do it!" I can't say how many times I didn't listen, but every time, she was right! Happy Mother's Day! I love you! And to my kids, thanks for being so wonderful, loving, and most of all sooo resilient! I love you two!!

AD and BC

It has recently occurred to me that the dating system we use on a daily basis is completely calculated on the sole recognition factor that Jesus Christ was born. I know we all know this, but I've lately contemplated this fact and it has hit me deeply.

Taken from Wikipedia: "Anno Domini (sometimes spelled Anno Domine, abbreviated as AD or A.D.) and Before Christ (abbreviated as BC or B.C.) are designations used to number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The calendar era that they refer to is based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus Christ, with AD denoting years after the start of this epoch, and BC denoting years before the start of this epoch."

If we are all in the year 2009, all over the world, then we are all recognizing that 2009 years ago, Jesus Christ was conceived, or born. And if we base our calendar on that fact, why wouldn't we base our lives on his teachings? It puzzles me that there are so many religions out there, so many ways to live, so many options to life ever after. It concerns me that I think sometimes, "How and why do I believe what I believe?" Sometimes my faith is all I have, and often times I wonder how I could relay to someone how much better their live would be with a little faith. I think a lot of times I couldn't convince someone to believe in God because I have no real proof that He exists, except that thing called faith! Then it hit me that we're all basing our daily life, our numbered years on the conception or birth of Jesus himself! Wow! That is amazing! If some religions don't recognize Jesus as God's son, then are they in a different year? What year would they say they are in? Just something in my head today! Things that make you go hmmmmm...........

More Stuff

I just believe there is too much stuff everywhere. Take yourself to the cheese aisle in the grocery store. How many different kinds do we need? I appreciate all kinds, but do I need them? No! What about the laundry aisle? There are too many choices there, too! Socks - how many do we need? To quote my daughter's favorite show (Hannah Monontana - spelling is descriptive of her pronunciation), "A pair and a spare!" This Christmas season, you would think we are all going to do better this year on the stuff subject - but I wonder who will? Will we rush out to stuff the stockings? Will we count the presents and think we need more??? Even my own father is guilty of sending me shopping for my mother with the instructions of : I want her to have a lot to open! If we teach our children early that they don't get so much at Christmas, we'll probably have more years of peace. The demands in the lists to Santa are sad; they don't have to be! Yes, my children know we celebrate Jesus being born, but Santa is the first thing they talk about and look for traces of when they wake up on Christmas morning. We have 100+ stuffed animals in our home, 200+ cheap toys from the dollar aisle at Wal-Mart, and countless freebies/surprises from the fast food industry. My husband loves t-shirts and has hundreds from all of the places he's been, races he's run, jobs he's had, restaurants he's eaten in, and more. I'm not a shoe girl, but I'm guilty of owning more than one bottle of lotion or perfume! Anyway, as we reflect in a time of economic instability, let us remember that precious Baby Jesus that came to Earth to guide and teach us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and did it without sin. Then He gave up his life so we could spend eternity in Heaven. Now that's some heavy stuff, and we will could never have too much of that!

(Picture of Sarah on Christmas day, age 1yr4mos)

Facebook

Okay, that's where I've been lately! Facebook! It's so ridiculously addicting and both Daniel and I are surprised that we ever started. Needless to say, it's fun and interesting, and takes away the mystery of wondering where the long lost friends from college are and what they look like and what the did when they grew up, if ever. If you've never seen facebook, everyone has their own page, or wall, and they post pictures of themselves and update what they are doing each day. The best thing about facebook is that you catch up with someone in a sentence or two, and you quickly have found 100+ friends without writing emails back and forth, attaching pictures, etc. If you're a facebook friend, you know that you enjoy a quick update on friends from your past without spending a whole lot of time on email and it makes you so much more connected as if you are all in a room talking! I think of it as a street, more than a room! One of my newest

friends is living in Macon, and after 2 sentences I found out how she got there (it's my college town, so I always find interest in those who stayed)! I'll hope to see you there, and if not, I hope you'll come back here as I promise to Blog more!! :)

We're back!

Hello!

We're back from the beach - this picture was taken all the way over on Navarre Beach. We actually spent 10 days in Destin, but this was one of the last days when we decided to revisit the area we stumbled upon earlier in the week. The boys went to some aviation museum and on the way back, they saw a shark museum that looked interesting. We all loaded up one day and took the kids to the shark museum which was okay, but I wouldn't send you there if you weren't already pretty close to it. Anyway, you know the vacation feeling that time stands still and you're able to say yes more, like to your kids? For instance, "Yes, we can go to the beach this morning, even though it is 7 a.m." or "Yes, you can have that popsicle for breakfast!" Okay, so we're driving back from the shark "museum" and we see this long bridge, which looks pretty cool. Cameron and Sarah love bridges and they wanted to drive over it.....so....we said yes. The next thing we know, we're in this strange place that looks very beautiful, but also very desolate. We found a public beach access area, and were astonished at the raw beauty of the shore - most importantly - SHE SHELLS!!!! Well, sea shells for most, but for us they're she shells. Destin isn't known for the shells, and our family loves shells! So we spent as much time as the sun would allow gathering up shells, and vowed to return before we headed home. We did and this picture was the last night of our vacation. We're pretty messy, but who cares? I like it because there aren't buildings and people in the background like last year's family pic. There's more to come on the trip, but in a nut shell? We had a great time, didn't want to come back, life isn't as fun right after vacation, and we can't wait until next year. Sound familiar?