Life with Linz

AtE: Episode 2

2012-02-09T02:44:00.000-08:00

Today we answer a couple of questions and talk about accidents

(Luke: "Linz, no! We're not doing it over because you think you looked ugly!")

Keep subject matter and questions coming!

happy-almost-weekend!

Giveaway winnerz!

2012-02-08T08:24:00.000-08:00

It's time, it's time! Time to announce the winners of the blog design giveaway.

Thanks to all of you who entered - I wish I could give the win to all of you!

But wait...i can. Since I had only 4 people entering my giveaway, I thought: "You know - I have plenty of time to make headers and blogs...it's not costing me any money...there's only four...they can all win!"

So to all my blog lovelies who entered the giveaway, here's what ya do:

(send me an email at lilndzy@aol.com telling me all the things below)

1. If you want just a header or a whole redesign.

2. If you want an entire site redesign you'll have to give me your info that let's me get into your blogger dashboard.

3. Tell me what you want your site to generally look like: Color schemes, text-only header, picture header, what genre of font you want in your header (fun, or elegant) - the works!

4. If you want a picture header\anything with pictures you have to send them to me.

I'll start with the blog lovely who entered the giveaway first, and work on down!

Bonnie

Marie

Marli

Naomi

Dear Experts: Episode 1

2012-02-02T01:06:00.001-08:00

We were going to get this up on Wednesday, but were having technical difficulties.

Enjoy!

Hold onto your hat, because we get to hear Luke from All Things Manly in this video!

Keep sending us your questions and topic ideas!

Bloggin awards

2012-01-27T10:34:00.000-08:00

(Hurry, go enter my blog design giveaway here, and don't forget to comment\email questions and topic suggestions for Ask the Experts!)

I feel so loved :') Journey with Joy and lowercase letters "awarded" me the Liebster blog award, and Girls Love Fried Pickles gave me the Versatile blogger award. Y'all shouldn't have...*scuffs foot*

I would list all the rules, and go on a tagging spree, but I'll skip it this time since these awards have been going around for a while now, and I'm pretty sure it's made it's way through my readers. If you're reading this and haven't done it yet, then I tag you!

7 things about me:

1. Even though I only have to wear my retainers one or two nights a week, I usually end up wearing them every night. I just got into the habit.

2. I had this whole post typed out, but our power went out in the middle of loading the pictures so I lost it all, and now I can't remember the 7 things I had put down.

3. At the end of the day, sometimes I'll pile all my hair on the very top of my head and clip it. It looks ridiculous, but it's comfy and out of the way.

4. I love aprons, but I almost always forget to put one on when I cook. When I do, it doesn't make a big difference, because if I get flour on my hands, I usually brush them on the back of my pants without thinking.

5. I think hot chocolate is the best.

6. I have the bad habit of chewing on the inside of my cheek.

7. Even though I'm tall, I still love to wear heels.

~~~

Tell me what you've been up to this week!

happy weekend!

Giveaway! ...and an into to "Ask the Experts"

2012-01-24T23:38:00.000-08:00

Before we get to the lil ol' vlog down there, it's giveaway time! It's a blog header\blog design giveaway. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I enjoy doing it (as you can see by my constantly changing blog).

So you have a choice whether you'd like me to make you a blog header alone, or redo the look of your whole blog!

If you choose for me to redo the look of your whole blog, be forewarned that I'll need to be able to get into your blogger dashboard to make the needed changes. So if you're not comfortable with that, stick with just a header. I'll do my best to get a look that you like! :)

To enter:(Giveaway ends Feb. 8)

-Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me which option you'd like (mandatory)

-Share this giveaway on your blog, facebook or twitter (+1 entry for each)

Luke and I will be starting a weekly-sish series called "Ask the Experts", so like we said in the above video - leave comments or send an email with your questions or subject ideas! If you don't really have any ideas, don't worry - it can be something completely silly and fun...just use your imagination.

(I'm awful at vlogs. I had no idea what I was going to say...haha, how do y'all do it - I felt so on the spot!!! :D)

Crochet projects and your input

2012-01-19T23:47:00.000-08:00

When I was about 10 and Mom and I were in a craft store, I was staring at all the colorful yarn lining the wall, and then and there I knew I must crochet. I got a hook and some yarn and a crochet book and happily left the store, most likely imagining all the cool and professional stuff I would make. :) Weell, even following along with the book, all I learned was the single crochet. In a square. I couldn't make out what in the world stuff like "sc1R, YO2, hdc in BLO, ch2, dc in FLO" meant. But that didn't stop me from making all sorts of terrifying pot holders. Only a grandma would lovingly gush over a horrible mess of yarn that looked more like an outline of the United States than a square, and tuck it near the stove for the next time she needed to grab a hot pan. Eventually I saw just how awful my projects were and turned to other hobbies.

Mom and I were in the States a couple of months ago, and I was visiting with my friend Lur who is a crochet genius. I watched her crochet for a while, and tried to remember just what was so hard about crocheting. So...yes. I got a hook and some yarn at a craft store, only this time I *scuffs foot* wasn't exactly the most optimistic about how my projects might turn out. Thankfully, I saw that now I could follow a pattern and learn new stitches just fine! My projects still might look like a 10 year old did them, but I'm loving it all the same! Here are just a few stuff I've done lately:

A doggie\monster hat

Simple beanie with scalloped edges

I love hats! This is my favorite because it's a beret, and it's mesh, so it's not bulky.

Queen Ann's Lace scarf

:') A lil hippo. I may or may not talk to it...

Whenever I'm able to get supplies easily I want to learn to knit as well, along with getting good enough at crochet to hopefully sell some stuff here and there.

~~~

I wanted to check in with y'all and see if you have any ideas of what more I should do with this lil ol' blog! Is there anything you want to know about? Should I do vlogs more often? What should they be about?

Also, I want to do a giveaway, but since I don't have anything to actually give away at the present, what do y'all think about a blog design giveaway? I am by no means a pro, or even super good at it, but I love making headers, and makin' stuff look pretty! It could be your choice of whether you'd like just a header, or a redo of your whole blog.

Tell me what y'all think!

~~~

happy weekend!

Things I love

2012-01-17T00:55:00.000-08:00

...okay, I have to say it - I've been loving Pinterest. There are so many good ideas on there for just about everything imaginable. Plus pretty pictures! :) I've been loving finding things like these...

So many pretty things, yummy recipes and ideas for crafty stuff!

All of us need a reminder sometimes to:

Eleven...

2012-01-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by the awesome Melissa, so here we go!

Rules:

1.You must post these rules.

2. Each person must post 11 things

about themselves on their blog.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for

you in their post and create 11 new questions

for the people you tag to answer.

1. I think that there are enough serious things in life that we don't have to make more of them if we don't have to. There are times to be serious, but in general - enjoy life to the best of your ability! Make sense?

2. My new, Every Year Resolution is to read the Bible through completely in 6 months\a year. I started this in 2011 and plan to do it from now on.

3. I almost got a pet snake, but found Panya instead.

4. Crocheting is one of my new favorite hobbies.

5. I want to learn how to knit as well.

6. I love to listen to music while I clean the house - it's always nice to whistle while you work!

7. I've always thought it would be fun to have a tiny coffee shop or cafe.

8. One of my dreams is to visit the Mediterranean.

9. When I stretch I can do the splits.

10. I'm afraid of heights. Not the roller-coaster kind, but when I'm climbing on or standing on the edge of something high.

11. When we, Lord willing, move back to the States, I look forward to little things like being able to text or call family and friends when I want to tell them something.

Questions for me:

1. What was the silliest moment for you of the past year?

I don't know about the silliest, but Julia and I talking and taking awful pictures together while we were in TN. It was a balm to my soul.

2. What Bible verse automatically comes to mind when you're having a bad day?

One of my favorites is Galatians 6:9 -"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up". It's so encouraging, and reminds me that what I'm doing isn't worthless..that it will do some good.

3. What's your favorite book?

Lame as it is, I don't think I have a favorite book!

(if anyone has some suggestions of ones you like, I'd love for you to share!)

4. What is one moment in your life that you knew Providence had a hand in the way it turned out?

When I was watching my sister walk down the aisle in her wedding dress,I knew that with the way everything unfolded it couldn't have happened on it's own.

5. Who was a pen-pal you had before email became the main method of communication?

Wow, let's see...my cousin Rachel and I used to write letters. But as for non-family, I used to write a girl named Libby Goins who went to Roundhouse years ago.

6. What's your favorite pair of shoes?

My cowgirl boots :)

7. What does your dream home look like and where is it located?

Something not too big..light and airy; lots of white with pops of bright color. It would be located somewhere in the South.

8. Why do you blog?

I sharing random bits of info, and things about my everyday life. I'd like to give encouragement and humor to others.

9. What color are the sheets on your bed?

I have a white topsheet, and a colorful striped fitted sheet.

10. Where did you meet your spouse? If not married, where did you meet your best friend?

I met my best friends at PTP and Roundhouse

11. What's your favorite part of nature?

I love seeing how God designed every tiny thing, it never ceases to amaze me! Flowers have always been one of my favorite things.

Questions for you:

1. If you were going to learn a foreign language, which would you choose?

2. Would you generally rather read a book, listen to music, or watch a movie?

3. If you could learn any skill what would it be?

4. When you go to a restaurant, do you usually try something new or get the same thing each time?

5. What's your favorite book in the Bible?

6. What's something you never leave the house without?

7. You have a prepaid airline ticket to anywhere in the world. Where do you go?

8.Rice, potatoes, or bread?

9. How tall are you?

10. What is one of your dreams for the future?

11. What is your favorite song? What does it make you think of?

i tag...

Bringing Up Benjamin

I press on: Living For the Goal

A Glad Heart

All Things Manly

Journey with Joy

(...and I'd tag Marli and Memory, if they hadn't already done it!)

The best eggnog recipe

2012-01-03T05:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to y'all! Before I do my official New Year's post, I wanted to share this recipe with you...but first, I have this comic that shows you how I feel about eggnog...

For the past couple of years, I've been looking for a perfect eggnog recipe, because I love it, and anything that helps it seem more holiday-y around here is always welcome! Last year there was the nog that was more like Egg Drop Soup than anything else. But this year I found the one.

A word of caution: this recipe doesn't have you cook the eggs (= raw eggs), but I like to live on the edge so I just went with it.

Separate the egg whites and yolks into two separate bowls. Use the bigger bowl for the whites, and beat them until fluffy.

Once the egg whites are fluffly beat in 1\2 cup of sugar

In the separate bowl, beat yolks until creamy then add another 1\2 cup sugar

Fold the yolks into the egg whites, stirring gently. Or if the raw eggs on their own wasn't wild enough for you, you can stir it roughly. Either way.

Stir in the milk...

...cream...

...vanilla...

...and spices.

Pour into a bowl or pitcher, and chill.

Oh yeah.

Ingredients:

6 fresh eggs

1 cup granulated sugar - divided use

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups milk

1 TB vanilla extract

1\2 -1 tsp ground cinnamon

1\2 -1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground nutmeg

dash salt

Start with these measurements of the spices, but you can play around with them to get the exact taste you want. I ended up adding a few dashes of each one more than it called for, because I like to taste all the different spices in my eggnog. Don't forget to add the bit of salt! If it's still too sweet for your liking, add just a bit more of the salt to offset the sweetness.

The Power of a Positive Wife: Chapter 3

2011-11-06T08:25:00.000-08:00

This poor blog has been neglected for a bit, but I'm going to try and do better about posting on here. :)

I was doing a series on the book The Power of a Positive Wife. I said...

"When we were staying with my grandparents on furlough, I happened to see a book on Nanna's shelf that was entitled, "The Power of a Positive Wife". I thought it looked interesting, so I picked it up and started to thumb through it. Before I knew it, I had my notebook and pen out, furiously taking notes. My sweet and generous Nanna saw me, laughed a little, and gave me another copy she happened to have tucked away!

I thought I would take one blog post at at time, and share some good parts from each chapter!

Now, I'm obviously not a wife, but I really love this book; it has so many good points. Even though it's about how wives should relate to their husbands (which is very helpful to read, even though I'm not married yet), it has so many things I can apply to everyday life with my family".

...I got a little sidetracked, but I wanted to pick up where I left off and finish the series.

Chapter 3: The Truth about true Love

This chapter deals with some myths that many have about love, and how they affect our views of marriage and commitment. We'll take a sampling of just a few.

Myth #1: There's one "true love" for me. Once I find him, we'll get married and live happily ever after.

Let me first say that I completely believe that God can providentially work to bring two certain people together. My sister and her husband, for example - I believe that there was providential working involved. Even though they were oceans apart, things worked out so they could begin talking, and eventually meet, and later get married. That being said, let's see what the author says about this first myth.

"...Movies, love songs and novels have created a surreal picture of the perfect romance...If you hold to the mind-set that each of us has one perfect, true love out there, what do you do when you realize that your spouse is not so lovable at times?...Certainly, we should look for a spouse who exhibits the character qualities and Christian values that we know we want in a lifelong partner. But when we find that seemingly perfect guy, we must accept the fact that love will still be work...True love doesn't mean having a relationship of ease; it means making the continual choice to love and forgive".

This is so true. Even with siblings, it takes work to love. It takes work to speak kindly when you're angry. Many times it might be easier to stay upset, but it takes work to forgive and forget. Love is a decision. It takes nurturing, like a tender plant that must be watered and cared for every day. If the plant is not watered, it will shrivel and die.

Myth #3: I can fall out of love with my spouse.

This one is all too common! How many people have you heard say, "We were in love when we first got married, but since then we've just fallen out of love". That could more accurately be translated as "I'm not willing to work at loving him\her anymore". Like what was said in myth #1, true love is a decision, and not something we fall in or out of. Sure, it's probably easier to love during the honeymoon than when you're sleep deprived and tired of seeing dirty socks on the floor and dishes in the sink, but we can still choose to love when it's difficult. "True love loves past the weaknesses and builds on the strengths".

~*~

Principles from this chapter: Love is not simply discovered; it is created, and it takes work...and marital love is a commitment encompassing affection, friendship, pleasure, and selfless love.

_____

Hope you all are having a wonderful Lord's Day!

Rejoice in the Lord

2011-08-04T00:16:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I didn't realize it had been so long since I did a post on here, but I thought I'd share an article that I wrote a while back - Enjoy! :)

“Rejoice in the Lord”. That phrase is written on plaques and hung on walls in houses everywhere. However, as we take time to think about it, do we really? How many times do we find ourselves going day to day with a ho-hum attitude, or simply going through the motions? As Christians, we should be the most joyful people on earth, because we understand our purpose, and have the gift of Life. I believe that one of the biggest keys to appreciating the wonderful gift of salvation is to understand the ugliness of sin.

Worldliness and sin abound in every place we go, and it’s normal to get used to something if it’s around us 24\7. But we must fight this if we’re to remain holy. We’re not to be conformed to this world, but we’re to be transformed (Rom. 12:2). The state we’d be in if God had never shown His love by sending His Son is truly sobering, but it’s one that we must periodically think on to remind us of the great blessing we’ve received.

It’s not possible for evil to dwell with God (Ps. 5:4), and God’s face is against those who act wickedly (Ps. 34:16). God does not tolerate sin. Even though he might not destroy mankind for such evildoing as he did in the days of the flood, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel just as strongly about it today as he did then. Sin is serious and we can’t afford to become numbed by it. Sure, we might not be practicing homosexuality, but what about the “smaller” sins of greed, jealousy, fits of anger, impure speech or envy (Gal. 5:19-21)? These things are every bit as detrimental to our spiritual life as the “big” issues, and are more of a struggle for most Christians. Sin cannot dwell with God. We’re imperfect human beings, and we fall. Over and over, we need to ask God for his forgiveness. However, the beauty of what God has given us is that if we’re trying to do right and follow him to the best of our ability, we are continually cleansed and forgiven (1 Jn. 1:7).

How should the knowledge that we have a way to escape death and eternal punishment make us feel? The knowledge that God still would have sent his Son to die in our place, even if we were the only one he did it for? I can’t think of anything under the sun that can fill me with more joy. We don’t deserve life, but God loved us so much that he gave it to us anyway. What a gift! (Eph. 2:8)

That being said, when we go to worship, why do we sometimes have a less than enthusiastic attitude? We should feel honored to be able to praise him, thank him, remember him, and give back to him. Let’s “Be glad when they said to us ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord’”(Ps. 122:1).

With the knowledge we have, our everyday lives can and should be filled with joy and peace. Do we go about our days in a state of semi-apathy, with a slightly dreary attitude? The Psalms are full of verses telling us to rejoice and have a happy heart, praising God in our thankfulness. In my mind, the picture that’s painted from those verses isn’t one of negativity and solemnity. Our hope should bring joy, resulting in a glad heart, which in turn, makes a cheerful face. If you’re not having the best day, try counting some of your blessings and make a conscious effort to speak cheerful words – not to be ingenuine, but feelings often follow actions.

If you go into your workplace with a ho hum attitude every day, it shows, and if we don’t show joy, or even happiness in our lives, why should people in the world want what we have? We’re to be lights in the world; a city on a hill that can’t be hidden. Think for a moment even about your facebook page. What do our statuses reflect? So many times I see people post over and again how a certain something annoyed them, disappointed them, or angered them, often never thinking to note what was pleasant or positive in their lives. This isn’t a healthy attitude, and certainly not a Christlike outlook on life.

Let’s truly delight in the Lord, exult in every new day He brings, appreciate the wonderful gift of salvation, and look forward to opportunities that might come our way! “A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed” – Prov. 15:13

A climbin' the hill

2011-06-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Luke, Carey, Jake and I decided to climb a different hill that's near our house. I think it was only about 3 miles round trip, but this hill was steeper, and the brush was thicker!

We came to this ravine here - isn't it pretty?

"So I don't see any way out of here...where should we go? ...Yeah, I guess you're right, we'll go up!"

Once we got out of the ravine we found the road again

It started to get steep right here

We're soaking up all the green we can before things turn completely brown

Me and....half of Luke's face. It's hard to get both of our faces in it since he's so tall!

There was no path at all, or even any areas that weren't a complete jungle of thorns, so we just went through it! I still have part of one in my leg that I need to dig out......

We finally reached the top! Here's Jake in his awesomeness.

Luke and Carey admiring the view

I wish you could see exactly how enormous this rock is!

Luke in his awesomeness

Yeah, I'm the oddball in this group!

Luke, me, Jake. (Just to clarify, Carey is just a friend and coworker, no relation)

I zoomed all the way in onto the "little" hill that we climbed before

Here it is again...our house is at the base of it. Annnd, the sun was really bright. I felt like laying on top of the rock and soaking up some sun like a lizard.

Didn't take many pictures coming down because we were too intent on not falling and dying\being careful not to get our eyes poked out by branches and thorns.

We got back sweaty (and stinky. You're welcome you guys) and a bit tired, but it was so much fun! As an added bit of entertainment I got to sit on the couch that evening and pick ticks off myself, heh heh. "Begone bloodsuckers!" Okay that was gross, and I kindof made it up. I only found one on my leg as we were hiking, muahaha.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's up the hill we go!

2011-05-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago Dad, Carey, Luke, Jake and I went climbing up the big rocky hill that's near our house. In a 1\2 mile, we ascended 500 feet! Here are a few pictures (All climbing pictures courtesy of Dad!):

The view - how gorgeous is it! The house with the blue roof towards the bottom right is our house.

The rocks are huge!

Luke, Carey, Jake and I. I'm such the odd one out, hehe! Those guys have so much fun together, what a hoot! Thanks for making me laugh so hard my stomach hurts while I'm trying to haul myself over these rocks...

Bonnie, Mom and I went into town the other day to have a bite of lunch, and so Bonnie could have a checkup. She's so brave!

Bonnie lookin' cute while she gets blood drawn

Er...the toilet. After one has been used alot, it's a toss up as to which is more preferable - tile or dirt. I'd have to go with dirt though, because you could slip on the tile, hit your head and get knocked unconscious . Great!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Happy Day that celebrates Mothers!

2011-05-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

It's been an embarrassingly long time since I've posted. {Ahem} Nothing like a holiday to get another post out!

Ah, Mother's Day. Where would any of us be without our mothers? Yep, you said it!

I realized that somewhere along the way I refer to her exclusively as "The Mom" (or sometimes "Mum"). Never plain "Mom", but The Mom. She loves me, she always has, and always will. She's The Mom.

(Hi The Mom!)

Dear The Mom,
Thank you for all you do for everyone every single day. You're such a wonderful example in so many ways - I hope that someday I can be half the person that you are. Thanks for being my parent for all my life, you're definitely firstly that, but now you're also my friend. I love you. Thanks for always making me laugh and smile, teaching me and loving me, even though I do strange things like try to waltz around the kitchen with you every other day.

Love, Linz

She feeds us, cares for us, and wipes our foreheads and gives us water when we're sick...the list goes on and on. And all the while loving us, even with our ~~weirdness~~ quirks.

I mean, she puts up with us every day!

Even when we do things like wear cowboy hats just because we're watching a Western movie.

(I think we learned it from you, Mom!)

So today, I'm singing along with Mr. T..."Mother, I'll always love her...there is no other!"

(And mine's the best. You can't have her! Heh heh. Sorry.)

Abundant life

2011-03-31T02:02:00.000-07:00

We've been having several Bible studies lately, that have been going really well. Every Wednesday and Saturday morning I tag along with Dad and Jake and go to a study that's with 4 young women. If I remember right, three are Anglican, and one is Methodist.

It's been so encouraging to sit in on these studies! The women are interested and attentive, and are willing to talk and answer\ask questions. Alot of people may agree to have a study with you, but while they're fiddling with their phone or staring at a bee buzzing in the window, you get the feeling that they're not really even listening to what's being said.

Being in the study has just reminded me again and again of some things.

Every time I sit in on classes, and watch the people as they see things unfold, it gives me goosebumps. Every time that we start at the beginning and review God's plan for the world - how he planned for his Son to come and take our place, it brings me to tears.

In Genesis 3:15, talking about how Jesus will be victorious, and in Acts 2:24 - "God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it."

It just brings me to tears and puts me in awe, because what a wonderful and powerful God we serve. How unworthy we are to even serve Him, but how blessed are we to be able to!

Jesus came so we could have life. Not just existence, but life. Abundant, joyful, peace-filled, full life.

Even when the storms come, we're able to take comfort in the knowledge that God's above all, through all, and in all.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
John 10:10

"My lips will shout for joy,when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have redeemed."

Psalms 71:23

"My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God."
Psalms 84:2

"But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you."
Psalms 5:11

Love never ends

2011-03-21T02:37:00.000-07:00

Right now I'd like to ask prayers on behalf of the Morton and Heck families as they go through the rough time of losing dear Shauna.

Shauna battled hard with cancer for two long years, and her struggle is now over.

Aunt Shauna - right, with sister Chasity, left

A wonderful example to all, she was truly one of the best examples I've ever had.

She was constantly in pain

~however~

She was bright

happy

full of smiles and laughter

never complaining

always unselfish

always trusting in God

encouraging

kind

patient

While she may not be with us anymore here on earth, she is now well and whole, being comforted by the mighty hand of God.

We have the comfort of knowing that someday, we will be reunited in The Place where there will never be suffering, pain, or tears.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

~I Thessalonians 4:13~

Running Route

2011-03-03T02:26:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to take some pictures of the scenery, and of where we go running, but when we're actually doing a more serious run, I never want to tote along my camera, so Luke and I took a bike ride, and I was able to finally get a few to show you!

A nice downhill towards the beginning of our route...and it turns into a nice uphill when we're almost home on the way back.

I actually love this uphill! It's not super long, so I like to try and power up it.

A while after the hill, there's a nice straightaway.

A nice downhill

The seemingly huge uphill that used to seem to take forever to run up! It's not so bad now though, thankfully!

Then I didn't take any more pictures until we were headed back to the house. Isn't the scenery pretty? It's the rainy season right now, so things and green and lovely!

As a side note, make sure to check out Cookie Monster, since it's just been updated! And as a "not so side" side note, you really should go look at Luke's blog, because he has some really great posts!

The Power of a Positive Wife: Chapter 1

2011-02-18T00:24:00.000-08:00

Last time, we took a peek at the introduction for this book. This post will take an overview of chapter one of The Power of a Positive Wife.

Chapter 1 [part one]: The Impact of a Positive Wife

This chapter starts out asking the question, "If you could choose the one ingredient that makes a great wife, what would it be?"..."What if her every waking moment is motivated by the question, 'What can I do to make my husband's world a better place?'...this would be great attention, but the most important ingredient is God-centerdness." In this book, Karol Ladd stresses the important of a personal relationship with Christ, and spiritual growth. If we're truly God-centered, and trying our best to apply biblical principles to our lives, we will try to please our husbands to the best of our ability. Pleasing our husbands in everything, however, is not our #1 motivation. "Her walk with God allows her to keep the other areas of her life in balance".

Karol reminds that marriage is all about two unique individuals using their individual talents to strengthen and balance the marriage. For, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work" (Eccl. 4:9). We're encouraged to take stock of our talents and abilities, and find ways to use them in the best way.

In Romans 12:9-12, 15,16, Paul talks about devoted, true love. He never asks if the other person treats us with love first. "Showing love means helping others become better people". The book states that we should be as blind to our husbands faults as we can, and encourage him in his good areas. Obviously, she's not talking about a glaring sin problem, and occasions do arise when we'll need to point something out to the hubby that he can try to better himself at - she's simply talking about day to day life; encouraging us to dwell on the positive, not the negative!

When women are hurt by their husbands, they might often be tempted to try to get back at him by giving the silent treatment, use spiteful words, or even withhold intimacy. Karol gives us the example of Paul. He had "every right" to try to get even with his enemies, but he chose to forgive and move on. "We need to practice the profound principle of forgiving...what does an I'm-going-to-get-you-back attitude do for us? Do they make us better people or just bitter ones?"

Wives set the tone for their homes. Proverbs 19:13, 14 says, "a nagging wife annoys like a constant dripping...but only the Lord can give an understanding wife". Our attitudes and actions are like air fresheners. If someone walks into our home, they can either breath in deeply and smile, or wrinkle their noses in disgust.

The last part of chapter one talks about control; Let's see what Karol has to say. "What do wives want to control? Circumstances, for one. We want to keep the people and things around us healthy, happy and safe. Our families, for two. Many of us want to control our husbands and children - to micromanage their every action." She encourages us to identify what areas in our life we try to control, and turn it over to God. It's not our job to try to control our families, and every circumstance in our life; when we see flaws in our husbands, sometimes we're tempted to think it's our job to try to change his ways, but that's not our job. Our job is to encourage him in good ways, and take his name to God in prayer.

"What is your greatest weakness or challenge in your marriage? We all know marriage is not a stroll down Easy Street...it's more like a drive Flaws and Weaknesses Lane...The question is not, 'Do you have challenges?' The question is, 'Where do you go for help, power, and strength through the challenges?"

Happy birthday, Candice!

2011-02-13T08:44:00.000-08:00

Today is my friend Candice's birthday.

Ah, how far we've come together! We used to play with baby dolls, and nail polish, and convince the others to play dress up with us. Now we talk every chance we get , even though we're separated by many miles. We also have an insane number of nicknames for each other. Alot of mine involve some form of 'Punkin'. But let's not get too far into that...

We love to skype!

Happy birthday, Candice!

~Eye Heart Ewe!~

The Power of a Positive Wife: Introduction

2011-02-11T00:27:00.000-08:00

When we were staying with my grandparents on furlough, I happened to see a book on Nanna's shelf that was entitled, "The Power of a Positive Wife". I thought it looked interesting, so I picked it up and started to thumb through it. Before I knew it, I had my notebook and pen out, furiously taking notes. My sweet and generous Nanna saw me, laughed a little, and gave me another copy she happened to have tucked away!

Now, I'm obviously not a wife, but I really love this book; it has so many good points. Even though it's about how wives should relate to their husbands (which is very helpful to read, even though I'm not married yet), it has so many things I can apply to everyday life with all of my family.

I thought I would take one blog post at at time, and share some good parts from each chapter!

Introduction:

It starts out with a 4 page introduction where it generally outlines the book, and the overall purpose. The book starts out with this: "Let me guess...you fully intended to be a positive wife when you first got married...but somewhere between the 'I do' and the 'happily ever after' you found yourself struggling...and suddenly you found that you weren't all you intended you would be". "...If I gaze into my husbands eyes, it might be that I'm trying to get him to help with the kids or take out the trash." The book's emphasis is on how wives should react to their husbands, regardless of what the husband's behavior might be.

She tries to stress the importance of the wife's personal relationship with God. "The positive wife doesn't look only to her husband to fill her with joy and contentment, she looks to her heavenly Father". She goes on to say that every marriage will have problems, because both the husband and wife do, but the real question that determines the state of a marriage is how we will handle those problems.

Hopefully you'll enjoy the quick look of this book, and if it interests you, maybe you'll even think about getting a copy of your own!

Happy birthday, Jake!

2011-02-06T21:22:00.000-08:00

Today is Jacob's 22nd birthday! If you all would like to wish him a happy one, please do!

Happy birthday, Jacob!

Iringa

2011-02-01T07:53:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few pictures that I hope you'll enjoy!

Driving down to Iringa. I think Panya wanted to be the figurehead...

This is how Don and Axe spent their time.

This is how Panya spent her time.

Or this...(what a cutie!)

Since there was no AC, we had all the windows rolled down the entire trip. It was a liiiittle windy!

This is our backyard. Note the handy little spigot in the middle there...

The front yard! Isn't it pretty up there? The scenery is definitely different than in the North.

Heh heh. We have two mango trees, and the dogs snack on the fallen fruit all day long. Panya has a fat little mango belly!

Going running with deh boys!

Really!

2011-01-28T10:58:00.000-08:00

Hopefully a new post with pictures will be coming soon!

----------------------

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Romans 12:12

We made it

2011-01-12T00:28:00.000-08:00

Thank you all so much for the prayers - we've made it safely down to Iringa, and have been getting everything sorted out.

I hardly know what day it is right now, everything seems pretty jumbled up, but let's see if I can give you a bit of what's happened!

A truck came last Tuesday afternoon, and we were able to get everything loaded up, and the truck locked. We had sleeping bags out still, so we slept at our house that night and got up early Wednesday morning and started driving!

Mom and Dad were in the Land Cruiser pulling the trailer that had our suitcases and sleeping bags, etc. in it, and the boys and I were in the Wagon with the dogs. Don and Axe were in the very back and they did great, except for getting really hot. They made it through the trip without dying - yes! I was in the middle seat with the ice chest and Panya. She was really good too, just went back and forth between laying down and looking out my window. She liked to growl at giraffes and impala we passed!

We got to Iringa at probably around 10pm, and slept at an inn.

The next morning we got to our house, and started getting everything unpacked! Since then, we've pretty much been doing the same things - unpack, carry boxes, unpack, take apart empty boxes...ask other family members "Do you want this?" every few minutes. Heh heh.

We worshiped with the brethren here on Sunday; the building is about 20 minutes from our house. Mwakalonge preached a good sermon, and the people were friendly.

Hopefully we'll get internet up at the house in a few days. It'll be nice when things get settled in enough to get back into a regular schedule.

Has anyone made any goals for the New Year? I've written down a few general guidelines for myself. They're not resolutions, since I've been doing them anyway, but New Year's is a convenient time to look at goals, etc. you have.

Here are a few of mine:

- Daily Bible study and prayer time

- Drink at least a couple of glasses of water a day
(I usually drink a litre or two a day, but this is just so if I don't drink that much in a day, I at least get something!)

- Exercise 3 times a week\train to run a 10K
(Hopefully more, but this is so I don't set myself up for disaster, haha)

So there we have it, hope you all are having a great week!

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

Philippians 4:4

Welcome, 2011!

2010-12-31T22:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

This year, like last year, we counted down until exactly 12am, and this is what happened:

Luke: Was playing Auld Lang Syne on my bass plugged into an amp.

Jacob:  Was honking the air horn on our Land Cruiser, and blowing on his giant sea shell (He does that last one every year, haha).

Dad:  Was standing on our picnic table playing his trumpet. 

I:  Was screaming, yelling and "woohoo!!"-ing at the top of my lungs, and doubling over with laughter at the boys.  This last one happens ever year, too. 

Mom:  Was standing on our porch wearing shooting ear muffs.  

Every year some of the young people in our neighborhood go up on the big hill by our house, light a bonfire, and make a huge ruckus.  They absolutely love it when we go out and make our ruckus, too.  We all share a New Year's yelling at each other bond.

After we did all the honking the horns, bass playing, and yelling, we sang the National Anthem.  I'm pretty sure it was the loudest it's ever been wailed sung in the history of America.  

To wrap it all up, we stood outside Dad and Mom's door, and serenaded them with "Auld Lang Syne".  It's a new tradition we made up last year.  

Christmas

We opened the presents we got for each other on Christmas Eve.  I made hot chocolate.  We skyped with Julia and Lee, and took turns opening our presents.  It was really fun to open them "together".  

- Luke made Dad a tool pouch.

- Dad made Mom a beautiful wooden spoon and spatula.

- Mom made Luke a computer case.

- Jake gave me a wonderful beeswax candle called "Queen of the Night", and it smells so, so good.

- I made Jake a book.  It was called...."The Adventures of Jacob".  I can't post any pictures because I don't think he would be pleased with me putting it online for you all to see, because let's just say that the illustrations are a bit - dramatized.  Heh heh!

Christmas morning, the Samfords came over for breakfast, then we had stockings and presents for the kids.  They were so precious opening them all up, and getting so excited.  

Aubrie loved her jumper and bracelet, Ayden's favorite was the little toy truck, and Ryan's favorites were definitely the crackers and candy.  He would go around the room, wanting each person to open up another candy for him!  I have some pictures that I can hopefully put up a little later.

Hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday!

Tis the season to be jolly

2010-12-23T11:07:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!

Happy day before Christmas Eve!

We've been getting ready for our little Christmas here. We drew names, and are making presents for each other. I got Jacob. Why in the world is it so hard to think of something to make for that guy? It's not like he's hard to please! I think I was just having a mental block {that lasted a few weeks, aka - from the time I drew his name until my gift was finished}. I can't tell you what it is yet, though!

I thought about tying little antlers onto Panya's head like the Grinch did:

But had to settle for a bow instead

If I keep this up, I'm going to have to rename my site, "Life with Panya"...

Eggnog

2010-12-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share this little comic with you all!

(Just a little disclaimer that not every single one of these comics are the best, I just came across this particular one)

An update...and the Christmas spirit

2010-12-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a while since I posted last, but I was waiting until I had some more news to share before I actually did one.

Most of you already know that our family will be moving to southern Tanzania to finish out our five year commitment. There's been a lot of work done up here in the North, but there's been hardly any done down South. We're really hoping to be able to encourage and share the Gospel with the people in Iringa.

Dad, Mom, Mr. Carey, and Mwakalonge (a graduate from the school who will be working with us) got back this morning after being in Iringa for nine days. It took longer than initially thought, but they were able to find a house for us! The houses are simple, but nice, and perfectly suitable for what we need. We're hoping to go down on January 3rd. Hopefully, some pictures will come soon! :)

I can't believe that it's almost Christmas! I need to get back to playing Christmas music...it helps me get in the Christmas spirit. And I need to get back to making Christmasy foods (without charring the end of my finger like I did when I made almond roca...). It helps the Christmas spirit. Unfortunately, Christmasy foods also helps you get the Christmas waistline. Just joking, I don't really gain weight during the holidays. I just wanted to say "Chrismas" a few more times.

What are you doing to get ready for Christmas?

Happy December!

2010-12-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! A post is long overdue, but I haven't had too much to blog about lately.

I love the holidays. You get to decorate the house with little christmas trees, and twinkly lights, and make yummy spice foods that make the house smell like a bakery in the North Pole. Plus it's the only time of year that I can play and hum christmas music without someone asking me why!

It's a bit hard to feel like doing anything when every holiday feels like the 4th of July, but we manage! :) It's especially the best at night, when it's dark and chilly {And you don't sweat if you drink a mug of hot chocolate!}.

Happy December first, everyone!

Make sure to be checking out Cookie Monster for some holiday recipes

Sewing projects

2010-11-22T06:29:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to do this post for a little while now, but it seems I never got around to it. I mean, I had to take the pictures and all...

This is the apron I made. Come to think of it, I never really wear aprons...I have no idea why though, because they're cute, and they do help keep flour off you.

Originally, it wasn't supposed to have this bow in the front, but it's too big unless I double up the ties and knot it in front.

I was hard pressed to find any material for these that wasn't granny material. Believe me, most of the material we have was donated. *whispers* - What people donate was usually given away for a reason.

This is the camera strap I made for Julia. I think these straps are so pretty!

One of the best things about them is that you can sew them up in an hour or two - maybe less!

~~~

Make sure you all go over and check out Cookie Monster!

Drip, drip...

2010-11-19T05:49:00.000-08:00

This is what the side of our yard looked like after some of the heavy rain we've had...

Am I in Venice? No? Oh.

Well, can I please borrow a gondola?

Another post coming soon!

Happy birthday!

2010-11-13T00:31:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday, Luke!

Yes, today is Luke's birthday! We kicked off the festivities with singing happy birthday. Then we proceeded to sing happy birthday... Followed, of course, by singing happy birthday. We're going to make some homemade coconut-pineapple ice cream to go with brownies!

Panya is learning really fast to obey her commands. She already knows: Sit, stay, lay, up (on her hind legs), give (release an object she has in her mouth), and how to play fetch. :) What a good doggie!

Yesterday I actually did almost everything that was on my to do list! I usually don't end up getting everything I write down done. I was actually going to do a longer post (complete with pictures) yesterday, but got too busy. My daily list usually looks something like this:

| Bible study

| Clean the house

| Straighten room

| Make supper

| Laundry

| Exercise

It's usually longer than that, but these are the ones that are pretty much always on there. Speaking of which...I better go and get some more stuff done!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Game night

2010-11-08T05:30:00.000-08:00

When we were little, we had a tradition at our house of Friday nights being a game night. We'd make popcorn or some such, and play a board\card game together. Over the years, this tradition has fell by the wayside somewhat.

We're bringin' it back.

Game night before last we decided to play dominoes (and why no, I didn't just type in "dominose" at first!). I don't think us kids have ever played dominoes in our lives. In fact, I don't think the domino box has even been touched since it fell off the shelf and onto Julia's head when she was a small child {it really happened}. But we played it! Mainly by us kids sticking random tiles onto the end of the train until we figured out that it was supposed to match the tile it was connecting to. What? The rules weren't explained beforehand!

Some members of the family think of game night as a fun way to bond while playing a game that you don't know the rules to and having to consult the instructions paper every two minutes, others think of it as a great excuse to spend the whole evening snacking, and some look at it as a combination of the two.

The boys: "Hey Linz, are you going to make hot chocolate?"
Me: *Noncommittal grunt*
Boys: "What's the use of playing a game if we don't get some hot chocolate out of it? *snick snick snick*"
Me: "Okay!! I'll make some!"
Mom: "Wee'rrree staaaartiiing!"

We settle down around the table with our hot chocolate mugs and try to figure out how in the world you play this game.

Dad: "I know how to play this, we used to play this at Grandma Langston's all the time"
Me: "I don't know...isn't that sort of a big pile of dominoes....?"
Mom: "They have to all be used up by the end of the game!"
Me: *Falls onto the floor*
Boys: *slurp slurp*
Luke: "Whew! That hot chocolate sure makes you warm. I just got a hot-chocolate flash."
Me&Mom: *laughs until our sides ache*..."Hot-chocolate flash!...Ow, oh, my stomach!"

{Please note that these are actual events and quotes. Thank you}

Jake: *wearing the domino box on his head like a hat* "Do you think wearing this box on my head shows a lack of maturity on my part?"

Dad: "AAHAHAhaha, I don't think so!!!"

What kills me is how funny the boys are. Have you ever laughed so long that you're truly concerned that you might die from a lack of oxygen? I have. It wasn't pleasant. The worst thing was that I couldn't even talk to tell someone to help me, or call an ambulance. Mom and I often just sit back and laugh at the banter that goes on between them. What can ya do?

Hooray for game night!

Panya

2010-11-02T01:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, so I realize that I sound like a new grandma asking everyone if they want to see the newest grandbaby pictures, but I thought I'd just do a post completely dedicated to Panya pictures and be done with it! (She's just so cute)

I'm a sucker for whiskers and doggie mustaches.

This picture makes me want to swoop down and take her in my arms! Wait, every picture makes me want to do that...

*Sigh*

Attack!

This is quite possibly my favorite. Hi little girl!

*ahem*

Thanks for bearing with me while I ooh and ahh over my little baby...er...puppy, and thanks to Dad for taking these pictures!

Don't look at me like that!

2010-10-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

Look at that face! {And this is nothing compared to when she wrinkles her forehead and looks all worried.} I can't resist it!

Now that I have that off my chest...

Dad and Jacob left for Nairobi at about 3am this morning, so Jake can get some dental work done. Hopefully they'll be back either tonight or tomorrow morning.

I'd like to thank Mum for sharing the link for my last post on facebook! Since you all enjoyed it so much, I thought I'd give you a couple more quotes from when we did pilates next.

TV: "Make sure you engage your abdominals for this segment..."

Us: "This sure is a good neck exercise!"

...

TV: "...Now, rest with your head face-down on the mat..."

Me: "*bonk* I can't - that squishes my nose!"

I feel like I should inform you that we do spend some time working out when we work out.

I need to come up with a halloween costume. We're having the Gees over for a party, and everyone has to dress up! Bwahaha, we'll see what everyone comes up with.

Don't forget to go check out Cookie Monster for some new recipes!

Hi triceps, long time no see

2010-10-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

Furlough was not kind to my muscles. Not kind at all. So a few days ago I said, "Mom, let's do pilates!". It was going to be easy- like before, right? We got the mats out, and ready-set-go! It burned. Apparently, after a couple months of almost no real physical activity, you lose some muscle. *Arrrgh, my triceps!*

As I'm in a heap on my mat, I contemplate my situation. Surely someone will walk by and help me up sooner or later. That, or I'll just lay here on my mat collecting dust until I'm no more. Feebly, I call for help. "Help." Whew, that was exhausting. "Heeeeeelp!"

With my arms feeling like jelly, and not even being able to lift my arm up to reach my water bottle, I make the comment, "Well, this makes me appreciate the shape we were in last time we did this!"

To top it all off, a savage beast takes advantage of my helpless state, and attacks my stomach.

Me: "Panya, bleh, get offa me! *Tries to ward off her attack with a useless arm*

Panya: "Raaaawr!"

Me: "Heeelp, I'm being attacked!...Giant pink tongue, aaargh! Fiend! Flea-bitten mongrel! Back, back I say!"

How I survived is anybody's guess. As well as I how I got up.

The next day I think, "Hmm, that wasn't so bad, let's do it again!"

(This account has been dramatized for blogging purposes.)

Hello fall!

2010-10-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

It's not exactly autumn where I am, but it is where most of you reading this are, so that being said, I decided it was time to change the look of my blog for fall!

It was a beautiful day here today. The sun was shining, I got alot done, Panya was running around in the yard, and I sewed one of these. It turned out super cute! I'll have to take a picture and post it.

Panya is settling in wonderfully! We finally let her be down together with the other dogs yesterday. Axe, the female, had no problem at all - just wagged her tail, but wasn't that interested. Don, the male, didn't exactly have a problem either...but let's just say he's smitten. Don, honey, I don't think it's going to work out between you. Over and out. We need to take Panya to the vet this week to get her booster shots. We don't want any little beasties anywhere!

Happy Tuesday!

Home again

2010-10-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

A "we made it back safely" post is long overdue, but here it is. *ahem*

Here we are in TZ again, safe and sound! We've been getting back to normal, starting with cleaning the house up and getting everything back in order.

I got my puppy. Her name is Panya, and she's the cutest little thing! She's almost exactly four months old. I don't have any good pictures of her at the moment, but hopefully I will soon!

Hope y'all have had a wonderful week!

Goodbye, America

2010-10-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

How strange that we're flying back to Africa tomorrow morning! This has been a great furlough with lots of things that've happened. Julia got married, we went to Polishing the Pulpit, visited lots of friends, and went to Roundhouse! Roundhouse is definitely always the highlight of any visit. It gives a tiny, little taste of what Heaven must be like one day.

I don't have too much to say, just please pray that we have a safe journey!

Love,

2010-09-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

Here we are, back in Knoxville; right now we're staying with the Apples. They're so kind and generous to us!

Pretty much at this point, we're just waiting until Roundhouse is over, then we'll head back home. Last week we got in things like dentist appointments. It turns out that we even have great hygiene. *ding!* Mr. Dentist, yes, I have been flossing...I don't want to have my teeth rotted out by the time I'm 45.

Before I close out this little blurb, I just want to say one word: Vanilla Cupcake.

Yes, please!

These are $4 at Walmart and smell really good. I mean reeaally good!

These are exactly what I smell like after I use the lotion or body spray.

I love smelly-good things!

Lonesome Pine, I hear ya calling

2010-09-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

We were able to go to a bluegrass festival on the September 2nd, and it was so much fun! We got to see Donna Hughes, Blue Highway, the Josh Williams Band, and (drum roll, please!) the Tony Rice Unit. If you haven't heard Tony Rice, look him up on Youtube or some such. My favorite thing of his is Shenandoah.

The great thing about Bluegrass is that the bands usually sound their best when they're performing live. You can't say that about really any other genre.

We got there early in the afternoon in time to hear Donna Hughes, and after that we listened to Josh Williams for an hour, then Blue Highway. Blue Highway's banjo picker smiled at me about 5 times. Through the sea of the wild, screaming fans! Ok, so that's not true. Out of the handful of people that were scattered here and there at that time, he happened to look our way and smile. I won't even mention when their bass player grinned at me, either.

Anyway, we went back to the van and had a bite to eat (mine consisted mainly of peanut butter), then looked around at the vendors until it was time for Tony Rice to have a signing session of his biography. The boys went to look at knives, and I went to look at purses and bags. {Who would've guessed that?} I got a really cute purse - the perfect size that doesn't look huge, but is bottomless, sort of like the Mary Poppins bag! It's a good thing I'd already decided to buy it anyway, because the lady started telling me what a pretty bag it was, and how great it would look on my arm. *snort* Sorry, but that's not the way to make me buy something. Way to be sly...

We headed to the place where Tony Rice would be doing the book signing, and waited. Dad and the boys got in line (they were third), and Mom and I sat on a bench right outside the open window. After a while of waiting, and people passing by and saying over and over to each other "Is he here yet?", a big blue truck pulled up. A guy who was talking away on his cell phone suddenly said, "He's here!" and snapped it shut.

Meanwhile, my head was whipping around in every direction just in case he came from a side I wasn't expecting. Then...I saw him. {And his wife that looked like Cruela DeVill} I heard the gravely voice, and he started slowly walking towards us. He walked so close in front of me, I could've squeaked out a toe and tripped him. Then he looked right at me (grinning like an idiot, no doubt), and his mustache twitched. I was starstruck. He kept walking, and I saw his nasty little ponytail that looked like it got caught in the garbage disposal, and then it lessened just a bit. He went inside and sat at a little table, and started signing books. When it was Luke's turn, he handed Tony his guitar and asked if he would mind signing it. I hear from a very reliable source that Tony rasped "myeah, if you want me to deface it". Luke was starstruck too.

After the guitar and book were signed, we went back to the car so Luke could put it away. We all oohed and aahed at it for a while, then headed back to our seats and listened to more Blue Highway, Josh Williams, and Donna Hughes.

It was 10pm when it was finally time for the Tony Rice Unit. It was amazing! They didn't play that many songs, but the songs they did play were long. For example, they did Nine Pound Hammer, and the instrumental break was so long that when they finally wrapped it up with the last verse, people had pretty much forgot that was the song they were doing.

We finally got back to the hotel after 12, and all had to look at the signature on the guitar for a while before we could go to bed. :)


Jake and Luke having fun listening

Tony Rice

"*stutter stutter* Would you mind signing my guitar?"


Blue Highway

Josh Williams Band

The Tony Rice Unit!

Goodbye, California

2010-08-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

This last month we've been in California spending time with family. It's been really fun, and great to visit with everyone!

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the Jackson {my mum's side} clan, but I did get some pictures of when we spent time with the Jensen side of the family.

8 of the 12 cousins!

(Back row, from left to right: Jacob, Luke, Andy, Marcus

Front row, left to right: Amy, me, Emily, Laura)

One day, we decided to drive up to Yosemite National Park since it was only about two hours away. It was so beautiful! I was so glad we could spend time together looking at God's creation. (Minus the time we spent riding the stinky shuttle with the grumpy driver lady honking the whole time and complaining about traffic having to stop for pedestrians crossing the road...and making terrifying sounds over the mic to stop a baby from crying. But that's another story...)

Everything was massive!

It was a good day. :)

-*-

Right now, we're on our way to Tennessee to go to Polishing the Pulpit. I'm really excited about going, I've heard alot of good things about it!

Day in San Francisco

2010-08-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday before last, we went to San Francisco to visit a couple of our supporting congregations and stay with Dad's sister and her family. Monday we went to the city and had a fun family day!

We spent our day at Fisherman's Wharf walking around and looking in shops

This was at lunchtime. We watched for a little bit while this guy cooked crabs then broke them up

There were lots of places to choose from!

We looked in the Hard Rock! We came out pretty quickly though, because things were so expensive...but we did get our picture in front of it!

**It was a fun day**

Oh the things we will do, you and I!

2010-08-10T15:10:00.000-07:00

Time for an update! Things have been going really well over here. We're in California staying with Mom's parents right now, and it's been really nice to spend time with them. The boys and I spent the night at Uncle Jared and Aunt Sandy's with Nicholas and Matthew a few nights ago, and last night I spent the night at Jason and Jill's with the girls. It was fun! They're all really sweet. :)

Mum's been working on her lessons for a ladies' day she's doing here Saturday, and I've been working on a little talk I'm going to give about our work and my perspective on it. I'm really excited to hearing Mom's lesson!

The boys and I have been trying to go running every day. I really like to run! If I had a good place to run at home, I'd get a training schedule to build up my endurance. It's amazing how fatty all the foods are here - it's easy to forget! Anyway, traveling around in the car, and sitting most of the time doesn't do too much to make you feel great.

Last week we went to San Francisco to visit a couple congregations that support us, then on Monday we walked around the city. It was really nice to have a family day!

Next week we'll go up to Angel's Camp and spend a week or so with Dad's side of the family, so that should be fun.

I've talked to Julia a couple times, and she and Lee are doing really well. They've been getting settled in, and she's been doing all sorts of wifey things. :)

Hope everyone is having a great week!

{Remember to take a look at Cookie Monster for new recipes, and feel free to leave a comment!}

**Edit**

I just thought it would be really cool to mention that I've been getting hits from Brazil, and today from France! {I really want to visit France one day...}
~
Obrigado
&

Merci bien!
~

~July 23, 2010~

2010-07-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

How I love weddings! It's just so beautiful to see two people so in love be put together for the rest of their lives.

This wedding was especially wonderful though, because I was able to watch my only sister walk down the aisle and be joined to one of the best men I've ever known.


Their faces say it all

Everything was beautiful!

During the ceremony before Dad turned Julia over to Lee, he lifted her veil and kissed her cheek.

*tear*

She's my best friend.

~*~

Congratulations, Lee and Jewels!

"Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it..."

~Song of Solomon 8:7~

About to board the big bird. {aka - about to leave for the States}

2010-07-04T08:37:00.000-07:00

We've had a wonderful Sunday so far! We went to Arusha for worship this morning, came back home and had a nice lunch, and have been packing away and trying to get things ready to leave tomorrow. Tomorrow? Is that what I said? Sure enough!

Hmm, it seems like Lee and Julia were just spreading the word that they were engaged, and we were saying to people "See you in 7 months!"...and now we leave tomorrow. I'm really excited about seeing alot of people - family and close friends, but another part of me wants to stay right where I am! I suppose that's a good thing though that I love where I am. :)

I'm not sure if I'll have time to do a post tomorrow. Tomorrow's the day where we change sheets, pack the last minute things {like my old toothbrush that's so frayed it looks like it's saying, "I surrender!"} into our bags, and try to get all the remnants of laundry done. :)

So please pray that we'll have be safe while traveling, and Lord willing I'll probably see many of you soon! :D

Happy fake birthday!

2010-06-22T04:36:00.000-07:00

Happy fake birthday, Mom!

Friday is Mom's (or as she's commonly called by me, "Mum") birthday, but Dad will be gone to Karatu speaking at their preaching meeting, so we're celebrating today!

Since there isn't really anything to "do" for birthdays around here, mainly we fix something nicer for meals, sing happy birthday every few minutes, and have a "you don't get to work" day for the birthday person. The Mum gets special privileges, of course, like- no doing laundry. {What's a nice part about my birthday whenever it rolls around, you ask? No doing dishes...for the entire day. *gasps*} Oh, and we usually do make homemade ice cream. {This also reminds me: Are we the only ones who sang "Happy Father's Day" to the tune of the birthday song?}

So everybody wish her a happy birthday, either today or Friday (or both)!

Cookie Monster has finally been updated! Go check it out for the ravioli recipe.

And speaking of updating and blogs, you should go check out All Things Manly. It's pretty neat, even if it's never been updated. Yes, it is Luke's blog! Do you think it fits? Julia set it up for him as a joke because he's always teasing us about our blogs. I don't know about you people, but even though I'm not a man, reading about manly things still sounds pretty interesting. So you all should go leave him a comment telling him he should post something!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Here we go again

2010-06-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

It's been much too long since I've posted. Again. *Scuffs foot* This is going to have to be a short, update post, though. :)

We went to the Mwakabanje's house for supper tonight. They're a wonderful family, and I love them so much. Christopher's wife, Julia is a great cook, and we all left feeling like we might need a gurney!

Julia leaves day after tomorrow. Day after tomorrow... as in tomorrow, she'll leave tomorrow. How did it come so fast? And we leave three weeks after she does - Yikes!

My recipe blog, Cookie Monster, has gotten a face lift, you should go check it out! Poor little neglected thing...I'll have to put up a new recipe soon. Maybe the ravioli recipe??

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Sorry, no treat for you today

2010-05-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

I can hardly resist taking pictures of Don. He's such a handsome dog!

Soakin' up some sun. Hmm, that sounds pretty good to me, too!

{Aw}

Being popular is so tiring.

"Don, look over here!"

Hehehe.

A sketch, sketch here, and a sketch, sketch there...

2010-05-19T01:50:00.000-07:00

Well, well! It seems a post is overdue. *sighs* It seems I just haven't had much to blog about lately.

Anyway, I've wished that I was more of the "artsy" type (We all know one!). In particular, I've wished that I was good at drawing. I've never really drawn anything, besides my regular doodles - yep the whole kit and caboodle! (*long pause* Never mind, I just wanted to rhyme "doodle" with "caboodle".)

Strange, but I've never really even tried to draw, just assumed that I couldn't. Sooooo, I decided that I would try my best to become good at it. For the past three days I've been sketching away, mainly looking at other sketches and trying to duplicate them. {It's true, pencil is more forgiving than ink}

Sketch #1: An eye. I think it looks slightly upset, or maybe confused. Or grieved.

Sketches #s 2-7: Yeeah. I'm feeling less like posting these the farther along I get with this. Feel free to laugh, especially at the lone smiling mouth. *Run for your lives!!*

A face...with part of an eyebrow at the bottom of the page - it's not a goatee that fell off her face.

Another eye. This is the most decent looking drawing I did, but it only takes up the upper left corner of my paper.

So there you have 'em!

Hope everyone's having a good week!

The Sendoff

2010-05-05T03:38:00.000-07:00

We had Julia's bridal shower\"sendoff" Sunday afternoon, and it was amazing.

The table looked beautiful!

~*~

I had gone back with Mrs. Stephanie to her house after services so I could help with some last minute preparations. Mom and Julia got there at 2p.m., and then Mrs. Trina and the Gee girls came a bit later. The Arusha ladies were about an hour late since services went longer than normal, and they had to get presents. I was the "gate-girl", so when I heard them at the gate I went to get it. When I opened it, all the ladies were in single file, standing in two rows. They were figuring out who would stand where, and what song they should sing. {NOTE: Please keep in mind that it was all ladies at the shower - no men were present!!! :)} Once they had that figured out, they started singing and walking\dancing through the yard and onto the front porch. After they'd taken their shoes off, they went inside and starting walking in a circle around the table in the dining room while they sang. I was so glad to see them all come!

After they had finished their song, they went into the living room and sat down. At that point, some ladies from Moshi arrived. It meant alot to us that they came - it's a long way from Moshi...I was so glad to see them!!!

We ate a nice lunch of little sandwiches, roasted nuts, fruit, and cake {nom nom}. After all the dirty plates and cups were cleared away, Julia {looking absolutely beautiful} opened her presents from the missionary ladies. The African ladies sang a little bit while she opened her gifts, but everything was very reserved.

Then the ladies asked Mom to sit in a chair to the left of Julia, and told us that they weren't leaving, but had to go outside to get organized. Mrs. Trina and the girl had to leave, so I went out and opened the gate for them. When I got back to the porch, all the women were crowded close, holding their gifts - wooden spoons, khangas, baskets, etc. Then, forming a line, they starting singing "It's a present for the girl, it's a present, even if it's small, a present!", and dancing into the house. It was too crowded to get back in, so I joined line, and started singing and dancing as well. Since I didn't have my present in my hand, I made my way to a empty spot, slipped out of the line and danced there instead. If I would have thought of it at the time, I would've snatched up my present again, and continued in the line. Oh well!

They went in a circle around the coffee table, until Mkunde (The lady at the beginning of the line) was in front again. She danced, and waved her big basket around, twirling it in front of Julia's face, and above her head, then set it down at Mom's feet. Each woman in line then, would demonstrate what her gift was {for example, if it was a khanga, wrap it around Jewels or themselves}, then put it in the basket. It was loud. Really loud! Everyone was so happy, singing, dancing, and showing their gifts, along with the constant steam of "Aiyee! Aiyee! Aiyee!" sounds. {Those sounds are so great to make, by the way! Mom was able to edit some of the videos to make them decent to post a sample of}

After everyone had put their gift in the basket, they all came and stood near me, and asked her to stand up and present the basket to Julia. So, Mom took the basket, and handed it to Jewels. All of us started singing, clapping, and swaying behind them. If someone outside hadn't have known better, they would've thought that some indians were on the war-path with all that was going on in there!

Once again, they asked Mom to sit in her chair, and said that they were going outside to "refresh". :) Then, they came in as before - singing\dancing single file, but this time held a long khanga over their heads. This they brought and wrapped around Mom with much whooping and clapping. Mom, Jewels, and I were having a really hard time keeping ourselves together. After everyone sat again, a lady from each congregation took a turn making a little speech. Most of them were about how well Mom has done with raising Julia to this point of her marriage.

Then people started going home, and after cleaning up a bit and stuffing some leftover cake in a tupperware, we went home as well. It was a wonderful shower...none of us will forget it in a hurry, and Julia has wonderful presents reminding her of the people here.

*Love you Jewels!*

A new week!

2010-04-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful Sunday it's been! We went to Kisongo this morning for worship, because Jacob was asked to preach. He did a wonderful job! It was a really nice treat. Our evening devo with the missionaries was canceled, because almost everyone wasn't going to be able to make it, but our family still had a devo with just us, which was nice. :)

-

I started my Romans\Galatians class on Thursday, and I really enjoyed the first class! At 8am there's a devo for all the students (*insert me shuffling to a chair trying to look inconspicuous*), and at 8:30 we go in and have class until 10, when there's a half hour break for tea {Mwahaha! It's great, and especially useful for thawing you out once you've become an ice cube}. Then we go back in until noon, then we break for lunch. After lunch, it's class from 1 until 3.

-

On Saturday, the Samfords had a "fish fry" at their house, and it was alot of fun! They had bought some fish and cooked them {they fixed most of the fish how they like them here - whole fish, minus the insides}, and invited a bunch of people over. Almost all that came were from the Arusha congregation, but most of the ACSOP students came as well, along with a few others. In all, there was about 80 people.

The Samfords have a trampoline, so a game that Bonnie had the guys play was the "Masai jumping contest". By far, my favorite part of the day, haha! When she first told them they were going to have a Masai jumping contest, they got all excited, because most of them have had real practice! They had alot of fun trying to do it on the trampoline, though. Joseph was my favorite {he's actually a Masai}, because he got onto the trampoline, took the jumping stance, and started jumping, doing the Masai "Eeo!" sound at the top of his jump, then starting doing another sound that's made by sucking air in and out of your throat {Yes, sorry it's so hard to describe!}. After that, the women played musical chairs, and they loved it! We all had alot of fun. :)

-

I hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday!

Dun dun duuun

2010-04-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

Our internet is finally back, yay!

Not too much has been going on, just the usual things. I went with Jacob today on his Bible studies. He has two really good ones going on right now. One is a lady who's husband is a member of the church at Kisongo (they're newly married), and the other is a girl who also lives in Kisongo. Jake's been studying with the second lady's husband as well, but unfortunately the husband wasn't able to be there today. We weren't able to stay and study long at all today with the second lady, so we're going back tomorrow morning. Please pray that these women and also the husband will have honest hearts, open to the gospel.

I might take one of Dad's classes (Romans and Galatians, I think) at the school, starting next week.

It's the rainy season, so we've been getting tons of it lately, which is really nice, because that means we have plenty of water. We get to do laundry and everything! :) Gray, dark, rainy days always make we want to snuggle up with a blanket and either read or take a nap. {happy sigh}

(By the way, how do you all spell "Gray" with an "a" or an "e"? Just curious, because how I spell it always changes.)

{What a wimpy little post! :D}

:)

2010-04-02T00:04:00.000-07:00

Our internet is out at the moment...something's wrong with it, so we're working on getting it fixed. Right now Julia, Lydia and I are at the Samfords using their internet. I love having them as neighbors!!! Usually I use any excuse to walk over and see them. Bwahaha!

Hopefully I'll be able to do a "real" post soon.
:)

Take time to smell the roses

2010-03-27T07:20:00.000-07:00

I'm certainly not a professional photographer...I've hardly ever done any at all...but sometimes I really like to fiddle {No, not the using a bow made from horse hair kind}. Sometimes Julia will let me use her camera and I'll go wander around outside...Taking a picture here, deleting 20 there.

(Don, isn't he cute? Okay, well this maybe isn't his very handsomest moment! :) )

Ah, Friday!

2010-03-19T11:19:00.000-07:00

Things have been going wonderfully around here! It's so great to have Lydia with us. It only took her three days to get over jet lag this time around. {Oooo, aaah} The first visit it took her a week (a week!!), the second visit was three\four days, and this time, three days.

Okay, listen to this. Apparently...Julia and I talk to each other in our sleep. Every visit Lydia has made over here, she hears us rationally talking to each other. We're both completely asleep - annnnd, we never remember anything. *shifty eyes* I think it's all made up. Isn't that strange?

Mom finished the first bridesmaid dress, and it is gorgeous. The color and style is perfect! The wedding is going to be beautiful.

We're planning on going to Monduli for worship on Sunday. We haven't been there in a while, so it'll be really nice to visit.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Check it out!

2010-03-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Introducing...my recipe blog! Make sure and click on the link up there ^, take a look, and tell me what you think!

That second blog design reminds me of a picture of my face on wide-angle

2010-03-12T07:08:00.000-08:00

Yay for blog designing!

Even though I'm still trying to figure out how Gimp works and all that, it's alot of fun. I've done four so far...just messing around with getting measurements, etc. Let's take a look! {If you dare...mwahaha!}

Try 1: This took me a long time, and it's not the cutest. I was too busy {looking back at the tutorial page a billion times to see what I should do} to worry about making it look too cute. Maybe not toooo bad for a first try. Except the really narrow space for your actual blog to go in. *cough*

Try 2: Cute basic look, but the ribbons are too stretched out looking, and {you can't see it in the picture, because it's over a white background} there's some space at the sides. Still not quite sure what happened there. The middle space was also still a little too narrow.

Moving on...

Try 3: I finally made the middle space wide enough {I think!}. Looks pretty nice, except for the side ribbons could use some resizing to make them bigger.

Try 4: Yay, I remembered to made the middle space wide enough again! Maybe I'm starting to get the hang of it. :)

Lydia gets here tonight! We'll leave for the airport after supper. It's going to be so good having her here for a visit! I almost feel like I should make her her own blog label. Labels: "The List", Bible, Random, Eatables, Lydia....

:)

Happy Friday!

And you thought I changed my blog design alot before! :)

2010-03-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

Lydia gets here tomorrow ~ Oh hooray! :) I love company that isn't "company". You know, the "Oh good, you're here...you can help us make up your bed!" kind. {Hehe!}, so maaaaybe not quite like that, but it's the general idea.

Please pray that her travel is smooth and that she arrives safely.

I had been trying to find a program similar to photoshop I could download for free, because my mac didn't come with anything at all besides Preview. I could do a couple things on it, but barely anything. Sooooo *dun dun duuun*, I downloaded Gimp! {Thanks to recommendations from Kristen Jenkins and kevinandamanda.com.} It's really neat! I'm actually able to make headers and all that for my blog, and I can even design and make entire blog backgrounds! {*excitement*}

(Have you ever noticed that having a cute blog makes you feel like actually writing on it more often?)

Oh no...I have to think up a title for this...

2010-03-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

Today we went to Merarani for worship. We'd never been there before, and it was really nice to visit! It was a bumpy ride, but thankfully not all that long. Only about an hour of feeling like a rag doll in a dishwasher, hehe! It's always nice to visit places that are out of the way. They were renting a building to meet in...the same as alot of them around here - concrete walls with a tin roof. It only had very few windows, and some were covered in tin. It was really nice weather outside, but inside there was no breeze at all, and I could feel the heat from the tin roof baking my face. All of us were squished together on a bench, and it was stifling. I entertained the thought of what might happen if I fainted and fell off the bench, but since I've never fainted before, that wasn't very likely. {hehehe}

***

Wedding plans for Lee and Julia seem to be going great! Everything's going to be bee-yoo-tiful! :) {*happy sigh*}

***

Work on The List has been coming along just fine. I baked some chicken yesterday, and it turned out really nicely. It was a nice change to have it baked. Sometime soon I want to have a ravioli making day...get a bunch of filling and dough together, and make them up and stick them in the freezer.

***

Mom and I have been drinking almost two liters of water a day, and doing pilates every morning. It's been really nice! If I'm not busy when the boys go running I'll go with them.

***

Tomorrow's Monday. Oh, Mondays used to be my least favorite day of the week because it was the start of the school week. We all had a favorite line from Jake that went - "You know what's good about Mondays? *pause* Nothing!! Hahahaha!!!" Of course that's not true, Mondays are great, but it gave us good laughs anyway!

***

Happy week, everyone!

***

Keeping up appearances

2010-02-12T05:08:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I decided that it was time to do a new post. Today has been so busy...milk, sweeping, mopping, cleaning, laundry, making bread...I'm glad to have a chance to sit down for a bit.

-*-

Mom and I were talking the other day about something, and I thought it might make an interesting blog.

-*-

I have let myself go in the area of appearance and such. Really. Of course appearances aren't everything...we should be more concerned with what's on the inside - but when it goes too far the other way, that's not good either. This is somewhat of a struggle for me...I'm not sure if I'll be able to adequately put it into words, but I'll give it a try.

-*-

Living here doesn't lend itself to prettying you up. People look at us differently here {of course} - we're not natives, we live in a different kind of house, in general we have more money than they do, and we're white. Since people look at us so differently already (we're the ones "Oh, from Amerika!"), I don't dress myself up as much as I would in the States. I don't want to seem to be saying "look at me!" with my more "fancy" (I use that term loosely) American things.

I wear flip flops quite literally everywhere I go. Each morning my hair goes straight up in a clip. My daily attire consists of a big t-shirt (Most of them are hand-me downs), and an old skirt or kanga I got from the market, or stretch pants.

Sometimes I stop and actually look at myself...what happened? It didn't happen overnight, but because three years of being with people who mostly have only a tattered, stained kanga, or tattered, stained pants to wear with a ragged, stained shirt, maybe some shoes, maybe not. Even so, I don't have to look like a cave woman!

So I resolve to wear some earrings {Hey, I've worked up to studs!}, and maybe put some lotion on my feet, but the next Sunday an old lady comes to sit by me. Her kanga is worn and holey, as is her shirt, her sandals are made out of old tires...and her feet. Her feet are slightly deformed from having such a hard life, her toenails are all split, and the skin so cracked they would be impossible to ever fix. Then I look down at my own feet, then back at hers...and I had been worried that mine are sometimes dirt stained or not as smooth as I'd like.

-*-

I would love to get all prettied up sometime and have somewhere to go, or have something to do that I have to get a little prettied up for. But there isn't, which is perfectly okay, but just because some around me are like that old woman, doesn't mean I should completely let myself go. I'm trying to do better, but I look at that old woman's feet, and it's a strange, mixed feeling. I want to do better with myself, but as I look back at the old woman smiling at me with her toothless smile, I wonder...how can I?

-*-

{please note: I did not take this picture, and I don't own it...I found it on flicker.com, but it maybe is just a tiny sample...}

-*-

(NOTE: If you stay longer than 5 seconds on this blog, music should start playing. If you don't want this music playing, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and hit the stop button. :) )

New look

2010-02-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While blogging this whole time, I hadn't really found a background, etc. that I really liked. The black and white looked nice, but it didn't really seem to fit "me". Sooo, I found this that I like alot better!

I saw the owl dividers, and yes, worked my whole blog design around them. But my personal favorite is the "Hoo goes there" button.

How do you all like it? Or too many owls....

{Hoo...hoo!}