a quickie blog

So I am writing a skit for my sunday school class boys to perform for my junior church class. I am a procrastinator by nature. it seams like NO MATTER what i do, how i do it, where i do it, when i do it, why i do it, its ALWAYS ALWAYS last minute. But that works for me! Whenever i put too much time into things i end up over analyizing things, over thinking ideas, trying too hard and then it just turns out *BLAH* but when i have a general idea of what i want to do and then finally get to it a week, a few days or even hours before whatever it is i am doing it turns out WAY better than i thought it would have and WAY better than it would have if i would have had all year to prepare for it.... SO like normal last sautrday i start working on an idea for the next days sunday school work to do a play for junior church. I got in the groove of it and it all just flowed together! I didnt finish it because i knew it needed one more day of work to be good, so i brought it in half done so the boys could practice half of it and get an idea of their characters and ideas of how they want to make their own puppets. SO thats what we will be doing wednesday night and sunday morning before they preform is practacing and working on puppets.. and to my super dooper surprise, THE BOys LOVE IT! im so excited that its turning out good and that the boys are actually REALLY ENJOYING IT! its exciting when you have something you like AND that you class is really into! Getting middle schoolers excited about certian things can be a tricky task to accomplish, so im glad i have succeeded!
The skit is about judging people and and giving people second chances. Its about two boys Tommy and Billy who are buddies and an outcast 'weirdo' Mikey, that they end up embracing in the end. The story revolves around a fort that the two buddies want to work on and then through gritting teeth they invite Mikey to help and through all of that they see that hes really not all that bad, and they ALL LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.... I called it "A Fort Built Of Friendship" Maybe ill post it some day for all my devoted 3.7 readers! ???

***HoneyMOON***

Was scanning through my thousands of pictures in my albums/folders and thought i would share :)

The best pictures of David and I the whole trip!

Being silly around our fire :)

Our Fire, and the driftwood i drew into with a ashy stick, (everyone askes WHAT IS HM? --HoneyMOON silly ) i still have that drift wood

Pretty sun set :)

IN LOVE :)

IM REALLY HYPER :)

Pretty sure that only like 2.8 people read this blog, but JUST INCASE I AM WRONG and i have THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF INTERESTED DEVOTED READERS............... Im going to be posting some pics of our NEW AND IMPROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED House/Yard!!! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Just a FEW reasons why GOD IS AWESOME;
-we have BEAUTIFUL grass that gets its first hair cut tomorrow!
-we have 4 BEAUTIFUL bushes (or as i like to call them, Boo-shes) surrounded by BEAUTIFUL river rockes and a cute little ceader fence!
-my fa-shza (father) is going to be dropping off some BEAUTIFUL gravel for our driveway this week!
-AND to top it ALL OFF my husband hopes to finish our BEAUTIFUL shed we are buidling at his parents house this weekend!
-And Davids fa-shza is nice enough to help and let us use any tools he has available!
-AND David got me a Wii for my birthday. (yes i know that was totally off subject but i had to throw that in) If you have never played before you NEED TOO! and are WAY TOTALLY WELCOMED to come over and play, BUT BE WARNED, you JUST might go home crying, Im pretty dog darn good at Tennis get really competative with it and I HAVE TO WIN! -its nothing personal, i just HAVE to win. (Im now saying sorry incase sometime in the future i upset or offend you over a game)

GOD IS GREAT YA YA YA YA YA YA YA YA YA YA! (the chorus of the a song i wrote!) hehe. ITS VERY CATCHY! sometime ill have to rap-oh i mean sing it for you. :) I wouldnt say its a rap, but i would not say its NOT a rap..... all i know is that its catchy and children ages 3yrs old-3rd grade LOVE IT! especially little Julia Titus, she makes me wanna make more songs and sing them to her every day so she can make me feel good and happy about myself! :)


I LOVE THE SON!

BLESSING!

LONG STORY SHORT!

-Went to ACS
-Ate a chocolate bar
-Inside the chocolate bar was a prize

AND I WON A BLACKBERRY PHONE FOR FREE!

AM SUPER EXCITED and VERY VERY VERY THANKFUL for Gods WONDERFUL blessings! I hav been needing a new phone for a while, and now i have it! YAY! ANd the day i won it was the day b4 my birthday, so YAY a surprise birthday present from God! :)

GOS IS GREAT!


DANGER: THINKING YOU WILL FIND BLESSINGS INSIDE EVERY CANDY BAR MAY CAUSE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO; weight gain, acne, depression, hair loss, smelly feet syndrome, loss of friends and sticky fingers. EAT CANDY BARS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

**There is no appointment that is not divine**

a blurry picture of david helping hold up the flag at Iwo Jima. He and Sam stopped their on their way back from a funeral/memorial service of a friend of theirs that lost his life in Iraq by a road side bomb.

Close up of the statue.

David infront of the MC museum.

Well it is 11pm on a sunday night. Usually i have NO problems on a sunday night going to bed EVEN if i did take one, two or even five naps on a sunday afternoon, but tonight is different for some reason.? I heard once that if you have trouble sleeping at night, to write in a journal before bed so you are able to get all your thoughts out of your head so you can lay without being restless or anxious about things that happened or thoughts you have about tomorrow. I did this a lot in our first year of marriage. Mostly because we had moved to North Carolina and i didnt have any friends to talk with on a normal day to day basis so journaling my thoughts helped me more, and im SURE i saved my husband from hearing all my silly girly nonsence jibber jabber. DONT GET ME WRONG, he heard quite a bit on a normal day, but really lets be honest, I COULD just go on and on and onnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

About two weeks ago Davids best friend Sam and i had a talk about him comming up and surprising David and thought it would be even cooler if he could make it out to be here on his birthday. Well with two weeks of planning and getting tickets and me getting things around the house ready, IT WORKED! I was so nervous that David was going to some how find out early and the surprise wouldnt work out, but BOY O BOY did it work! IT was so great to see how happy and excited and mostly surprised Davy was to see Sam in the closet hiding Friday night :) !! I am glad God worked his ways and it all happened just the way it did. Sam was over a lot when we lived in North Carolina while David and he were still in the Marines. -And when i say A LOT, i mean a LOT! ATLEAST 3 or 4 times a week and almost everytime he would endup sleeping on our couch. He became apart of our new little family it seamed like. I never could decide if he was like our pretend brother or our pretend son? -hehehe! I think every single Marine has a close married buddy that they enjoy spending time with and getting the special attention from their buddies wife from time to time as a 'motherly figure' and i think i was THAT for Sam and another close friend of Davids, Ken. In the Marine Corps their are no 'soft warm fuzzy feelings' -which is the way its supposed to be. But everyonce ina while i think the men need some little peice of home and they find it in their friends wife. Like their 'stand in mom'. There is just a feeling about being in a REAL home with someone in the kitchen making food JUST for you and knowing there is a special ingredient of Love added into it instead of MYSTERY MEAT! hehehe:) I would make sure i would make dinners especially good for the nights davy would have boys over that lived on base in the barracks . Even though thats not saying much since it was my frist year of married life and my cooking skills did not have much to say for themself, but ANYTHING was a step up from The Chow Hall. So i tried to do my best meals for the guys when they would come over. Something that didnt look, taste or smell like mystery meat. Remember school cafateria lunches? well think of that, but times that by 100 and there you have Chow Hall grub.

I recieved an e-mail from Kens sister concerning Ken and his health. David has not talked to Ken in just about a year now. Ken has always treated David with almost the respect you would give your father. Ken always called Davy "Pappy". Ken and Davy were in Iraq together for 2tours. Davy was Kens Fire Team Leader and Somewhere in between those tours they were in a situation where Davy really did save Kens life. I coudlnt tell you the details even if i knew them im sure. But ever since then Ken has always called David "Pappy". He really did look up to him and always confided in him. But like the typical guys that they are, they dont do the best of job keeping in touch with eachother like girls would do. So its been about a year since they have talked last, but David STILL considers Ken to be one of his closest friends. In this letter his sister wrote me she said that Ken is have a difficult time dealing with 'Post Marine Life' and having even more trouble with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). She said that he is being treated at the local VA hospital and that he talks about David frequently and how much he NEEDs and WANTS to talk to him. I really think it is NO COINCIDENT that God has put this on Kens heart to feel the need to talk to David. Their are plently of counselors available at any VA hospital so the fact that Kens family is choosing to go out of their way to get into touch with Davy to talk with him is deffinetly so mistake. Today in church, a friend said "There is no appointment that is not divine" and i am really starting to understand that in my life and how God puts HIs people in the right spot at the right time. I am just praying that when the two of them do get to talk, David will not only help him with his PTSD but EVEN MORE help him with his walk to find God and to help uncover Kens need for Him as his Rock and Shelter. I have such a heavy, compassionate, and big heart for ALL Military men, women, families and all veterans. I know Davy was only in for 4 years but the saying goes 'Once a Marine ALWAYS a Marine'. And the Marine Corps motto is "Semper Fidelis" or "Semper Fi" wich is Latin for 'Always Faithful' and with Marines i believe that they carry that in them for the rest of their life. It seams that God always brings Marine verterans together to 'Never leave a man behind". I just pray that God would use David as a vessle to bring Ken Gods words so that he his not left behind for eternity, and can look forward to seeing a day where PTSD will not conquer his mind and TBI do not conqure his body. It is no mistake that out of all the people Ken could be reaching out for, it is DAvid. Please pray that David will be able to help Ken and deliver the message of God.

Please pray that God would use us and our talents to the MAX of our abilites to help bring the glory to Him. Especially that God would equip us with the tools to defend His name and to spread his word.

*** I LOVE MY MARINE ***

THANK YOU ALICIA

For teaching me your 'Blogging ways' and helping me get more than 5pics on here :)



These two puppies would follow him anywhere! :)

Finding her stick

SHE FOUND IT!

2 Beauties and a weirdo :)

LOverly :)

Oreo Samich!

Such good little puppies!

Just woke up......mrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhh

haha you can see my reflection in my glasses of my arm and the camera!

Joes 'squito swatting weed

Bam was below me trying to climb the tree too! :)

Krystal and Joe look like a couple of hard core thugs in this picture :) Taking a break

Starting out!

I would just like to let everyone know that i carried a 30pound pack ALL BY MYSELF the ENTIRE WAY!!! I am proud of myself :) ... i am SORE that is for sure! i did my pilated for the first time today in .....lets see...... like 2 or 3 MAYBE even 4 months, and usually when its been that long i can still hack it but am feeling it a little.. BUT TODAY is a different story!!!! i could barely stretch like i use to and could only do it for like 2.2 seconds cuz the burn was so intense! I had no idea that i was that outa shape with my stretching and pilates!

CAT-DOG

SO of course just days after i post that i wont be in much untill summer is over, HERE I AM! Maybe i feel bad for letting you all down? ... or abandoning you? .... Or just couldnt bear the thought of you all living in shock with a life without Jenni Blogs to read??.... OR maybe its just rainy outside and there is nothing else to do?.... WHO KNOWS?.......

Well i am pretty sure my puppy dog, Leia is part Cat. She apperently has 9 lives. She has used up 3 so that means she only has 6 more to go.

LIFE #1.

So we went up Ressurection trail/Juneau falls about two weeks ago. Leia LOVES water. We've been up Russian River trail and she got into the streams there, and in lakes here and there and she just LOVES WATER! So WHY NOT LOVE THE BAJILLiON MILES AN HOUR CURRENT UP AT THE TOP OF JUNEAU FALLS??? So she sees the water, thinks its just like any other water shes been in and decides to go in for a swim and to adventure out. She goes down to the shores edge and im thinking "she knows NOT to go in all the way........ right?" ....... NOPE! a split second later she is completly GONE under water pops back up just long enough to catch a breath and then back under agian and pops up almost 30feet down stream in just 2.2 seconds! of course im FREAKING OUT and screaming like a girl. And David flies down the trail and is about 100 feet down the trail ready to grab our poor girl out of the water BEFORE SHE FALLS DOWN THE NEVER ENDING DROP OF THE WATER FALL just minutes away! I only went just a few yards in front of her ready to try and get her out, when one of the kids that was standing with us when she went in yelled that she was swiming to shore and was almost out! THANK GOODNESS FOR HER SUPER ABNORMALLY WEBBED FEET! There was a group of us that was there to watch it all happen and we were all shocked at what just happened and what COULD HAVE HAPPENED!!!!! Could you imagine beind further down the trail and admiring the beauty of the water fall and all of a sudden see a poor little puppy flying down the water fall!!!??? AHHHHHH.......... sO THIS IS THE END OF LIFE NUMBER ONE

LIFE #2.

We bought my dad a REALLY NICE PROPANE GRILL for fathers day. My mom brought it over Saturday morning after she bought it and we kept it at my house so he wouldnt see it untill I went out North and brought it on Fathers Day. So my parents live out in Nikiski and bought property to build on and thats where they spend most of their time,working on the trailer (that they will live in while they build the house) and just sitting around the fire pit. Their property is on a REALLY nice quiet piece of land with all sorts of wildlife running around, birds flying over head, and ALL SORTS of trout out in the lake. SO AS YOU KNOW from the first story Leia LOVES LOVES LOOOOOOOOOOOVES water, so i brought her house there to take a swim and for her and her brother Bamcis to stretch their Puppy dog legs out in the wild and open Nikiski. So Ive got the grill and the two puppy dogs in the bed of the truck. The grill was tied down PRETTY DOG GONE GOOD if you ask me! So tra-la-la-la-laaaaaaaaa we are on our way to my dads for fathers day. WELL there is a pretty big hill that you have to get up just before you hit Island Lake road, and im going 60ish. and all of a sudden i hear this HUGE SLAM in the bed of the truck. I look in the rear view mirror and ALL I SEE is that the grill is NO LONGER in my sight and out of the corner of my rear view mirror i see a black thing FLY out of the truck! IM FREAKING OUT! I look in both side mirrors and see my POOR LITTLE BABY LEIA ROLLING UP THIS HUGE HILL ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD! To say that i am freaking out is the understatement of the year! I am all by myself, so nobody is there to tell me "Its ok Jenni, Its OK " so of course i am thinking in my brain "THIS IS NOT OK! SHES DEAD, SHES DEAD SHES DEAD, IF NOT NOW SHE WILL BE IN MY ARMS, MY DOG IS GOING TO DIE IN MY ARMS!!! WHAT AM I DOING TO DO, WHAT DO I DO WHAT DO I DO??!?" and what im saying is "OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH POOR LEIA, LEIA LEIA LIEA LIEA LIEA LIEA" So i slam on my breaks, LUCKILY THERE was nobody behind me for her to have gotten run over. I pull a "U-ey" and when i park i see her RUN into the woods..... YES i did say RUN. and im thinking "WHAT!???!!!! SHE CAN MOVE!?! SHE CAN RUN!???!!!" She ran off into the woods and i called her only once or twice and she came SPRINTING as fast as 3 out of 4 legs would let her go! Im thinking "OK YEAH SHE WALKING BUT THAT LEG IS DEFFINETLY BROKEN AND SHES DEFFINETLY INTERNALY BLEEDING TO DEATH!" So i pick her up and put her in the back seat of the truck and gave her all sorts of loving. BUT i am still in so much shock in all that just happened in the 2.2 seconds it all happened. Then i am wondering where the grill is??????.. So i get out into the bed of the truck and see that it fell over. THEN i conclude what probably happened. Leia usually lays down in the truck up next to the cab. the grill probably fell over ontop of the poor little girl and then in her freaking out that this huge thing just fell ontop of her she tried to escape it and in the process flew out of the truck! I cant pick up the grill by myself to get it back up and im thinking GREAT! my dog is going to die AND i broke my dads brand new grill! LUCKILY these girls were walking on the bike trail and i asked them for their help. One of the girls hopped in the bed of the truck and helped me pick it up, and in my still shock and freaking out-ness im just rambling on how sorry i am for being such a wreck and how freaked out i am on what just happened, and when we were done picking it up I asked the girl who helped me "Can i please just have a hug, i need a hug, im freaked out,i think i need a hug" She gave me one and it helped! I have no idea what their names are or who they are but if you hear a story from two high school aged girls who helped some crazy girl pick up her grill on the side of the road while she rambled on about her dog being dead, LET ME KNOW :) ! SO then i call David CRYING and still FREAKED OUT, who is still at the church for the fathers day BBQ and to tell him what happened and thankfuly Jackie was there too. Her Grampa was a Vet. so she called him to see if there was anything i can do and he said that if she is even standing let along walking she is LUCKY to even be alive,-then to poke all over to to see if there were any sore spots that made her yelp. And to make sure she wasnt puking or poop/peeing blood.. We finally get back to my parents and she JUMPED out of the truck on her own! i did all the poking and she was fine! Not even the leg she was limping on hurt. She limped around on it, and just rested for the rest of the day. Only getting up to eat or when she just couldnt handle watching Bam go and play without her. She was never up for more than a minute or two. We woke up the next day and she wasnt limping anymore but still sore and layed around. Then i took her to the Vet because she had this weird looking oozey stuff comming out of her lip and by her little bottom. HE said it was just puss from being scraped on the road, and when they all heard the story THEY WERE ALL AMAZED THAT SHE LOOKED SO GOOD! ......SO through all that -all she ended up with was about 10 or so road rash burns on her tummy, legs, bottom, face, and ears, some of the padding on her feet were scraped up, no wiskers on her right side, and a sprained leg for half of a day.. AMAZING I KNOW! The doctors gave her some ANTI-IMFLAMATORIES for her and said she was good to go and when i asked him if she would be OK on our hiking/camping in 5 days he said that unless things change she will be FINE! ........AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!... THE END OF LIFE NUMUERO TWO.

LIFE #3.

Leia is a garbage can with legs. She LOVES getting into the trash and LOVES eating ANYTHING-and when i say 'ANYTHING' i MEAN ANYTHING! Especially off the floor!! EXAMPLE of how much she loves to eat ANYTHING:

When she was sick -from eating garbage- (big shock i know) about a month ago the vet gave us some pills for her and for Bamcis. They had to eat it with food 2x daily, so i just threw it in the bowl with their food and mixed it up.... LIKE THEY WILL NOTICE right? WELL Bamcis is one smart cookie! He ate AROUND that one little pill of his! He ate EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF DOG FOOD -----EXCEPT that one tiny yellowish pill laying in the middle of his dish!!!!!!!!!!!! Leia of course finishes HERS in about 2.2 seconds with not even the slightest clue that she ate some horrible pill. So after eating all of her food and licking the dish clean she feels the need to inspect Bams dish. WELL she sees that he missed 'one' so she hoovered it up without any second thought! ----SHES CRAZY!---- she didnt get her second dose that night at dinner but i had to hide Bams in a piece of rolled up lunch meat..

SO back on track here. SO for some reason when i got home from the vet the day after she flew out of the truck i just set her medicine on the stairs, got busy and didnt think about it..(note: the dogs are not allowed upstairs on the stairs or are even allowed to look at the stairs) THE NEXT DAY i come home from a walk with my neighbor and see ONLY THE CAP from the bottle of her meds, and ONLY HALF of the ACTUAL bottle laying on the floor!!! she ATe her ENTIRE PERSCRIPTION that would have lasted her like a week! IM thinking "WOW LEIA, YOU SURVIVE JUMPING OUT OF A MOVING VEHICLE AT 60 MPH BUT YOU ARE GOING TO DIE ON AN OVER DOSE, DUE TO YOUR PIGGY-NESS BELLY!" so i call the vet and my friend Jo answers and i tell her what happened and she said to get her to drink a cap full of Hydrogen Peroxide and it will make her throw up. SO 2Tablespoons and 15mins later she still has not thrown up. BUT dont think that it was a chore to get her to drink that, cuz like i said SHE EATS ANYTHING. so i call back and jo asked the vet what i should do and he said she sHOULD be fine but to keep an eye on her. and of course 2.2 seconds later she threw up a couple of times..............

I HAVE NEVER HEARD of a dog that visits the vet AT LEAST every other month! its crazy!!! we dont have kids or spend spend spend all the time so we dont mind the $50 bills we get when we take her in. Iam thinking about talking to Pam and Jo and see if they cant talk to the Doc. and see if they can start a punch card system where every 10th visit is free..... we will see what happens.

SAD NEWS

In the short but well lived Alaskan summers, there is just no time for computers in my life. SO IN THAT- i must sadly say to all my dedicated readers that i will be taking the summer off from the 'blog world' and writing my wonderful works . I KNOW, I KNOW, devastating right, but please do not fret for too long, i will be back. I know some of you might go into some sort of shock, have horrible withdraws, and might even have to join an addicts meeting, but this is the sacrafice i am willing to take. Life will be different for a while but trust me EVERYTHING WILL BE OK-I PROMISE. You might get lucky and i might have time here or there to be on just long enough to post pictures. Untill the cold weather keeps me in more, FAREWELL FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS!

Yellow

Janat Wallace, 44, service on Saturday
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Hillsboro Argus
Janat M. Wallace, 44, Hillsboro, died May 8, 2009, at her home.
A memorial service will be 11 a.m., May 16 at Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt, 2308 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove.
Mrs. Wallace was born July 7, 1964, in Portland, a daughter of Gerald and Velda Monckton. She was raised by her mother and stepfather, Richard and Velda Crum.
She was raised and educated in Hillsboro and graduated from Glencoe High School in 1982.
She married Rocky Wallace, June 21, 1986. They divorced in 2004.
She attended Calvary Chapel Worship Church and enjoyed softball, camping, Bible study, church, family and friends. She laughed, joked and was always taking pictures to "catch the good times."
She worked for the Hillsboro School District part time, as a bus driver, and also worked as a caregiver.
She was preceded in death by her mother and stepfather, Richard and Velda Crum, and a brother, Roger Monckton.
Survivors include her daughter and son-in-law, Velda "Wendy" Wallace-Macias and Fernando Macias; her sons and a daughter-in-law, Gary and Vanessa Wallace and Steven Wallace; brother and sister-in-law, Gerald and Tina Monckton; sisters and brothers-in-law, Jewel Monckton, Cheryl and Michael Venneri and Enola and Darren Smith; grandchildren, Mekyla and Fernando Macias and Dakota Wallace, a granddaughter expected soon; many aunts, uncles, nieces and newphews; and close family friends, Lorraine and Kim Warren.
Online guest book is at fuitenrosehoyt.com.
Remembrances: contributions for fibromyalgia research.
Services: Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt, Forest Grove.

In memory of my cousin Janat :)

Me, my Aunty Berta and her son JR.

"THE SISTERS" The second oldest generation on my moms side of the family. The only living family member past them is their Aunt Betty who is now almost 90!

My BEAUTIFUL cousin Makenzie, (yeah shes only 14 years old and shes prettier than i could ever be in my whole life!) and her mom Cheryl Ann, who is among the sweetest of my cousins.

Me and my my favorite cousin Casey cheezin it up :)

My cousin Janats favorite color was yellow, so we released two big batches of big yellow balloons after the funeral.

*********************************************

I dont know what was going on in my cousin Janats last few months of her life, but Satan was wearing her thin. She, PRAISE THE LORD was a believer and saved in Christ Jesus our Lord! Whatever Satan did to her to make her feel defeated and lead her to take her own life, she really is only living in Gods beautiful glory now! I know that no matter how much we miss her here on earth she wouldn't even think twice about coming back even if she could. WHO would wanna come back after just seeing God's beauty for one IOTA of a second!? I know acceptance of her death is easier for me to grasp because i have NO FEAR of where she is. My family is a LARGE family of non-believers. She and I are the only ones that i know of that are Born-Again-Christians, so death for non-believers can be such a hard and confusing time. The funeral service was WONDERFUL! It was done by her pastor from her church Calvary Chapel Worship Church in Hillsboro, OR. He did AN AMAZING JOB of explaining the gift of salvation and how it is a gift to anyone who accepts it. I was in tears by the end just because i knew i was one of the few people in the room who REALLY appreciated the gift and what it meant and saved you from. I afterwards went and thanked him for doing such a beautiful job explaining the gospel to a family of non-believers, and how refreshing it was to hear Gods word preached about, since i had been with my family the last week in a half, it really was like fresh air and then shared a little bit of my testimony with him and his wife! He then thanked me for my service and love for the Lord. I was so blessed to see that her service was filled with godly people and that it went so wonderful! Her children as you can imagine are having the hardest of times with what is happening. Please pray that through all of this there would be new hearts lead to the Lord!

My Model Dog

A group of us went hiking up Russian River Sunday and these are the only pictures i have so far of it. We brought our puppy Leia, and she did really good for her first time ona hike. She never ran off or got too far away... In fact most of the time she was a little too close-making sure she was right in front of you and then look over her shoulder to make sure to you were following her and then she would stop infront of you untill you ran her over :) ... She was cute and played with the Marlowe3. Played fetch with Marlowe Jr. and was the girls little shadows when they would run ahead on the trail. And of course jumped right in the river to drink up and to find the sticks and rocks we were throwing her. My mother in law brought her camera and shes got a super dooper nice one, but these are the only ones she has sent me so far-Ill post more pics later :)

Havent posted anything in a week or so because it has been in the high 60's and low 70's the last 4 or 5 days!! WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! today is cloudy and windy, almost looks like it could rain, but thats OK. As much as i hope this summer is just SUN-SUN-SUN... i would really settle for a summer that is a balanced with a SUNNY/CLOUDY ratio. Unlike the last few years, we had like maybe a total of 13 or 14 really good days scattered here and there....

BEAUTY TIP: The secret to healthy shiney beatiful hair is to eat TRASH... I have found out that this is Leias secret.

RANDOM

My little Leia playing with our nighbors dog while they 'puppy sat' her when we were up at Alyeska. Avu and her and like GOOD and BAD, the LIGHT side and the DARK side! she was much cuter when she was little... Just looking at her you know she works for the DARK SIDE! dont let her cuteness fool you ;) hehe

SPECIAL DELIVERY! My puppy ina box :) i love puppies!

you will only understand this sticker if you have driven the through South Dakota. It was funny because we saw this at the sign forest in Canada, and i about laughed my head off because i think i said that EXACT same phrase like a jagillion times while we were in South Dakota!

THINGS I CAnT WAIT FOR:

MIDNIGHT SUN

CAMPING

HIKING

GREEN GRASS

BIRDIES TWEETING

BBQ's

SWIMMiNG

BIKE RIDING EVERYWHERE

TANK TOPS

SOCCER

THINGS I CAN WAIT FOR:

Mosquitos

feeling heavy for them

It's late and I cant sleep. Nothing new really for me. I have a HORRIBLE track record of bad sleeping habbits starting out since i can remember. My mind tonight is just so busy. Busy on thoughts that i shouldnt be thinking or worrying about. You would think that i would be learning from my own leasons that i hae been teaching in my sunday school class on putting ALL things in God and truely believing that He alone will fix and handle it. I really usually never worry. Its up and down the bible not to worry, i know this. It doesnt help any situation to worry, or does it change things, it only makes the worrywart more miserable and more independent on their own understanding -which is farther away than we need to be from the Truth. But LOOK- HERE I AM, thinking thoughts and letting myself be bothered by things, both big and small.

I Love Easter. CAN I GET AN AMEN?...... CAN-I-GET-AN-AMEN???... As my pastor said today "EASTER-THE MOST IMPORTANT & PIVETAL MOMENT FOR THE ENTIRE HUMAN WORLD" ... It happened around 2,000 years ago when not just 'someone' died, but when THE ONE AND ONLY ONE died for US....I could go ON AND ON of all the wonders of Easter, and yet at the same time i just cant help but hurt and feel a sence of mourning all the same.

I grew up in a WONDERFUL home! In a very stable, and loving home. Two of the best parents ever! Always encouraging, loving, supporting, and how could i forget discipling :) hehe. But I got saved in my teens, by myself at 3am. Getting saved in your late teen years can only mean one of two things. A-I was a kid who just didnt get the memo and failed to pick up on it. or B-I wasnt raised in a Christian home. And you guessed it-B. I love my parents SO MUCH and i KNOW they love me, but they dont know of the ONE kind of love that truely matters. I dont know what it is, but every Easter i just have this horrible mourning feeling. For them and everyone else, I just hurt for all those lost souls out there who have no clue what gift is available to them if they just were to only RECIEVE it. Its out there waiting to be recieved with a cure for all hurt, neediness, anger, pain and suffering, but what good is a gift if is rejected? The Giver of the gift KNOWS we dont deserve it, knows that we are imperfect, knows that once we recieve his love and put our faith in Him we will still stumble, knows of all our wrong doings, bad thoughts and even our horrible and regreted actions and even worse the ones we DONT regret but know they are shameful. He LOVES US ANYWAY!

***Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD.

***Romans 3:23 For all and sined and fall short of the glory of God.

People think the bible was written as a common law or suggested rule and guidline to live by; be nice to others and love everyone, dont cheat, steal, kill or lie, be honest ....and all of that other froofy stuff that makes people feel nice on the inside... BUT IT WASNT, it was written TO US! To us so that we might believe. People throw around the saying 'Its a life or death situation" here and there, but this REALLY IS a LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION. Not just for the time being, but for ETERNITY! Hell is not a glowing red place under the ground with a little red guy with horns and pitch fork, where all the 'bad guys' go. ITS a VERY REAL and VERY SCARY PLACE! Just because you go and help out the occasional neighbor, give to that poor guy on the street corner, and say 'God bless America' means your going to heaven. Its not a complicated thing. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS BELIEVE IN GOD! BELIEVE that he sent his son to die for us as the ULTIMATE sacrafice, that he was burried, and then raised from the dead! and then live like you believe. He rose to show that He alone is IT! Whatever 'IT' is, He is 'IT'! You could fill 'IT' in with many a long list, but the bottom line is that He is the creator, the giver of life, the one who loves with NO END! The bible was written so that we can be told of The One who can save us from everything and anything.

****1Corin. 15:3-4 For what I recieved I passed on to you as of FIRST IMPORTANCE, that Christ died according to the scriptures, that he was burried and raised on the third day according to the scriptues.

I love celebrating Easter, but just knowing what i know makes me feel sick at times for those who are not along side with me loing and thanking God. I love sinners! I DO! I REALLY DO! WE ALL ARE SINNERS but there are two different kinds of sinners. there are just PLAIN OLD SINNERS, and then there are FORGIVEN SINNERS. And it is DEFFINETLY good to be the FORGIVEN type. I love the people who dont believe, but hurt for them at the same time. I Love them because they dont deserve it. YEP you heard me, I LOVE THEM-BECAUSE THEY DONT DESERVE IT. I know i am not perfect but im trying hard to be more loving towards those who people try and 'shut out' or ignore because they are not christians. How can they see Christs love if we do not show it?... I love them and i want to fight for them but i know its something only they can decide. Its between them and God. I am just the delivery truck driver unloading boxes and boxes of 'witnessing' or at least i try. But as i try to witness i hurt so bad on the inside for them. I feel like everyday that they dont believe is a lost day. As every Easter passes i just get this feeling like time is running out. And when that time is out, ITS OUT. There is no 'do-overs' no going back, whats done is done. And for me it will be nothing but a time of rejoicing, but at the same time i honestly can not say 'THAT I CANT WAIT" ....I WANT to WAIT! I know im going to the place of wonders and a place where i can just worship my Father who loves me, but how could i be so greedy and selfish to say 'I cant wait' when i know there will be TRILLIONS of people not going. Going to a place for the ammount of time wich NEVER ENDS. It will always be the begining because there will never be an end.

I want to witness to my parents, and see FAST results. I know this is impossible but i just cant wait to see the outcome. Its like those movies you watch where you just are dieing to know the end -if they fall in love, if she tells him the truth, if he dies or lives, or whatever, but its like 10million times worse, because ITS REAL! ...I know that im witnessing to them with the life i live, but i pray everyday that i, or someone would say something to them that would just Speak louder than actions. I know the old saying is normally said backwards, "actions speak louder than words" but i just want someone to verbaly get it out there to them in a way that only they could get. That they would come to the point of not just knowing what to believe but actually NEEDING AND WANTING to believe.

This is just ONE of the many things keeping me up tonight. I know its all in Gods hands and what His way is, IS the way. But again-here i am. PLEASE pray for my parents, pray for everyone you know who is not a believer in the one thing that matters. Dont be selfish to think that your in and thats what matters, get out there and talk to these lost souls and sinners and love them all the more! Do it because it could be my parents your talking to, and do it because thats what Jesus would do.

Im on FIRE today!

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!?
I mean, REALLY?..... HOW GREAT!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZsHNzgqzOo&feature=PlayList&p=554E897DBB741CBC&index=7

Pirate Day!

My husband dressed up for Pirate Day at AWANA. He was WAY too proud of his beaded beard! At first he was just going to wear a regular bandana with the regular design, but he ended up looking more like a thug, so i let him wear the one with the skulls to set the 'pirate theme' more! I dont know why i didnt get a picture of me, i wore a patch and a bandana with a skull and cross swords. It was fun, we did all sorts of piratey games...


Here is a joke i had planed on telling but forgot to say that night.

WHAT Did THE PIRATE SAY WHEN HE WENT TO THE EYE DOCTOR?...
"AAAAAAY EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY AYEEEEEEEEEEEEE ARRRRRRRRRRRRR"


OK it doesnt really get the same affect when its typed out, its better told in person, ask me next time to tell you :)

FOR RITA :)

This one is the quilt i thought up while David went to the shooting range, St. PATTYS day night actually cuz i remember my bestest neighbor brought me some delicious cookies while i was working on this..

AS YOU CAN SEE this is still in progress, if you didnt notice that right block is backwards. I go sew with a few friends on Tuesdays at our church and i obviously can not talk and sew at the same time as well as i thought... I told myself i was going to fix it yesterday?....... yep, its still like that. The Hot pink and the clouds were supposed to be Pajama Pants. Well the Hot pink WERE pajama pants but they did not fit and i kept telling myself that i was going to give them to my mom, but i just KNEW that i never would, and i got bored that night and WALLA- a quilt! I know its not the prettiest design but i did it all on my own, therefore im proud of it! :)

**************************************************************************

Since Rita and i have been talking quilt stuff and sewing stuff i decided to post some of my projects. I have made a few other things. When Kelli was preg i made a TON of stuff, i cant remember everything but i made a few bibs and a car seat cover. I crocheted a few things too. I didnt sew uptill Kellis babyshower and then after that i didnt because i didnt have a machine untill 07 Christmas and i never even sewed then untill this last christmas. NOW I CANT STOP! :) Ima sewing MAYYYYYY-NE-ACK, MAAAAAAYYYY-NE-ACK ON THA FLOOR!

THese are my booties that i made for Bam out of the scraps from the blanket (below) ... They didnt last very long, but i was proud of them because i thought up the pattern all by myself! :) .... His idiot of a sister decided to SWALLOW one of them whole. The others wore out too fast, now i know to make them out of a tougher material. He never wore them outside and they still wore down pretty fast. He had frostbit or something inbetween his toes and the underside of his paws were chapped and cracked and bleeding and he kept licking them, so i made then to help them heal because i love my puppy dog :)

This was my first official quilt! I made it for a friend who actually just had her baby boy 2 days ago! *YAAAAAY!*

FIREPROOF

It doesnt matter if you are newly married or have been married for 5, 10, 25 or more years, EVERYONE should watch Fireproof!

With our recent trip to Italy, David is worried that this will be POMPEII PART 2!!!!! :)

RUN FOR THE HILLS AND HEAD FOR HIGH COUNTRY!

And just thought i should let everyone know that i plan on winning the 2000 dollar easter egg that KSRM does every year... So if you plan on finding it, you might just wanna give up because i am DETERMINED! We owe like 1,000 bucks on taxes this year which -sounds horrible but really it is just because i get paid by my 'clients' if you call them that (the moms) tax free by my 'self-employed busines'. I know there is a way of paying each month but that is just TOO MUCH organizing for me and i now i would forget and get behind and it would end up just being more of an annoyance than anything. SO im just going to start setting aside a little here and a little there on each check. It sounds like a huge ugly amount, but really in perspective God has WAY blessed us A LOT especially since we have been back in Alaska.

As we were getting closer to our date of EAS (end of active service) in the Marines, the time was a-ticking for David to find a job in the Kenai area for when we would moveback. GOD WAS WAY IN THE WORKS BEFORE WE EVEN KNEW ANYTHING! A close friend of Davids parents (who owns his own construction/home builers business) heard that David was in need of a job and said that he would hire him right then and there! -NEVER meeting david before, NEVER talking to him before, Not knowing ANYTHING about him except that he was a Christian man, serving our crountry in the Marine Corps and went off the reputation that his dad has as a working man. And if you knew John Nussbaum you know he is nothing short of a HARD WORKER. So when we came back to Alaska, David had a job to get right into when we came. After a year or so of working there he decided to move on into the Oil Field. He now works for Peak where God just plowed he way through everything and put david in a position and environment where he really wants to excel and where is hard work DOESNT go unnoticed! God has blessed us with extra money we were able to put towards a DREAM VACATION to Germany and Italy, and little bits of extra money here and there that were -as david likes to say- 'A Blessing Incognito'.. I have a job at home that still allows me to get house work done, do as i please in town, and really allows me the time to still serve others, and gives me GOOD PRACTICE for that one day when im a REAL LIFE MOMMA!

I LOVE "Taking the time to Smell Gods Blessings!"

dnuss.blogspot.com

As i was cruising around on people blogs i made a new discovery! I found this WAAAAAAAY CUTE guys blog! HE is quite the handsome man!

dnuss.blogspot.com :)

PICTURES

THIS IS ME AND MY PACHEY ON MY WEDDING DAY

THIS IS DAVID IN HIS BEAUTIFL GOWN IN ST. JOHNS HOSPITAL IN OREGON ON OUR ROAD TRIP BACK TO AK. FROM NORTH CAROLINA 2007. (he just got done telling me how ridiculous it was that they made him put on this gown, and just as he turned his head i had to snap a picture)

DAVID IN LIKE A 4FOOT HOLE HE DUG AT THE BEACH IN NORTH CAROLINA ONE OF OUR LAST DAYS THERE. THIS ACTUALLY IS THE SAME HOLE THAT WE ENDED UP BARRYING OUR BELOVED FISH NAMED 'CLARK KENT AKA SUPRMAN'

(YOU WILL HAVE TO IGNORE MY CHUNKYNESS IN THIS PICTURE) THIS IS US INFRONT OF OR 206 N. CAROLE DR. JACKSONVILLE, NC. HOME :)

THOUGHT I WOULD POST SOME PICTURES UP SINCE I SPENT LIKE 2 HOURS ON THIS DARN COMPUTER LAST WEEK ORGANIZING ALL OUR PICS INTO FOLDERS...

Gun Safety

So I took a class this Saturday, that you could easily call it 'Pistol 101'. Just all the basics for new beginers. I am not a beginer shooter or gun handler but i took it anyways. I grew up in a home that had guns. My dad is a gun guru. He loves to buy them, sell them,trade them, collect them, tinker with them, make handmade leather holsters, he melts his own lead and reloads his own rounds. ...I have heard that women try and search for "THE MAN" in her life that resembles same qualities and traits that their dad is like, and WHAT DO YOU KNOW!? ..... If you have even been in a room with my husband for more than 2.2 seconds you would know he is EXACTLY the same as my dad. He thinks guns, talks guns, breaths guns, and i would even go as far as saying that he farts guns! :) ..REALLY he does!

I probably took my first couple of shots around age 10 or 11 maybe? I never was sat down and taught all the different parts and pieces, and terms for guns and gun accesories, i just kind of thought i knew them already from hearing my dad and husband say them so often. So untill satuday i was never truely CONFIDENT holding a gun. I mean i knew what i was doing, but i just felt that i was missing 'something'. I have no idea what that 'something' was, but i deffinetly know that i FOUND IT this saturday!!! The class was kind of boring at first just because we were reading out of a book, but once we got into the hands on stuff it was REALLY GOOD! I knew the majority everything they went over except for a few things, but i was never really 'tired' of hearing the things i knew. Gun safety can never be drilled enough so the more the marrier! Knowing that you can't rely on anything but your own knowledge when you are handling a gun, really makes you WANT to know as much as you can about them.

Being sat down, forced to read a manual, talk about it, review it, practice, practice, practice, and then go to the range and show what you have learned, REALLY drives it into your brain and shows you that there really isnt much to it, its just knowing what you need to know. Some people think that just not introducing guns to their chidlren IS gun safety-ITS NOT!!!!! The children who dont know REAL GUN SAFETY are the children who are more likely going to have an 'accident'. The kids who know REAL GUN SAFETY are the ones who know that if you are not with an adult and in the correct setting and you see a gun you should
STOP
DONT TOUCH
LEAVE THE ROOM
TELL AN ADULT


*****Protecting your kids from guns, is to educate them on guns*****

I feel different knowing now that if something were to happen while david was gone and i was here alone, or with little monkey boy, i would be able to stand some ground! Women really dont need to feel intimidated by guns. Its all stuff that we are capable to learn and to know. Every women should know how to defend herself and her children incase of a home intruder, whether it is a hungry bear or an drunk man! Especially in Alaska, where you run into wildlife everyday, or you live miles and MILES away from your closest neighbor and the fastest reaction time of calling 911 is up to an hour.

.....................................................OK REAL LIFE SCENERIO..............................................


Your husband is at work for the day, or gone for the night, or maybe you just live alone. You hear someone in your house. ......................WHAT do you think that person is going to be more scared of?

A. He walks into the room and you point a phone in his face and with ALL your might you scream "IM CALLING 911!"

or

B. He walks into the room and you point a gun at his face! -And really at this point you dont need to say a thing Because Everyone knows what the cocking of a gun sounds like!

You can either HOPE he wont do anything, OR you can MAKE SURE of it!. I didnt write this to scare anyone, i just wrote it to maybe help encourage you to learn how to comfortably and confidently handle a gun.... Its just something to think about! .... IF YOU EVER WANT a shooting buddy YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME! :)

New Uses for OLD dog toys!

So i got tired of throwing away 10 dollars for everytime my puppy would destroy her toys so quickly! as the saying goes "DOG TOYS DONT GROW ON TREES!" and our puppy Leia is a freak show and has made up her mind that anything smaller than a baseball MUST be eaten.. so i will spare you the details but i will jsut say this , when i do my poopy-scoopy chore i have noticed RANDOM objects pokin' out of her little nuggets! things that include but by NO MEANS LIMIT to; Her brothers booties (that i hand sewed), Washcloths, Ropes, Sticks, Bark, String, and dog toy parts,pieces,fuzz and stuffing ...... SO once her toys get so worn down they are trash.................... UNLESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS..........................?.....................

OLD-NO MORE STUFFING-GIRAFFE + OLD WEINERDOG PUPPY










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Only 5.99 EACH!

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THE BEGINING OF A NEW ERA!

Well, like i said, TODAY is the first day of a new era! The era of "NAP TIME WITHOUT BOTTLES!". Many have been faced with this hard and difficult time in their life and have survived and lived to tell about it! I am one of them. It was a long time ago, back when teased bangs and frizzy dos were in, acid washed jeans with matching jean jackets were the normal street threads, and an alien named ALF was on everyones TV set, Some say the 80's were a mistake?....

I remember the day like it was yesterday when my mom laid me down in my crib without a nipple in my mouth! It was a hot sunny day, birds were chirping all around, my brother was being his normal scrubby big brother self, I ate my breakfast and was prepared to be rocked in my mothers sweet arms while she fed me and stared into my beautiful brown eyes. WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, I was chucked into the crib as a farmer would his bales of hay, as if i had to feelings at all! I stared at my mom with this confused look in my eye thinking she had gone crazy or something, while she was whispering me some malarkey about how she loved me and it was nap time! I remember thinking, "WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS!? SHE CANT DO THIS TO ME! DOES SHE EVEN KNOW WHO I AM!? OH BOY, WAIT TILL DAD HEARS ABOUT THIS! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS (yes, pun intended), I WILL CRY UNTILL I GET THE NIPPLE I DESERVE! LITTLE DOES SHE KNOW, HA- SHE THINKS I'LL JUST LIE DOWN AND TAKE IT (pun intended again)! I WILL GO DOWN KICKING AND SCREAMING (pun intended once again)!!!!! ILL FIGHT THIS, IM STARTING A 'NAP STRIKE! 'THATS IT, IM MAKING ME A PICKET SIGN "NO NIPPLE, NO NAP!" -I CANT WALK IN A CIRCLE AND CHANT THIS OVER AND OVER-BUT SHE'LL GET THE IDEA!"

Its funny cuz i dont remember much after that last thought, I never got around to making my sign mostly becuase i couldnt find a pen in my crib, or paper for that matter. But all i know is that one day when i grew a real brain and realized she did that for me because she loved me! Thanks to my mom i havent 'fallen off the wagon' yet! 20 years and 6 months later IM GOING STRONG! haven needed a bottle to go to sleep since! I think my husband is the most thankful for that out of all of us.

But there comes a time in every babys life when the day sneaks up on them as it did to me, and it catches them off guard. BUT not in my monkey boys, I was preparing him all through breakfast about what was going to happen afterwards. SO he cant say i never warned him. Monkeys mom and i have been talking about making the transition sometime soon and today while we were playing and reading books and i looked out the window and saw the sun in the sky i said "TODAY IS THE DAY!". When you live in Alaska and spring time comes around the corner and the sun is out you could face the ugliest of uglies, the hardest of hards, meanest of means, and the worst times of all the worst time in your life times 50, but the sunny beams make it seam 'HAPPY' no matter what it is! SO i seized the day! (There is no way i would have entertained this thought if it were cloudy and snowing)
Our new schedule is as follows:
-He comes at 8:00.
-We play together till 8:45ish 9:00.
-Then afterwards is independant time with his toys and then what i like to call "The Wild Adventures In The Nussbaum Outback" (or aka time in his walker).
-9:30-9:45ish is baby rice cereal and some fruit for breakfast.
-Clean up (his by now super sticky cereal/babyfood body) and diaper change and back into his clothes, and headed up stairs.
------------------------(heres where the twist comes in)----------------------------
-Then a little 4oz bottle while he is still awake but getting drowzy. Once that 4 oz. is gone ITS GONE! (Im thinking about making a sign that says "NO REFILLS" and sticking it in on the underside of his bottle, that way when he drinks his last drop he see's it) hehe:) .
-Then i rock him a little bit and just as he is alseep putting him into his crib.
AND from there on its all up to him!

I know he will cry ALOT and i will feel horrible at times- but as the saying goes "YOU GOTTA DO WHAT'CHYA GOTTA DO!" I just keep telling myself im doing him, me and most importantly his mom a HUGE favor! I'll check on him every 5-7 mins at first and then every 10-15 mins and rub his tummy "shhh-ing" him and telling him "Everything is going to be OK and its just time for a nap".. AND GUESS WHAT!? 40 mins and 4 trips up to check on him later -IT WORKED!
!!!!!!!!!YAHOO!!!!!!!!! Im reading the 'WHAT TO EXPECT THE FIRST YEAR' and it says that if you stick to your guns EVERY TIME your baby should catch on and learn to put theirself to sleep and learn the new schedule within a week. SO-One nap down and one more to go for today!

I used to work as an ISP (In School Provider-or Individual Service Provider). I 'shadowed' a 1st grader around in school and made sure he was following directions, minding his manners and doing all the things a responsible 1st-ALMOST 2nd grader should be doing. I know that there REALLY are children when issues and baggage they are carrying around with them, may the case be their homelife, verbal or physical abuse, or real mental issues that have been diagnosed. BUT in the case of my little guy and ALOT of little kids it just boils down to having NO BOUNDRIES growing up. Its either do whatever they want, or just throw an ugly fit untill they get it! My monkey is a very sweet boy and his just happy as can be! But he is deffinetly not going to have a nanny that lets him get away with anything, or a nanny that picks him up everytime he even has the LOOK on his face, that he MIGHT make a peep or a fuss! I keep telling myself "Spoiling leads to Rotten, Rotten leads to ornery, Ornery leads to ISP!" I know that means im taking a job away from a potential counseling service employee, but thats the way its gunna be!

ANYWAYS, im going to go enjoy my first succesful nap without a bottle attempt and go clean! (WHat a way to celebrate huh?)

So i think that i might be the ONE bridesmaid ever in history to actually reused her dress! You know the same old sayings that every bride says to her 'maids in an attempt to help comfort them in buying a WAYover priced dress for a hour ceremony and MAYBE a 2 hour reception?... "OH AND ITS REALLY PRETTY, BUT NOT SO 'ONE TIME OCCASION-EY' SO YOU COULD WEAR IT AGAIN!" .............or "YOU COULD JUST TAKE UP THE HEM AND TURN IT INTO A SUN DRESS!" .........or "AND IT LOOKS SO GOOD THAT YOU COULD ALWAYS WEAR THIS AGAIN!" ...................AND THEN lets face it, what are the chances that you are in the top of the social ladder and get invited to balls and dances and big fancy black tie events to where you even have the chance to recycle the dress. ?. chances are slim, BUT even if you are - you arent going to wear that same dress to a fancy event like that cuz lets face it, if you are on top of the social food chain you are going to take your private jet to France and get some trillion dollar couture dress anyways right?. you wouldnt go to a party and then when someone askes you the famous line "WHO are you wearing?" pretty sure you would look like a big fat old idiot if you said "OH this old thing?... I was a bridesmaid back in '06" HAHA :) I am taking WAY to much time talking about this than what i intentionally came on here to write about!.....

ANYWAYS, what i did wanna talk about was how much fun i had last night! (krystals surprised to hear that becuase she talked to me when i was stressing out an hour before with horrible non-using blinker drivers and making food) It was all the more fun becuase like i said i got to wear a dress that i paid like 200 bucks for. Dressing up is always fun! i think im going to start doing that more often, maybe break ouy my wedding dress and hold that as my new standard for 'sundays best'.. you think?....?.

I have been going to a ladies bible study by Beth Moore on the book of Esther. A very sweet friend, Sheila has been hosting it at her house and we meet weekly there and do the video segment there and talk about the previous week and share.... It's been REALLY GOOD so far. Honestly though, the first 2 weeks were a little slow but after that it really picked up. And it's surprising to me that I've been learning alot more about 'me' than i thought i was going to since i was after all studying a book based around the life of these Jews in the Persian Empire. And as you know-or maybe you dont, I am infact NOT a Jew, and I dont really live under King Xerxes :) .....I missed 3 weeks in a row becuase we were on vacation and i was really starting to miss it and actually was starting to get mad at myself that i didnt really pursue and make time for it on our vacation more than i had, but it was all apart of Gods timing! There is NO WAY i would have understood what He had for me one day -which i was technically like 3 weeks late on learning, but in Gods time frame i was just where he wanted me! Im so glad i did this study! Im still not done and everytime i crack it open im gaining more and more wisdom and knowledge and insight to who God wants me to become. Ultimately He wants me to become more CHRIST LIKE, but im begining to see the way (HIS WAY) He wants me to take.

We had our last :( bible study meeting last Tuesday, and there were actually 2 or 3 other groups of ladies that were doing the same bible study as we were around the community, so the ladies that were heading each one up came up with the idea of getting together and throwing our own little "PURIM" feast/party. If you dont know what "PURIM" means or stands for, i DARE you to read the book of Esther and find out! :) ...(im going on a 'rabbit trail' as my Pastor would stay, BUT STAY WITH ME) .....I am 21 and newly married. At the point in my life where i start carving my own little niche in the world and start becoming an 'adult' (yikes). Most of my friends that i have grown up with since we were in 1st grade have been led to leave town and start their own adventures! I did my adventuring in Reno and then as a newlywed in North Carolina. When i came back it wasnt long before most of my friends had left. So for a while i was wondering "WHO am I going to talk to? WHO am i going to hang out with? HOW could i possibly make 'new friends' in a town that ive grown up in-dont i already know everyone already? Is it possible to make new friends at 21 and then if i do will it be the 'same' as my old friends? WAAAAAAAAAAAAA?????" Iam a SUPER Extrovert so this was important to me!

AND to my shock, I CAN have new friends! *!HIP-HIP-HORRAY FOR FRIENDS!* Alicia and I went together to our little PURIM party, and i had a lot of fun! I love just talking about whatever comes to mind whether its funny things, important things, things that are troubling us, or extremely random things with friends! And im glad that God has placed Alicia to be one of my new and close friends and that He has blessed our friendship already! Another thing that is nice is when your new friends are fellow believers in Christ! Monica and Alicia really are ture blessings to have as friends.Its so nice to have friends you can just call to talk and hang out with and get together to help serve others that need that extra boost of encouragement and do it all in Christs name!

For a while I think God was showing me who my 'true friends' were. I really started noticing that people who i thought were my close friends, really were only calling me to hang out as kind of a 'last resort' and that i was doing more favors for them then spending time with them. WHICH i need to clarify that im not saying 'i dont like to do things for and help people'. Because Its the exact opposite!!! I love serving others and showing them a small piece of Christs love for us by doing this, BUT there is a point where people begin to take advantage of it and take your friendship for granted. So as painful as it is when you loose friends, im just glad to see that i have a God that is there for me and has friends lined up for me before i knew i was ever going to need them!

So the PURIM party was neat to experience. and Alicia made a VERY GOOD POINT, There is a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD reason baptists arent charasmatic. Im not really sure that if baptists included dance as a part of worship during sunday services, God would know what to do with it!? HAHAHA :)