Thursday Thirteen
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1. I am the youngest – 2 older brothers. 2. I was the first to get married at 20. Oldest brother getting married this summer – horray! 3. My brothers teased me mercilessly in those teen years but were never really mean to me (unlike friends brothers). 4. We use to have "sleepovers" and sleep in sleeping bags in each other’s rooms for fun sometimes. 5. MOM & DAD don’t read this – We once snuck out of Phil’s window, went around the corner and set off some firecrackers in the middle of the night (or something small that sent sparks). 6. My oldest brother is really tall so I used to threaten the kids at school that if they were mean I’d have him come beat them up. 7. Phil never would have beaten up anybody. 8. I would always get freaked out at night (I have a very active imagination) and have to turn the hall light on and leave my door open. 9. As a teenage I loved to sleep until noon on Saturdays. (I still do, it just never happens.) 10. We didn’t have much money so things like McDonald’s etc were very rare. So occassionally after Sunday night church my brothers and I would chip in and treat the family – it was always like a sneaky thing too – we’d tell my dad, but not mom who would act surprised when we’d pull up to McD or Dunkin Donuts. (This was when you could feed 5 people at McD for like $8.) 11. If driving home from some place late, I would often pretend to be asleep so that my dad would carry me in the house and put me to bed. 12. I cracked my chin open in 8th grade trying to ride a skateboard (I don’t know what I was thinking). It stopped on a rock, I did not. 13. I had the same best friend from kindergarten until my senior year in high school. |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
“Why?”
“Why God why?” Probably a large percentage of the population has asked this question at some point in time. Maybe because of their own personal hardship, maybe over a worldwide event like 9/11 or the tsunami. Why does He let bad things happen. And especially to his children, those that have a personal relationship with him. Doesn’t that guarantee us some sort of protection?
Fortunately my “life pain” is pretty non-existent. Except for the “normal” rough patches in my marriage and battling depression, my life has been pretty easy. No serious illness, I haven’t lost any friends or relatives unexpectedly. No bad car accidents. I mean I haven’t even broken a bone.
But I’ve seen the pain in others…battling addiction…extra-marital affairs…infertility…bankruptcy…cancer.
This weekend my friend Stacey and I went to a Natalie Grant concert. There is one song (nominated for a GMA) called “Held” that is so beautiful and I have thought of so many times as I’ve watched others pain. It doesn’t claim any easy answers it just states the truth – that through it all God is there, holding us.
At the concert she shared the background behind the song that was written by Christa Wells. Christa had a friend who struggled with infertility for 9 years – many miscarriages before God blessed them with a little boy, despite being told she would never give birth. They proclaimed the little boy their miracle child from God and knew he would do great things. One morning, when he was just 8 months old, they went to his crib and found him dead. Christa wondered why God would give them a child just to take it away.
During that same time period another friend of Christa’s had her husband diagnosed, during a routine physical, with advanced cancer. He died within 2 months (within days of the other friend’s baby), leaving behind his wife and 3 small children.
As Natalie sang the song I did my best to hold back the tears. It wasn’t easy. I looked around, there were several people, eyes shut, tears streaming down their face – people you knew had experienced a “why” moment.
Maybe you’re having a “why” moment…maybe this will encourage you.
HELD
Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling
Who told us we’d be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
Were asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it’s unfair
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We’d be held
This hand is bitterness
We want to taste it and
Let the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We’d be held
If hope if born of suffering
If this is only the beginning
Can we not wait, for one hour
Watching for our savior
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We’d be held
I Peter 5:10-11
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever.
Why my kids are silly
SCENE: Sitting at a table at Legoland, having just gotten ice cream.
Natty (3) on her third bite: “oooooh, it’s cold”
Noah (6) “Duh sissy, that’s why they call it ICE cream. They take ice and they mix flavors in and it changes colors”
Mom: “Well actually there’s no ice in ice cream”
Dad: “But it’s used to make it.”
Noah: (GIGGLES) “When I was born I had sugar in my tummy.”
Mom: (Wondering what science lesson I missed): “WHAT????”
Noah: “When sissy and I were born we had sugar in our tummy. That’s why we’re so silly.”
Hmmmm….
Thursday Thirteen
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1. I drive a ‘96 Mercury Villager mini-van.
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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Reporting from Carlsbad
It just took me 30 minutes to catch up reading everyone’s blogs. You guys have been busy.
Our vacation is going great. The kids did finally fall asleep and we hit Legoland at 10 a.m. on Mon when they opened. Luckily our resort is right across the street which saved us $8 in parking. The kids had a blast and were really very good. We didn’t lose anyone…for those of you who know my kids, you know this is a major accomplishment 
LL is nice in that it has a lot of rides for the littler kids. There were a few that Natalie couldn’t go on, but plenty to make up for it. They’re favorite of the day was the roller coaster at Dino Island. I consider it a major accomplishment that we got our son on the ride as he is usually very afraid of that type of thing. This coaster was pretty good “starter” – no big drops really, just a couple small drops that made you go around the curves fast. Even Natalie could ride w/ an adult. She wasn’t too sure of it on the first lap but by the second lap – when she realized that screaming was encouraged on roller coasters – she was estatic. They dragged us on it for a second time right away.
Natalie called MeeMaw and Pa and said “We went on a roller coaster and I got a new scream.” They’re dying to ride it again when we go back tomorrow.
Tuesday was putz around day – or thrift store day. I don’t know how many of you like to go to thrift stores but it’s like a sport with us. I swear my hubby can sniff out all the thrift stores now matter what town we travel too. The kids love looking at toys.
We hit the pool and waterpark at the resort in the afternoon. The pool is heated. The waterpark is NOT.
We putzed around again today, hit a couple more thrift stores. Tomorrow it’s back to Legoland and probably the beach on Fri. The weather has been gorgeous. It was supposed to be rainy yesterday but it was just sunshine. Let’s hope it stays like this!
We’re here…
We made it to Carlsbad with our sanity in tact, for the most part. The kids were crazy this morning but calmed down once we actually got under way. We finally left at 10 a.m. to my husband’s dismay (his goal was 8 – whatever).
Oh, and I found my camera charger. Love my son. I showed him a picture of it and said “do you know where it is?” Turns out it was in the garage in one of his “contraptions”. I had been painting some furniture in the garage one day and he was amusing himself with plugging various things into the power strip. At least he has a good memory.
The kids said some pretty funny stuff in the car on the way here and now I can’t remember it. We even saw hail and some snow – between AZ and CA – that was a first.
While writing this I have been into the kid’s room (2 bdrm condo) about 6 times to tell them to be quiet. They’re like those 2 kids on the Disney commerical “I’m too excited to sleep.”
It’s 12:02 a.m. – have you seen my….
SANITY? Okay, well I found that about 3 hours after the kids were in bed. They are bouncing off the walls with excitement about our trip. It was a LONG day!
But really, have you seen my camera battery charger? I cannot for the life of me find it. Which does not make hubby happy as I had to severely twist his arm to buy me the $900 camera. You’d think I’d lost the camera, not a $45 charger Hm, well I hope it lasts the trip or that God sends me a vision while I’m sleeping tonight of where I put it.
I don’t think I’ll be blogging while I’m gone, but you never know.
Surviving Spring Break
Well we have almost reached the end of the first half of spring break. That’s right, my son has 2 weeks of Spring Break that we have desperately tried to fill up.
Mon – 4 hours at Chuck E. Cheese – love that place
Tues – Pump It Up … McDonald’s
Wed – lunch with dad, movie rentals
Thurs – they went to my parents to play (I have the best parent’s ever – they have my kids over every Thurs
Fri – Currently waiting to leave for the zoo in a bit
Next week it is off to California and Legoland. Possibly adding Sea World in the mix, we’ll see. So I’ll be quiet for awhile. Don’t miss me too much.
How Well Do You Know Me?
Take this quiz to see how well you know me. Can’t wait to see everyone’s answers
Zen Mom
I saw this link on Google, you know the stuff over on the side. It said “Are You a Slacker Mom? Well I couldn’t resist that. So I took the little list and apparently I am a “Zen Mom”. (See below).
What the test doesn’t know is…
- I have 5 ft of laundry piled up in my bedroom that desperately needs to be washed
- When I can’t stand it anymore I make the kids go outside and jump on the trampoline just to get some peace and quiet
- I raise my voice at my kids way more than I would like – usually just because I feel like I have to yell to be heard above their commotion.
- I haven’t cooked a real meal in approximately 6 days.
- I have one roll of toilet paper left in the house. We may have to resort to tissues before I get to Wal-Mart.
- The only reason the sink isn’t piled high with dishes is because my darling babysitter last night actually unloaded the clean dishes and put all the dirty ones in – bless her mama for raising her right.
So Zen mom, I’m not so sure….
Your quiz results make you a Zen Mom
“How do you do it? Even when explosions are all around, you are able to take a deep cleansing breath and chant your mantra “this too shall pass.” You are a calming influence on your kids in a hectic world.”
Take this free personality test by Clicking Here
