Random Thoughts Vol. 20

Time has been flying by here, as I'm sure it has been for all of you. The night of Madison's birthday, my nephew, Sam, got married. He was home for 6 days of leave from the Army and married a lovely girl named Aubree. They are now headed to New York state, where they will be until fall, when Sam gets deployed. Strange to think that Sam will be serving our country in the Middle East...is he truly old enough for such things? Wow, I'm getting old.

My uncle Junior passed away earlier this month. He was one of my mom's older brothers. He was a great guy, and I truly loved him. He was one of those people who was on your side. Regardless of who you were and how much you may have messed up in the past, Uncle Junior was behind you, believing the best of you. That's a great quality to have. He also faithfully served in the U.S. Navy for over 20 years, and it was neat to see them honor that at his funeral.

Michael had his first guitar recital a couple of weeks ago. He was the only guitar student who played that day (there were a ton of piano students). The selection - "She'll be Coming 'round the Mountain when She comes". He did a great job, and I was so proud of him I could have cried.

Max's last day of preschool was last Wednesday. They had the graduation ceremony, followed by cake and punch, which was a highlight for Max. He did a great job this year, and has improved so much and gained so much confidence. It's so fun to see him grow and experience new things. I won't even mention how hard it is to believe he is now a kindergartner. Or how sad it makes me that my baby isn't a baby anymore...NEXT TOPIC, QUICK!

We finished our school year last Friday. We are all soooo glad! Summer break is exactly what we need. We spent the last day of school in Chicago. Ryan took the day off and we went to Lincoln Park Zoo. The weather was perfect! After the zoo we headed to Millennium Park to check out "The Bean", and then walked to Buckingham Fountain. It was such a great day, a day I will treasure. I'm so blessed to have Ryan and the kids - God is good.

Random Thoughts Vol.18

My poor blog. So neglected. I can't blame Facebook this time, however. Life has just been busy. Alas, I have some free time on this early Sunday evening, so I'll take some time to share some thoughts.

Today was our first Sunday in our new church building. Yippee! It's very exciting, and even though we've only been at Vineyard 2 years, it is an important milestone for us. We found out about this church because of the sign marking the future site, so now to be in the building on that site is very fulfilling.

I recently went to a conference for church called "Naturally Supernatural", and all I can say is that it was life-changing for me. I left there a different person, and I'm so grateful. It's amazing to me to realize that not only does Jesus forgive us of our sin, but he also doesn't want us to harbor any shame for it. He truly is AMAZING!

The picture at the beginning of this post is of a book I read last weekend. I HIGHLY recommend it. It is called Chasing The Dragon and it is the story of a woman named Jackie Pullinger and her life as a missionary in Hong Kong. It will stretch you!

Two weeks ago my cousin's 24 year old son shot himself. So sad. The funeral was packed full of young people...I've never seen anything like it. So many who seemed so lost and so shaken. I spent most of the funeral praying for those around us, for God to speak to them, and to reach out to them in their time of need. Come, Lord Jesus!

On the adoption front, there is no new news. I recently read an evaluation on how things are a year later in Guatemala. The corruption is improved, but, because there is no new adoption process working, children and babies are being abandoned by birth mothers. In Guatemala City alone, over 70 children were found, and 14 of them had already died. The thought makes me sick of children dying for lack of a process when many families, including ours, are simply waiting here for there to be a way to adopt them. There isn't much more I can say than to plea with the God of Justice to act on behalf of not only the Guatemalan children, but also orphans around the world.

Whew, that was heavy! On to much lighter thoughts! I'm looking forward to watching The Amazing Race tonight. It's my favorite reality show, and it has proved stellar this season. All I can say is giant cheese wheels! I'm also watching Survivor, and cracking up at the guy who kind of looks like Qui Gon Jin from Star Wars. All I have to say about American Idol is that I miss David Cook. Heroes is quickly losing my interest, partially because 24 and Lost are SOOOOO good right now. I wish that this TV potpourri was dispersed better - there's too much to watch now and the summer will be empty.

I realized I never posted about my scrapbooking weekend. It was AWESOME and I had a wonderful time with my friends. I don't remember exactly, but I did about 32 sides, I think. I've scrapped a couple of times since then. In fact, I might work on it tonight. I have to say, in case you haven't heard this, I LOVE my Cricut machine! That thing is the best! I'll include some pictures of pages in the kids' albums (which is what I worked on at the crop), as well as a calendar page I did in my family album.

Here are the pages I did for Michael's birthday. His theme was patriotic, with different monuments decorating the kitchen. I was so pleased with my catchy title (always a challenge for me!)


I just like these pages in Madison's book. Very girly!


These pages in Max's book show how I can use one cricut cartridge and get different looks, which is cool.


The last couple of years I have done a December calendar page and then wrote a long journal entry about how we spent the holiday. I really like how this works out and would suggest giving it a try.


Coming to this blog a week from today: Max's 5th birthday. Stay tuned!

Random Thoughts Vol.17

Hello Friends! Well, I've been blogging for a year now. Who knew? Certainly not me. Thanks for stopping by over the past year to check in on what is up with our family. I have lots of random thoughts going on, so I'll get to it.

I watched the inauguration yesterday and found myself tearful through much of it. It's a privilege to live in this country. I'm grateful for religious freedom. I'm grateful for checks and balances. I'm grateful that I don't have a hat like Aretha Franklin, but that she has the right to wear one. God bless the USA!

American Idol has started, but I haven't watched any of it. I don't usually watch the audition rounds. I wait until Hollywood week to start watching, and really kick in at the top 24 (which this year is a top 36 instead). I do, however, read the ew.com recaps of it, so I'm not completely out of the loop.

Tonight is a big night because LOST IS BACK!!! Since it's AWANA night, Ryan and I are going to dinner while the kids are gone, then we'll put them to bed and watch the premiere. I've kept myself as spoiler free as possible, so there's a good chance I won't be able to sleep tonight. I often mull over this show long after it's over. Unlike Heroes or 24, two other favorites of mine, Lost can truly mess with my head!

This weekend is WINTERFEST the big annual scrapbooking weekend I attend. This year I'll be rooming with Tina "I hope my bathing suit doesn't injure you" Green, Debbie "I just found out I have to work on Saturday" DeBoer, and Cheri "All I can think about is pie" Boudouris. I think what I love best about this weekend is that it's the most time each year that I spend just being me and taking care of me. I love my kids, but it's nice to not have to provide anything for them for 2.5 days. I'm looking forward to catching up my albums, having some great conversations, eating yummy food, and engaging in soul cleansing laughter.

Finally, on Monday we were at Target and I bought some little outfits on the clearance rack for our baby girl. I think I bought 3 things for like $7.50. I love sales! I'm so thankful that our contract was extended, otherwise it would be about to expire and we would be figuring out what to do next. God is good, and I love Him. Here are some pictures of the things I bought her.

Random Thoughts Vol. 16

Yes, I do remember that I have a blog. To be honest, my blog is probably suffering due to my Facebook addiction. See, my blog requires that I form thoughts and then type them - Facebook has no such expectation of me. Plus Facebook allows me to almost daily chat with Jenny Harville. To my blog I can only say, "what have you done for me lately?" That was too harsh, sorry Blog!

Here are some random thoughts, no particular order. I'll say our family is still basking in the goodness of God concerning the contract extension for our adoption. I'm looking forward to the holidays now where as before I would say I wasn't so much. Can you believe only 36 more days until Christmas? Facebook told me that.

I don't have a whole lot to say about the election. I did not vote for the newly elected president, but I will pray for him. My sense about our country on a whole in a variety of ways is that the church needs to step up to the plate and start living this Christian life for real. It's the best way to show Christ to those around us. I'm challenged to think that I may be the only contact some people have with Jesus. So, I need to KNOW Jesus more and SHOW Jesus more!

Our daily lives are a smattering of running Max to preschool, homeschooling, music lessons, church, and then all the mundane things like groceries, laundry, and housecleaning. Probably why this random thoughts is as dull as it is.

This Sunday we will celebrate Thanksgiving with Ryan's family. On the actual day we will be at my mom's with some of my family. Who knows who will be there for sure? Thanksgiving, for reasons I won't go into, is not my favorite holiday. But Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is my favorite Thanksgiving movie. In spite of my lack of enthusiasm for the holiday, I, however, will say that I have much for which to be thankful, more than I could probably even list. God is good and extravagant!

Today I got a laugh when I saw this video on entertainment weekly's blog. Some day when the kids are gone from home Ryan and I will drive around and do this. Enjoy! Oh, and have a blessed Thanksgiving! Gobble, Gobble!

Random Thoughts Vol. 13

It's been a while since I've posted some random thoughts, so there are quite a few brewing in my head! So, away we go!

I absolutely loved this past weekend! It was just such a great weekend for the five of us. I just feel so blessed to have this wonderful husband and these amazing kids!

Since there isn't anything exciting on tv to watch (except Wipeout, which our kids love, and I survived a Japanese game show, which Ryan and I love), my new time waster is Facebook. It's not my fault. I was sucked in by two college friends. They got me hooked on these Facebook games. I try to justify it by chatting with one of them if they are online at the same time, but it's still pathetic that I can't stop playing word twist. But, there is value in it, because I haven't seen these 2 friends for YEARS, and now, due to Facebook, we're back in contact, and the 2 of them are coming to visit me in a couple of weeks. So, look forward to more information on the 2 Jennys coming to Mishawaka. Ryan said, "what will you do when they are here, we only have 2 computers..."

On a much more significant note, I've recently read 2 fabulous books on prayer. The first one is called The PAPA Prayer by Larry Crabb. If you feel like your prayer life could use some depth, I highly recommend this book. The whole point is about getting past yourself and closer to God so that when you pray, you are praying God's heart and will. The second one is Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets. This book changed my mindset and has empowered my prayer life! The most important thing I read in it was that it's not a power problem, it's an authority problem. Jesus has all the power he needs, he's waiting on us to relinquish authority to him so that he can do what he wills. This entire book was such a blessing, and I highly recommend it.

Another new past time for me is watching internet video and reading on the internet about the Holy Spirit breakouts in Florida and South Carolina. If your faith needs stretched, check out Fresh Fire Ministries and Morningstar Ministries. God is on the move, people!

When I get time, I'm going to post what God has been speaking to me about our adoption. It's good stuff, but I need to take some time to put it all together. The situation is still the same, but I choose to dwell on what I do not see, the instruction God gave me months ago through a prophetic word from a friend. (I think I wrote a post about this, frosting on the cupcake of life)

Finally, a funny kid story. Yesterday, Max fell asleep on the couch in the afternoon. I was putting laundry away, and I saw him wake up and get up to go to the bathroom (or so I thought). But when I came out of my bedroom, the bathroom was empty. I got another stack of laundry and headed back and decided to look in Max's room. When I looked in, he was sitting on the floor, in the middle of a circle car track. I thought, oh, he must be playing. Then I looked again, and realized that his pants were down, he was sitting on them, and he was peeing. In the middle of the floor. In his room. And didn't realize it. I said, "Max, that's not the potty, that's your room!" So I herded him to the real potty, he's still so tired he doesn't know what's going on, and when I bring him dry pants, he gets up, turns to flush, and starts giggling. He finally realized what he did, and was able to laugh about it when Dad came home : )

Random Thoughts Vol. 11

Hi again! Time for more random thoughts, and what will probably be my last post before leaving for vacation on Monday. Please try to survive without me. I know I will be trying to survive without internet access for a week. It's good for me!

Well, one of my two favorite contestants won American Idol. Congrats to David Cook! I truly feel he was the best over the entire competition. I missed most of the finale, but caught the stuff I missed on Youtube. All I can say is, why have George Michael sing a song that Carrie Underwood conquered on Idol Gives Back night? He had no hope of singing it as well as her, especially with the "cold" he mentioned that he had. Also, I laughed out loud when David Hernandez whispered "naked". Too funny! Oh, and one more thing, I'm glad Amanda Overmeyer won't be on the tour this summer. All those group sings might kill her!

Yesterday was our last day of school. We are all so excited! Our trip to Lincoln Park Zoo was fabulous, and I highly recommend it, especially if you're a big zoo person. The weather was great (a little cool for Madison, of course), and Michael loved getting a chance to be in downtown Chicago. It was a great way to finish off the school year. The picture above is of the kids in front of a cool building with a rainforest area.

The reason I missed the American Idol finale was because we were at the AWANA awards night. Our kids did a great job. They all completed their books, which is exciting. At the awards, Michael recited John 3:16 in front of everyone, and Madison received an award for good sportsmanship, since she's always smiling. Ryan and I were, of course, very proud. Way to go, kids!

Finally, I wanted to post one more picture. It is the wild flowers that I wrote about in my post "Potential". I thought you would like to see them. I call it "Beauty Realized". Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and week, and I'll fill you in on our vacation when we get back!

Random Thoughts Vol. 10

Welcome to random thoughts, where the post lives up to its title. I'm having trouble realizing that the end of May is approaching, probably because it's been so cold here. I'm ready for warmer weather, but not the summer humidity. I can be as fickle as the weather, I suppose.

Behold the picture - a Cricut machine, which is what I received as a gift for Mother's Day. It's fabulous! I'm excited for the next time I have lots of pages to scrapbook so that I can use this little beauty. A nice bonus is that one of my friends also has the Cricut, and she has several different fonts that I can borrow and use with it. To that all I can say is, "Shazam!"

My American Idol thoughts are that I'm way more likely to buy a David Cook album in the future than a Little David album, so I guess it doesn't matter who wins. I think Cook has consistently been the best, and deserves to be declared the winner, but I think he'll do just fine without the title. I'll miss American Idol when it's over, mostly because I'll miss the fun videos done by EW.com.

Lost isn't on this week. The 2-hour finale is on next week. What in the world? How are the Oceanic 6 all going to end up rescued together since they are all separated? Is Claire dead? How can the island be moved? Is Ben one of the best characters ever, and is that actor one of the best as well? If the freighter blows up and takes Desmond and Jin out, I will not be happy, because Desmond is one of my favorite characters.

Tomorrow is our last day of school. We plan on spending our last day at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. We are all excited to go, and very excited to be finished with this school year. We've never been there, so I'll let you know my thoughts when I get back.

Random Thoughts Vol. 9

Welcome again to random thoughts, a post filled with a string of thoughts that really don't have anything to do with each other, or any sort of significance on a whole. I'm excited that we only have 13 days of school left before summer vacation. Needless to say the kids are excited about that as well. Now that better weather has come to Indiana (at least for today, you know how the weather is here!), it's especially hard to keep doing our school work.

I haven't commented on American Idol for a while. Since David Cook and Jason are my favorites, I've been pretty happy. I wish Carly was the last girl standing instead of Syesha, but that's a personal preference. I think it would be more interesting to have her and Michael Johns still in at this point versus Little David and Syesha, but whatever. I was disappointed in Neil Diamond night, because I love Neil Diamond. But maybe that's the problem: there's only one Neil. But you know, there are 2 kinds of people in this world - those who love Neil Diamond and those who don't. Anyone know what movie that quote is from?

For those of you LOST watchers, I read a theory on EW.com after last week's episode that I think blows my mind. That theory is: Claire is a ghost. Discuss! All I can say, is this show both confounds and entertains me. The only bad thing about summer - no new LOST. Or American Idol. Or Survivor. Or The Office. Maybe ABC will run another season of Will Traveler, like last summer. Did anyone catch that? Or how about they restart the beautiful tradition of the Battle of the Network Stars? I used to LIVE for when that was on - that and Circus of the Stars. Here's a taste of Battle of the Network Stars, 1980. Go Chachi!

Random Thoughts Vol. 8

Happy Spring Break to those of you partaking! Madison keeps asking me why we are still doing school if it's Spring Break. I keep trying to explain that we took time off to go to Pokagon a couple weeks ago, and that we will finish school earlier if we don't take a break now. But, like most humans, instant gratification sounds more fun.

I've enjoyed having some not-so-busy weekends lately. In fact, this past weekend, I spent on inordinate amount of time on the mental floss website. They have lots of great trivia to read and quizzes to take. I'll warn you, it's addicting.

Yesterday I bought the book Mistaken Identity (pictured above). It's about the Taylor University (of which I am an alumnus) students who were in the car accident, and the bodies where misidentified. I highly recommend it. I read the entire book in about 4 hours last night. The story is fascinating, just because it's so unbelievable. But more than that, the story is absolutely beautiful, and a wonderful testament of grace. I briefly saw the famiies on Oprah, and it's exciting to see them boldly share their faith. May God richly bless them all!

As far as American Idol goes, I was happy to see Ramiele leave. She never impressed me. If only Syesha could have gone with her. It's strange, I don't really like Kristy Lee, yet I want her to stay more than Syesha. I think I just never enjoy Syesha's song choices. I'm not so much looking forward to the inspirational theme tonight, and I probably won't partake in the Idol Gives Back fest - some stories are too heartbreaking. I heard someone predict Little David singing "The Greatest Love of all", which makes me want to urp, but since that's a Whitney classic, Syesha will probably cover it, which will induce full-on vomiting for me.

So, I saw this video and enjoyed a good laugh while watching it. I think I actually figured out how to post it - we'll see! Anyway, my favorite parts are the shopping cart and the "I've done all I can do!" quote. Enjoy!

Random Thoughts Vol.6

Welcome to random thoughts, basically a purging of what is in my mind whether truly interesting or not. Don't you love the picture above? That would be my mouth, with my newly installed bottom braces. All I can say is that I truly hate them. My mouth is getting better - I only need wax on one side now instead of all the way across - but things are still very achy. Plus, I will occasionally spray saliva out of my mouth, which is just inconvenient. Oh well, as Ryan says, only 18 months to go!

You may have noticed that I didn't post my opinion on last week's
American Idol. The reason is that my mom always taught me if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. So, this once I will heed my mother's advice and only say that I hope this week is better.

As far as other television viewing, Lost continues to entertain and astound me. I'll miss it while it is off for a few weeks. Even though there have been a few flawed episodes, its worst is better than most that is on network tv. I've missed the last couple of episodes of Survivor, but since I read spoilers online, I usually know pretty much what will happen anyway. Our church is starting a new sermon series using Survivor as a theme, so there are cool Survivor decorations all around. Very fun! One show I find very fun to make fun of is America's Next Top Model. Ridiculous!

This weekend we finally bought a new refrigerator. The kids are more excited than Ryan and me! They are mostly excited about it having ice and water in the door. I'm excited because we bought our old one used when we moved into this house, so it had seen better days. I was finding it funny that Michael was so interested in how much the refrigerator cost. After we left the store, Michael asked Ryan how much it cost, and when Ryan told him, Michael asked, "How much money do you have left?" Then we had to explain the whole working for a living, saving money, blah, blah, blah. It is funny how their minds work!

While we were at Pokagon State Park last week, we stopped at the outlet mall in Fremont and as a family we picked out a snuggly blanket for our baby girl. It's one of those unguarded heart moments, but that's okay. I'm doing much better with that. I'm choosing faith, hope, and joy. Here's a picture of it. It says "butterfly kisses" on it, which reminds me of an episode of SpongeBob Squarepants, which makes me smile.

Random Thoughts Vol.5

Welcome to the weekend edition of random thoughts. I decided to post a few things before our family heads out to Pokagon State Park in Angola, IN for a few days. We are all excited about a few days away and a break from the routine. So, here are my random thoughts before I head out:

*Although I'm disappointed, I'm not surprised that David Hernandez was voted off of American Idol. I think several other contestants should be quite thankful to be still going in the competition (Ramiele, Syesha, Kristy). I'm also disappointed because they are doing Beatles week again. But, it's better than Gloria Estefan week.

*All I have to say about Lost is, what in the world is going on, and WHEN in the world is it happening????

*Today we finally painted Madison's bedroom. I think it's been over 2 years since we started talking about doing it. It's a small room, so it seems like it should be pretty simple, but there's always more to it than you expect. Ryan and I are both exhausted, but her room is done (well there's still finishing touches to do). It is now a wonderful shade of pink, and it makes me want to eat cotton candy.

Have a blessed Holy Week, and I'll check in when we get back.

Random Thoughts Vol. 4

Welcome again to random thoughts, occuring at a very early hour on a Monday. So, this version will probably be even more random than usual.

*It's officially Monday, March 10th, which means it's my mom's birthday. Happy 66th Birthday, Mom Deak. I'll probably call and tell her that since the chances of her even knowing what a blog is are very slim :)
*Our church had a big bowling party today, with about 180 people participating. All I can say is 7 is too many people to have bowl on one lane, especially when half of them are kids, and their bowling balls move down the lane at an inordinately slow speed. Regardless of this, a good time was had by all.
*American Idol is now down to the top 12 and for the most part I agree with those who made it there. As for last week's performances, Jason Castro and David Cook were my favorite guys. I still like Stripper Hernandez, but I didn't think he did the best last week. My favorite girl is Brooke. My least favorite fashion trend: high waisted pants with funky buttons. Please, someone help these people!
*Survivor has been pretty interesting so far. I'm not sure I needed to see Jonathon get his leg stitched up, but there have been lots of blindsides which are always interesting. But, I'm not sure I really care who wins. I probably have a bigger list of people that I don't want to see win than a list of those I want to win. I guess as far as this season goes, the glass is half empty for me.
*Lost continues to entertain and confound me. I guess this is the relationship many have with this show. Last week's episode wasn't the best, since it didn't really move the story along. But, Ryan and I both enjoy the insanity that is Benjamin Linus and the freaky actor who plays him (see above picture). For those who were watching all I have to say is, "YOUR MINE! Take all the time you need."

Random Thoughts Vol. 3

I had planned to post some random thoughts yesterday, Monday, but it just didn't get accomplished. So, here is the new Tuesday edition of Random Thoughts:

*I spent Friday and Saturday in Fort Wayne with my college roommate, Amy, and another college friend, Deanna. We try to get together once a year, and this year opted for the girls only outing instead of the entire family event. It was a very nice weekend, but it went way too fast.
*Since I was gone on Saturday, I missed Michael's basketball game, so I missed the first time he's scored a basket in a game. Despite not witnessing it, I was incredibly excited and proud.
*My favorite TV show, "Lost", continues to blow my mind. All I can say is that I hope my IQ is high enough to understand how this all works out. Crazy!
*I found out today my favorite American Idol contestant, David Hernandez, used to be a male stripper for males. I've decided to root for him anyway in hopes he can leave this past life behind him. But I will say, I'm not sure I'll watch his dance moves the same. Maybe I'll just listen. On a whole, I'm underwhelmed by the competition, and hoping for some people to have some break out performances soon. I'm not a big fan of the younger David - I'm sick of hearing how wonderful he is. The same thing happened with Melinda last year. I stopped wanting her to do well because I was tired of them fawning over her so much. My second favorite contestant is dred-head, guitar-playing, Jason Castro. I don't have a favorite girl contestant, but I do have favorites to leave, and at the top of that list is the rocker nurse.
*Sunday we watched the movie "Facing the Giants". I had actually purchased it a few weeks ago, but we finally had time to watch it. We had seen a couple of scenes from the movie during church, but this was the first time to watch the whole thing. I really enjoyed the movie and would highly recommend it. I was expecting a cheesiness that often accompanies "Christian" films, but there were only a few cheesy moments. So, if you're looking for a good, wholesome movie, appropriate for the whole family, I definitely recommend "Facing the Giants."

Random Monday Thoughts Vol.2

I think on Mondays I'm incapable of pulling multiple ideas together to form one coherent post, so I'm copping out by once again just listing some things at random.

My first random thought is that my kids have the flu. I think we're on the flip side of it now, and I think we escaped the really nasty symptoms that many people are enduring. We've mostly had high fevers, sore throats, headaches, and tummy aches. Madison and Michael both had fevers nearly 105 degrees. Madison said to me, "I have a question, but I don't want to upset you. Am I dying?" That folks, is a fever.

My other random thought is really just a question with no answer: Why do we live in this ridiculous climate?

Last Thursday afternoon, I took Madison and Michael to the Northern Indiana Center for History in South Bend. It was my first time there, and it was much nicer than I expected. We spent most of the time in an exhibit called "Voyages", learning about the indians who lived in the St. Joseph Valley and how the area was established. The musuem is connected to the new Studebaker Museum, which I'd like to visit sometime.

For a while now I've been mulling over a concept I'll call "Life Words." I was introduced to this whole idea over 2 years ago by a husband and wife team that came to our church and spoke at a Spiritual Renewal weekend. To sum it up, it's the idea of putting God's truth, His "Life Words", into your heart and mind. So many things around us speak death - there's divorce, addiction, disease, disaster - it can be a discouraging to live in this world! But God's word has so much power and life in it, we can combat the death this world speaks into our lives. I want to be more aware of my words and make sure that whenever I have the opportunity, I speak words of life into the lives of those around me.

Finally, here's a link to my new favorite worship song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0F109Acx14
You'll have to cut and paste the link.

Random Monday Thoughts

So, I have a variety of thoughts I decided to just throw out there tonight. First of all, I was incredibly pleased with the outcome of the Super Bowl last night. I did end up scrapbooking after the game because I was so pumped up and couldn't possibly go to sleep. During the half-time show, I was reminded of the time Ryan and I were playing a trivia game and there was a question about necks on a guitar and we came to realize it was possible to have FIVE, which just seems excessive (see the above picture). Remembering this brought fresh laughter and a renewed question of "why?".

On a completely different topic, I was going to start a "fast" of sorts tonight, but then I realized that this Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, so why not wait and make it what I give up for Lent. Thus, starting Wednesday, until Easter, I will no longer watch Seinfeld from 10:00 - 11:00 every night. Instead, I will read my Bible and pray. I hope this will become a habit, my new "power hour" of sorts. It seems the least I can give up to honor the One who gave up so much for me.

So, were you plannning on giving something up, or starting something new, during Lent? Why would a guitar ever need five necks? What does the case look like? This is only a portion of the random thoughts racing through my mind tonight.