More MGM pics

Disney Report - Day 4

MGM Studios!

Another hot, long day! Again, the highlights of the day included seeing the characters and the parade. I think Courtney's favorite was the Honey, I shrunk the kids playground. We also saw the Playhouse Disney show, the Little Mermaid show and the Beauty and the Beast show. They were all very entertaining and fun. The Mermaid show was a bit short but the effects were good. Mark and Jessica rode the Rockin' Roller Coster and the Tower Of Terror. They thought they were both pretty fun.

I think this day was the hottest and just about our breaking point! We should have taken a break back at the hotel in the middle of the day but we didn't!

The last show of the day was Fantasmic! And it was fantastic! The effects were very cool with a combination of water, lasers and fireworks. There were a couple of scary moments but it had a Disney, happy ending! We all enjoyed it very much!

Disney Report - Day 3

Animal Kingdom!

It was a bit easier getting to this park than Magic Kingdom so the day seemed to start on a less hectic pace. It didn't seem to be as hot either. Mark and Jessica headed to Mount Everest to get their fast passes while the girls and I headed to find some characters. We were at the front of the line for Donald and he was very funny! The girls got a kick out of seeing him perform. Then we watched the Pocahontas show. It was very good!

While Mark and Jessica went to ride Everest. The girls and I went on one of the animal walking trails. We saw various birds, some HUGE bats, a member of the ape family, some members of the deer family and tigers. I was surprised that we actually got to see any of them considering the heat and time of day. Then we went on the safari as a family. This was really neat. We rode in a jeep like vehicle and got really good views of various animals. Hippos, rinos, giraffas, a lion and some others I don't remember! After the safari, we saw the gorillas then came the one rain shower of the week. I really expected it to rain more and this shower lasted about an hour. It was not very pleasant after the rain stopped so I'm glad it didn't rain anymore!

Again, the highlight of the day was the parade. Disney really knows how to put on a show!

Disney Report - Day 2

Magic Kingdom.

We started the day with breakfast at Cinderella's castle. It was a wonderful way to start the day. It was a little hectic getting there, but that's another story! Anyway, we were announced as the Royal Webb Family and escorted into the dining room. We were served fresh fruit, assorted pastries, and fresh orange juice. Then we had eggs, french toast, bacon, sausage, potato casserole and some kind of pastry with cream cheese and blueberries. It was very good! I was nervous that the food wouldn't be that great but I was pleasently surprised! We met Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother, Mary Poppins, Wendy and Belle.

After breakfast, it was a hectic pace from one thing to another. First, we headed to Toontown and saw more characters, Minnie's house and Mickey's house and rode the train around the park. Then we headed back to the room for some down time. Mark and Kirsten took a nap. Jessica, Courtney and I spent some time at the pool. Then we went back to Magic Kingdom for the evening. We missed the afternoon parade but got to see the nighttime Spectromagic parade and then the Wishes fireworks show. My night photos are not that great. But I got a few good shots. I have to say the parades and fireworks are the best part of these parks.

Magic Kingdom was my favorite park of the three we visited. It felt very much like Opryland with the landscaping and music playing in the background. I wish we had spent more time here.

Disney Report - Day 1

WOW!! That pretty much sums up our trip! It was fun, exhausting, exciting, HOT, etc! There is probably more to tell than I could here, but I'm going to give it a try!

We left home at about 11:30 pm on Sunday night. And drove, and drove and drove! There was a point where I actually thought, "We are never going to get there!". It was like we were stuck in some twilight zone. But approximately 13 hours after beginning, we finally got there! We found our hotel, unpacked the car and sat down for a few minutes. We headed to Downtown Disney to check it out and find something for dinner. DD is the shopping district for all things Disney. It has the world's largest Disney Store, a Lego store, a toy store, a Pooh store, a candy store, a pin store, a Christmas store and a scrapbook store (very disappointing, BTW!). The Lego creations were very impressive. This picture is of a Lego dragon that was in the water. After browsing for a while we headed back to the hotel to get some rest for the next day.

3 More Days

Only 3?!! Well, I have gotten a whole lot of nothing done today! I've done some laundry and some organizing. The only thing fun I accomplished was this cute little altered clipboard. It is the small size clipboard. I have cut 4 x 6 pieces of cardstock and this is what we are going to use for the character autographs. Just hand them this and a pen! When we get home, I'll cut the cardstock into a tag shape to go on the page with the picture of them with that character. I'm so excited! This is the funnest thing I've done to prepare for this trip so far.
Minnie is on the front and Mickey is on the back. I haven't decided if I'm going to put ribbon all along the clip or not.

The countdown

Only 5 more days! Excitement is mounting here. Actually the girls are staying pretty calm, considering. We are using our refrigerator magnets to countdown the days. They love changing the number every morning. I think this is actually keeping their anticipation at bay.

I've done laundry today. I have gone throught their books and toys and pulled out all the Disney related items to take with us. I'm thinking a Disney barbie might be a good choice for Courtney as her souvenir. Out of her 20 (yikes) Barbies, only one of them is a Disney Princess. How can that be?

I have a thing about souvenirs. I'm not a fan of a lot of little things. We'll probably get postcards and pressed pennies. But I think one special souvenir is better than a bunch of little ones. I'm thinking of looking for a new purse/bag for myself. Jessica needs a new watch so that would be a good thing to look for.

Anyway, time to cook supper!

One step closer

Thursday we drove to Chattanooga for Jessica's college orientation. We left late because for a couple of different reasons and arrived there at about 12:30 am (they are an hour ahead of us)! We spent the night in one of the dorms there which was an experience! They (Jessica and her roommate) had to get up early in order to take some placement tests. If I had to do it over again, I would probably have stayed home, gone to bed early in order to get up early to drive down there. But that wouldn't have worked with Courtney and Kirsten, so I guess this was the best route! Man, I was exhausted Friday morning! I slept maybe two hours!

So we get up Friday morning, get them to the area for their test and then part company for the rest of the day. The students attended different orientation sessions from the parents. We finished up at about 4:00. All I have to say is - TOO MUCH INFORMATION!! This was all so new to me and Mark and Cindy (Jessica's friends mom) because none of us were traditional college students. Our parents didn't attend orientation. I don't even think our colleges had orientation. I will say that it helped me feel more comfortable with the school and the staff. It is a beautiful campus and just the right size.

The dorm situation is unique there in that all of their dorms are apartment style. They range from two to four bedrooms with a full kitchen/living room area. The ones that Jessica and Jamie are staying in are the newest and VERY nice! The security seems to be top notch and well staffed. They have their own certified police force on campus.

We all felt very overwhelmed and numb from the day on the way home. The girls were really excited on the trip down but coming home they seemed more stunned and thoughtful. They were able to register for classes while we were there and get their student IDs. It seems so official now! We are definately one more step closer to them starting this new stage of their lives. Move in date - August 16!

11 days!

I have started going through drawers, closets and cabinets to see what we have and what we will need. Yesterday I went through the medicines and first aid items. Throw out a bunch of stuff that had expired and made a list of things we need to buy. Not too much, fortunatly!

I have inventoried my clothing situation. Not good! I have zero shorts that fit. I don't usually weart shorts. In fact I don't think I even tried any on last summer. I guess that's why I didn't know the ones I have don't fit! I feel like the heat is going to be so bad that I'm going to want shorts. I'm still thinking on this one! I'm also trying to decide about the best shoes for all of us to wear. Any suggestions?

I cleaned out a drawer in my dresser (from all those shorts and t-shirts that don't fit) and have started filling it with "surprises" for the trip. Courtney and Kirsten each have a new bag and I have been picking up little things here and there. Books, movies, activities, etc. Hopefully for the drive down, I won't need to entertain them much. We'll be driving over night. I'm hoping they will sleep most of the way. But the drive home will be during the day, so I need to be prepared. I have also picked up some Disney themed t-shirts to save us from buying any there. I need to find one for me and Mark.

I've been studying the park maps this morning, trying to come up with a good plan! At least a good plan for us! I need to take a shower and go out to run some errands. Not feeling like it though!

Let the countdown begin!

Only 13 more days until we leave for Walt Disney World. Sometimes when I think about it I can't believe we are actually going. At other times, I start panicking! I am a planner and I feel a bit out of control with planning this trip! We are going to be there for 5 days and I know there is no way we are going to be able to do/see everything. The girls are beyond excited. I kind of wish I had kept it a secret until we got there. Not because they are bugging me but just to see their face when we got there.

So we have our accomodations set. A character breakfast scheduled. I have my packing list started. I bought and read a guide book. I visit several websites almost daily. My brain is on overload! The bad part is that I have just touched the tip of all the info on this magical place. I'm counting on that magic to make this a great trip in spite of my lack of knowledge!

Here's hoping for a fun, fun trip!

Graduation

We made it! Or better yet, Jessica made it! It was a whirlwind weekend. Here it is Wednesday, and I'm just now posting this! I guess that gives you a better idea of my state of mind!

The ceremony was just like any other graduation. Those of you who are local have probably heard about the valadictorian controversy but other than that, it was pretty normal! I missed the shot of Jessica actually getting her diploma. It was crazy! I wasn't standing in the right place, the mom beside me was freaking out about her flash not working and they were reading the names WAY too fast! Anyway, I've been sick ever since over not getting that shot!

Then the family came over on Saturday. That was fun. My mother was here visiting so it was a little interesting having her family and my father's family together but everyone was civil!

Now I have to start thinking about Jessica going to college. No, I won't think about that today! The past few days we have spent cleaning out her room, packing away stuff and throwing out stuff (there are 4 large trash bags full so far) and sorting stuff to get rid of. She seems to be having a harder time than me!

Prom

Just another step toward the big graduation. Just another reminder of how fast time flies. When Jessica came out of her room, all ready, Mark said, "Could you go back in there and not look so grown up?" Then he gave her a hug and told her she was beautiful.

Jessica and Jamie both looked great! It was a stressful day of make-up, hair and getting it all together but the end result was worth it.

more shots

Photo Shoot

"Waiting Until the Last Minute" should be the story of my life. Here we are 2 weeks before Graduation and we are just doing a Senior photo shoot. Jessica didn't like any of the photos they took at school (no surprise) so we thought we would do our own to send with the announcements.

This shot is a la Tara Whitney. My family doesn't appreciate the artistic angle. Oh, well, this one's for me!

I took 91 photos! That doesn't count the ones I deleted along the way! Gotta love digital for that freedom!

Field Trip

Wednesday Courtney, Kirsten and I took a field trip to the Frist Center in Nashville. I wasn't sure how the girls were going to receive this little outing but it actually turned out well.

They have a wonderful exhibit of Impressionist art right now. I enjoyed that more than they did so needless to say we didn't stick around there too long.

They also have a wonderful exhibit for children called ArtQuest. It is a total interactive, hands on kind of exhibit. There are different stations that teach about different art mediums and different art concepts. They were able to draw with pencils, learn about line, texture and shape. They made a mask and another three dimensional project. They used watercolors and oil pastels. And they made a printed design on cloth.

It was a bit over Kirsten's head and Courtney probably would have gotten more out of it if Kirsten hadn't been there. But I thought it was worth it. All you homeschoolers (and others) out there, this is a great field trip!

A little scrappin' this weekend!

I got to do a little scrappin' this weekend, finally! The CK convention was in town but I decided I didn't want to go this year. Lack of funds for one reason and feeling a need to use what I have for another. But my favorite store, Scrap It! had some great activities planned.

Friday night, Mark and I ate at Bellacino's (lovin' their subs!) then flipped over to Scrap It! Mark sat in the car while I shopped and did Jenni Bowlin's make and take (the cute flower). She is a fun person and very creative. I would love to sign up for her monthly kit some time.

Saturday, we had a soccer game at 11:00. Then the girls and I went shopping for some jewelry for Jessica for prom. Last week it was the shoes. Why is this so hard? After walking around Opry Mills TWICE, she finally settled on something. She tried it all on when we got home and she is happy with the results. Then Saturday night I went back to Scrap It! for some more make and takes. The mini album was from Li'l Davis and they also gave great kits of their product in exchange for some unwanted items from our stash. They are going to give the donations to the Ronald McDonald House. The mini page was from Dulce, a new line at Scrap It! It was fun to play with some new product and be around scrappers! I wish I could do it more often!

Thanks Scrap It!

The Weird Smile Stage

Please understand that I am not complaining about this! Actually it just cracks me up to get these shots because this is so Kirsten's personality. So I guess we are officially in the sometimes-weird-sometimes-fake smile stage. Take exhibit A (here in this post) and exhibit B (in the Easter post below). I'll have to admit that I didn't really experience this much with the other two so I guess I should consider myself lucky (or not!). It is actually pretty cute!

Easter Sunday

I am so thankful Easter was a beautiful day. Holidays seem to always be so busy but the nice weather made it all bearable for me. Mark's family came over after church for lunch. I'm still not totally comfortable preparing the whole meal for a special occasion. Everyone said it was all good but what else are they going to say!

After overeating, as usual, the kids had their egg hunt in the back yard. No meltdowns so I think it was a great day!

Egg Hunt

This photo is from our church egg hunt last weekend. It was a beautiful day and perfect for this! The girls had fun. Here we go again on the over abundance of candy! They are both fairly picky on their choice of candy so I know I can weed out what they won't eat! I just have to refrain from eating it myself!

It's Spring!

We had a great Spring Break. I am so glad the weather is turning warmer! This is one of my favorite times of the year!

This picture was taken at the park in White House. It was a beautiful day and the girls had a great time. I think Kirsten went down this slide about 30 times! They slept good that night!

We have lots of things going on for the next two months. I can't believe Easter is in 2 weeks! I have Easter dresses for Kirsten and Courtney but nothing for Jessica. Our church egg hunt is this weekend, hopefully the weather will be good!

See ya!

Nutin' Honey!

I got nothing! So that's why I haven't posted in so long. Just the same ole day to day thing going on here. We are all healthy, so Praise God for that!

It is Spring Break so we've been lazy on top of doing nothing! The girls did get to spend a day and a half with their great aunt who they love! Came home exhausted! Hopefully we will spend today or tomorrow with Tracie and Caroline. Today seems like it is going to be a perfect day weather wise. Oh, I pray we don't have any more cold dips! Bring on the spring!

Just to emphasize how boring we are, yesterday Mark took the day off and the girls were with Aunt Judy. What did we do? I cleaned the carpets and scrubbed the bathroom floor (on my knees kind of scrubbing) and tub (the twins said Bounce dryer sheets take off soap scum so I had to try it - it works!). Mark worked in the yard, mowing and cutting down some stuff. How boring are we!? Most of you knew that already! (if anyone is actually reading this blog! I have no friends!)

Anyway, there's your update!

A Woman's Heart - week 4

We are a little behind schedule but we're not stopping until we're finished! It always takes us longer than the proposed 10 weeks to do one of these Bible studies but it is always worth it!

So the week 4 video segment was titled: "Hearts approaching the Alter". The homework the week before studied the alter in the tabernacle in detail. I'm telling you, this study is pretty difficult and it takes dedication to get throught the Old Testament reading. And if you have a weak stomach, I suggest you skip over the descriptions of the sacrifices! After gaining an understanding of the alter and the sacrifices, Beth directs us to the spiritual experience at the alter.

1. We will never be fre to fully experience God until our earthly kings crumble. Basically, whatever is between you and God must be confessed, forgiven, put aside to fully experience God.
2. We have never experienced God unless we have seen Him high and lifted up. This is a much more complex concept than it sounds. Our pastor spoke on this topic on Sunday and last night we watched a video of a message by Louise Giglio. Both messages centered on the majasty of God. But most importantly how we need to see the love He has for us. He created the heavens and the earth, has power we cannot even imagine and yet loves us and longs for us to love Him.
3. We almost never see God without also getting a sobering glimpse of ourselves. God's light is powerful and truthful, so the closer we get to Him, any flaws are going to be harder to hide. His purpose is for us to bring those flaws openly to Him so He can remove them from between us and Him.
4. Conviction is compulsory in God's presence.
5. Conviction is often very specific.
6. We are all cleansed by the same method: the blood of the acceptable, perfect sacrifice.
7. When God cleanses us from sin, we are completely clean.
8. The only way we can respond to God's call is individually. He knows us by name and calls us by name.

Her scripture for this message was Isaiah 6:1-8

Finally a post!

I have actually tried to post a couple of times lately but this blog has developed a mind of its own! So hopefully this post will work, but if it doesn't I guess you won't be reading it! LOL!

I've been trying to post a layout I did of Courtney but it keeps putting it in here sideways! It is on 2Peas but I'm not sure how to make a link for that. Tracie, I need a class with you on the finer arts of blogging!

Anyway, I've actually been scrappin' a little. I did the quickie layout of Courtney and I did a mini-album highlighting each month of Kirsten's first year. I'm really happy with how it turned out. Hopefully you can see a couple of pages here!

I will give a Beth Moore update tomorrow!

Happy Dr. Seuss Day!

I know I'm a few days late but better late than never! They celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday at Courtney's school last Thursday and Friday. Thursday was the official day so that's when she made the hat. She wore her only red shirt and a red/white striped ribbon in her hair. Her favorite Dr. Seuss book is what is written on the brim of the hat. "Daisy Head Maisy". I think she really just likes to say the title!

Gotta love Dr. Seuss!

New shades!

Kirsten has been asking me for weeks for some sunglasses. Yesterday I finally remember while I was at Wal-Mart. I got Courtney a pair also. Kirsten was so excited! I put them on her when I picked her up from Mother's Day Out and she wore them to the car. Then she took them off and just keep talking about how pretty they were and how much she loved them. Of course, her's has Dora on them and Courtney's has Tinkerbell.

We're ready for the sunny weather!

Add another silver for the USA!

Before Christmas, the first graders at Courtney's school had a reading Olympics. They had to be able to read a certain list of words for each medal. Courtney got all three medals in that round.

Now they are doing a math Olympics. Courtney came home with her silver today. She had to count orally to 150. Write numbers to 150. And count by 2's and 5's to 100. Now we're working on her gold. It will be the same as above except to 200 and there are some addition and subtraction problems she has to do.

No sweat!

Finally got some scrappin' done!

The girls and I went over to Tracie's on Monday. Courtney was out of school and it has been forever since she has been able to play with Caroline.

I actually got my act together and took some pages to work on. Here are the results! Nothing spectacular but 2 two-page layouts is major for me. I would have liked some major uninterrupted time to keep the creative juices flowing but I'm glad I got to do what I did!

These pages are more vibrant IRL. I need to play with that photo software!

Our Weekend

Mark, Jessica and I spent Thursday night, Friday and Saturday in Chattanooga looking at two schools there. It didn't help us make any decisions but it was fun spending the weekend together.

The first school we visited was Tennessee Temple University. This is a school to watch. It's not right for Jessica at this point because they don't have her major but in a few years it's going to be fabulous. First of all it's a Christian school which makes the environment very inviting. Their president is full of passion and dedication and I have no doubt he will accomplish all he is planning on. I do wish we were a few more years down the road so that it would be a serious option for Jessica. She got to stay in the dorms and experience "dorm life". She said it was more like church camp than what she pictured college being like. I would love for her to go to a Christian school but she wants to major in Biology and go into forensics. That field is getting pretty competative and she needs to go to the best school for that field. We just have to pray that she attaches herself to Christian friends and makes the right decisions.

Then we visited UT Chattanooga. I like it a lot better than UT Knoxville. It is smaller. Most of the buildings are newer. There was just a different attitude all around there in comparison to Knoxville. The dorm choices were better than at Knoxville and the campus is more compact. It would be very easy to walk to where ever you needed to go. Jessica seemed to like it too.

So, we are still undecided. I'm sure if and when we get letters of acceptance that we will have some decisions made for us.

I would love for her to experience to college life but I am certainly not ready for her to leave home and for me to not know what she is doing at all times. But we all have to grow up some time!

Valentine's Day

Yesterday was a good day for Courtney and Kirsten. They both got lots of goodies at school. After school, we visited Grandma and Aunt Judy and the girls got more candy! Hope everyone had a great day!

A Woman's Heart - week 3

In this week's video, Beth talked about the characteristics of the people of Israel, their leader, Moses and the God of Israel. First of all the people of Israel weren't much different than we are today. They were sinners. They were stiff-necked which was a term used to describe a beast who refused to wear it's owners yoke. They were stubborn and selfish in not being willing to follow God's commands. Fortunately they were able to see their sin and repent. They mourned for what they had done. Before coming before the the Lord to worship they striped off all their ornaments (their worldly possessions or anything that comes between us and God) and came before Him on their knees to worship Him.
Next we see Moses. Two things struck me as important about Moses. It seems his number 1 prioraty was having an intimate relationship with God. Next, he prayed fruvently for the people of Israel.
Finally, the God of Israel. First of all, He hears and He acts upon and is affected by what He hears. Our prayers are important and very powerful. The people of Israel were spared because of the prayers of Moses. He gives rest. But rest accompanies our submission to God's authority. God sets us apart by His presence. We do not belong to the world and if God lives in us, the world will know we are different, special. He knows each of us by name. He moves beyond natural limits on our behalf. He is protective. He was all of these things to Moses and the people of Israel and most significantly, He is all these things to us, today. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
There is great comfort in knowing our God is the same God of the people of Israel. His word proves His power, love, comfort and promises are for forever.

An Update

Well, it seems we are all over whatever it was that hit us. Kirsten ended up having both ears infected so she has been on an antibotic. It hasn't agreed with her very well. Diarrea and now a yeast infection. So we've changed antibotics. We'll see how it goes. She has worn me down because she is so miserable. The rest of us seem to be better, so that's good.
I'll post tomorrow on this week's Beth Moore video.

The Crud!

Well, I've been fighting "the crud" for 4 days now and I am exhausted. I'm glad the worst of it was over the weekend with Mark and Jessica here but today has been rough. Kirsten has it now and has been running a fever of 102 all day. I am on day 3 of a Z pack and still not feeling better. It doesn't help that all the cough suppressant/expectorant meds make me feel sea sick so I can't take them. The house is disgustingly messy and I'm behind on some design work for a client.

How's that for a good whine!

I'll post again when we all feel better!

Burdett's Tea Shop

Tracie discovered this fabulous place. We went there yesterday for my birthday. It was delightful! Thank you so much Tracie for this special treat. We had the Tea for Two which was just right! Everything tasted heavenly. I am really craving one of those raisen scones this morning! I can't wait to go again and I encourage you all to make the drive to try it!

A Woman's Heart - session 1

We had our second Bible study meeting last night. It was technically session 1 as last week was the introduction.

The video segment was centered on the word "covenant" and what that means to us and why God made covenants with man. Two of the first covenants God made with man were with Adam and with Abram. The covenant with Adam occured when He created Eve and instituted the covenant of marriage. The covenant with Abram occured when He promised Abram that his decendants would be more numerous than the stars.

Beth sites three major purposes of the first covenant:

1. The ultimate purpose: to reveal Christ and His Bride
2. The corporate purpose: to produce godly offspring
3. The intimate purpose: to no longer be alone

"God will confront us with our need to show us He is the only answer to that need."

Characteristics of the enemy of every Godly covenant:

1. His chief goal is to make us doubt God's word.
2. He is a liar.
3. He often appeals to man through the beautiful and inviting.
4. His certain end is destruction.

What can we learn about our relationship with God from Genesis 3?

1. Women were created with a unique power of influence.
2. Believers must learn to apply Matthew 10:16 ("I am sending you out like sheep amoung wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." In other words, having wisdom of the enemy and his ways but remaining Christ like.)
3. Shame is satan's stamp of approval. (If you are ashamed of something you have done, said or thought, that is a sure sign that it is sin)
4. God created man to walk with Him, not hide from Him.
5. God's provision always matches our need.

This was all pretty deep and I am still absorbing some of this information. Mostly, this gave me hope to know that God is there, His promises are real. And because of who He is, He cannot break His promises. His purpose for creating man is the same today as it was when Adam took his first breath. We are given this life to choose between God and ourselves. He wants our love and worship to be honest and pure. Of course He could have created us to be born loving Him but it means more to Him for us to choose to love Him.

I am anxious to see what this week's homework will reveal!

I'm It!

I've been tagged by Tracie. So, here goes!

4 jobs that I have had:
1. Golden Corral (I think everyone should work in the food industry at some point, so they know how to treat people in the food industry!)
2. One Price Clothing (retail also, for the same reason!)
3. Hermitage Kitchen and Bath (assistant kitchen designer)
4. Currently SAHM and freelance designer

4 movies I love:
1. The Sound of Music
2. My Fair Lady
3. O'Brother Where Art Thou
4. The Fisher King

4 places I have lived:
1. Lebanon, TN
2. Dugway, Utah
3. Madison, TN
4. currently and most of my life, Gallatin, Tn

4 TV shows:
I really have stopped watching TV but I do like the following:
1. CSI
2. Without a Trace
3. Numbers
4. Alias (but I'm behind a season)

4 Places I've been on Vacation:
1. Virginia - Charlottesville, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg
2. Did a school tour of NYC and DC
3. Gulf Shores, AL
4. Going to Disney in March!

4 Websites I visit daily:
1. Two Peas
2. Various blogs (I check about 10 daily)
3. The local news site
4. Then I just surf if I have the time

4 favorite foods:
1. Anything Italian
2. Chocolate
3. Bread
(I think I see the reason the area between my waist and knees is not very attractive!)
4. Drink of choice: Dr. Pepper

4 Places I'd rather be:
1. I really am happy and blessed to be home with my kids
2. But I would love to be on a nice, warm, white beach somewhere with a good book

4 Bloggers I'm tagging:
Well, this is pitiful but I don't know any other bloggers who haven't been tagged. So, if you read this and haven't been tagged, then You're it!

Bible study homework

I had a wonderful conversation with my friend Tracie today about our struggles as Christians and our relationship with the rest of the world. So as I sat down to do my "A Woman's Heart" homework, there were scriptures to support our conversation. These kinds of "coincidences" happen all the time if we keep ourselves open to them.

First of all, the key verse for the day:
For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

This was just want I needed to hear after considering the daily onslaught of sinful thoughts, images, etc. we receive every day.

Beth goes on to talk about how our hearts are deceitful and the only guard we have is to give our hearts fully to God. She then leads into a study of Noah. She compared how Adam and Eve were in the midst of perfection (all the right circumstances) but made the wrong choice. Then there was Noah.
"He lived in a society where wickedness was rampant. Sin ruled. Perversion prevailed. Righteousness was as rare as a perfect gem. People followed every inclination of their evil hearts without restraint. The only absolute was absolute depravity. In the midst of all the wrong circumstances, Noah made right choices. How? Noah walked with God. Surrounded by a perverse generation, Noah knew that righteousness could not be attained and could not persist on the basis of a one-time commitment. Scripture does not even say that Noah religiously renewed his commitment every Sunday. He walked with God. He was in a constant state of habitual fellowship - day by day, hour by hour."

Then she concludes by saying:
" We are surrounded by every conceivable practice of sin and the continual mockery of God. We can be victorious but only if we walk with God. As we have seen, God was faithful to Noah, and the One who never changes will be faithful to us."

This is the answer to the questions Tracie and I were pondering. A relationship with God will protect us and strengthen us and give us what we need, when we need it.

A Woman's Heart - Intro

The women at my church started a new Bible study last night. We will be meeting every Tuesday night and I will, hopefully, give a recap here on Wednesdays.

Last night was the introduction to the Bible study, "A Woman's Heart - God's Dwelling Place." This is a Bible study by Beth Moore. We have done two other studies by her and have attended 3 of her conferences. I have to tell you, she is awsome! God has annointed her with a love and understanding of His Word that is hard to discribe! If you ever have the opportunity to hear her speak or participate in one of her Bible studies, then run, don't walk!

"A Woman's Heart" is a perfect example. We are going to be studying the building of the Tabernacle in the wilderness and how it's significance is relevant to us today. The first time I heard Beth speak, her message was based on Old Testament scripture and I was amazed at how she opened my eyes to the relevance to my life. It was on the journey of the Isrealites out of Egypt, through the wilderness and finally to the Promised Land. She compared this to the different seasons of our lives and our relationship with God. It was amazing! I can't wait to see how this one comes together.

At each Tuesday night meeting we watch a video of a message from Beth and then we have 5 days of homework in a workbook to complete on our own. As I mentioned, last night was the introduction. She gave us 10 goals that we want to strive for during this Bible study. They are:

1. To encounter God's perfection against the backdrop of our poverty. (meaning we are poor in spirit and the realization that we cannot save ourselves. She also said this should be an ongoing reflection of what we would be like without Jesus)
2. To arrive ultimately at the same destination (the Holy of Holies), even if we have traveled at different paces. (she made the point that each of us will work at a different pace, will crasp the information in different ways, etc. but our final destination will be the Holy of Holies or the ultimate place of intimacy with God)
3. To encounter and acknowledge the reliability of God's Word. (She said, "A lack of faith does not affect God's fact. But His fact deeply affects our faith." I have not been able to get this out of my head. It is so profound!)
4. To develope further an honest relationship with God.
5. To gaze at the details of the tabernacle and discover Christ. (I can't wait to see how this come together)
6. To develop a fresh appreciation for what it means to be called by name.
7. To substantially increase our knowledge of scripture through the great Teacher.
8. To develope a deeper relationship with God as Father.
9. To have our focus changed from ourselves to our Savior.
10. To become living proof that Jesus lives.

I am so excited about this Bible study! The other two I have done have been equally exciting but I have to admit that I did not committ to them totally. I am going to really be serious about this one. I don't know if each entry on Wednesdays will be this long, or if you want it to be! Please tell me if this is too much info or if you would like to see more. Thanks for reading!

Is it Spring?

It is the first of January and it is almost 70 degrees outside. I have been putting away the Christmas decorations, organizing and cleaning for the past two days. I thought to myself, "Is this spring cleaning?" I guess it is more fitting that this is the start of a new year and I am trying to get my act together. I wasn't ready to put away the Christmas stuff but now that I have, it feels good to have it put away. I've sort of reorganized my scrap area. Now I just have to actually do something! I have a pile of photos I need to organize first and 15 rolls of film to get developed! Another reason to go digital but buying a new camera and printer is not in the budget for right now. I probably won't get any scrappin' done until next week when Courtney goes back to school. She is so ready! I've actually enjoyed not having to get up and out the door early in the morning!
Before you think I'm on top of things here cleaning and stuff. I do have some motivation. Mark's family is coming over Friday night for his birthday so I have to clean for that. Mark made the comment once that he didn't mind people coming over because that got me to clean and declutter the house! I will say that I do feel better when the house is clean and everything is in it's place! In case you were wondering, I didn't get that house elf for Christmas so I'm having to do all this work myself!

A lazy week

Well, Christmas is over along with all of it's busyness. We had a great one and I'm hoping you did too. But now I need some motivation! We have done absolutely nothing this week. I've done some laundry and managed to keep the house from looking like a total disaster. Mark, Kirsten and Courtney all have some kind of cold. So I'm sitting here wondering what I should be doing! I could scrap but I'm still deciding how I'm going to proceed after reading "The Big Picture". I do have some ideas for mini albums but not ready to work on them. I could organize my scrap stuff, maybe! I could start putting the Christmas stuff away but I'm not ready to do that. I've filled in all the birthdays on the new calendar. I need to make some lists of things coming up in January but not feeling that either! Oh well, I guess I'll just be lazy!

Christmas Art

Tracie and Caroline came over the other day so that we could have a little Christmas celebration. Courtney and Caroline made these cute ornaments (with some glue gun help). They exchanged gifts and played together. I love that they love each other and love playing together. We really need to make the effort to get together more often. I also enjoyed talking with Tracie. That is another reason we need to get together more!

I just got home from my final shopping. I hope! I had to go to Wal-Mart and that was a zoo! I am going to try and get my shopping done before this point next year. I did real good getting prepared and getting in the Christmas spirit this year. But for some reason the whole gift buying thing was harder this year. Well, I have to get wrapping! Have a wonderful Christmas!

I've decide what I want for Christmas

I have figured out that a clean kitchen makes me happy. But it is impossibe to keep it that way! So I have decided that I need a house elf. If you aren't familiar with Harry Potter then this means nothing to you. House elfs are the creatures that do all the cleaning, cooking, laundry and general housekeeping for the wizard world. They are also at the total beck and call of their owners. All I want it for is to keep the kitchen clean. Some cooking may also be required but mainly its job will be keeping the kitchen clean. I guess they are cute in a weird way. This one is called Dobby. So if you know of any unemployed house elfs, let me know!

Roller Skates

This is a spin off of Tracie's blog, hope that's okay! She and Caroline went roller skating the other day. Her post sent me down memory lane! I loved to roller skate from the age of 8-9 until about 13 -14. Before the skates I rode my bike everywhere but I enjoyed the skates more. I saved up my money and bought my own pair of sneaker skates, very similiar to the picture here. Mine were all blue and I did have baby blue pom-poms (with bells) for a while. (Unbelivably I don't think I have a picture of them or me in them! What was my mother thinking?) They didn't hold up very well, if I remember correctly. I remember how my feet would tingle after skating on a rough surface like the sidewalk or road. The best surface I found is a tennis court. It feels like you are skating on velvet but it does slow down the speed some. We had a skating rink here and I would spend Sunday afternoons there with my friends. I went on Friday night once and it was scary! This being a small town (it was even smaller back then) the skating rink was about the only place to hang out. The rough crowd didn't show up on Sunday afternoons! So there I was! I never got enough. I never learned anything daring or spectacular. I loved the little cross over move you had to make to go around curves and I was thrilled when I learned to skate backwards. Thanks for the trip Tracie! And for reminding me that I need to share this with the two youngest. Jessica had skates when she was younger (I have pictures!) But didn't seem to embrace it like I did.
And in my opinion, ice skating is not quite the same! The last time I tried that I hurt for days from muscles I didn't even know I had! But roller skates rock!

My Favorite Christmas Decoration

This Navitity is my favorite Christmas decoration for many reasons. One it symbolizes the reason for the season and stands as a beautiful reminder of the joy and promise of this season. It is also a reminder to me of Christmas as a child. My mother has a navitity just like this only a bigger scale that she made when I was around 12, I think. She also made a minature set for my grandmother. This set she made for us the year Mark and I got married. It is a simple ceramic style with a mother of pearl finish. She poured the molds, sanded and initialed each piece and painted them. I always set it out on a bed of angel hair which is spun glass. I really need some more but I don't think they make it anymore. If I only put out one decoration at Christmas it would be this Nativity.

Tis the season!

For the past few years the holidays have stressed me out! I think one reason for that is because I waited until the last minute to do anything! This year I decided to get my act together! As of today, December 2 my decorations are up, my Christmas cards are addressed and signed and the Santa order for the girls has been placed. I hope to make a major dent in the rest of my shopping list this weekend. We had the decorations up this weekend actually. I feel like we have tons of time to actually enjoy the holiday! I hope to actually have time for some family time activities this year like making cookies. Here's wishing all a very Merry Christmas!

18 years!

I cannot believe my baby Jessica is eighteen! I don't even like saying it! Someone came up to me at church and said "How does it feel to be the parent of an adult?" I was so shocked I couldn't say anything! I will say that being legal to vote or drop out of school does not make you an adult!

How did she celebrate? (that seems to be the big question for some reason!) Well, she and her boyfriend went out to eat (Macaronni Grill) and to a movie (Harry Potter). We had a nice quiet celebration here at home with the family. Next weekend she'll be doing something with her friends. We're still working out the details on that one. She received mostly money as gifts. I had the goal of giving her a birthday scrapbook which I actually accomplished! It is a 12 x 12 album with all her birthdays from 1 - 16. I didn't have the "perfect" paper for #17 so that one will get done soon. She seemed to appreciate it. Mark and I each wrote her a letter which I put in a pocket in the back.

I still can't believe we have reached this point in her life. I guess it's time to "bust the bubble" she likes to say I keep her in! I have to admit I'm having a hard time with that one! Does this get easier with each child? Somehow I don't think so!

Sometimes you get lucky!

Well, I'm not doing so well on the photo a day thing. I know this little exercise was supposed to open my eyes to the details that need to be recorded but I guess I'm going to have to try again next month!

I did get these shots last week before it got cold and the storms blew all the leaves away. These were taken at my aunt's house and the girls had fun playing in the leaves. This was the first time for both of them! I don't know if Courtney would have jumped in the leaves before now if given the opportunity. As far as Kirsten is concerned, if Courtney can do it then she is going to try it!

I took these with my SLR in full auto mode. It was about 3:30 - 4:00 pm.

What is wrong with this picture?

Other than the fact that it is a weird angle and it's a photo of feet! LOL! It is the fact that it is November 9th and I am wearing capri pants and sandles! It was 78 degrees at 8:00 this morning! I am not complaining, this is my kind of weather. Mid 70's, no humidity, slight breeze. Absolutely perfect! I have had the windows up for 3 -4 days no. But it looks like today is the last day of this perfection for a while. Rain is coming and that usually means a cold front this time of year, so temps will drop. Oh well, hopefully I can enjoy this day to the fullest!

This is obscene!

As you can see Halloween was successful for the Webb girls! You can't really get a great idea about how much candy Courtney and Kirsten got but let me tell you it is unreal! The chocolate pile alone will fll a Wal-Mart sack to the top! There is 131 pieces of chocolate! That would take us a month to eat if each of us ate one piece a day! From the chocolate, clockwise, you have the misc. pile, which is cookies, cracker, etc. Then you have the sucker pile and then the fruity pile (Skittles, Sweet Tarts, etc.). What am I going to do with all this candy? It might still taste good by January but I don't even know where I'm going to put it. There must be an organization for children who don't get to go Trick or Treating that I can send this to. I guess Mark will be taking a pile to work. This is just crazy! But at least the chocolate pile is the biggest. I usually eat more than my share anyway but I don't think that is going to make much of a difference here.

I am going to try and take a picture a day for November and December (thanks Tracie for the inspiration!) and I think this is the one for November 1st. "The Day After" or something to that affect.

The day before

This photo was taken on Sunday, the day before Halloween. We have started a tradition of getting together with Mark's family the weekend before Halloween. It helps us avoid the craziness of trying to visit everyone on Halloween and it gives my nephew a chance to trick or treat with his cousins. (He's the invisible boy in the photo, BTW!) Actually I took this with my digital after we had taken a bunch with my SLR and he had had enough! I'll post a photo with him in it when I get my film developed.