My new camera...for my birthday.

Check out my new camera. Now the funny thing is I used my old camera to take a picture of my new one. I am very excited to have this new camera. I will now have 12x optical zoom. Also, it has 8.1 mega pixels, but I really wanted the zoom. Of course, it is a Kodak camera. I really love the options on these cameras and the easiness of use. Also, it is really cool that I can take videos that have sound. All the cameras in our house are Kodak, which make all the downloading and picture storing really easy.

I also got some new shirts and a much wanted 8 cup glass measuring cup. My mom gave me her old and well seasoned iron skillet that I had been asking for yesterday and a new iron cornbread pan, so that was really cool. I love cast iron dishes. Dwayne always makes fun me because I get excited when I look at the new cast iron dishes at different stores, but come on....they are sooooo cool!

I was just pointing out to Dwayne this morning, that I was 18 when my mom turned 35. It really doesn't seem that long ago. Maybe some day, one of my daughters will remember being 14 when her mom turned 35. The really good thing is...I don't feel even a bit old yet...notice I said yet...lol.

The day before Thanksgiving...

I am really looking forward to this day. I am watching Claudia, who is the same age as Tobi and I have babysat her since she was 6 weeks old, so she and Tobi get along really well and they will spend the day playing, not asking tons of questions. So, all this to say...I am going to start baking today. I will start on my rolls first thing this morning. I am making tons for Dwayne's family tomorrow and then we are having dinner with friends on Friday night, so I will be making enough for that night as well. Then, I will move onto pie crusts, cookies and whatever else I think of. I just love this time of year.

Of course, this also means I will have to start in on my Christmas projects as well. I some ideas in my mind that I will want to get done before Christmas (I can't say what they are because little eyes might look here), but I will be very busy up to Christmas again this year. I must say though, my attitude towards Christmas is changing, I really like the idea of a slower, enjoyable season and not the hurried, let me buy you everything you ever wanted season. I know there are things my kids want, but really their lists have been really quite small this year, well, except for Tobi, who wants everything pink and princess like as possible.

I will say, I really love Thanksgiving. It is a fantastic day just to get together with family, enjoy some good food, and enjoy chatting with each other. All in all, it is my favorite holiday.

Happy "the day before" Thanksgiving!

A wonderfully busy weekend!

It was a wonderfully busy weekend. Friday night, Dwayne and I went out to Vera Mae's in Muncie with Matt and Patty Clouse. That is a very NICE place to eat, but we needed to get home at a decent time, because I had to be up bright and early on Saturday morning to work for Angel Food. Even though I have to wake up at 5:30am to make it down to the church by 6:00am to count food, I would not miss a Saturday! I love being there, I love talking with people and just basically helping out where needed. I think everyone should be ordering Angel Food. It is only $25 for tons of food and the church's pantry gets a free order after so many are ordered...SO, not only are you doing something nice for yourself, you are helping others. December has my kids absolutely favorite special, 10lbs of chicken tenders for only $16.00. I also wake up Brighton and Dora to go and work with me, they love helping out and you can tell that people are really getting use to seeing them there. Dora wears her roller skate barbie shoes and everyone just waits to see if she is going to fall down or not. She is getting much better at wearing them.

Dwayne came by and picked up Dora to take her and Tobi into Muncie to hang out with their grandma, so Brighton and I headed home. Brighton, Sari and I then did a quick clean up of the living room and kitchen and then just chilled until Dwayne got back home. Right now my kids are very much into the Full House tv shows, thanks to Kim Cunningham, who keeps them well stocked. Dwayne got home and we all started working on Dwayne and I's new bedroom. I got up into the attic area and helped lay insulation. That was hard work, but still really fun, then we moved on to drywall. The room is really starting to take shape. Sari is very anxious to help as much as she can, because the sooner this room gets done the sooner she can move two little sisters out of her room.

After helping Dwayne out in the room, I cleaned up and headed over to church to work A/V for Saturday night church. I love Saturday night church. It is really my refreshing time. Everyone seems so much more laid back and the music is just awesome. Bruce picks out the very best songs and I just love listening to the worship team. PK does a great job on the sermon, it is just a wonderful night. If you have not tried Saturday night church yet...you should!

Sunday brought more work on the new room, but my wonderful hubby took the whole family out for a wonderful lunch, a little grocery shopping (for Thanksgiving...yea!) and then back home. Then Sari and I were off to youth group. Youth group is always great, but this night we headed off to do a little surprise serving. The kids had a great time and I enjoyed listening to all the chatter going on in my van as I drove around. Then it was back home, putting kiddos to bed and then....my favorite, watching a movie with my hubby before bed.

I thank God for such wonderfully busy weekends. I feel so blessed to have a wonderful family to spend time with and to work with, blessed to have wonderful friends to hang out with, and blessed to have a wonderful church to belong to, be part of, and to volunteer in. WONDERFUL!

And yes...I do know I used wonderful way too many times...lol.

2 verses down...16 to go.

Dora and I sat down and began our memorizing Monday night. We memorized the first two verses of John 1. We started working on the next 5 verses, but we got distracted by some other passages. Dora recognized some other passages she wanted to read such as the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus turning water into wine. We took turns reading to each other until it was bed time. And then last night, Dora asked to borrow my bible, she can't find hers, to read for just a little bit. It is so nice to see her taking the time without be told or asked to read on her own. It looks like I could learn from her...lol.

A New Challenge!

At youth last night, Pastor James issued a new challenge to all the teens. Can you read and memorize John 1:1-18 by Christmas? I mean come on, just 18 verses by Christmas? I have many '80s songs memorized, I have the lines to many movies memorized...including the Holy Grail, so surely I can memorize 18 verses from the word of God. I am planning to take that challenge and I really hope I can do it. I am a little ashamed to say I never seem to take the time to memorize scripture. I have always wanted to, but just never made the effort. It will be interesting to see if the kids out do me on this. Wish me luck on this...and have you ever memorized any scripture?

HOME!!!

I am home, it is so good to be home. Dora knocked me over hugging me, all my kids seemed excited to see, that is always good. Everyone should feel really sorry for James and Tonya, because they brought me home from Indy and I was extremely chatty...I know that is really hard for everyone to believe, but I think I really talked their ears off. And if anyone knows me...they know I can talk...lol.

I was feeling really good this morning when I woke up my kids. Sari told me that she was so glad that I was home, then she followed that by...because I am all out of clean jeans. Talk about being brought back down to earth. That is ok, I love taking care of my family...even if it is doing the laundry.

I met some new people on this trip, which was very fun. First off, we rode to the conference with some old friends of James, including his youth pastor. I enjoyed meeting all of them and a few others that were riding along as well. I enjoyed many good discussions, although I am a little disappointed that I did get any good info that I could tease James about later...maybe next year if we hang out with them again. On Saturday night the youth director at IYM took all of us from his area out to dinner. When we were waiting to go in, a young lady came over and said her dinner plans got canceled and wondered if she could possibly join us. I wish I had that kind of forwardness. We said yes and so I spent the whole dinner chatting with her. After that, I ran into her many more times through out the conference and just before we left I gave her my email, so we can keep in touch.

I think I will be spending the next few days just trying to get all caught up on my housework and laundry. Welcome home to me...

A Good Time!

Ok, tonight is my last night at my conference. It has been a wonderful time, but I am ready to head home. I have enjoyed many seminars and general sessions. I am learning so many cool things. I got to walk around the exhibit hall with James and we were able to discuss some interesting ideas as we looked at booths. It means so much to me to come here and learn new things and to be encouraged as a parent that we can really make a difference in our kids lives. I have taken the time every night to enjoy the late night options, which included a night of illusion, comedy and tonight skits.

Everything has been great, but it so wierd staying in a hotel room all by myself. I really never do much all alone and I have never stayed in a hotel room all alone. I am tired though, I stay up very late and I naturally wake up early in the morning. I am really starting to see how hard it is on my husband when he goes away on business trips. I have been enivious of him, thinking he was so lucky to have all that alone time in his room at night, but it is not as much fun as I thought. Of course, Dwayne is learning what it is like to be home with kids and no spouse. It can be a little lonely as well. It is really good to see how the other side lives sometimes. I get to go home tomorrow and I will be ready!

A cool new day!

It is a wonderful looking new day. It is the first official day of my conference. I am downstairs in the lobby of the hotel...the only nerdy girl in the lobby on her laptop...and I am waiting for my lazy leader to get up and get going. I guess I am a little early, our first seminar doesn't start until 10am and it is only 8:30am, but I am excited. I actually woke up around 5:30am this morning already thinking about what my seminars will be like this morning. So after saying good bye to my hubby, who I got to see after being away from him for about 4 days, I set up to check out the web to keep me busy. I then thought that I should probably check in with my fearless leader and see what the plan was for the day, so I called him up...yeah...woke him up is more like it. I hate waking people up, it seems like no matter when I call, I always call at the bad times. Oh well...he should be down here in about an hour, so it gives me time to type up a quick post and then go get an awesome Starbucks coffee...there is a Starbucks right here in the hotel...I will be so spoiled by Monday.