Joyful Transformation

Well, I think I have had enough with the frustrations of blogger. I am moving to Word Press


For now my photo blogs will stay where they are.

Good-

1. Sweet babies Friday night
2. Tennis Saturday morning (indoors for free!)
3. Steak dinner for my son's birthday Saturday night
4. Playing with Matthew Saturday night
5. Seeing and worshiping with old friends Sunday morning
6. Having lunch at Mom's Sunday
7. Eli can eat mashed potatoes and Cheerios!
8. Playing tennis Sunday afternoon
9. Quiet Sunday night at home with my sweet husband (who had cleaned and washed dishes and put them away while I was at tennis....and he rescued my favorite comb...)

The Not so good-

1. Eli is sick with a fever
2. Matthew threw up in my car and felt bad
3. Derek & Mary still don't feel good
4. Had to leave Mom's early to make it to tennis
5. Didn't get enough time with David
6. Didn't want to go back to work this morning!
7. Jr. "blew up".

Today I feel like this. Someone is shooting at me and they are getting way too close. Can anyone relate to trying harder to be more spiritual only to have the enemy hitting you from every angle?

Someone asked me how I could survive without fast food.....perhaps I need to clarify that I am giving up "Fast Food Restaurants". I will still have my microwave meals, popcorn and Special K Meal Bars.....

I don't think I realized the depth of my addiction until yesterday....I may have been a little grumpy. I think most of the grumpiness came from work related issues as well as a 3 hour meeting... but there was no comfort to be found in the "bottle". (Diet Coke for those of you who may not remember every detail of my highly exciting life)

I wish that I was always the encouraging positive person that I should be in the work place. However, I find that the same standards I set for myself are not necessarily set by others....I should be more patient, kind and sweet.....And I am not usually mean or hateful, I just get quiet, take the job and do it what I like to call "The Right Way".

Alrighty then, I better get to work. The good news is every time I want a Diet Coke (at least 10 times a day) I do think to pray. And I thank God for the wonderful blessings of my life. To give up something that has no nutritional value when many would love to have enough food and drink to just survive....I am most blessed.

Most of the time I am ambivalent about mergers...however, this time I am a little excited.

It seems that XM radio and Sirius are going to merge. This means I could get my NASCAR radio back! That would be great!

My current dilemna is this....I really want the Direct TV NASCAR package, currently we have Dish Network....they have The Tennis Channel and Direct TV does not.....what is a girl to do??

Well, I have never been to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, and I hate to admit it but I had no clue what it was all about until just a few years ago. The word carnival actually comes from the Latin carne vale meaning "farewell to the flesh." So today will be farewell to the things that I have decided to give up for Lent.

The sad truth is I have once again become hopelessly addicted to Diet Coke. When praying about what I needed to give up it was almost like a slap upside the head. I am also giving up all fast food so I had my final Chik fila chicken biscuit this morning.

This year I want to be truly attuned into entering the desert with Jesus. Temptation seems to come all the stronger when you are attempting to devote your life more fully. While I will not give up as much or as fully as Jesus did, I hope this time will help me grow closer to him and to learn more of his will for my life.

So for today I will be saying "farewell"......

My husband has one of those clocks that projects the time on the ceiling. I really like it, I can see what time it is without having to roll over or focus my eyes or anything. However, in the last week I have noticed that I am seeing the number 12:00 way too often! What is up with this? I think it has almost become a game with me after the first couple of nights to see if I can see the morning come in. I am blessed with the ability to go right back to sleep so I guess I should just enjoy it and be grateful.

Speaking of seeing things for the first time that were always there...(nice segue huh?) I have noticed more and more that people tend to change their opinion and their treatment of you when you fail to agree with everything they think and do. Have you noticed this? I try to not let it hurt my feelings but sometimes it just does. However, somebody posted a statement that they said was found at most AA meetings....

I am sure I did something wrong, but it seems no one could look at my YouTube videos. So I tried using my PhotoBucket account. This was faster and easier to upload, and hopefully you can see them. These videos feature all of the babies "talking"....



Ava & Eli






Ali

• After spending all day at the hospital and several people missing the big orange paper in her work-up that said she had a kidney infection they sent my Mother-in-law home at 4:30 p.m. A very frustrating and disappointing day for her (but we all appreciate your prayers.)
• I still like freaking my dog out by using my remote start on my car..
• Watched the qualifying race last night....go Junior! (Trey, we don't yell for Hendrick cars over here....sorry)
• It is too cold for tennis....I hate that!
• Keeping babies tonight- love that!

My Mother-in-law fell about three years ago and broke her hip. She had to have hip replacement surgery. Well it seems that the rod that goes down into her thigh bone (femur) has broken loose some how. She is going in to surgery today to attempt to repair this.

My MIL suffers from Osteoporosis as well as diseased blood vessels...please pray for her today.

Thank you.

Seems to be the theme for my life right now.

The last thing I have lost is the notes I took at a seminar today. I had some amazing words that were meant to motivate me to sell more mortgage loans, but I took them in a slightly different way....trust me, I had some profound thoughts.

But....I lost the notes. But the chocolate kisses made it back with me fine (probably why I can't say I LOST the weight!)

Happy VD!

I am broadening my horizons on this old world wide web. Last night I set up a Youtube account. I had previously uploaded a video using Google, but his is my first Youtube experience. I included a little sample of my work below.

Also today I joined a Yahoo Fantasy Racing League. Next thing you know I will be setting up a MySpace account and selling stuff on E-Bay....

It is amazing when I think about how this little box that sits at my feet has changed the way I "do" life. What do you think has changed you the most...TV or the Internet? For me it is the Internet, I guess because I have always had TV.




BTW this is Eli and Ava..(and SpongeBob)...there is a video of Ali crawling on my Triplet link above. (Just trying to keep it all impartial...I will have to get a shot of my "wild-man" Matthew soon!)

I have mentioned before the multitude of cousins that I have on my Mother’s side of the family. That is one of the by products of having 10 siblings in the family. Yesterday I got to hook up with some of my cousins that I have not seen in a while. Unfortunately in a pattern that is being repeated way too often we met at the funeral home. My cousin Paula lost her husband. He was 58 years old and has had a deteriorating quality of life for the last several years following a stroke. Paula has persevered through much trial and upheaval seeing him through his final years and yet…58 is so young. In the last year she has also lost her Mother. One of her sisters told me yesterday that she really never got the chance to grieve for her Mother. Please say a prayer for her. Today is the funeral and I fear that she will be ambushed by an onslaught of emotion.

It is good to spend time with family. You realize that many things that have shaped you into the person you are has come from interaction and possibly even shared blood with these people. Some things are unique to your family. Some of your family most likely is a little bit crazy. Some things they do are a tradition of the area in which you live. All of the quirks and craziness have a special place in your heart. While you may grow up and move away you don’t forget the love or the uniqueness that makes up “your family”.

You know this is also true of our church families.

We had a youth minister one time who used to tell me that you knew your event was a success when you had people crying. Of course he didn't mean by torturing them but by touching their heart. He was one of my favorite youth ministers....after he left I learned to guard my heart to these guys who would come in and win my heart by working with my kids.

Anyway, using Tony P's gauge of success today was amazing. During the singing part of worship the tears came freely from my eyes. I love it when God works on my heart and keeps it soft for him.

"Stake....right through the heart" One of Tony P's favorite sayings!!

Have you ever had someone tell you they were planning to do something for you, and then.......nothing?????

Which is worse the temporary thrill of anticipation that someone is planning something just for you followed by the disappointment of never seeing it, or never having the thrill or the expectation?

I realize as I type this that I have been the person who made the empty promise that I would do something that I never followed through on.... I think in my experience I would rather you say nothing at all than to have me anticipating something you never deliver.

I like the way that the Bible every once in awhile will throw in a strategy that was seen in the Princess Bride….. When Inigo says
“Let me explain ---- No, there is too much. Let me sum up.”

The first three chapters of Deuteronomy are such a summation. But it is kind of sad. It is like Moses is a little melancholy as he tells the people where they have been, what God has done and where they are about to go. More than once he says that God was angry with him because of them….. And now they are going into the Promised Land…but he is not! It is tough when you work with a group, when you share blood sweat and tears but when it seems that the fruition of all the hard work is at hand…..you will not be enjoying the “promised land”. I feel for Moses. I know that his reward was something much better, but his heart and soul was invested in these people. It had to be hard to realize they would go on, they would have what was promised, but they would have it without him.

While I was "out-of-it" this weekend, my sweet husband washed, polished and cleaned out the inside of my car. It feels just like brand new. Isn't it amazing how soon we forget the newness of something? Sometimes we need the reminders and we need to realize that it takes effort to keep something in highest regard.


OK, mine is silver....and it looks better than this, but this is a subtle reminder that is 12 days until the Daytona 500!




Diana's "Stupid Cat" left paw marks on my shiny car during lunch.... I may be looking up a squashed kitty graphic....just kidding!

I found myself laughing out loud at commercials and sit-com reruns last night. I even made a couple of lame jokes that I am sure my husband appreciated. I played Solitaire on the computer during “24” to keep my stress levels down…..and this morning I started thinking about blogging. Yes, I think I am going to live now. I hated losing a weekend to nothing but sleeping and feeling miserable but I guess I should be grateful that I had the days I needed to let my body fight off this foreign invasion. Still this invading force is affecting my thinking ability…especially prolonged thought about any subject. So bear with me, I hope to be back to full speed soon.

I feel rotten!
We saw some of that movie "Outbreak" the other night and I feel just as confused over where I contacted this "crud".

Do you have an "I can't take it anymore" trigger?

Is there a point at which you know you are "done" with something? Have you ever reached that point but tried to go on anyway? Did that fill you with frustration or did it help you develop patience.

I can think of a couple of times in my life that I was ready to be "finished" with something but I kept trying to make it work (jobs, friendships, exercise programs....). It almost seems like the end result was just a higher level of disdain. So using that criteria what helps us determine what is worth holding on to and what we should just let go of?


**are you looking for answers from me?......you go first**