Favorite Fall Top 10

Flip Flop is asking her readers what their favorite parts of fall are.  I adore the fall.  I am beginning to accumulate as much fall decor as Christmas (well, that might be overstating it just a bit). But each year I see something it's hard for me not to pick it up because it's just so cuuuuuute!

Anyway, here is my top ten list of reasons why I love the fall.  Feel free to play along too!

10.Cooler weather (not cold, just not 90 degrees).

9.  Soups and Stews start gracing our dinner table (Last night it was ham and bean).

8.  The beautiful colors and the changing of the seasons.

7.  Getting the porch and the house all decked out for the welcoming of Autumn.

6.  School supplies hit the shelves. I just LOVE school supplies.

5.  Nebraska Football.

6.  Watching NU football with my family in Indiana.

7.  Eating Football Stew while watching NU football.

8.  Going to NU games with my hubby (our time is coming soon....)

9.  Getting my kids all dressed up in Husker wear.

10. Hot apple cider, pumpkins, apple picking, caramel apples and runzas.

Your turn.  What do you love about fall?

I've Been Tagged!

My sister tagged me, and I'm supposed to pick up the nearest book to me, turn it to page 123 and find the fifth sentence.  Then I'm supposed to post the next three sentences after that.  

Only the book closest to me doesn't have a fifth sentence, because it's a short page and only has four.  However, I'll post the whole paragraph because maybe, just maybe, you need to read this today.  If you had a day like I did today, then you DEFINITELY need to read this:

"This sort of discipline is wrong because it's based on mood and emotion.  The spanking was a release of Mom's frustration, not a self-controlled act of love.  A good spanking at the end of the day can never make up for the spankings that should have been administered throughout the day.  Moms who have a teapot temper need to depend on God's grace to enable them to act contrary to their nature and in harmony with the Word of God. 

~Ginger Plowman from "Don't Make Me Count to Three!"

If you have a toddler and you're struggling with discipline issues, get this book.

And now, I tag:

Lori at Glass Half Full

Steph at Adventures in Babywearing

Robin at Life with All Boys

Julie at Life with Ash and Ave

Jaime at Howdy From the Halls

5 Things Tag

I've been tagged by Morning Song, and so it's my turn to share some things you may or may not know about me. So...here goes!


What I was doing 10 years ago:


I was coming back to the Lord after several rebellious years. I was in a new church, and I was about to realize that the love of my life needed to break up with the girl he was dating and marry me!!! (Thankfully, he did!) I was working full-time as a high school choral director, and I had just bought my new car: A green '97 chevy cavalier.

Five things on my To-Do list today:

1. Finish making programs for the recital and get them copied. (done!)

2. Make cookies and cupcakes for recital. (cookies, check!)

3. Order seeds for garden. (uh, still need to do that one)

4. Make doctor's appointment. (yeah, I just saw him, so can we put that off?)

5. Laundry! (Lord, will it never end???)


Five snacks I enjoy:

1. Flatbread and cheese.

2. Chips and Salsa.

3. Cereal snacks (the kind you make yourself!)

4. Veggies and dill dip

5. Does Coca-Cola count?


Five things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Give it to the church, to charity, to those who need it most.

2. Pay off the debts of those I love

3. Buy a new home and a nice car for hubby

4. Travel

5. Surprise someone I know with a large check that would really help them in a time of need


Five bad habits:

1. Chewing my nails

2. Not listening often enough

3. And talking too much

4. Yelling at my kids when they don't do what I say the first time

5. IMPATIENCE. Did I meantion, impatience?

Five places I've lived:
1. Omaha, Nebraska

2. Valparaiso, IN

3. Decatur, IL

4. Zion, IL

5. Peducah, KY

Five jobs I've had:
1. Sales consultant (a.k.a. cashier) at a retail clothing store

2. Singing waitress

3. Teacher

4. Camp counselor

5. Student

Now, I tag:

ANYONE who wants to play along.

Tagged on Tuesday!

Steph, at Adventures in Babywearing, kindly tagged me (after I whined about feeling left out!) for a 5 Interesting Things Meme.

Now, if I can only come up with 5 interesting things. Hmmm....

1. When I was ten years old, I played the role of Annie at a dinner theatre. Apparently our theatre was one of the first to do the production after it left Broadway, so it was a big deal. There were photographers from newspapers and personalities from the major television networks there covering the story. Needless to say, it was an exciting thing for a little girl to be a part of. And the music bug bit hard and never let go!

2. My mom owned and operated a dance studio from our basement. When we bought the house back in the late seventies, they knocked down walls, installed a wood floor, ballet barres, and mirrors. I remember going down there as a kid, not just to dance, but to crank music, sing and rollerskate.

3. I have to sleep with a fan running. And so do my kids. I got used to the noise of an apartment we used to live in and now I can't sleep in silence. This becomes problematic when we travel somewhere and nobody has a fan.

4. I am a picky eater. If you've ever seen the movie, "When Harry Met Sally," then you know me. I'm Sally. "I just want it the way I want it."

5. I love birds. I have feeders, houses, and two bird books. I think I inherited my love of birdwatching from my grandparents. My feeders are always stocked, and I take great pride in teaching my family about them.

And now you know more than you ever wanted to know about me. And now I tag:

Jaime, Marc, Kari, Tonya, and T. Have a great Tuesday everyone!

What's Grosser than Gross....Okay, I'll Play!

Steph at Adventures in Babywearing is hosting a little game called "What's Grosser Than Gross?" We've all seen things as Moms that have left our innards begging for mercy (I actually had one of those nights on Monday when my little guy didn't make it to the bathroom on time and gave me the wonderful job of cleaning up the living room couch and rug. Oh joy!). But it's our job and by golly we must trudge on!

So here's my story. We live in our van because we spend a great deal of time on the go. This usually means that we take snacks and drinks with us because, inevitably, even though we just ate lunch ten minutes ago, shrieks emerge from the backseat that resemble something like this: "MOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM! I'm HUUUUUUUNGRY!" We've all been there. Lately, Caden is happiest with his "ba-ba" full of watered down 100% juice laced with his probiotic(that had to be stated lest you find me an irresponsible juice-feeding mom) and it keeps him quite happy in the entire ten minutes he's guzzling it.

Anyway.

Apparently he didn't drink all of his juice, which is unusual for him, because what emerged weeks (though it could have been days, who knows in this heat?) later was the smell. That resembled wine. Only worse.

And having the sensitive sniffer that I do, I went on a scavenger hunt looking for the grosser than gross offender. When I finally found it, trapped under the seat with so many other lovely treasures we'd all forgotten about, it had turned into a lovely science experiment that would leave most of us green.

I decided not to save beloved "ba-ba" and into the trash it went, nastiness and all. I am sure I am not unique in this experience as most of you reading have children.

Unless of course, you don't give your children juice. : )

The Family Table

Lori over at Glass Half Full is hosting a "tag" about the family table. I love this idea, because I believe this spot in our homes can be one of the most sacred. In our house, we laugh (and sometimes cry) here. We pray, we talk, we share. We tell of our experiences, we sometimes discipline, and of course, we eat! We love having people over to share a meal with us. Our table then becomes the place where new friendships are formed. My prayer is always that Christ be represented well and that people find our home to be inviting, hospitable, and welcoming.

When we bought our first place, I found this set of plates (below), and it became the inspiration for the colors of my living room and kitchen. I love what they say and what they represent. They are, I hope, a reflection of what people find when they come to visit (and hopefully what our children experience too!). They read, "Grace," "Harmony," and "Plenty."

This is my favorite part of the collection. It reads, "Thank You for the world so sweet, Thank You for the food we eat, Thank You for the birds that sing, Thank You, God, for Everything."

And finally, this is our china cabinet. It doesn't have any lights in it, so I took white lights and arranged them in there so everything "shines." It does wonders for the crystal! This cabinet holds a collection of pieces from our wedding, from family, and yard sales, but it also holds other sentimental things, like pictures, momentos, and other things I've found or been given along the way. On top are two pictures of me with the boys and a figurine I got from my mom of a mother holding her child.

I love this area in the house because it's one of the first things you see when you walk in to our home, and I believe it represents what we stand for as a family.

Thank you for taking the tour of our family table. Now, go to Lori's and join in!

I've been tagged!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Boats has tagged me for a Meme. I love these! So here goes...


Five things I was doing 10 years ago
1) Graduating College. Moving to a new town to start a new teaching job. Oh, and I bought a new car. Almost exactly the same as Steph's!


2) Started dating a fellow teacher (the students found out about it and I couldn't live it down...we were seen at a shopping mall twenty minutes north of the actual school)! I was on a slippery slope spiritually (say that three times fast!), and it would be another year before I reached the end of myself and looked to the One who had my future in His hands.


3) I was working part-time as a singing waitress (yes, you read that right), thus paying for that aforementioned new car.


4) I went on a cross-country trip. We went through every state from Chicago to Las Vegas. In a convertible. We visited every place from Graceland to the Rocky Mountains, to the Grand Canyon to the MGM Hotel and Casino in Vegas.


5) I was living in an apartment that was actually "low income housing" (I was new to the area and didn't realize this. And I was young and stupid. There, I said it.). There's nothing better than coming home after a long night of waitressing and seeing drug dealers making an exchange on your front porch. YIKES! (God's been so good to me!)


5 Snacks I enjoy
1) Tortilla Chips and fresh pico de gallo
2) flatbread and cheese
3) fruit and nut mix from Costco
4) popcorn
5) veggies and homemade dill dip

5 songs that I know all the lyrics to
1) Every Watermark song
2) Every Nichole Nordeman song
3) lots of jazz/big band tunes
4) lots of worship songs (lately I'm totally into Chris Tomlin!)
5) many Italian and french art songs and arias, and every song I've ever taught my students (my head is chock-full of music ALL the time!)

5 Things I would do if I were a Millionaire
1) Give a bunch to the church
2) Pay off our house and probably buy a bigger one
3) Sponsor/adopt needy children
4) Take a great vacation
5) Shop. I know. It's selfish.

5 Bad Habits
1) Picking at my nails
2) Running late
3) Interrupting when I'm afraid I'll forget what I wanted to say
4) drinking coca-cola
5) falling asleep before the movie is over

5 Things I would Never Wear Again
1) jellies
2) Parachute pants
3) cut-off tops
4) panty hose...I know, it's unavoidable.
5) Maternity Clothes!!!!!

5 Things I Like to Do
1) Spend time with family and friends
2) Take long walks with my hubby, kids and doggie
3) Talk on the phone to my mom and sisters
4) Watch movies
5) SING!

Five Favorite Toys
1) Strawberry Shortcake
2) Cabbage patch Kids
3) Barbie
4) I used to love playing super mario brothers with my sister on nintendo when it first came out
5) Puzzles

Five People I Tag:
1) Marc at Strathman Stuff
2) Jaime at Howdy from the Halls
3) Kari at The Powell Place
4) Charity at Chair's Table
5) Jessica at Itty Bitty Bits of Me

I've been tagged!

Lori at Glass Half Full has tagged me for a "7 Random Facts about Me" meme. Hmmm...let's see.

• I, like Lori, might fool some people into believing I'm organized. But one look into my closet or cabinets...will reveal I'm NOT.
• Both of our babies were planned by God...not by us (and we wouldn't have it any other way!).
• I love playing solitaire on the computer, and I do it often while talking on the phone.
• I don't eat breakfast food like "normal" people. I eat leftovers from the night before, veggies, noodles, or rice. I know, weird. Oh, and often my day starts out with a coke.
• I've been trying to quit. Unsuccessfully.
• I've been told, on several occasions, that my intensity (I'm a type A) is intimidating and makes people "afraid" of me. I hate that anyone would feel that way about me without ever getting to know me.
• I have been married seven years, known my husband for fifteen years (like, half my life!). We broke up at least ten times while dating between 1992 and 1998. It was ALWAYS my doing. I'm so glad he never gave up on me!

I now tag Charity, Kari, and Marc.

Belly Fun

Steph is hosting a prego belly photo tag over at Adventures in Babywearing. Unfortunately, I don't have a working scanner, so the only picture I had on the digital is this one (not my favorite). My hair was so short (I cut my hair before I had both my babies, don't ask me why???), but you get the idea. I think I was about five months pregnant at this point, and I love the picture because of Cody showing off his belly too. I am enjoying all of your pictures (such cute mommies you are!). Thank you for sharing!

My Mom

Steph, over at Adventures in Babywearing, is hosting a photo tag about our moms. I love this picture because it represents the different stages of our lives. My sister, Kari, on the left, is very pregnant with her second little girl, now two years old. I was the mommy of one boy, not two. And my mom (in the middle) had just gotten married the month before. She and her sweet hubby hosted all of us and we had a "day at the beach" at Lake Michigan on a warm July day. Look at my mom. You'd never guess her age. She's beautiful, slender, and spunky. She loves the Lord, her family, and dancing. (You should see her dance...she can really tear up a floor, and so can her hubby!)

Mom, if you're reading this, I love you!