Elvis is dead?

So - we were at home last week watching one of my newest favorite shows - The Next Best Thing on ABC. If you haven't seen it - it's a good one to watch! It's on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. The show highlights celebrity impersonators and I'm telling ya - some of them are out of this world!

My daughter, Chloe, and I love to watch it. Truthfully, I am not sure what excites her about it - most of the talent that is performed is from no one she knows. We've watched look-alikes of Dolly Parton, Cher, Robin Williams, Frank Sinatra and Madonna - - she doesn't know any of those people. But there WAS someone last week she DID know.

There was one incredible performance from someone doing an outstanding impersonation of Elvis Presley. Honestly, who HASN'T heard of Elvis? So - there he is doing his thing on stage when Chloe looks up and says, "Mom - THAT'S ELVIS!!" Smart kid, I thought, but "It's not really him, baby." I replied, "It's just someone acting like Elvis." Quite puzzled, she looked at me and said, "No, mom, that's really him!" Okay, so I have to tell her, right, "No, honey, that's someone just pretending to be him. The real Elvis is dead." Her response was hilarious... "WHAT? Elvis is dead?????? When did this happen?" She was really distraught over the death of someone she never knew who died 23 years before her birth! WOW! Out of the mouths of babes!!

Recipe Friday!

Back from vacation and back to Recipe Friday! :) This one is as simple as simple can get - but it's proven to be a crowd pleaser anywhere I take it. Great for summer time picnics!

Super Easy Fruit Salad
1 pint of strawberries diced into bite-sized pieces
4 bananas sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 lb. Green Grapes (usually cut in half)
1 lb. Red Grapes (usually cut in half)
5 Kiwi Fruit diced into bite-sized pieces
1 Can of Peach Pie Filling

Cut up all of the fruit and place into a large bowl.
Add Peach Pie Filling to the fruit and mix well.
Place Saran wrap on the bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
(note: I like to eat it after it's been chilled overnight.)

YUM-O and very simple! Almost no one ever guesses that it's peach pie filling! :) You can even get the low-sugar and it's still great! :)

Enjoy!

Thanks!

Thanks, God, for today. Thanks for loving me, for watching out for me and thank you for your continued grace and mercy you show me! I am in awe to look around and see all of the wonderful things you are doing in and through me. Here are the things I thank you for today...


1.) The air I am able to breathe.

2.) My health and the health of my family.

3.) My wonderful husband whom I am honored to share my life with.

4.) My beautiful, amazing now 7-year-old daughter, whom I am proud to be able to mother.

5.) My job. Thank you for allowing me to come to work each day with a heart to serve you and the others in this wonderful church.

6.) My friends who continue to love me, support me and encourage me.

7.) My parents. Thank you, God, for blessing me with two of the most amazing people on the planet earth!

8.) My home - for shelter and safety. God, I love coming home every day!

9.) My dog. For his companionship and loyalty. I learn from him every day how to be a better person.

10.) Most of all, God, I thank you for sending your son to die upon a cross for ME. I am awestruck by your amazing love, your mercy, your grace, your guidance, your patience and your presence in my life. Thank you!

Vacation Recap Days 4 and 5

Okay, so I am thoroughly convinced that Pennsylvania is the Pizza Hut capital of the world! It was amazing how many Pizza Hut's we ran across while we were in this glorious state! It was nuts! Now - Trevor keeps telling me that I'm nuts (I already knew that) and that there really weren't that many - but I swear to you that there was one on every corner we drove past! At least it seemed that way to me!

Day 4: June 28, 2007

Boy was I sore when I woke up on this day! Climbing up and down that water park play structure all day on Wednesday completely wore me out! Let's just say that even though I can still ACT like a 7 year old - I still FEEL like a 60 year old after a day like that! Oh well - it was such a good time I wasn't too worried about the pain in my knees and my achy-breaky back!

It has been one of mine and my husband's goals to get to Philadelphia one day to eat at one of the two famous Philly cheese steak joints. We watched a special on the Food Network a year or so ago that highlighted both places - Gino's and Pat's in downtown Philly and we knew at that moment we had to go. We are both big Cheese Steak fans. So - we decided to incorporate a stop to Philly in our family vacation. (Okay - nothing like letting the food be your guide!) :)

Once off the toll road just outside of Philly, we asked the booth attendant where to get the best cheese steaks in town and his reply was, "I'm a Gino's kinda guy myself." So - we took his advice and got directions.

The directions seemed easy enough - - this street to that street until you get downtown and then it's on the corner of 5th and this other street. How hard can that be? WELL - let me just tell you right now that after 2 and a half hours of driving - we saw more of downtown Philly than we ever care to see again. The town consists mostly of one way streets - so to get anywhere will frustrate the pants off you! Let's just say that we were just about to our breaking point when we finally found it!

Gino's and Pat's are rival cheese steak joints just opposite each other in the heart of the city. What amazed me was the people lined up for cheese steaks at nearing 2:30 in the afternoon. My guess is that it's like that most of the time around there.

We decided to stop at Pat's first. They are known as "The King of Steaks." Trevor and I split a steak and a drink. It was good. But what was more amazing is the sign that hung out front that described, in detail, how to order your steak. Now we were specifically told before even going to Philly that you NEVER place your order by saying, "I would like to get a Philly Cheese Steak." Um - DUH! You're in Philly, dude! Here is how you order (in slang), "Whiz Wit" or "Whiz Witout." That's it. Whiz Wit means you want it with Cheese Whiz (no other way but this way since it's the original way) with onions. Whiz Witout means you want it with Cheese Whiz and NO onions. Simple stuff folks. So - we were then able to order with confidence what we wanted and sounded like we knew what we were doing at the same time!

So - we decided to head to Gino's for a comparison. I've got to tell you - hand's down - Gino's was the best! This steak was juicy and buttery and just plain delicious! Notin' like it! Grab some napkins if you go, though, those things are messy, but well worth the greasy arms!

After leaving Philly we decided to head to the coast to see what we could find. This would mean crossing into New Jersey - or Jersey as we've been told to call it. So much slang to remember!

We landed in Long Branch, which is one mighty fine city right on the Atlantic Ocean. What a beautiful city! We literally passed mansion after mansion. It was amazing! We wondered what these people did for a living. It blew my mind!!

We ended up at a Resort right on the water called Ocean Place. This place was awesome WITH a pretty awesome price tag I might add! YIKES! Good thing we were only in for a night! This place was an all-inclusive resort complete with 2 pools, spa, tennis courts, private beach area, restaurant and a shopping center. The only bad thing was that it was overcast most of the time we were there - so that Atlantic wasn't very clear - but it was so nice just to sit on the beach for a bit and relax. There's nothing on this planet like sitting on the shore listening to the sound of waves crashing in! Nothing!

After some swimming and some relaxation and a good dinner, we were ready for bed. Another great day!

Day 5: June 29, 2007

Before leaving Jersey, we visited the beach again, picked us up some sea shells (that's a must) and ate a good lunch practically right on the water.

We knew we wanted to head closer to home and stay for probably one more night somewhere... but we just didn't know where the car was going to land us.

Now without offending anyone who may be reading this who is actually FROM Jersey - I have to just say one thing. 95% of the people we encountered in Jersey were just down right rude. I'm not sure what it is about living in in that particular state that makes them so grouchy - but I can tell you it's something. Even though I enjoyed my stay - I'm not ready to head back there anytime soon.

So - leaving the great state of Jersey, we decided to head back though Pennsylvania.

We landed in the Pocono's! What a pretty place! After a little bit of sight-seeing, it was pretty obvious where we were going to be staying! Chloe can spot a Great Wolf Lodge from a mile away! It was pretty much a no-brainer when we got closer that THAT was going to be the place to stay. We've been to Great Wolf in Traverse and ever since, our family has been hooked. There's just something about a gigantic indoor water park that tops off a week-long vacation! We enjoyed it so much - that we decided to stay for an additional night! I think what we really needed was that one extra day to do nothing. Just lay by the pool! That's it! After all the driving we did - we just needed that!

So - it was home on Sunday evening - and we rolled into town a little after 7 p.m.

It was one memorable vacation and I am blessed to have a wonderful home, family and friends to come back to!

Vacation Recap Day 3

Day 3 of vacation: Wednesday, June 27, 2007
So - of course this day had to be it's own stand-alone day. For one, it was the craziest day on vacation and for two, it was my daughter, Chloe's, 7th birthday!

For her "gift", we decided to spend the day at the new attraction at Hershey Park called, The Boardwalk. This place is the world's largest water play structure in the world... or so they tell us, and we decided to be there on a day that would prove to be the most challenging day on our trip.

The day started out perfect. Slept in a little later than normal... ate a Pay Day (from the night before) for breakfast... nice weather... it was going to be a great day!

At around 10:30 a.m. we arrived at Hershey Park. Did I mention that The Boardwalk is located in the very center of Hershey Park? Trying to wade through thousands of people to find the water in smoldering temperatures well past 95 degrees was and IS NOT my idea of a good time. I'll admit, I'm a baby. I just wanted to BE IN THE WATER for heavens sake. It felt like it was taking days to get there.

FINALLY - we arrived at the water park. Ooh - now I was getting excited. You would have thought it was my birthday or something!

We decided to rent one of those lockers. You know - the tiny ones that used to cost something like $.25 at Cedar Point (at least that's what I remember the cost being not too long ago!) Once we arrived, there were only small ones left. That was fine, I thought. I can shove everything in to fit! BUT THE COST OF THIS TINY BOX WAS $13!!! I was blown away! You've got to be kidding me? Everything in my bag, including the bag itself, wasn't worth $13. I'd have been better off risking someone ripping me off! For goodness sakes! BUT - we got a locker anyway - didn't really have a choice in the matter, I guess.

After putting everything away, we headed for the water park! Let me just tell you. If you EVER get the chance to go out to Hershey - - VISIT THE BOARDWALK! It's worth every penny you pay for the tickets to get in! TRUST me! A little overwhelming at first (there's just so much to see!) but it's a FLAMING good time! I've never laughed so hard in my whole life. And slides! Those slides were something else! I went down 3 different ones. I have to admit, I was a little nervous at first. I mean, could parents really go down slides? Was I too big to get in? Would I look silly? I was on vacation for crying out loud - WHO CARES! I went for it and I'm glad I did. I felt 7 all over again.

Well into the fun, clouds started forming in the sky and you could tell a storm was a brewing. BUMMER! I was one disappointed mama, let me just tell you right now! Because of the storm and the thunder, everyone had to be escorted out of The Boardwalk. They called it a level 2 storm - which, I later learned, is just fancy wording for a storm including thunder and lightning. We were told, by Pennsylvania residents, to wait it out for a half hour and the storm would blow over... evidently, they always did.

So - we waited. Great idea I had - - let's wait underneath this nice little tree. The key word here being "little". Needless to say - it didn't even COME CLOSE to keeping us dry. At one point Chloe decided to forget about trying to stay dry and she proceeded to dance in the rain! It was wonderful - and definitely a highlight of our whole trip. There is just something magical about dancing in the rain. We should all learn by the children and dance in the rain more often!

After waiting it out under the tree for about an hour, the rain finally stopped and people started to emerge from their coverings. It was like time stood still when it rained and everything stopped. Once the rain ended... it was as if a button had been turned back on and everything was up and running as normal. ALL EXCEPT for the water park! The rules for safety at The Boardwalk say that the park will only resume once the storm has passed and has completely ended 30 miles in any direction. We decided to stand back in line to wait for the park to re-open. This was like waiting for paint to dry! Talk about exhausting - - and HOT!! ARRGH! You could actually see people dropping like flies from the line. It was getting too hot for the little ones to sit out in the blazing sun much longer. Chloe managed to make herself a little hut on the cement with 2 damp towels. It was the only way she could stay cool.

After waiting in that terrible line for well over an hour and a half - they FINALLY opened back up the park doors! And WE were one of the first ones in!! YEAH! FINALLY - water!!! So - for the next 45 minutes - we were in pure bliss! Water to cool us off... slides to play on! This was what I called a vacation! THEN - - it happened again! Forty-five short minutes after entering the water park for the second time, a storm came up again and whistles blew calling everyone back out! That was it! We couldn't take anymore. We were out of there! Too much drama for one day! There was just no way we could wait another 2 hours or more to get back in the water. It was getting ridiculous. So - we decided to head for our lockers and get dry. Well - at least we would attempt to get dry!

Once all dried off, we headed to the amusement park side to ride some rides. Chloe was able to get in a few rides and even went on her first "big" ride all by herself - - the Swings! You should have seen her face! It was priceless! She was amazed at how high you went - and even more than that I was amazed I watched the whole thing! I was more scared than she was, I'm sure of it.

And then - the rain came... again. Rides shut down... again.

By this time, we were just purely exhausted. We were tired of fighting the rain. Tired from all the sun and just ready to be in a dry bed with dry clothes! So - we headed for the front of the park... popping in and out of stores every 2 minutes when buckets of rain would attack us.

Looking back on it - it was a great day! What we learned from the day was this: Some of life's greatest moments emerge from unpleasant circumstances. We didn't let the rain ruin our day - - we made our own fun and laughed anyway! It was a great day filled with great family memories that we will share for years to come. I was grateful to be spending a day like that with my two favorite people on this planet! Thank you, God, for life's little treasures like rain dancing on a Wednesday afternoon!

Day 3 Highlights:
Dancing in the rain
Sliding down the water slides with Chloe
Watching Chloe ride on her first big ride
Spending time with family!

Stay tuned for days 4 & 5!

Vacation Recap Days 1 and 2

Oh how I love vacations. Oh how I loathe vacations. Can both of these be true? They are for me! Our family doesn't take vacations very often. It just never happens for us. Trevor's job has put the brakes on them for the most part. Having worked contractual jobs most of our married life, vacations taken - were without pay - so we just didn't do them. But let's face it - we all NEED a break every now and then. A break preferably that includes eating, sleeping in late, eating some more, resting, did I mention eating, swimming and catchin' some nice rays?! The part that, well, pretty much stinks about the whole vacation thing, is coming back. Yes - coming back to reality. Coming back to all the bills shoved in your mailbox. Coming back to piles on your work space in your office. And coming back to the dreaded laundry. Darn things won't clean themselves.

Since this was indeed one of the longest vacations we have taken, I have decided to break it up into 4 parts... Days 1 and 2, Day 3, Days 4 and 5 and Day 6. Yep - 6 nights, 7 days and lots to talk about... so here we go.

My wonderful, creative (oh, and handsome) husband, Trevor, has this theory that he still stands by after this vacation is over... DON'T MAKE PLANS - DON'T MAKE RESERVATIONS - - just GET IN THE CAR AND GO. While I will admit that this is fun most of the time, some of the time it is just down right frustrating. I go along with it, though - - hey, he's the one driving! I can always kick back, fall asleep and wake up to a new state. Nothing about that you shouldn't like. :)

Day 1: Monday, June 25
Our plans were to leave by 8:30 a.m. We know how "plans" work (maybe Trevor's on to something here). However, after getting the dog to the kennel, packing last minute things, making sandwiches for the long drive the first day, taking back movie rentals and picking up the rental car... we just didn't make it out when we thought we should. So, I think we pulled out of Adrian somewhere around 10:30 a.m. Not good... but not too bad.

Now, I have to clarify something. We DID know that we were headed out east and we DID know that "east" included Hershey, Pennsylvania. Chloe's birthday was on Wednesday, so we did know that we wanted to include Hershey Park as a stop on her actual day. So - that's the direction we headed.

First stop - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We rolled in at around 5 p.m. Remember - we had no reservations, so first priority was finding a place to stay. We did just that and then spent some time roaming this cute town. What a place! Loads of history. Now I'm no history buff, but I did enjoy the site-seeing in Gettysburg.
After some sight-seeing, Chloe was anxiously awaiting her time in the hotel's outdoor pool. To be honest, after the 95 degree day - so was I! We hit the pool and then went to bed. Pretty tiring first day, but hey, I could get used to this whole vacation thing! What job?

Day 2: Tuesday, June 26
We signed up for one of the Battlefield Tours on one of those really neat double decker buses. You know, the funny looking ones? The 2-hour tour began at 9 a.m. (glad it wasn't a 3-hour tour.. We might not have made it back :) haha!) By 9 a.m., it was over 90 degrees outside and we decided to sit up top. Nice! Boy was it hot! But I did get some nice sun on my face and arms.
Now how she did this, I will never know, but Chloe actually FELL ASLEEP on the top of that bus! Twice! After each stop I caught her dosing off. It was incredible. Guess that sun just wore her right out, poor thing!
Following the bus tour we went back to the hotel, packed up and checked out. Headed for our next destination.
Now this next destination was my heaven on earth. I know it's going to sound weird, maybe even sick, but this made the entire vacation worth it for me. We visited this place. Okay - I collect them, so I HAD to go! And let me JUST tell you... anyone who collects Boyd Bears HAS to HAS to HAS to visit this place at least once in their lifetime! There is absolutely nothing like it! No kidding. I don't know how long we were there (my guess would be 3 hours) but it was AMAZING. And I STILL didn't see all I wanted to see! $117 later, though, Trevor was convinced that he would carry me out if he had to!
Back on the road....
Next stop: Hershey!
We arrived in Hershey at around 5 p.m. and I am NOT kidding - you can actually SMELL the chocolate when you enter the town! I'm not joking. Trevor kept telling me it was my imagination - but I swear to you, our vents were blowing in the sweet smell of cocoa powder from the first turn into the town.
We decided to check out the hotel that the Hershey Park pamphlet actually recommends called Hotel Hershey. Um.. let me just say this right now... even if they would have HAD rooms available - we wouldn't have stayed there! The room rate was over $450 a night! I don't care WHAT they had available or HOW old and GRAND the hotel was - it was NOT worth taking out a second mortgage on our house! We settled for a Days Inn. MUCH nicer on the wallet!
After arriving to our room and freshening up - we decided to head to Hershey Park to check out Chocolate World. This place is the coolest place! For a chocolate lover - it was my second heaven on earth in ONE DAY!
We bought some chocolate (DUH!), ate some chocolate (DUH!), saw a Chocolate 3D movie and rode the simulated Chocolate ride. Oh and did I mention that we bought even more chocolate after that - because once you are finished with the ride - they dump you into this NEW, HIDDEN chocolate store that has everything in the world chocolate to buy! NICE! Trevor was practically carrying me out of that place, too. VACATIONS are AWESOME when they include Boyd Bears and Chocolate. (don't you poor Trevor me, he enjoyed himself just as much as I did.)
What was the funniest thing about the whole day was that we actually ran into people we knew!!! Now I have been known as the woman who knows everyone everywhere I go - but I didn't know that would still be true over 400 miles away! Yes - it's true. Our Children's Ministry Director, Shari Glass's, kids were visiting their grandparents in Vermont and were there visiting the park on the VERY SAME DAY we were there! How funny was that!? Trevor actually took their picture to prove to Shari that we saw them! I cannot imagine how weird her poor parents must have thought we were!
Following Chocolate World we went to Red Robin to eat and then back to the hotel.
Another great day!

Day 1 and 2 Highlights:
The beautiful ride into Pennsylvania
Gettysburg Tour
Boyd Bear Heaven
Swimming with Chloe and Trevor singing songs and being silly
Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate!

Nothing could have prepared us for Wednesday, though. Stay tuned for more... :)

Friends!

There isn't anything else I would rather do on a Friday night in the summertime then to spend it with my family and friends! And this is JUST what I did this past Friday night. We had some of the members from our small group over for a cookout and campfire - and what fun we had!! There's something special about sitting around a campfire with friends just doing life together! I was surrounded by several amazing people who are changing my life on a daily basis. You guys are the best! Thank you for allowing me to do life with you. Thank you for trusting me as your friend and for sharing your life with me. I know that our family's life has changed since we joined this phenomenal small group and I thank God every day for each and every one of you.

So - - if YOU'RE not in a small group where you are doing life with other families... where you are holding one another accountable... where you are free to be who God called you to be and where you are loved - flaws and all - - I STRONGLY encourage you to get in one! Once you do, I promise, you won't ever be the same again.

Recipe Friday - Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is a different spin off of the one I normally make. I made this last week and my family loved it. Even Chloe, who, most of the time, is very hard to please! :)

Chicken and Rice Casserole
2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
3 cups diced, cooked chicken
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans green beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 (4-ounce) jar pimentos (I didn't use these in mine)
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (6-ounce) box long-grain wild rice, cooked according to package directions
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat butter or oil in a small skillet over medium heat.
Add onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.
Add all remaining ingredients to bowl and mix together until thoroughly combined.
Pour into a greased 3-quart casserole dish.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.
Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

Can I steal the phrase from Rachael Ray - - YUM-O!

ENJOY!

Gotta LOVE a good sale!

This place is having their BIG Semi-Annual sale this week only! I was out there today and picked up some stuff for a GREAT price! I got 5 Anti-Bacterial soap pumps for only $15. They have all their fragrances off and tons of great 50-75% off items as well! Some 2 for $5 specials and lots of $1 items. It's only going on this week, though. Hurry and stock up!

These make GREAT presents, too! I usually do these for stocking stuffers, nieces birthday's, Chloe's birthday parties for give-aways, graduation gifts, Mother's Day gifts and so on... Go check it out!

Chicken Riggies

This is comfort food all the way! I made this a couple months ago for my family and we loved it! It's taken from Paula Dean, who is one of my favorite cooks in the world! Hope you enjoy!

Chicken Riggies
makes 4 to 6 servings

1/2 c butter
1/2 lb. pancetta, chopped
1 c minced onion
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 tomato sauce
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t salt
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
2 c heavy whipping cream
1 (8-ounce) pkg penne pasta cooked and kept warm
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
Add pancetta and onion and cook for 10 minutes, or until pancetta is crispy and onion is soft.
Remove pancetta and onion from pan with a slotted spoon, keeping as much butter in the pan as possible; set pancetta and onion aside.
Lightly pound chicken to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch pieces.
In a shallow dish, combine flour and salt.
Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture and cook in pan drippings over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes, or until chicken is lightly browned.
Using a slotted spoon, remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Add tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt and red pepper flakes to pan drippings, stirring well.
Cook over medium heat until bubbly.
Stir in cream and cook until thickened.
Return pancetta, onion and chicken to cream mixture.
Cook until heated through.
Toss chicken cream mixture with hot cooked pasta.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

YUMMY! I know, it's not the healthiest dish - but it is darn tasty! :)

Still Missing You!!

Rox,

It's been 7 months ago today that we lost you. I still miss you every single day! I still wait for that phone call or that email from you just checking in on me. I miss our long conversations about everything and nothing. I miss those get-togethers, dinners, and scrapbook marathons. :) I still cannot bring myself to scrapbook anything since you left us. It's so hard for me to look at that scrapbook I was working on the last night we were together - only a few hours before you were taken from us.

I miss your smile, your wit and your laughter. I miss your creativity and your style. I miss your advice and your support. I miss your encouragement and your enthusiasm for life. I miss you, dearly, my friend!

"We can cry with hope, we can say goodbye with hope, 'cause we know our goodbye is not the end. And we can grieve with hope, 'cause we believe with hope - there's a place by God's grace - there's a place where we'll see your face again! We'll see your face again" -Steven Curtis Chapman, With Hope.

Date Night

So, Trevor was in Mexico all of last week for work. It was one of those weeks where anything that could have gone wrong (home-wise) DID go wrong. Nothing serious - - just those little things that make you SO appreciate being a part of a 2-parent household! :)

On Friday, I decided that a date night was WAY overdue - so I planned for a sitter and we declared our sacred night out as this past Saturday! Did I mention that it's been a while since we had a REAL date night? I mean, just Trevor and I. No friends, no dog, no kids... all alone in the car. A real date night. They are really few and far between these days, so we hold onto them when we can.

Well - the sitter I had originally lined up couldn't make it because she had a lot of family coming in and was going to busy do family stuff. So - I made an emergency call from my cell phone in my car on Saturday afternoon to my niece, Cortney. She could do it! I was so happy! Well - - until I got off the phone. Chloe had overheard me telling Cortney that we wanted to get away for a night for dinner and possible a movie or shopping or something. Well - - that did not make Chloe happy. She immediately began asking me why we had to go away and leave her that night. Her exact words were, "You and daddy ALWAYS go out on date nights without me!!!" WHAT?!?! Did this little girl know something I didn't? Was I missing something? My first instinct was to tell her, "FINE! We won't go!" But, really, who's the boss here? So - I simply told her, "Chloe, that is not true. Your daddy and I very rarely get a chance to go out together for date and we are going. I am sorry if that makes you upset, but we are going to go out because God wants Mommy's and daddy's to spend time together." (Good one, I thought to myself - she cannot possible argue with what God wants!) She still wasn't happy - but that was okay. She and Cortney had a wonderful time together and I'm sure she didn't think twice about us all night.

What's more important here is that we are teaching her that we love one another and care about each other in our family and we are taking care of our relationships. I pray this is the lesson she takes away from it and not that mommy and daddy just wanted time away from her. (Well - - okay, maybe some of that was true after the week I had). :)

Have you had a date night this week with YOUR spouse? Can I recommend this place? The Carolina Crab Cakes rule! :)

Recipe Friday!

I'm gonna try something new on this blog. It's called Recipe Friday. Let me just say it - I love food and I love to cook! It's no wonder that most days my TV at home is tuned in to Food Network. Heck - I've even been known to sit in front of a Sandra Lee Semi Homemade Cooking show making the same meal with her - step by step. My fav's to watch, besides Sandra Lee, include Emeril, Rachael Ray, Barefoot Contessa, Paula Dean and Tyler Florence.

Each Friday, I will share a new (or oldie but goodie) recipe with you. I know we could all use some new ideas for mealtime - so if you have one to share - - share away! :) I'm always looking for new, exciting things to create in the kitchen.

This one I actually took from this show. It's a GREAT summertime treat and goes great as a side dish at a cookout. Hope you enjoy it!

Corn Salad
5 ears of corn on the cob
1 medium red onion chopped
3/4 c Cider Vinegar
3/4 c Olive Oil
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste

Boil the ears of corn for approximately 4 minutes.
"Shock" the corn cobs by submerging them into ice cold water after boiling is complete.
Take a knife and remove the corn from the cobs.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the corn and the chopped red onion. Toss together.
Poor the vinegar and the olive oil into the bowl of corn and onions. Mix well.
Add sea salt and ground pepper to taste.
Chill in fridge until ready to serve.

YUMMY!

Whatcha Readin'?

Well - - it's summer and my goal of reading 15 books over the summer has officially begun. The bad thing is - I bought almost 20 books within the last two months and so now begins the hard job of picking just ONE to start with. I am famous for starting more than one book at a time and then getting so wrapped up in both of them that I can't put one down. Then I get totally confused which book I read what in... Thank God for highlighters! Oh - and sticky notes!

Some of the GREAT reads I just finished up on are:

In A Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day - Mark Batterson
Be Our Guest - The Disney Institute
The Starbucks Experience - Joseph Michelli

If you haven't read "In a Pit..." you are missing out on something great! Get it! Go on - - stop reading right now and go buy it! :0) Just remember to come back.

Some other books I just purchased include:

This one. This was a recommendation from our Marriage Mentor small group. Looks like a good one and you can't go wrong with Kevin Leman.

This one. I ordered this one with the 'Be Our Guest' book. It looks pretty similar and I can't wait to read it!

This one looks good too. I have had this one for a couple months now and I am looking forward to it!

Other ones I have purchased include:

Good to Great by Jim Collins
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
The Big Moo by Seth Godin

And then on Monday night my mom brought over this one, too.

This doesn't even complete my list - - but it's a GOOD start! Looks like I am going to be nose to the book this summer!

For those of you who know that I can be somewhat of a procrastinator... do something for me, will you? Email me once a week to see where I am and how I'm doing on my reading! Some times I need a good kick in the shorts to keep me focused and motivated. :)

What are you readin'??

Summer is Here, Summer is Here!

Well - - Summer is officially here. Chloe's last day as a first-grader, was finished this morning at 10:50 a.m. I have to say (and I am sure it will shock most of you readers, yeah right) I cried a little bit! There was an Awards Ceremony this morning and it knocked my socks off! I feel so blessed to be able to send my daughter to a top notch Christian school where learning about Jesus is fully integrated throughout every day and in every event we attend.

I have to ask - - what's up with ALL the stuff that has come home from school with Chloe every day this week? Just when I think I have seen it all, she brings home another bag filled with items to return to home. Gym shoes, pencil boxes, water bottles, coats, hats, BOOTS, art projects, books, binders and oh - did I mention the summer opportunity flyer's... I must have counted at least 5 of them last night! WHERE did she have this stuff stored? There were 25 children in a smaller-sized classroom this year! YIKES!! I will say - Kudos to her teacher, Mrs. Miller, who had the students helping her pack things up and clean things down yesterday morning. I now see what you were doing... You bribed them with that swimming at the Centre in the afternoon because you were a slave driver to them in the morning. :) I see how that works! (Good idea!)

Tomorrow, as a celebration for Chloe finishing first grade, we are taking her here. We went once last year and it was really cool! I just hope the rain holds off a bit so that we can enjoy a few good hours of swimming in the sunshine! :)

ENJOY THE WEEKEND... TGIF!

We Remember...

10% of what we read,
20% of what we hear,
30% of what we see,
40% of what we do
and...
100% of what we feel.

-- Dr. Karl Pribram

Am I The Only One Frustrated By This?

Okay - so am I the only one who is bothered by this?

I was at K-Mart today. Okay - it's not my favorite store, but I was looking for some inexpensive shorts for the summer for Chloe (we all know how kids wear shorts out so badly and so quickly in the summer - no need to go to the extra expense if I don't have to.) While I was there, I over heard a conversation that annoyed me. This is the gist of how it went:

K-Mart Employee (to her friend 2 lines down!): "So - did you get that new job yet?"

Friend: "No, I'm still looking. Is this place hiring?"

K-Mart Employee: "I don't know if we are or not."

Friend: "I thought you had received a promotion here at the store."

K-Mart Employee: "I did, but I changed my mind and didn't take it."

Friend: "Oh really."

K-Mart Employee (for MANY customers to hear her): "Yeah - this place really sucks! I am going to _____ down the street (didn't catch the name of where she was going) because they will actually give me the hours I want to work and give me more money."

You know, maybe this makes me so mad because I was once a business owner and cannot imagine having overheard this conversation in my store! I can tell you that if I were the manager/owner of K-Mart and listened to this conversation, I would have gently asked her to come with me, escorted her to the back room and asked her to remove herself from the store immediately. I know, I may be over-reacting, but COME ON! Where is the loyalty here? It would be one thing to speak with another employee about this in private, but once it becomes a public conversation in front of customers, that's when I would end it altogether!

I honestly don't know why I waste my energy being mad over things like this. I know I should just let it go - - but this kind of stuff really gets my blood boiling...

Top 10 Things I Couldn't Live Without

(in no specific order):

1.) Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior!

2.) My wonderful family. This includes my wonderful husband, my gorgeous daughter, my mom and dad and all of my extended family!

3.) My closest & dearest friends! (You know who you are... you are the few who actually read my blog! :))

4.) Air Conditioning! (I hate the heat! I would live in the LOW 70's all summer long if I could!)

5.) Email! (What in the world did we do before it's existence?)

6.) Donuts! Yum-O! (Did somebody say Krispy Kreme?)

7.) Coca-Cola! (I know, I know... I TRIED to quit and I can't - so WHAT?)

8.) Snow! (Shut up - I love the snow! I guess it's a good thing I live in Michigan now, isn't it?)

9.) Black eye liner. (If you've ever seen me without it, you'd understand why it's on this list!)

10.) Wal-Mart. (My daughter thinks of Wal-Mart as her 'home away from home'. Sad, I know!)

Another School Year Nearing and end

I can't believe that Chloe will be in her LAST week of school Tuesday of next week! It's amazing! Where has all the time gone? Didn't she just start the first grade like yesterday? Even scarier, wasn't she just born like last week? I didn't believe it when Chloe was an colicky infant when people told me that after having kids, the years would fly by. It was hard to see that while holding this precious little one who wouldn't stop crying! But my little girl will turn 7 - - YES SEVEN - - on June 27 and in looking back over those seven years - MAN have they seemed short! I just pray that I am able to soak up every MINUTE I have with her and that I can take the time out to really enjoy this most remarkable human being that God has blessed me with. That I can be the best mom I can be to her because God gave this miracle to ME and entrusted ME with her life. Thank you, God, for allowing me the greatest opportunity on the planet - - being Chloe's mom!

"Daughters" lyrics by John Mayer

I know a girl

She puts the color inside of my world

But she's just like a maze

Where all of the walls all continually change

And I've done all I canTo stand on her steps with my heart in my hands

Now I'm starting to see

Maybe it's got nothing to do with me

Fathers, be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers

So mothers, be good to your daughters too

Boys, you can break

You'll find out how much they can take

Boys will be strong

And boys soldier on

But boys would be gone without the warmth from

A womans good, good heart

On behalf of every man

Looking out for every girl

You are the god and the weight of her world

So fathers, be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers

So mothers, be good to your daughters too

Feeling Thankful

Today... I am just feeling thankful. Thankful for the wonderful, sunny day. Thankful for the trees on our 11 acres that have just started to bud. Thankful for my daughter, Chloe, who just gave me a special hand-delivery of wild flowers to put in our kitchen. Thankful that I have a wonderful family to share my life with. Thankful for the home I get to come home to every night and the sunshine that hits me in the face in the morning telling me it's time to rise and shine. Thankful that my parents are still alive and in good health. Thankful that I have been blessed with the opportunity to send me daughter to a state-of-the-art Christian school where she is safe, loved and gets to learn about Jesus every single day. Thankful for my friends who love me dispite my imperfections and a spouse who showers me with unconditional love that I sometimes don't deserve. I am thankful that I have a Savior who died upon a cross for MY SINS and that I have a friend in Him. I am thankful that I have a job in this uncertain economy and that I have been blessed with the ability to help others just as I have been helped by so many.

Today... I am thankful and I just wanted to share some blessings with you.

Marriage Mentoring

Trevor and I have been a part of a Marriage Mentoring Small Group for the past 7 months. It's been so enjoyable, I can't even tell you! The Small Group was built around a training period with 3 other couples (including the Marriage Mentor leaders). We meet 1-2 times per month to receive pre-marital mentor training. This training will help us to be able to meet with couples who wish to take advantage of the Pre-marital Mentoring Program provided by Crossroads Community Church.

What's been amazing is the way the process has brought Trevor and I even closer together! I feel as though we have learned so much more about each other by simply discovering how to identify some of the most common relational issues. Both Trevor and I are excited about meeting with couples who have a desire to get their marriages started out on the right foot and we are thrilled to be able to provide them with resources to grow and strengthen their marriages for years and years to come.... couples who wish to put Christ in the center of their relationship!

Our prayer is that we will be able to share with couples the challenges that we have overcome as well as to be able to reflect Christ's love and the deep, committed love we have for one another.

Postage Stamp Increase

I was in our local post office yesterday morning and I was witness to something that made me very sad. I had to get in line to pick something up behind the counter and I was behind a man who, obviously, wasn't having a very good day. I could tell that he was very impatient during his wait in line... very fidgety and seemingly agitated. When he got up to the counter he asked for a roll of stamps. Because the price of stamps will be increased on May 14 to 41 cents, he was being sold a roll of "Forever" stamps (which are good for the price of a 39 cents stamps now and good for the price of a 41 cents stamp in less than a month). OK - "duh", I thought to myself, "makes sense... "glad they made it easier than having to purchase 1 and 2 cent stamps for all of my "outdated" stamps that I purchase between now and then." Well - it was obvious that this gentleman did not agree and seemed very irritated when his balance due was $41.00. I've heard of people going "postal" but COME ON! This guy began yelling at the post office worker. That's right - he was YELLING. He was rambling on about "just another way that the government sucks us dry!"

First thought... "Dude, it's a postage stamp, it's only 2 cents!" Second thought... "I feel really sorry for the post office worker." Third thought... "We are SUCH a blessed nation, how dare we complain about the price increase of a postage stamp!"

When it was my turn to be waited on (at the station next to my irritated friend) I looked at the lady behind the counter and she looked at me and said, "We get that all the time! Like we have control over the price increase!" It was at that time I got very sad. Sad that people treat other people that way... sad that we live in such a blessed country and we don't even realize how good we have it. It was at that moment that I stopped to pray for that man and for the entire country - - for our eyes to be open to all of the wonderful things God has blessed us with in this life that we take for granted every day. I believe God used a simple thing, like a price increase of a postage stamp, to stop me in my tracks and cause me to be thankful.

Today... take time to be thankful!

Sunshine and Flowers and Love... oh my!

Well, this weekend I was honored to help my friend, Faythe, with her debut "official" wedding of her Wedding Consultant business! It was the PERFECT day for a wedding, let me just tell you! It was a balmy 75 degrees, sunny and absolutely gorgeous!

My role was "Wedding Consultant Assistant" and boy - what fun I had! It was truly a great time and I thank Faythe (and Joy and Josh) for allowing me to serve in a role that felt so natural to me! I LOVE event planning and organizing and coordinating - so this whole "assistant" role was right up my alley! Faythe... I will be waiting for my next 'job' soon! (Just don't torture me again by making me stand RIGHT next to a chocolate fondue fountain!!)

Oh - and I need to mention the fact that I even purchased (AND WORE) a dress for the event! I couldn't tell you when the last time was that I wore a dress - but it was nice! My husband even gave me a little whistle when I left... now how cool is that? Maybe I am missing the boat by not wearing dresses more often!

So, here's where I give my sista' a free plug....

Faythe Emens
Wedding Consultant Extraordinaire
(okay, those were my words not hers)
For the wedding of your dreams.... call 902-xx45
(okay - actually just respond here and I will give her YOUR number)
(hold your applause... faythe, you can pay me later for that!)

C-ya!

Jesus Painting

This is great! It's a little long - but make sure you watch ALL of it!

Showing my age!

OK... so last night we were on our way home from school and I was asking Chloe how her day was. She proceeded to tell me that it was good and that her first grade class (at LCS) would be doing Chapel next Wednesday (April 25). She started to share with me some of the songs they are going to sing. Now I can't tell you what the name of this song was, nor can I tell you what most of the lyrics were, but what I can tell you is the part that stuck out in my head. Somewhere in the middle of the song the kids say, "Motley Crue, eegh!" Through my laughter (she's so darn cute) I asked her, "Who's Motley Crue?" She said, "This band from the old days." OLD DAYS? I just laughed... "Those weren't the old days! They were around when mommy was younger." She looked up with her innocence and said, "Yeah, mommy, like I said, the OLD days!" KIDS!

The Starbucks Experience

So - I have this goal for the summer to read at least 15 books! I visited Amazon.com last week and made my first order of 7 books. I'm on my way - AND - getting a head start on my reading! I'm starting with "The Starbucks Experience" and as of last night, I am on page 55. What a GREAT read! Check it out here. It's all about the 5 BASIC principles for turning ordinary into extraordinary and Starbucks seems to have the market cornered on customer service! I don't even like coffee and I enjoy going to a Starbucks simply for their exemplary service!

The five key leadership principles that transformed an ordinary idea into an extraordinary experience are:

Principle # 1 - Make It Your Own
Principle # 2 - Everything Matters
Principle # 3 - Surprise and Delight
Principle # 4 - Embrace Resistance
Principle # 5 - Leave Your Mark

One of my favorite sections in the book (well, so far at least) comes from a quote from Starbucks Chairman, Howard Schultz. He says, "We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee... we continually are reminded of the powerful need and desire for human contact and for community... the Starbucks environment has become as important as the coffee itself."

Wow - let's take that in the church environment. We have the MOST important message on the face of the planet, bar none! How can we learn to incorporate the thoughts and ideas from Starbucks to create a fantastic experience for our "customers"? After all - couldn't we say that we are not in the God business serving people, but in the people business serving God? I think we can learn a lot about serving God to people in and through our churches from Starbucks and I am prepared to absorb all I can from this book and put it use within my serving/leadership role in my church.

At Starbucks they have what they all the "Green Apron Book". It consists of 5 basic principles that Starbucks managers have provided to their employees to infuse themselves into their work, so that they can inspire customers in legendary ways. They call these the "Five Ways of Being":

Be Welcoming
Be Genuine
Be Considerate
Be Knowledgeable
Be Involved

These same principles could apply to us as a church body. When serving our guests in church, who have come to hear, possibly for the very first time, the most relevant message on earth, we need to make sure that all of the above are taken into account to ensure a quality experience!

Okay - so you just need to go out an buy the book! I'm giving too much away... more to follow on this topic later. :)

I Bless This Food

My daughter, Chloe, loves to pray before meals. I think it's mainly because her prayers and short, to the point and heck - she wants to eat! Lately she has been asking God for a blessing on our food and this is how she does it... "Thank you God for this food, I bless it to our bodies." My very patient husband told her the other night, "Chloe, you are doing a great job, but you are not doing the blessing of the food, we are asking God to bless the food for us." So, in an attempt to correct herself, she repeated with this... "God, can I bless this food to our bodies? Amen!" We're working on it! :)

What a weekend!

I love True Crossroads Stories weekend at my church! It's always amazing to hear about the many ways God is changing lives! This weekend we heard many God-size stories that simply BLEW ME AWAY! Everyone has a story to tell and I am convinced that He is using these stories to transform lives! We watched 8 people demonstrate their faith through Baptism... how exciting! I HAVE to share a line from one of the True Crossroads stories that really had an impact on me. In talking about her coming to Christ and overcoming her feeling of 'loneliness', she said this, "I don't know how He thinks I'm worth it, but I'm glad!" I thought about this line for the rest of Sunday. It really resonated with me. I don't know how He thinks I'm worth it. I don't either, Karen, but I'm glad He does!

Her Legacy

On November 12, 2006, I lost one of my best friends, Roxanne, to a cranial aneurysm. Roxanne left behind a husband, Rob, and her darling daughter, Jamie. You know, those of us left behind focus a lot on what we've lost... but we should be focusing on what we gained from knowing Roxanne and her wonderful family. Personally, what I gained was a wonderful friend... someone I loved to laugh with, scrapbook book, share stories with and just simply do life with. Anyone who knew her loved her and I miss her so much!

It's been almost 5 months and it's still just as hard today as it was on the day we lost her! But I know that my life is richer for having known her and loved her and shared her life with her.

Here is her Jamie... the legacy that Roxanne leaves behind.

Miss you, Rox!

Who do YOU know?

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. Since I was a kid. I remember waking up on Easter morning to a HUGE, over-stuffed Easter basket (okay, I'm an only child - be quiet!) dripping with peeps, jelly beans, chocolate eggs and other ooey-gooey treats that kept my dentist in business! Then there was the egg hunt, and I don't mean hunting for those plastic filled eggs we use today - I mean the REAL HARDBOILED eggs we decorated. Mom would "strategically" place them around the house and my job was to find them all. It never failied, though, that I would forget one (and mom would too) and we would find it like 2 days later - usually by that time smelling pretty ripe! Oh - those were the good 'ole days. Or were they?

If you grew up in a family like mine, Easter was about a big bunny, too much candy and a ham on the dinner table. Oh - and those HOLLOW chocolate bunnies. Do you remember these? My mom ALWAYS got me the hollow ones - never the SOLID ones. You know the ones I'm talking about. I yearned for the solid ones and year after year I remember sticking my finger in the bunnies ears and hearing the crunch it would make! Darn it! Another hollow bunny!

Just like that hollow bunny, we were hollow inside. For many years, my family was missing something - we just didn't know what it was. We longed to be solid and complete, but it wasn't until years later that we discovered that it was Christ Jesus! It is Him and Him alone that makes us solid and complete. Easter has a whole new meaning to us now, as Christians. When Jesus paid the price for us years ago upon that cross - - he thought of me - - he thought of you - - and Easter is no longer about a hollow bunny - it's about celebrating a solid life with Christ!

So who do you know who doesn't know? Who can you share the Easter story with? We all know someone who doesn't know the joy of living a solid life with Christ. Who will you choose to share your story with this Easter season? Maybe it's a phone call to those family members who will spend their Easter Sunday alone. Maybe it's an email to a friend who, for whatever reason, has been on your mind lately. Maybe it's your neighbor who is going through a divorce or maybe it's even a gas station attendant who has never heard that Christ died for her too! Get out there! Share your story. Share Christ's love with someone today! You never know the impact you might have on their forever!

The SON is shining

So yesterday was just gorgeous! I was almost tempted to not even take a lunch for fear that I wouldn't want to come back to work! I am glad I took the time to at least drive to get lunch. Isn't springtime amazing? It's like people just poor out of the woodwork. Here are just a few of my observations from my 15 minute drive... a mom pushing her baby in a stroller, 2 men jogging and laughing together, a teenage girl walking her beautiful Golden Retriever puppy, a biker couple enjoying the opportunity to get a good ride in. Just ordinary things on an ordinary day. But what it did for me was cause me to stop - - look - - listen - - and BE THANKFUL I'm alive! Spring is a reminder of God's amazing love for me. A reminder of His grace and mercy and His daily blessings in my life!

The SON is shining today! What do you have to be thankful about this spring?

Mom My Ride

If you haven't seen this yet- you can check it out here. This is hilarious!

The Bridge

So Chloe has been asking and asking me to take her to see the newer Disney flick, Bridge to Terabithia. I saw the previews, and I've gotta be honest, it didn't look like anything I thought I would enjoy... boy was I wrong! What a great movie! I love those ones where you're watching and things are good and then WHAM! something changes and out of nowhere the movie takes a totally different turn! Yeah - I know, I'm weird. This one was like that! I've gotta warn you though, moms, bring your tissues! Go check it out and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Hey Jodee!

OK - this is for my newest bud, Jodee! I told you to go to my blog and warned you that I have been quite lazy on posting recenlty. Okay - so I didn't realize it had been since October!! So - here's just a note you welcome you to my blog and I PROMISE I will get back on track by next week! :) Love ya!

Well, We're Off!

Well - in just a couple hours almost 100 women of Crossroads Community Church will be headed to the annual Women Who Worship Fall Retreat! I am pumped! I am looking forward to see what God has in store for us this weekend as we gather to worship Him! I am blessed to be able to be traveling with my good friends, Faythe and Tracey to Camp Michindoh and then sharing a cabin for the night with these wonderful ladies. Don't know if the cabin will be able to handle all the laughter that will most likely continue into the wee hours of the night - - so we'll see! :) Please pray for us as we prepare to our hearts and minds for this wonderful experience and may we be able to feel the Holy Spirit's presence during our time together. Blessings!

Charisma!

This was taken from a book I am currently reading, "The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader... Becoming the Person Others will want to Follow"...

The Cleverest in England

During the second half of the nineteenth century, two strong men vied for leadership of Great Britain’s government: William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli. The two politicians were intense rivals. You can detect how they felt about each other based on a comment once made by Disraeli: “The difference between a misfortune and a calamity? If Gladstone fell into the Thames (River), it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him out again, it would be a calamity.”

Many people believe that Gladstone, leader of the Liberal Party for three decades, personified the best qualities of Victorian England. A career public servant, he was a great orator, a master of finance, and a staunchly moral man. He was made prime minister of the United Kingdom four different times, the only person in the nation’s history to achieve that honor. Under his leadership, Great Britain established a national education system, instituted parliamentary reform, and saw the vote given to a significant number of people in the working classes.

Benjamin Disraeli, who served twice as prime minister, had a different kind of background. In his thirties, he entered politics and built a reputation as a diplomat and social reformer. But his greatest accomplishment was masterminding Great Britain’s purchase of shares in the Suez Canal.

Though both men accomplished much for Britain, what really separated them as leaders was their approach to people. The difference can be best illustrated by a story told by a young woman who dined with the two rival statesmen on consecutive nights. When asked her impression of them, she said, “When I left the dining room after sitting next to Mr. Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But after sitting next to Mr. Disraeli, I thought I was the cleverest woman in England.” Disraeli possessed a quality that drew people to him and made them want to follow him. He had charisma!

I don’t know about you, but I know I want to be just like Mr. Disraeli. When others are around me, I want THEM feel clever, special, loved and valued.

Beware of Dogsitter!

Okay... so I am more than a little concerned about my dogsitter. I think she has gone off the deep end this time. She claims she makes him happy when she's there and that he really enjoys being dressed up, but come on, now, does he look happy? You be the judge!

Oh - and why is he on my couch? I can't decide if the look on his face is because he is afraid of this doggy-dress-up time with the dogsitter or if it's because he knows mama 'aint gonna be happy when I see that he has been on the couch! :0

Ten Things I Love About You!

So, a few weeks ago, my family started a daily ritual at the dinner table. What we realized was - the dinner table can too often times become a place for "complaining" about our days/weeks. We tend to bring all the "stuff" from our days to the dinner table and unleash it all. Okay - NOT HEALTHY! So, we decided to try something different. Every evening at the dinner table we start with prayer and then go around the table sharing one thing we love about each other. It can be anything at all! Just spending time appreciating one another is such a great booster and has really worked for us! I decided to come up with a 'top ten' list for the members of my family and would like to share them...

10 Things I love about - TREVOR
- Your sense of humor
- Your honesty (even when it hurts)
- Your patience (even though you don't think this one is true!)
- Your constant support
- Your devotion to our family and marriage
- Your humbleness
- Your generosity
- Your calming spirit
- Your helpfulness
- For being my best friend and confidant!

10 Things I love about - CHLOE
- Your sense of humor
- The way you light up the room!
- Your giggle
- Your spunky personality (I bet you get this from your dad!)
- Your cuddles at nighttime and in the morning
- Your generosity
- Your happy spirit
- Your thoughtfulness
- Your contagious joy
- Your smile!

Thank you for being my FAMILY! I thank God every day of my life for both of you. I don't know where I'd be without you...

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Okay - I must be the world's worst daughter! In the midst of my own "stuff" I TOTALLY forgot that today was my parents anniversary! I cannot believe it! It's been 35 wonderful years for them today and I totally blew it! Mom...Dad... if you're reading this - please forgive me.

But really - I have two of the most incredible parents on the PLANET EARTH and I am grateful to them in more ways than I can count! They are truly a blessing to mine and my family's lives! I am thankful to them for their love and support and encouragement over the past 33 years! For their patience and guidance and understanding. For always being on my side - NO MATTER WHAT!

Happy Anniversary mom and dad - I LOVE YOU!!!

Quotes...

I received this in an email yesterday afternoon and I really enjoyed these and wanted to share them...

"The only thing worth stealing is a kiss from a sleeping child." Joe Houldsworth

"There is no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes." Doctor Who

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare and compete, everybody will respect you." Lao Tzu

"You don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing." Michael Pritchard

and my FAVORITE...

"I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; Perfection is God's business." Michael J. Fox

First Day of School!

It's hard to believe that my BABY (and I say this very quietly so Chloe doesn't hear me call her this) is in First Grade this year! Where does the time go? Someone once told me that time would FLY once I had kids... I never would have believed it until I sent her into that big girl school all by herself just one year ago.

This is Chloe's first grade year and that certainly means a lot of "frists" for her. The first time she will eat in the big cafeteria with her class... the first time she will actually have an art class outside of her regular classroom... the first time she will have homework (four nights a week of math is what I heard today!) It's a milestone year for her and I thank God every day for blessing my life with this remarkable daughter! I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her life this year!

I love you, baby!

Goofy!

My friend, Roxanne, just got back from her DISNEY cruise!! I am so jealous that I have decided to put her picture here on my blog.. I know she will appreciate it. It's really a portrait of her true self.. :) GOOFY! You know I love ya' Rox!

Chloe's 6 Year Pictures

Got Chloe's 6-year pictures taken the other day - even though she won't turn 6 until June 27th. I always like to have them in my hand on the day of her party - so to avoid rushing, I got them done a bit early this year. It was such a fun time and I must say - the camera loves her. Must be she is so used to me clicking that flash in her face for so many years now.. :) She was very good and they turned out great! Here is my favorite one.

Our friend, Kathy, went with and here is a posting she had on her blog about the days event....


"Miss Chloe... it's time for your shoot"

I had the privilege today of watching Miss Chloe, a beautiful, soon to be six year old, have her photos taken to mark the milestone event. Chloe is the darling daughter of my "boss" Wendy at the church office where I love to volunteer. I help her with mindless, time consuming things and fill in for her so she can go get lunch, do errands and the like. Anyway, Wendy has become a Godsend to me. She has become a friend, confidant and someone to talk to when there is only self, me and God. Anyway, back to Miss Chloe....she chose to wear her Easter dress for the shoot...a darling pink floral chiffon and white sandals. She looked picture and princess perfect!
Mom and I watched the baby ahead of her appointment get her photos done and were absolutely giddy and silly with this baby's chubby little legs and cheeks :) It was such fun but then it was the star of the hours turn. I can honestly say in my 49 years on this planet I have never seen a child take to a camera more naturally than Chloe. She was AMAZING! She did as she was asked like "bring your smile down a notch". "How is a nearly 6 year old supposed to know what that means?" I thought to myself. But she did it perfectly, beautifully, amazingly naturally. She is such a sweet and happy little girl who loves life, God, her family, her friends and even looking at herself in the mirror. Not a thing wrong with that...she was looking at one of my favorite little people too! Thank you, Chloe, for allowing me to watch you today. You made my heart smile :)

Proud Parent Moment!

For the past several months, we have been talking to our 5-year-old daughter, Chloe, about what it means to be a Christian. She has had some really fascinating adult-like questions and at times, it has been a real challenge. You really have to put yourself in the shoes of a 5-year-old and be very strategic about the way you answer - in a way she can really understand. Well - last weekend we were preparing our Sunday afternoon meal together. We were making tacos and she was pretending to help me cut up the lettuce. Totally out of the blue she said to me "Mommy, I forgot to tell you what I did at last week... I asked Jesus to come inside my heart!" I don't think I will ever forget those words and how sweet they sounded coming from my Chloe! As a parent, I cannot think of a more proud moment than that. I immediately dropped everything, as did my husband, and began asking her more questions... "Where did you do this, honey, when, how...?" She sweetly explained that she had been out on the playground at recess and was playing on the grass by herself and it reminded her of being on her knees praying so she simply asked Jesus to come live inside her heart! I can't explain the joy I felt listening to her explain about this decision to me and what a thrill it was to rejoice with her and to celebrate God's presence in her life! "She gets it!" I kept saying to myself - - SHE GETS IT! Often times we underestimate the depth of her understanding. Her mind had been absorbing more than we were giving her credit. We are so looking forward to seeing all God has in store for her life!

My Jesus

This is a great song that I just heard for the first time today on the radio... It really hit me - LOVED it! and wanted to share it with you -

My Jesus
Todd Agnew

Which Jesus do you follow,
Which Jesus do you serve
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ,
Why do you look so much like the world

Cause My Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars,
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
or do we pray to blessed with with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sands

My Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars,
He loved the poor and accosted the rich,
So which one do you want to be

Who is this that You follow,
This picture of the American dream,
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side,
Or fall down and worship at His holy feet
holy
Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion,
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins,
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part,
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

My Jesus bled and died He spent His time with thieves and the least of these,
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable,
So which one do you want to be,
Cause My Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet,
But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
And, I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus
I want to be like my Jesus
I want to be like my Jesus
I want to be like my Jesus

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus
but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You,
love like You but then
You died for me

Can I be like You Jesus?
I wanna be like you Jesus
I wanna be Like my Jesus

Tag I'm it! WHAT?!?!

Thanks for the tag, Kyle Brooks! :) Although mine won't be nearly as interesting as Petes!

Four Other Jobs I've Had:
Title Clerk for a car dealership
Nanny (I loved this job!)
Real Estate Assistant
Ice Cream artist (this was my first job and I think I earned much of my wages in the consumption of the ice cream I made!)

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:
Titanic (okay, so I am a hopeless romantic. I also think Leonardo is one cute dude... wait, somone just told me that "dude" actually means the hair on an elephants butt, so forget it, he's not a dude!)
Steal Magnolias (a CHICK flick!)
Napolion Dynamite (Me, TOO, Kyle!!! Yes, I am a NERD!)
Anything with Adam Sandler

Four Places I've Lived:
Tecumseh, MI
Adrian, MI
Only two - sorry. I know, HOW DULL!

Four Shows I Like To Watch:
CSI rocks!!!
Crossing Jordan
Numb3rs
30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray

Four Foods That I Like:
Anything mexican... Tacos, enchilladas, nachos... YUM!
Lasagna
Homemade Mac and Cheese
Homemade mashed potatoes
(Okay, is it lunchtime yet??)

Four Sites I Visit Everyday:
ilovemychurch.org
lenconnect.com (it's my only source of local news!)
fellowshipone.com (our church database)
http://www.charthouse.com/ (this one is maybe not everyday - but once a week, rather)


Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
"I went sky-diving, I went rocking mountain climbing, I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named foo-man-choo!" Oh wait - that Tim McGraw tune popped in my head. I really don't want to ride a bull - EVER!
Travel the countryside with my wonderful husband.
See my daughter grow up to be happy and healthy.
Be the best person I can be.
See my community band together for the purpose of worshiping our GREAT GOD!

Four People I'm Tagging:
Kyle Mitchell
Shari Glass
The Hiatt Family
Sorry - I am tagging only three. The other ones I liked to hear from who have not yet been tagged don't have blogs! :)

SNOW DAY!!!!!

I just LOVE living in Michigan. It has always made me laugh when people in Michigan complain about the weather. It's really quite amusing. You know, we complain in the summer because it's too hot, we complain in the fall because there are too many leaves in our yards to have to rake, we complain in the winter because it's too cold and the snow it too deep and then we complain in the spring because the winters months have left the ground muddy from the snow. We Michiganders are never happy! Well - my family is happy today! We got our first official SNOW day and we are loving it. Let's see - we have already been out in the snow playing with the dog (who undoubtedly loves this white stuff) and we have had our first round of hot cocoa! It's a great day! I did not have to go into the office today due to the weather and neither did my husband, who, by the way, arrived home early this morning from his over 11 hour drive from Indiana in this winter wonderland! Our family loves the snow - and all the snow sports that winter brings... like sledding and snowmobiling! I can tell that my hubby is itching to get his sled out for the the first time this season. He used to say that the snowmobile started up by itself when the weather got to 32 degrees, but he has been too busy this season, yet, to enjoy it. Maybe we can get it out today yet and play in the "powder". What a great day!!

Why We Do What We Do

Ask just about any one of us at Crossroads Community Church to give a brief description of our church and I would bet that you would hear a common thread among us all - it's about LIFE CHANGE. Week after week, I am in absolute awe of the God that we serve. He is so awesome and I feel so blessed to be able to serve along some of the greatest people on the planet - literally! But about this life change - let me shed some light on what I am talking about. As of Sunday, November 27th and since only the beginning of 2005, 385 individuals have communicated to us, their personal commitment to accept Christ as their Savior! And these are just the ones who communicated this to us via our Communication Card on Sunday mornings! That number just blows me away! For some reason I cannot even get my mind around how many people this really is. 385 changed lives...385 more reasons for angels to rejoice...385 more people that we will see in Heaven! I am blessed beyond words to be serving on staff at Crossroads and to be able to be a small part of the big picture. When we have a troubled day or when we are feeling low, all we at Crossroads need to think about is that number - 385! We have 385 more reasons to do what we do day in and day out. Whatever role you play in this church body ~ know for certain that WHAT WE ARE DOING TRULY MATTERS. It is by no accident that I am at this church...No accident that you are at this church and no accident that we have played a part in reaching 385 people to Christ this year!

To all Crossroaders reading this blog - YOU are awesome! You are loved and appreciated more than you will ever know. It is because of you that we can reach our goal of reaching out to the more than 65,000 unchurched individuals in Lenawee County for Christ!

I love my church!

Always in a Hurry!

Do you notice that everywhere you go now adays, everyone is in a BIG HURRY? It simply amazes me. I see people in lines at grocery stores and they actually look like they are in competetion with one another. I will admit - I am a little like that - but when you stop to think about it - why are we always in such a mad rush anyway? What is it inside of us that causes us to go go go - - get to the finish line? I am not competetive by nature AT ALL, so for me, this part I just don't get. One of my goals is to slow down a bit. Take time to "smell the flowers". I don't want to rush through my days so quickly that I miss all the wonders of the day - like the colors of the fall leaves or the smell of the rain outside or the beautiful sunset. I can't remember the last time I just stopped and listened to the sounds around me - and I don't mean the television set! I mean - the birds and the wind and the rustling of the leaves falling from the trees. I want to take time to listen to my daughters laughter and the praise songs she learns from school (even though she pronounces most of the words incorrectly!) I want to ask people about their days and really listen to them. I want to drive for a day with the music OFF so that I can think about all of things I am grateful for - like the car I have to drive me to work each morning - with heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. These are the things I want to pay close attention to and if I am hurrying - I will miss all of this.

"Be still and know that I am God."

Saying "Thank You"

I was sitting in a drive-thru the other day when I had an epiphany. Well - I don't know if it was actually an epiphany, but it was to me. I had a rather large order and to top it all off, I had a combination of "specialty" items such as "everything except for pickle, no ketchup, light ranch instead of regular, a cup filled with just ice.." You know - I was that irritating customer that we all know and LOVE... :)

Because I have had such poor service at some of these drive-thru's (Rebels excluded, of course) and because I don't have much faith in the entire customer service industry (shame on me!) I had already decided that I would NOT get just what I wanted (Yes, I am one of THOSE people who will sit moments after receiving my food to make sure everything I ordered is in the bag - right down to opening up sandwich wrap to take a look at the actual item).

I was very surprised when I got up to the window and the kind gentleman read me back everything on my order - WITHOUT looking at his screen and included every specification I asked for. I am sure by the look on my face he could tell that I was a little stunned but what he didn't know was that he had indeed won over a customer for life based on that one experience and trust me and let me tell you to win me over in the customer service arena, is hard to do!

I thanked him when he handed me my food but here is where the epiphany comes in. I didn't just say "Thank you" which would be the obvious response to someone who just handed me my order, but instead I said "Thank you for remembering my order so accurately!" He seemed to beam from this thank you - I think I really made his day.

So I got to thinking that we need to be more specific with our thank you's. I have really been working on this a lot this week. When someone calls me back instead of saying thank you, I now try to say "Thanks so much for getting back with me so quickly". When someone helps out in ministry for my church at that last minute I will now say "Thank you for your service you are such a blessing to this team!" I truly believe that being as specific with our gratitude as possible will bless the people receiving it. I am going to try my hardest to really work on this in my daily life - how about you?

Thank God for our children!

So I was having a really bad day a couple weeks ago. I was really down in the dumps and trying not to let it show on my face when I picked my daughter, Chloe, up from Kindergarten. Just seeing her little face light up when I entered her classroom really made me feel a lot better in and of itself. She brings me such joy and that alone would have been enough to make my day better. But it's what she did in the moments that followed, that really warmed my heart!

As we typically do when we get inside the car after I pick her up at the end of her long day, we began talking about her day and all of the things that she had done at school. On this particular day, she was really not all that interested in talking. I guess she wanted to sing. It is WHAT she sang to me that put my day into perspective. She began softly, "When we fall down, we lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus. The greatness of His mercy and love at the feet of Jesus!" Boy - was that what I needed to hear or what! What gave me the right to think I could handle all that days' stress by myself? What my daughter was teaching me in this musical lesson was simple - Lay it all at Jesus' feet and HE will take care of all my needs! I realized that I had tried to deal with all of my hurt and pain and frustration alone and what I needed to do was give it straight to Jesus and He would take care of everything.

Many of you know the rest of that song.. "And we cry Holy, Holy, Holy and we cry Holy, Holy, Holy and we cry Holy, Holy, Holy is the lamb!" She was really belting it out by this time and HOLY's sounded more like Howls. :) It was great! Little did she know - she had taught her mom a lesson that day. And through my tears I joined in with her....

"When we fall down, we lay our crowns, at the feet of Jesus.
The greatness of His mercy and love at the feet of Jesus!
and we cry holy, holy, holy... and we cry holy, holy, holy... and we cry holy, holy, holy
is the lamb!"

Thank you, Chloe!

The Best Quesion Ever

My church, Crossroads Community Church ,will be launching a brand new series beginning October 16th which will run for 6 weeks entitled, 'The Best Question Ever'. This series is based on the awesome book by Andy Stanley, The Best Question Ever. If you haven't read it - I encourage you to run (not walk) to the nearest bookstore and pick it up. Better yet - plan on visiting Crossroads on (or before) October 16th and check it out for yourself. You may have passed by our giant billboards recently and saw the big question mark sign. Yeah - that is us - that crazy church again! :) The website it a pretty cool sample of what's to come in the series.

Summer's End Carnival Celebration!

My church, Crossroads Community Church, had our 10th Annual Summer's End Carnival this past weekend! I have to tell you - what an amazing time we had! We had over 560 VOLUNTEERS pull together for one of the biggest community out-reaches I have ever seen! I have to tell you that I have never before seen such wonderful people - then the people of Crossroads! It truly amazes me when I think about the love that these individuals have for others and the selfless ways they are always SO willing to dedicate themselves to reaching more people to Christ. I had an opportunity to work in food service yesterday. It was so awesome to be a part of this totally free event for our community. In addition to free food, children (and adults) participated in many games, moon-walkers, face painting, train rides and antique pedal cars while the youth enjoyed a variety of X games. Although I experienced many wonderful "Kodak moments" yesterday - one that I will not forget is one of a little boy, who's name I will probably never know. He was THRILLED to be there - you could tell by the big smile on his face. His dad was with him and you could tell they were a little tired, a little hot and a lot hungry. When I asked him what kind of chips he wanted he didn't hesitate to say Doritos... and he would have been okay if I had told him that was all he was getting. Then I asked him did he want ketchup or mustard and he said, "neither thank you." I said "It's for the hotdog!" He looked up at his dad and said "I don't have to have a hot dog dad." to which his dad replied, "son, it's free- get yourself one!" The kid lit up and said "I will have ketchup please!" As he took his hotdog he smiled one of the largest smiles I had seen in the whole day. This may not seem like much, but at that very moment I felt amazingly blessed to be a part of a church like Crossroads and to be able to share with people the love that Jesus Christ has for us. At that very moment I prayed for this little boy and his father and I thanked God that we were able to make an impact - large or small..in his life and hopefully many others. At that very moment I was overwhelmed by joy and excitement - that I have the greatest gift on earth to share with others - - the gift of salvation through Jesus. Honestly - it doesn't get any better than that!

Ready or not!

Well - this week, my "baby" started Kindergarten! Shhh - don't let her know I was calling her a baby. But she WILL always be my baby!

It's funny - I had so many phone calls the morning I dropped her off - asking if I - that's right me - if I was okay! Although I managed a brave front when I dropped her off, I cried all the way into work. She has been atttending an awesome pre-school for 2 years, so I should have been prepared for this, but nothing quite prepared me to leave her there, in that big building, all alone! All I know is that something inside me hurt when I had to leave her.

My friend, Roxanne, sent me this touching poem this week to remind me that I am not alone out there. I bet there's a support group for mommies of Kindergarteners out there somewhere! :) Thanks, Roxanne!!

First Day

Every one has a "First Day"when they feel sad and all alone.
It can be so scary when you're out on your own.
Take my hankie, dry your tears. You'll find lots of things to do and you'll probably make new friends.
I promise we'll be togetherwhen the school day ends.
Here comes the teacher, blow your nose and be brave.
Come on now wipe your eyes, this is no way to behave.
"Well, good morning teacher. We really must beg your pardon.
No, MOMMY doesn't always act this way, but it's my first day of....KINDERGARTEN!"

Making a Good First Impression

I subscribe to a pretty cool newsletter called "Administrative Professional". Okay - to some of you - this may be more lame then some of the other subscriptions out there - but for my career - it's perfect!

It's funny - I was JUST thinking about this the other day - Making First Impressions. This is so important! I would have to say that the first impressions someone has about us are the most crucial! It's all about what you do and say within the first 5 minutes of meeting someone that will make or break it. As Christians, our number one goal ought to be making LASTING first impressions. I believe that we can change the world one person at a time - and it all begins with that first impression.

Here is what Admin. Pro. has to say in an article they wrote on Making First Impressions...

"You've got 15 seconds to make a good impression when meeting someone for the first time. And after about 4 minutes, people will decide whether or not they want to deal with you beyond those first four minutes. Here are the essentials for making a positive impression - on clients, customers, peers and managers or leaders - every time:

1.) Make eye contact and extend your hand for a hand shake. They're two fo the most powerful actions you can take to make a stong impression on someone.

2.) Ask questions to build rapport quickly. People remember those who show interest in them. Always have stock questions ready, such as 'What do you enjoy most about your work?'

First impression no-no: Talking only about yourself.

3.) 'Mirror' their behavior to send the signal that you're listening. If they talk fast, you talk fast. If they cross their legs, you cross your legs... after a pause. Subtlety is key.

4.) Be nice. The real secret to making a good first impression is making others feel better than they did before they met you."

In self-evaluating myself, I have discovered that I really have some work to do in making lasting first impressions with people... I had to take a hard look at myself and ask "What is it that I want people to see in me? What kind of impression do I want to make on people?" My answer to my own question is simple... "I want them to see Jesus. I want them to feel sincerity in every word that comes from my mouth."

What about you? Have you thought about what kinds of lasting impressions you want to make with people. When someone walks always from meeting YOU for the first time, what do you want them to say that they saw?"