Oh I Laughed...

Last night the whole family was spread out on the couches watching our favorite Sunday night series, The Bible on the History channel.   It got to the part where Jesus is in the desert, having fasted for 40 days and Satan arrives, in the form of a snake.

And then he's in the form of a sort-of human in a black cape...and when we saw his face both Ben and I gasped and looked at each other, and as our eyes met we knew we were having the very same thought.

"Don't say it!"  I whispered at him.  I didn't want the boys to hear us and repeat it.

But sure enough, one of the boys said "Satan looks like Barack Obama!"

And they were right. Here's a link to the picture.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of the president, but I respect the office he holds...I also don't go around equating him with Satan...but I'm not gonna lie, I chuckled.  

A lot.

Today I found an article from the producers of the show, they claim he bears no resemblance.  Pffff.  Again, I chuckled.

These are the things that entertain me during the Winter That Never Ends where I live.

The End.

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We Go Out...

Ben and I had the lovely opportunity to attend a beautiful wedding not long ago.  We got dressed up and then left all the kids in the care of Grandma and Grandpa, which means we actually enjoyed the wedding.

Fun times.

After the wedding, when I looked at these pictures, I realized I had totally skipped my eyeliner and mascara.  Whoops.  I guess it meant that nothing smeared all over my face after I cried watching my two sweet little nephews walk down the aisle as the ring bearers.  Seriously, they were so sweet I bawled.  I'm not the only one that does that?  Right?

One of the songs in the wedding was Brandon Heath's, Love Never Fails.  So now it's at the top of my playlist because it's one of my new favorites.  Even though it's not new at all.

I love weddings.  And the bride and groom were beautiful and handsome but you'll have to take my word for it because I forgot my camera.  Loser.

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Summer Lovin'

It was just one of those picture perfect days in June.  In Iowa.  


One of those days that I dream of in January.  And February.  And March...

We played at the farm.  Ben and I both grew up about 20 minutes from where we currently live:  Tiny Town.  Ben's dad farms beef cattle and crops and we all love hanging out there...especially the kiddos.

I love you Summer.

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The List

I'm not kidding when I tell you that I often sit down to blog, and then just "check a few other sights first" and get completely distracted by other peoples decorating-crafting-fashion-genius and by the end of it I can't even remember what I sat down to write about in the first place.


ADD.


We are in full summer break mode here in the parsonage.  It's magical.  Well, most of it is magical.  The bickering and complaining and such is...not magical. 


Several weeks ago the family and I made a Summer Bucket List, which I copied from another blogger.  I think I copied it from Meg at Whatever, because generally I want to copy everything about her.  But don't tell her, because I may have not even ever left a comment on her blog and then that makes me seem all stalkerish.  


So the family and I made a Summer Bucket List.

What seems to happen to us, is at the end of every summer we start to remember fifty thing that "we were going to do" but forgot about.  And I'm a procrastinator, which means I always think there's {plenty} of time to get around to doing whatever we need to do...and there's not.


The kids flipped over the list.  They love it.  We're going to cross stuff off as we go.  (It' hanging on the wall in the old kitchen, in case you were wondering. :)


Do you do this sort of thing to?  Has it worked for you?  Please say YES!

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Just Kidding...

My sister in law is one of the funniest people I know.  I adore her.  


Her most recent influence has been the "Just Kidding" skit originally from SNL.  Every time she does it, I laugh my butt off.  Now my boys do it, and it still cracks me up, even when it's annoying me I can't stop laughing at it.  


I should have recorded her.  Or them.  But for now, here's the skit from SNL so you know what I'm talking about.  


It's clean.  But I warn you, you're likely to add "just kidding" to everything you say.  


Just kidding, you probably wont.  Just kidding.

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Garden Party

Lucy and I went to her first Garden Party yesterday.  

Hosted by her Great Aunt Di...who happens to have the most beautiful flowers.

Lucy enjoyed herself.

Can you tell?

We decorated a hat.  Ben's sister, Rebecca modeled it for us.  I know, I know, you all want one now.

We got our pictures taken.  This is Lucy and I with my sister-in-law, Mary Lou.  And as I look at this picture, I realize that I forgot to tell Lou how cute her top is.  Isn't it cute?!?

Most of these picture are courtesy of my friend Beth...let's face it, the pictures I take are not nearly this good. I'm fooling no one.

The End

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As If...

Last night during the Bible Club lesson I sat amongst the kids for a little role I like to call "crowd control." Granted, it was a small crowd, but it was made up of mostly squirley little boys.



One sweet little first grade boy was sitting in the front row...with ants in his pants (we say that kinda thing 'round here), one pew out of my reach. When I caught his eye, I smiled at him and motioned for him to come back and sit beside me.



He complied, and as he took the seat next to me, I heard him whisper to himself under his breath...I hate when I have to sit by the old ladies.



I silently *gasped* to myself. Surely he didn't think I was an old lady?!?



Oh yes he did! :)



I assure you, the inner 15-year old living inside of me...well, her feelings were hurt, HURT! Poor, poor girl.



Later on in the lesson something came up about old people, and my own first grader who was sitting on the other side of me leaned in and whispered, mom...you're old! As if they were talking about me...thank you Noah, thank you.



My inner 15 year old has two words for you first graders...AS IF!!



Remember saying As If?!? I may start again...because there's nothing like an old lady talking like a teenager ;)

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I'm Off...

This morning I'm leaving for a little getaway...till SUNDAY.  

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!

I'm a little excited to get away.  This will be my 3rd year of going to a scrapbooking/Great Beginnings retreat, just a couple of hours away from tiny town.  

It's fabulous.  Great food (which I don't have to cook or even think about,) two wonderful friends to chat endlessly with, times of prayer and reflection, AND scrapbooking.

What?!?  You didn't know I scrapbook?!?  Hmmm...I never talk about it?!?  Yeah...that's because I went on this retreat last January, scrapped my brains out, and then started this little blog in February.  Guess what I have not done since last January....scrapbook.  

But, I have unrealistic expectations high hopes of getting caught up.  Even better than that, is just taking a brief break from reality...with friends.  

Maybe you could all say a quick prayer for my hubby as he becomes a single dad/pastor trying to prepare two sermons for Sunday kinda guy...with 3 little boys to help ;)

PS - I'm fully aware anything I've cleaned or organized the past 2 weeks will be undone in my absence...it's the price I pay...and it's totally worth it.  Amen.

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My Review *cough*

Yesterday I mentioned that the Twilight series has got me thinking a lot about Heaven.



The books are not meant to do that. There's no hidden meanings or symbolism that I'm trying to draw out...I can barely pick out the symbolism in the Narnia series even though my husband has explained it to me countless times! I just want to share some of the things that have caused me to think about Heaven as I was reading these books. And if you've been reading this blog very long, you already know that pretty much any random thing can trigger another random thought for me ;)



Which reminds me, I need a disclaimer first. Here it is: The following post will in fact give away some of the plot of the Twilight series, if you are or will be reading this and do not want it given away you should leave now...right now. :)



So why on earth does reading about fictional vampires make me think of Heaven?!? Good question. Who knows the answer, I certainly have no idea. But my thoughts on Heaven come from Scripture...not just things I like to make up...which I should clarify, because somethings I do like to make up...like words...I digress.



Here's a few reasons.



There are certain qualities of the vampire characters that make me think about the new perfect bodies we'll be getting in Heaven. Those bodies will in fact be EVEN better than a vampires ;)

• beautiful, perfect, no sickness, no weakness.
• I imagine our senses will all be so much clearer. What we see, touch, taste, feel, hear etc will likely be 10,000x's greater.
• When Bella is changed, she looks different but her dad and Jacob still recognize her. Much like what will likely happen in Heaven.
• Bella, as a human, does her best to try to understand what being in a vampires body will be like...but nothing compares to her actually experiencing it for herself. I think we will be completely blown away at the perfectness of them, things we can't even begin to imagine or understand with our puny little minds.
• The devotion that Edward feels towards Bella, not being able to be away from her makes me think of how relationships will be in Heaven. So closely bonded. And with Jesus...I imagine the desire to be in His presence will be overwhelming.
• Understanding one anothers thoughts clearly.
• The eternal aspect of it. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around eternity. Priorities change when there's no time crunch.
• I think we'll be able to move here and there really quickly ;)
• The vampires have an amazing sense of style...deep, I know.
• And the Cullen's baseball game...I think that's what baseball will be like in Heaven.
• No need to sleep! No feeling tired and worn out.

Ok, I'll stop BUT I do have to say...I'm not big into vampires or vampire stories (although I did go to that one movie with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt back when I was in High school because seriously those were Brad Pitt's glory days) but this series really does just pull ya in and it's really quite fun to read.

I've heard different critiques of the authors writing style, but I for one, am so not a writer that I can't tell ya anything about what she does or does not do well. All I know is that I just read four big books because...I liked the story and loved the characters. Book #2 got a little long for me...and the 4th one is my favorite. That's all I know :)

PS...

• I do not think we will drink blood...for the record.
• And I hope we're not all pale. This pasty-white-Iowan would like some color...I'm hoping Jesus agrees. *smiles*

This just exceeded my own personal limit on blog post length...I had to skim my own writing. So sad.

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Hungry Eyes...

Dear Ande's Mint Pie that I bought from the Schwan's man,

I can't help but dedicate a classic 80's song to you. I apologize in advance for the boring video, but it's the only one that didn't have a PG13 rating to go along with it.

Even at 510 calories a slice...you are still the best pie...ever.

Much love,

Sarah

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I Heart It...

Confession time.



Up until this September....I had never watched The Office before.



I maybe saw snippets here and there before and thought, "What the heck?!? That's dumb."



I know...I KNOW!



But this season, after much bloggy chatter about The Office, I decided I needed to give it a try.



And behold....I discovered a new love.



Two weekends ago I rented season two from the video store and watched it all weekend. This past weekend I tried to rent season three, but they did not have it. So I did the next logical thing. I bought it.



I watched the entire third season this weekend. Hysterical. Poor Ben had to shut the office doors to try to block out my laughing. It's that funny. And the more ya watch it...the funnier it gets!



I can't get enough of it. Next weekend: Season four. After that...I'll get to season one :) Good times.



Here's my bullet list favorites (that I can remember)

• Jim and Dwight crack me up! Jim plays a prank and Dwight's reaction is priceless every single time.


• Phyllis: love her.


• Michael: Seriously, he does/says the most appalling things and yet I still find myself feeling bad for him...and even kinda liking the lonely guy.


• Dwight: "Question" and pretty much everything else about him is so stinkin' funny!


• I tried to pick some favorite episodes, but I can't...I love them all.

There. Now you know. And for you office lovers...click here *smiles*

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Bad Hair Cut...

I looked up from the computer yesterday to see Jake, holding a pair of scissors and standing over Odie.

Never a good thing.

See those spots? It's missing hair. Fortunately, Odie was in his usual state of unconsciousness on the couch, so he was totally unaware of what Jakob was doing to him.

When Odie awoke, I tried to explain to him that Jake was in big trouble, and that the hair will grow back...and that it doesn't look so bad.

But I don't think he believed me.

Sorry Odie. :)

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Fashion is Tricky...

So...it's election day. I feel strongly...but don't really feel like getting into it. I will say, that for those that haven't read through the book of Revelation in the Bible...should do so...I'm just sayin' :)

Anyways, after voting today I get to go get my hair cut...how great is that?!? Just a trim...nothing too exciting.

I mentioned yesterday about the outfit I got at Target that may or may not be too young for me. But seriously, either way, it is so dang comfortable that I don't even CARE! Welcome back 1980, welcome. back.

Ya know what? Being 30 is tricky. Tricky, tricky, tricky. No longer able to pull off all the trends, but not quite ready for the snowman sweater either(mom, I know you love a snowman sweater, so I won't even go there.)

If you'd asked me a year or two ago I would have told you there were a few trends that were up and coming that I surely WOULD NOT do.

1. ankle boots
2. leggings
3. skinny jeans
4. skinny jeans tucked in boots
5. heavy bangs

Funny. Because this year I've done all but #1...and that's only because I cannot buy another pair of boots BUT ankle boots have now made it from my "never gonna happen" list to my "so cute" list.

You know what else is funny? Me in #2-#4 in tiny-town. *smiles* I like trying new stuff. It's fun. Keeps it interesting. But I love the classics too...like big rubber boots...

Ok, your turn. Spill it. What are you wearing now that you swore you'd never wear?

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Good Times...

Yesterday was a first for me.

Remember these two girlies I mentioned previously?

It just so happens that during our Sunday School lesson on The Heart of Jesus, the topic of cute tights and where to get some, came up. I have no idea how this happens...but it does.

It may have been because this is what I wore to church last week, and that little hole is what happened BEFORE Sunday school even started. Did I mention they were new tights? So sad. I keep forgetting my boots have buckles on the back, and every time I cross my legs I snag my tights.

Lesson learned.

OK, back to my first story...the tights led to Target...because frankly, a lot of roads lead to Target. Both girls mentioned that they HAD NEVER BEEN TO TARGET...I know, I KNOW! So I said we'd have to go sometime...then sometime turned into next Sunday, and then next Sunday turned into yesterday :)

Oh we had fun. And it just so happened I had my camera. Because a girls first trip to Target needs documentation. For real.

Meet Rebecca (from Taiwan) and Kaya (from Denmark)

This is us at Starbucks in Target :)

Kaya in her fab new hat and sunglasses (there's matching scarf and mittens too:)

Rebecca stocking up on cute socks!

They were SO much fun and I'm so glad to have been a part of their first Target experience :)

And Target led to...the mall. Here I am with some ginormous sunglasses. I didn't buy those, but did get a cute outfit at Target that I may be too old for. That's what happens when you shop with 16 year olds. Maybe I'll share it with ya tomorrow...Until then, HAPPY MONDAY!

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I Have a Good Excuse...

I'm not dead...no worries.


And there was no disaster in tiny-town that caused my evacuation...this time at least.


It just so happens that we took a tiny whirlwind mini vacation, and because I absolutely positively do not enjoy packing for our whole family and the fact that I put it off until the very last minute, meant that I ran out of time to blog and tell you I would be gone.


Ben thinks that was a tad rude of me...I assured him of how kind ya'll are and how you'd totally understand because you get the whole packing nightmare.

I didn't blog for three whole days! And I didn't even have symptoms of withdrawal. Go me.


We had a fun little trip, that of course requires bullet points.

• Our neighbors loaned us their DVD player for the ride up. It saved our children. Without it, we may have left them somewhere along the interstate. Oh, I kid. I wouldn't actually leave them...I'd just imagine it for a bit ;)


• We traveled up to where we lived the first 5 years of our married life...the city. Turns out, I've turned back into a total rural girl again...you know the kind...grasping the dashboard anytime we even get close to the back end of another vehicle or heaven forbid...switch lanes. Sad times. I used to love driving around up there...well, except for that one time I totaled the car because of that little fender bender...anyways...


• We went to The Mall....The Mall of America. My admiration for it runs deep. And now, because it is the home of Lego Land, I've passed on my love for it to my children.

I give you pictures:

Noah made me take a picture of every ginormous Lego thing there. I'll spare you...Ben and Noah rode bumper cars and I rode this with Jake. (We made Eli ride one thing...he was too distracted by the Legos.)Why Ben didn't want to ride on the pink Blues Clues ride, I'll never know.We ate a lot. A LOT. But my favorite was Bubba Gump's (as in Forrest Gump) It is my new favorite restaurant! And if we ever have another child, I'm naming it Bubba in honor of it...

I love visiting the city. The diversity of it. The fashion. Bubba Gumps. But underneath it all...I'm a small tiny town girl.

Now I'm off to read your blogs and find out all I've missed out on while I was gone!

Happy Monday!

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My Life...

Do you ever have one of those moments where you feel like you're looking at your life as an outsider...like you're looking in, watching it?

I do. All the time.

And I always think..."Oh. My. Word."

One of those moments occurred just yesterday.

The inside of my mini-van was disgustingly dirty...and I am not exaggerating. I will spare you the details. So I drove to the car wash, went through the automatic section washed the van, scraped vacuumed it out, and then proceeded to wipe the interior down with...baby wipes. BABY WIPES. And ya know what...it worked quite well, I highly recommend it.

And midway through, I thought to myself..."If they could see me now..."


Oh, but it gets better.


After that ordeal I decided to pull the van into the wash bays where people, who are not as lazy as myself, actually wash their own vehicles...by hand.


I decided that the only thing that would get the rubber mats that line the floor of my van, clean, would be the power-washer that sprays out soapy water at roughly 150 mph.


So I hung the mats along the hooks on the wall, inserted my quarters and then pulled the trigger of the power-washer wand. Turns out, you should make sure you are an adequate distance from the floor mat BEFORE pulling the trigger, otherwise it will ricochet off and spray you, until you are totally soaked and your hair (which you took the time to straighten today) will turn curly in a matter of 1.5 seconds.


Not that I know this from experience. But if such a moment ever happened to me...I would think (again) "If they could see me now..."


Happy Friday!!

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Imaginary Shopping

OK, so there's a little Internet past-time that I love.


I like to call it...imaginary shopping.


Here's what you do.

Go to your favorite website. It can be clothing or home furnishings or whatever would be fun to purchase but you totally can't afford.

Key word: WOULD be fun to purchase.

My personal favorites are here and here and here.

After getting to your favorite site, the fun begins. You simply shop. Put outfits together, plan a room, dream away. No need to look at prices either...fabulous, no?

Each time you just click "Add to shopping bag/cart"

When finished, you get to look at all your "purchases" and admire what a great shopper you are. Then...

you leave. Do not proceed to the "checkout" button. THAT button must be avoided at all costs. Do not checkout. It's not part of the game.

I will not be held personally responsible if you, lets say, CHEAT and purchase something.

See! No money spent...and placing those finds in your imaginary shopping bag feels, if just for a moment, like they were yours.

I know what you're thinking..."it's just not the same"...I know, I know. BUT, it is really helpful in figuring out what you really truly like...what your style is. So maybe, just maybe, when you find a cheap inexpesive knockoff somewhere, you'll totally know what to do with it ;)

Now...go enjoy... *smiles*

Seriously...how weird am I that I really think this is fun!?! :) Weird-O

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It Was 1997...

Certain things get better with age.

My hair is one of them.

I give you: Our Engagement Picture (i.e. my hair with a perm) 1997

10 years later...

No more perms for me...no more hair for Ben...and boy, do I like it better that way *wink*

You're welcome for that my bloggy friends....you. are. welcome :)

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All I Need is a Cute Bag...

Remember this post...about the bag?

And this post about the dress?

What do you get when you mash those two posts (the green bag and Wal-Mart)together?

This:

Isn't is cute?!? A "green" bag from Wal-Mart! And guess what! It cost $1.00. ONE DOLLAR! I am now fully stocked with non-plastic bags...and surprisingly, the Wal-Mart cashier seemed a little annoyed with my green-ness...which totally made me smile, because WHO KNEW I'd ever have any green-ness to annoy anyone with!?!

I may be able to do anything...as long as there is a cute bag involved!

Happy Saturday Friends!

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Thus Far...

My day thus far...(so KJV of me ;)

1. First day of school for first grader and kindergartner. Up and at 'em at 7AM with a breakfast of champions... bacon and toaster strudel. De-lish.


2. Take "first day of school pictures", take to school, take more pictures, finally leave school.


3. No crying...by anyone. Phew. It'll take a little while for reality to set in for me...in a week or 2 I'm sure I'll have a sobbish type post for you.


4. Went to grocery store with JUST 3 year old.


5. Came home and made 2nd pot of coffee at 10:05. Don't judge...it's a big day.

There. If all else fails and I can't think of anything to blog about I can bore you with my day's schedule. Aren't I lovely.

Oh wait. I do have something I was going to share. I've been working on cleaning closets for what seems like weeks. This weekend I tackled mine. I decided to buy a thingy to hang my necklaces on so I could see them better (in hopes of actually wearing them more frequently)

The finished product:

Notice a theme? It's called PLASTIC. I have a fondness for plastic jewelry. I can't help myself. I'm just classy like that ;)

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