Where Has My Coolness Gone?

How can it be happening already.

Noah, my first grader, is acting like an adolescent.

*gasp*

We were at a restaurant eating, and Eli stood up and did something silly (typical) and Noah said to him, "Eli, people know you're my brother and when you do that, it embarrasses me, STOP."

Ben and I gave each other the "are you kidding me?!?" look.

I did what any loving and totally sympathetic mother would do, I told him "get used to it." and then proceeded to tell him that "someday even mom and dad will embarrass you...on occasion."

And do you know what my child, my 9 lbs 13 oz first born said to me?!?

"you already do sometimes." and then he giggled.

Sucker punched...right in my jiggly mommy belly...by my seven year old.

I proceeded to explain to him exactly how cool his mom and dad were...and he stared at me and then returned the favor of the "are you kidding me?!?" look.

Surely I should be able to keep my cool factor till at least Junior High...but first grade...that hurts :)

Friday night we went to our first home football game and I wanted a picture of them all decked out in there school spirit attire...check out Noah's expression...

It says it all :)

If anyone figures out where my coolness has gone, please let me know...I'd like it back *wink*

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Little is Much...

Where do I start...

• Last night was the kickoff of our Bible Club for kids (for this school year) It was beyond fantastic! 42 kids...and in tiny-town in tiny church...WOW...all because of Him. We also had over twice as many adults helping as we've had in previous years and I can't even begin to describe what a huge blessing/encouragement that is to me! There's a theme God has placed on my heart this year...Little is Much When God is in It :)


• My official ministry roles are wrapped up for the week, and today, I get to just focus in on my family and I love that in a whole different way.


• I always refer to Noah and Eli as "the boys." Ya know...

Boys...come down and eat

Boys...brush your teeth, eat breakfast, get dressed...on and on

Boys...stop hitting/kicking/punching/provoking each other

Yesterday at Target, Jake said to me, "I need to get treats for my boys...my boys like these."

It was cute.

• And now...some visuals of what I'll be tackling today...for your viewing pleasure (seriously, it will make you feel better about the condition of your own home)

I give you example 1: "The boys" room...

And another view:

And another:

And then there's Jake...who can't seem to resist the urge to dig into anything gooey, greasy, or sprayable.

His dresser...who knows what that is smeared on there:

And this concoction is wads of toilet paper that he got soaking wet in the bathroom and then "cleaned" his garage thingy with...

Lovely, isn't it?

My boys are especially gifted in the "making disasters out of anything" department...it makes a mother proud. *wink*

Off to clean...

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Details...

There are certain things that you just don't want to hear from your pastor's wife. Things like ...

1. personal or private details about the pastor ;) and


2. that she too finds it difficult to spend time in God's Word.

Oh...there are other things you'd rather not know too, but I'll stop myself.

I've had the privilege of being in four different churches (not counting mine now) since becoming a Christian. Each pastor's wife was uniquely gifted for their role, and each showed wisdom...wisdom that only comes from His Word.

I always assumed they spent hours, HOURS daily with God...studying the scriptures, gleaning all they could. Because after all, they're the Pastor's Wife...if they can't do it, what did that mean for me?!?

Funny how life flops you to the other side of the fence sometimes. Let me tell you...the view from the pastor's wife side looks a tad bit different to me now.

I learned that she faces the same excuses that I did...

I'll read it later...gotta get just one more thing done...I'll be ok without it...I've read and studied it before...I know what's in there...

All lies...and all...believable.

Yesterday my running partner and I ran for the first time in a week. I wanted to die. It hurt. I make it so much harder on my body when I don't run consistently. It's something that I need to do regularly...I can't call myself a runner, if I ran in the past, but no longer do...a runner is someone who RUNS.

So it goes spiritually. Getting by on what I read in the past, experienced in the past is not gonna cut it. I make it so much harder on my ENTIRE life when I don't spend time with Him...daily...hourly...minute by minute.

You'd bless me beyond words if you'd life your pastor's wife before Him today :)

On a totally unrelated note...

I've received, what may be the cutest blog award. Ever. Wanna see?

Enthusiastically ElleBee passed along the "I heart your blog" award, and I heart it and I heart her blog too. You should go plop in and say hello!

I'd like to pass it along to some of my newest blog reads/friends that I really love reading.

Rachel at Musings of a Future Pastor's Wife. Her hubby is in seminary (which bring back some memories for me :) and she just survived Gustav...blogged right through it, which totally impresses me, by the way. She's a wise one, and I heart her.

Colored with Memories is another one that I love. You've gotta go read her Tuesday post about mommy competitiveness...cracked me up!

And Cassandra at Tripping Around the Sun. I relate to her and frankly...I adore her and her blog.

I'm also adding these ladies to my blogroll, so you can find them there too.

Happy Wednesday!

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My Happy Time...

From now on, Tuesday mornings will be known as "Sarah's Happy Time" just thought you should know.

Me and a friend are swapping kids, so to speak. She is taking Jake for me on Tuesday mornings and I will take hers on Friday afternoons...perfection.

That 2 1/2 hours on Tuesday mornings is now sacred. It's time set apart for me to work on Bible Club (kids ministry) and women's Bible study stuff and just spend time with Him...uninterrupted time. Priceless.

I need this time. Over the past week I've come to realize that I have a tendency to jump into too many things, all at the same time. All good stuff...that eventually drains the life out of me because it's more than I'm meant to do.

I'm learning to stop running ahead of God, because when I do, I mess up His instructions. Generally, I listen to part of the instruction, and then barrel full speed ahead without giving Him a chance to finish His sentence.

Guess what? That doesn't work out so well :)

So I'm s-l-o-w-i-n-g down. Giving Him time to speak to me...waiting for the full instructions before I plunge ahead and make an idiot of myself :)

More on this tomorrow...

Oh, one more thing...if you look to the left, on my sidebar, I added a new Blogger gadget...if you read often, you can click the "follow" button and your cute little picture (or something) will appear...and frankly, it will make my day. Because as of right now, it just says a big fat 0, which is hurting my feelings...just a little bit ;)

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It's All I Can Think About...

On Memorial Weekend, the kickoff to summer, we spent the holiday dealing with this.


Two weeks later, it was this.



Summer flashed by and now it's Labor Day weekend...the unofficial end to summer, and three four of my dear bloggy friends, who live in Louisiana are dealing with Gustav.


Last night, as we lay in bed, glued to Fox News, I confessed to my husband that I didn't really even remember hurricane Katrina very well. Oh, I'm fully aware of the aftermath, but I don't remember watching it happen. Turns out, it's probably because we had just moved to tiny-town and Jake was only 3 months old...and truthfully...it just didn't affect me or anyone I knew personally.


My how my perspective has changed! Funny how a couple natural disasters of your own will do that to ya ;) When I imagine tiny-town enduring the same disasters again in three years, I feel sick. Yet, this is what is happening in LA.



My heart is heavy today for my bloggy friends Mama Belle, Tracie, and Rachel and Jodie (sorry Jodie, I forgot you live there too!). I heart them like my real-life friends...praying for them today, and for all those being affected by this storm.



I'm so thankful for a God who works all things together for good...and for friends whose faith is strong in times of trouble, knowing He will see them through.

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Ummm....

I stole this idea from the sweet and lovely MEME Lorie.


I'm plum out of original ideas and she reminded me of the joy of Meme's.


I have no idea what this meme is called...but it is random...and I heart random.


Here goes:


What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now? none, because the boys just took a bath and we have to totally empty the bathtub or they dump it all out.
Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? Nope
What would you change about your living room? I'd make it bigger.
Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? Dirty
What is in your fridge? what ISN'T?!?
White or wheat bread? Both
What is on top of your refrigerator? A Basket of fake red geraniums
What color or design is on your shower curtain? It's striped with brown/cream/aqua
How many plants are in your home? No real ones...that watering is just so much work :)
Is your bed made right now? I say...why bother.
Comet or Soft Scrub? Comet
Your closet organized? kinda
Can you describe your flashlight? seriously...this is a weird question.
Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? Glass
Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now?no-but I do love it....but NOT SWEETENED!
If you have a garage, is it cluttered? You have no idea.
Curtains or blinds? both
How many pillows do you sleep with? Two...one memory foam, it's fabulous.
Do you sleep with any lights on at night? nope
How often do you vacuum? HA! Less now that we have a dog to eat it all.
Standard toothbrush or electric? Standard
What color is your toothbrush? purple...I get the girl color...in this house, that's a good thing.
Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? Yep
What is in your oven right now? burnt-on stuff that hasn't been cleaned in 3 years :)
Is there anything under your bed? I have a smaller home...I have to maximize every bit of space...its chuck full of bags and purses.
Chore you hate doing the most? cleaning the bathroom.
What retro items are in your home? *blank stare...no idea*
Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? Yep, it's where the sermons get written...and houses the computer, so the office and I spend a lot of time together ;) I think we should start calling it "the study" doesn't that sound more classy? Cuz we're all about the class ;)
How many mirrors are in your home? Too many. Every door has a full length mirror behind it! I did not hang them...oh if the parsonage could only talk and tell me who did...but I do have a theory...the one behind the office door is "the fat" mirror, I avoid it at all costs. The one behind the bathroom door is "the skinny" mirror, I swear it takes off 10 pounds. I heart that mirror.
Do you have any hidden emergency money around your home? dude...we don't even have emergency money in the bank ;)
What color are your walls? Taupe, taupe and some more....taupe. The kitchen is is green, I love it. The office...paneling: Don't even get me started on how I hate paneling...
Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home? does Odie count?
What does your home smell like right now? A Yankee Candle called Good Morning...and coffee...it smells like coffee a lot.
What kind of pickles (if any) in your fridge? dill all the way.
What color is your favorite Bible? See Here
Ever been on your roof? ummm, again, weird. No.
Do you own a stereo? yes, if you can call it that...it's teeny tiny.
How many TVs do you have?3 *smiles*
How many house phones? 1 not counting cell's
Do you have a housekeeper? Yes, her name is Sarah...she's a pastors wife and mom to 3 boys...she threatens to quit quite often ;)
What style do you decorate in? Hodge-podge (it's all the rage, I'm sure you've heard of it on HGTV)
Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints? Both...but my solid red chair + boys = not pretty.
Is there a smoke detector in your home? you bet
What are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip? Pictures

Happy Sunday :)

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Love Him

My Eli, who is now a big Kindergartner is passionate about building stuff.

Example:

He cracks me up. It's Saturday morning and he's laying on the couch watching the NASA channel.

Praying he gets his daddy's math and science skills...because if he has mine, all he will be doing for NASA is suggesting what color combination would look the best for the new spacesuits.

Love you Eli...even if you do leave Lego's all over...everywhere ;)

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