32 years

(Oh wait, actually it's 31 years. See, I'm getting so old I can't even remember how old I am.)

I remember when I was a teenager, I wanted a really cool car. I can't remember what kind of car I wanted, but I remember thinking, "I don't want to wait until I can afford it. I want it now because by the time I can afford it, I'll be old." And, the reason that I didn't want it when I was "old" was because I knew I would be old, and it wouldn't matter what I drove because old people don't care. Now that I am "old" -I remember thinking this. I thought that once you got old you didn't care about what you looked like, drove, ect. I guess I thought that once you got a certain age all you did was sit at home and watch TV (Dad, I wonder where I got this idea). So, I knew a "cool car" would have no relevance to me. I must admit I must have been a pretty insightful teenager, because what I thought was true (somewhat). Now that I am a senior citizen, I don't care about having a "cool" car but it's not because I don't want to be cool. It's because I care about other things. I care about less superficial things (don't get me wrong, I still care about the way I look just not in the way that I probably did as a kid). Now I drive a really cool station wagon/mini van. I bet my teenage self is gagging on a credit card and taking it to the mall.

31 years:
1980: born
1981-84: Not many memories except for this crazy red head kid in kindergarten named Regan, girl if you're out there, please look me up. I want to know if you're a genius now or menace to society
1986: Baby Sis born. Lifelong friend.
1988: Dad joined the Navy
1992-1994: Middle school, puberty at it's best. Boys, basketball, and best friends is what I took away from middle school. Dad got out of the Navy, moved in with him
1994-1998: High school, boys, basketball, bestfriends, driver's license, Spring Breaks, Shakespeare, MawMaw passed away, first job
1998-2000: left home for WKU, parties, mixture of independence and dependence
2001: First apartment, met TLB April 27 at the Chow Wagon
2003: Purchased the house I lived in with my Dad from my Dad
2003: Engaged to TLB
2004: Married to TLB
2005: Bought the house we live in now/ Graduated with Bachelor's Degree
2006: MH1, and found/started my career
2007: MH2
2008: Master's Degree
2010: mh3, joined HBC
2011, March 17, 10:13pm, 2 hours until D day, I mean B day...sitting on couch while TLB sleeps in recliner, mini-humans sleep safely in their beds, dog lays on floor, content with life....31 isn't so bad.

Things I need to do...

1. Lose 5lbs.
2. Quit eating cupcakes so that I can lose 5 lbs. (though I did finally give up putting sugar in my coffee(today), I am headed in the right direction
3. Go to the nursing home and visit my old Grandma
4. Work on my portfolio so that I can finish my degree this summer (this is so boring and redundant that I would rather do anything else, like a million loads of laundry, or 100 loads of dishes, or dust a lot of furniture, or change a bunch of doo doo diapers, oh wait...I already do all that)
5. Write a letter to Lady Gaga (can't I just send her a message on Facebook, I mean, we are friends?!) and tell her that I was really upset about not being able to go to her show this past weekend, but that her and me is like a bad romance cause of her ticket prices.
6. Quit daydreaming every single day about the bills that I am going to be able to start paying off when mh1 is out of daycare in June
7. Pay for my zoo membership before March 31 so that I can save $5
8. Find something really nice to do for someone and do it
9. I will have 2 free classes that I can take after this summer. I need to figure out what it is that I want to take. Should I start working towards being a school counselor, my ESL endorsement, or what? I don't know!
10. Get a pedicure
11. Get a hair cut (can I please get a style somewhat different than what I have been dealing with the last 31 years)
32. Write another letter to someon else...I'm not sure who, but I am in a letter writing mood. And why did I type 32?
13. Mop the kitchen floor, I honestly don't know when the last time it was mopped. That little baby I have just crawls all over it, too. What a great mother I am.

2 Timothy 4: 1-8

Brother Gary delivered the message at church today. It was very eloquent and inspiring. I found it especially applicable to me this week. I take notes every week at church and I never do anything with them. This week, I decided I would blog about what I learned, the notes I took during service are in black and my comments are in red.

In Paul's last letter to his son, he encouraged him to Remain faithful and to finish what you started. He gave the following directions for accomplishing such a task.
1. Remain faithful
A. To the charge
-Preach the word
-convince (I was faced with this challenge this week. Someone told me Christians were stupid for believing in something that they could not prove and someone else talk me christians are lazy because we choose to pray for those that suffer instead of sending money or traveling (to Japan. I totally missed my chance because I find myself at a loss for words)
-rebuke
-exhort (preach with encouragement)
-endure affliction
-evangelism (lead people, tell them about Him, be busy about the task, simply tell/talk/share, the Holy Spirit does the rest (I love to talk, shouldn't this be easy?)
B. To the Truth
Desire the sincere milk of The Word (I really do, I want to learn more and more)
-Endured heart, hold up to what is right and stomach it, stand on it (I struggle with this as well, it is so much easier to believe what I want to rather than face the truth)
-Tuned ears
C. To the Lord
-His appearing (he will return) (How awesome/scary will that be? Why do I hope that I am with my girls when it happens? I only get nervous about it when I think about not being with my babies)
-His Kingdom
-His judgment
2. Finish Well
A. Departure (we are all going to die)
B. Journey
C. Reward (we don't serve to get a reward, we get a reward not because of what we've done but because of what He has done). I get it now, but I always thought that if you were "good" you went to heaven and if you were "bad" you went to hell.

Those that stand with Christ will be persecuted (as He was persecuted). Why? Why is it ok to call a christian stupid or lazy because of what we believe in? Am I prepared for the times when I really am persecuted? I don't feel like I am. What if I can't stand up for what I believe in? What if I falter? What if I am now?

Glee

-I have started to try to catch it (when I remember). It's a decent enough show but I'm not sure if pop music is the best way to capture teen angst. The best show ever to demonstrate teen angst is dag on My So Called Life. Loved that show.

-TLB's grandparents celebrated 60 years of marriage today at a surprise party. How wonderful is that? I asked his Grandpa, who is a hoot anyway (everytime I tell him goodbye whenever we're together he always says, "Glad you got to see me") what the key to 60 years is. His proceeded to tell me once you get past 35 years, it's all easy. Wow, that's inspiring....only 29 more to go for us and we are all good. But really, because of them, I have the family that I have and the children I have. They are great people and I am really happy for them.

-I whooped TLB at a little one-on-one basketball game this afternoon. He made me go left and I drove straight to the hoop and scored all up in his grill. I won 10-8, who's your mama?

-mh1 is going to be 5 years old in a few days. Life goes by so fast. We usually don't buy birthday presents for the girls. This is because they get so much from the rest of our family. It's too much really, so we don't buy them anything. I think a party is plenty. This year, I went ahead and bought her a gift. TLB thought it was too much, but I am so excited for her to open it. I think she is really going to like it. It's a Nintendo DSi. How many fights do you think that's going to cause between the girls?

Preface

I love that word. Anywho, let me tell you that if you preface a comment with, "I hope this doesn't offend you..." it probably will, unless you are talking to me. I don't really take offense to much of anything but today a colleague of mine said, "I hope you don't take offense to this but I think anyone that believes in God is unintelligent." Wow. How do I even respond to that? I like this person a lot, and it made me feel sad for them. These are the kind of people that I try to prepare myself for. These so called "intellectuals" that have been hurt at some point in their life, or made bad choices and feel alone. But, I found myself unprepared. I don't want to scare this person off, but at the same time, I wonder, "Would you say something like this if I was Muslim or Jewish?" Hecky no they wouldn't because it is far more socially acceptable to make fun of Christians. It's really sad, and I wish it didn't catch me so off guard.

Random thoughts:
-My sister is probably going to upper cut me to the chin because I forgot I had a meeting tonight and couldn't make it to kickboxing. If you are reading this, Sis, sorry!
-Teachers get paid plenty of money for what they do, but we do have a system that is not holding parents accountable for raising their children. I do not get paid enough to be a teacher AND raise your child.
-My friend just got her Yellow Fever vaccine for her trip to Africa to pick up her children...afterward she got Yellow Fever (from the vaccine), yikes! Hope you are feeling better, Laura!
-NateandRach.com is giving away a free book, check it.
-TLB is da bomb.com
-I have a volcano on my face and TLB asked me today who my friend was...He's very sensitive.
-mh3 has discovered climbing the stairs and she thinks it's really funny when I use a deep voice and say, "NO!" and carry her away. She goes right back. Dear God, please don't let this child be more crazy than mh2.
-TLB's grandparents have been married for 60 years today. That is so awesome. I look forward to the next 60 years with TLB.
-I will be making cupcakes for mh1's 5th birthday this weekend. No, they will not be decorated beautifully...I wish I had such talent, but they will have sprinkles.

Holler ballers

American Idols

For the record, I think the show is ridiculous and has lost all credibility. I mean, what is a reality show without the insightful, meaningful judgement of Paula Abdul? Anyway, I don't "love" the show but I do tolerate it for the sake of .....TLB. How many of you have husbands that DVR American Idol and never miss an episode??? Oh, I do. So, I sit on the computer working on meaninful projects like, Facebook, while TLB sits around with the little girls and judges 20-year-old up and coming singers. His sexual orientation is in question. (I did hear him just ask the girls if they thought he could be a singer on the show, poor guy).

TLB did definitely hold down the fort this week. 40% (33% if you are counting the dog) of our household came down with the flu this week. TLB stayed home all day with them (everyday this week) and I think he came close to a nervous break down at one point. He survived and the girls are almost fully recovered. If we get another sickness in this house anytime soon, I am going to burn the carpets, throw out every mattress and make the children sleep on plastic, I am going to use only disposable dishes and utensils, isn't bleach a disinfectant? I am going to make them drink a teaspoon a day (just kidding CPS) and I am going to quarantine the children in separate rooms until they are at least 13. Seriously, I might not even let them talk to eachother to avoid cross-contamination.