25 Things About Me

Here is 25 random things about me.
1. My mom was 4 weeks over due with me.
2. My hair was black when I was born.
3. My mom started cutting my bangs at 3 or 4 months my hair was so long.
4. I am a Dr. Pepper addict - I do not even drink coke or pepsi as a second.
5. I was 23 weeks (6 months) pregnant with Benen before I found out.
6. I love to teach.
7. I love working with kids.
8. I prayed that I would marry some one that had musical talent (mostly because I do not); and God gave me Matt.
9. I was not born in Durango or Colorado
10. I have lived in Durango 3 month short of my whole life.
11. I am older than Matt (6 months).
12. I played the violin.
13. I wanted to be a nurse or a teacher growing up - now I am both.
14. I wanted 8 kids growing up - now I do not know how many.
15. I used to perm my hair.
16. I am a Phisering Winer.
17. The only foreign country I have ever been to is Mexico.
18. I have only been to the beach once - when I was 18.
19. I have only flown once - when I was 19.
20. I am missing 9 teeth.
21. I have 4 piercing.
22. Blue is my favorite color.
23. I love when Anna lets me do her hair.
24. I love to cook.
25. I enjoy reading - did not used to but now I do.

Thankful Thursday - My Mom (Grandma)

Today I am thankful for my mom...

1. That she prays for us everyday.

2. That she asks me challenging questions.

3. That she challenges me and my family to pursue God and His best.

4. That she would cook and clean with us when we were little.

5. That she loved us enough to discipline us.

6. That she was able and wanted to stay home when we were little (until I was in High School) - she sacrificed a lot to do that.

7. That she was always encouraging.

8. That she encourages and supports me as a mother now.

9. That she is a very beautiful women of God.

10. That she is still here and very close.

11. The legacy of still being married to my dad; and all the hard things they have made it throw.

12. Her yummy homemade food.

Thankful Thursday - Benen

It is already Thursday and I am at Benen so here we go.

I am thankful...

1. That he is here.

2. For his pregnancy and the crazy story that is.

3. For his loving personality.

4. For his smile and giggles.

5. The way he takes medicine.

6. For all his boy moments.

7. His little kisses and hugs.

8. His dance moves.

9. His white blond hair.

10. His blue eyes.

To Matt

I thought I would write a little something for the man in my life that turns 27 today. It is hard for me to believe that we were only 18 and 19 (I am 6 months older than him) when we met; and that we have been together for 7 years; but none the less he turns 27 today. 

To my husband his birthday is very important; or at least celebrating it with friend is very important. Some times I forget why it is a big deal to him and then I remember that growing up he did not celebrate his birthday. So we will have a party this week and celebrate the fact that he is closer to 30 than 20. Which scares me because I turn 30 six month before him and when we were dating he was 19 and I was 20 and he would tell people "I am only in my teens and I am dating a girl in her twenties." - that just sounds illegal or something; and I have already been informed by my loving husband that I am going to hear how he is in his twenties and married to a woman in her thirties. 

So; since I am really writing this to Matt to tell what I love most about my husband on his birthday here I go.

~ I love the way his eyes say "I love you."

~ I love it when he plays the guitar.

~ I love his tech-nerdy-ness - even thought I give him a hard time about it.

~ I love the fact that he loves being a dad and that he is not closed to the idea of having  a large family and to adoption.

~ I love that he takes his time when he makes a decision.

~ I love is bald head.

~ I love his passion for things.

~ I love they way he lets the kids play and climb all over him at night.

~ I love watching him interact with kids - especially when he is teaching or explaining something to them.

~ I love my husband.

 Happy Birthday My Love

Thankful Thursday

I have been trying to put words to what is on my heart today as it is Thankful Thursday. As all who read my blog know our pastors lost pretty much everything in a house fire yesterday. I have cried for them as a read Linn's blog posts; and I have been praising God safety of all involved. I am thankful that in the midst of everything being strip away they are still faithful. I am thankful for a community (church, christian, town, and blogging) that has stepped up to help in anyway they can. I am thankful for so many things... mostly that I do not have treasures stored here on earth. I keep think of what Dwight said on Sunday in his sermon "Conviction 1: It is all about God." - even a fire that consumes my house and earthly possessions is all about God - it is not about me. Hard to grasp but so true. Lord please let the fact that everything, every person, and every situation is all about You.

So those are my ramblings on this Thankful Thursday.

Faith Lived Out vs. What If

I recently read a book about a POW in a Japanese camp during WWII. Her faith was amazing to me. While being interrogated and bitten she talks about at one pointing thinking of all the what if's... What if this and what if that. It really hit me because I do that ever day. There always seems to be a point in the day when I say what about this and what if this happens and then a spend a long time to trying to figure things out.. especially things that have not happened or that I really have not control over. The thing that is challenging me right now is that she finally reach a point here she stopped what if-ing and just let faith be lived out in her. She let God be God and listen to Him and let Him figure it all out; and HE DID (in even a great blessing and way then she had asked for). 

God I want to stop and just let you be in control. I resign as manager of the universe and I let you be in control. I want to just let faith be lived out in me. Thank you for having things figured out; and for doing even more then we could hope or imagine.

Stuff I've Done

The Stuff I've done is in BOLD!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink

02. Swam with dolphins

03. Climbed a mountain

04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive

05. Been inside the Great Pyramid

06. Held a tarantula

07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone

08. Said “I love you” and meant it

09. Hugged a tree

10. Bungee jumped

11. Visited Paris

12. Watched a lightning storm at sea

13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise

14. Seen the Northern Lights

15. Gone to a huge sports game

16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa

17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

18. Touched an iceberg

19. Slept under the stars

20. Changed a baby’s diaper

21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon

22. Watched a meteor shower

23. Gotten drunk on champagne

24. Given more than you can afford to charity

25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

27. Had a food fight

28. Bet on a winning horse

29. Asked out a stranger

30. Had a snowball fight

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can

32. Held a lamb

33. Seen a total eclipse

34. Ridden a roller coaster

35. Hit a home run

36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking

37. Adopted an accent for an entire day

38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment

39. Had two hard drives for your computer

40. Visited all 50 states

41. Taken care of someone who was drunk

43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country

44. Watched whales

42. Had amazing friends... and still do.

45. Stolen a sign

46. Backpacked in Europe

47. Taken a road-trip

48. Gone rock climbing

49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach

50. Gone sky diving

51. Visited Ireland

52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love

53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them

54. Visited Japan

55. Milked a cow

56. Alphabetized your CDs (and DVD's, and...)

57. Pretended to be a superhero

58. Sung karaoke

59. Lounged around in bed all day

60. Played touch football

61. Gone scuba diving

62. Kissed in the rain

63. Played in the mud

64. Played in the rain

65. Gone to a drive-in theater

66. Visited the Great Wall of China

67. Started a business

68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken

69. Toured ancient sites

70. Taken a martial arts class

71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight (heck no!)

72. Gotten married

73. Been in a movie

74. Crashed a party

75. Gotten divorced

76. Gone without food for 5 days

77. Made cookies from scratch

78. Won first prize in a costume contest

79. Ridden a gondola in Venice

80. Gotten a tattoo

81. Rafted the Snake River

82. Been on a television news program as an “expert”

83. Gotten flowers for no reason

84. Performed on stage

85. Been to Las Vegas

86. Recorded music (okay at home but it did not say were)

87. Eaten shark

88. Kissed on the first date

89. Gone to Thailand

90. Bought a house

91. Been in a combat zone

92. Buried one/both of your parents

93. Been on a cruise

94. Spoken more than one language fluently

95. Performed in Rocky Horror

96. Raised children (working on it...)

97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour

98. Passed out cold

99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country

100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking with the windows open

103. Had plastic surgery

104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived

105. Wrote articles for a large publication

106. Lost over 100 pounds

107. Held someone while they were having a flashback

108. Piloted an airplane

109. Touched a stingray

110. Broken someone’s heart 

111. Helped an animal give birth

112. Won money on a TV game show

113. Broken a bone

114. Gone on an African photo safari

115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears

116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol

117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild

118. Ridden a horse

119. Had major surgery

120. Had a snake as a pet

121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period

123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States

124. Visited all 7 continents

125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

126. Eaten kangaroo meat

127. Eaten sushi

128. Had your picture in the newspaper

129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about

130. Gone back to school

131. Parasailed

132. Touched a cockroach 

133. Eaten fried green tomatoes

134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey

135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read

136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

137. Skipped all your school reunions 

138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

139. Been elected to public office

140. Written your own computer language

141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream

142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

143. Built your own PC from parts

144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you

145. Had a booth at a street fair

146. Dyed your hair

147. Been a DJ

148. Shaved your head

149. Caused a car accident

150. Saved someone’s life

Thankful Thursday - Anna

So today I am thankful for Anna...

1. Her curiosity.

2. Her strong personality.

3. Her long blonde hair - that she sometimes lets me do.

4. Her view on life.

5. The things that she learns about God - and the way that she just excepts them.

6. The way that she loves her Grandparents.

7. Her openness and expectance of people that she does not know.

8. Her love for books.

9. Her love for art.

10. Her excitement about life - especially the little things.

Anna's Christmas Pictures

Anna got a camera for Christmas and here are some of her pictures form it. 

Thankful Thursday

Thankful for 2008 (... in no particular order).

1. My husbands new job.

2. The opportunity to serve in children's ministry.

3. Homeschooling Anna.

4. Benen growing and developing his on little personality.

5. Anna's excitement to learn and her growing knowledge of God.

6. Challenges to grow in our faith.

7. Matt and I celebrating our 5 year anniversary.

8. The Small Groups that we have been involved and are involved in.

9. Friends that challenge and encourage me to grow not just physically but spiritually.

10. PRAY

11. The verse that God gave me for the year... "Be still and no that I am God."