A Soundtrack to Life

If your life had a soundtrack, what songs would play? What songs would you wish to be true for you but just aren't? The reasons for asking this question are:

1) I often think, "If life were a musical, what song would I be singing at this moment?"

2) I think Heaven just might have some musical-like components.

3) You know that Third Day song, "There's a light at the end of this tunnnel, there's a light at the end of the tunnel, for you...?" Well, I had a dream in which I was running away from a giant tornado... and that song was playing, like a soundtrack, except the lyrics were "There's a light at the end of this funnel, there's a light at the end of this funnel..." I woke up at 3 a.m. cracking up.

This is my middle niece eating snow last Easter. I'm pretty sure there is a soundtrack playing in this girl's head all the time. (Most likely High School Musical.) Last week, she was being a pirate on the front porch and she jumped up onto the railing and sang, "Behold! The pizza man!" She is the queen of randomness- so hilarious.

Life is good....

We brought Stellar Kart in concert a couple weeks ago. It was AMAZING. If you haven't listened to their stuff, you are missing out! You should consider adding them, Hawk Nelson, and Family Force Five to your playlists. A little Christian Alternative can turn that frown upside down, mister! :)

So... at the risk of a little TMI, here's a weird story: Last night I had a dream that I was waiting in line to get on some really awesome swings with a whole lot of other people. When it was finally my turn, I ran up to one of the swings, then turned to the guy next to me and said, "Hey, I REALLY have to go to the bathroom. Can you save my swing for me until I get back?" He said he would. I then woke up (for real), and got out of bed because I actually DID have to go to the bathroom. I went back to bed, back to sleep, and resumed the dream right where I left off. Dreams are so incredibly fascinating to me. Anyone ever kept a dream journal before? Or just had a really weird/memorable dream?

Here's the pic we chose for the paper for the engagement announcement. Isn't Brad the cutest thing EVER?! My sister took these while we were in Colorado and I think she did a really great job. She had so much equipment that someone had to walk along behind her to hold the flash/battery-thing because it was so heavy (not ideal for hiking!) This spot by the waterfall is gorgeous. I highly recommend visiting Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. I've been there 2 summers in a row and I still want to go back!!

Random summer moments with the family

I mentioned in my last post that my Colorado trip was too amazing for words. Here's just a couple visuals to help explain why. This first one is Brad and me on Trail Ridge Road in the National Park. So incredible!

This one is my stud brother posing for an Abercrombie modeling gig he's workin on.

This was the beginning of our 6 hour mountain climb. The whole group made it up (my brother and Lauren (his gf), my dad, my sister, and brother-in-law, me and Brad. It was quite an accomplishment!)

I was at my parents' house a couple weeks ago and my nephew was learning to ride his bike without training wheels. It was so much fun to watch. The picture below is him "testing" his helmet on the driveway to see if it works.

And this pic doesn't even do justice capturing the extreme cute-ness that is my youngest niece, Maegan.

I didn't really have anything much to say in this post except brag about how precious my family is. Feel free to comment on how much you like them, too. Ha ha.

Catch up

My kiddos in a "mud" pit (more like "rocky water" pit, but still so fun)

Summer is pretty much over (in terms of scheduling, that is, NOT in terms of weather unfortunately.) I haven't been blogging because... well, is it possible to be really busy and really lazy at the same time? If so, that's my excuse. So here's a couple very pivitol things that have happened to me lately just so you can catch up on my life:

1) I went to Colorado this summer to one of my all-time favorite places EVER. Rocky Mountain National Park rocks my socks off (as my JH kiddos would say.) There were 8 of us in a 2- bedroom cabin with one bathroom. It was too fun to suffciently describe in this post.

2) I started learning about china this last week (the plate kind, not the country.) I don't know much about either kind of china come to find out. Question: You married peeps, did you register for China? Why or why not? Would you do something different if you had the chance? I feel kinda like an old woman talking about stuff like this.

3) A couple weeks ago I was edging my lawn and my weed eater caught on fire. I wish that I had this on video so I could add the visual to this post. Needless to say, it didn't work so well after that, and the scene of me standing in my driveway with flames and smoke coming out of it was priceless.

You're pretty much up to speed on my life now. It's hard to believe I could fit so many significant events in one post, I know. More to come!! :)

My Summer on an Air Mattress

What would I do without my Coleman queen-sized air mattress? Well, I'd spend a bundle on chiropractic care, for one. I travel so often once the summer hits (and sleep on the floors of various gyms and churches around the country- glamarous, I know!) that I find myself saying a little "thank you" prayer each time I unroll and inflate this little gem.

The pic is from my latest trip with my hilarious 6th graders. This was one of the smallest groups we've ever taken, but they were mighty big fun. Ha ha.

My 7-year-old nephew left me with this great joke as he headed out for his final tee ball game last week, and I'll do the same for you. I'm just thoughtful like that. :)

What makes this sound: "Oooo, ooooo?"

Answer: A cow with no lips.

That kid CRACKS me up! More to come.... eventually....

NEWS FLASH!

I AM ENGAGED! A surprise proposal by the lake at sunset is enough to make any girl swoon, but I gotta say that I couldn't be more thrilled because I am going to marry the most amazing guy ever! Brad put together the perfect evening- to my astonishment he kept everything a complete secret- we headed to dinner at the Gaylord Texan after the proposal where I was shocked (again) to find our families waiting with cameras and gifts for an amazing engagement dinner that I'll never forget. I'm still in shock!*****************

A reenactment of the proposal*************

Greeting my surprise guests********************

Dinnner with the families***********************

He picked out the ring all by himself!!************

With our siblings******************************

With our parents

It couldn't have been a more amazing night. My head is still spinning! :)

Worms and Record Labels

Yesterday I was almost attacked by a mutant earthworm. In moments like these you re-discover that "girly squeal" that apparently we never completely grow out of. Despite my near-death experience, I have to say that I absolutely LOVE having my own backyard. It is heavenly. It has become the place that I unwind, pray, and just try and BE STILL for a moment. Do you guys have places like this in your homes?

In other breaking news, earthworms aside, my amazing cousin has a debut album being released in a couple weeks and you'll be able to stroll into a music aisle near you and find it sittin on a shelf. Pretty cool... for many reasons. To name a few: 1) he's very talented 2) he's only 17 3) I've heard there is a shortage of indi-emo-rock artists in the world 4) God has worked in this guy's life in an AMAZING way. What a story! Here's just a glimpse of where he's been:

About 4 years ago my cousin and his family (my aunt, uncle, and his older sister) were on vacation in Colorado. As they were hiking around a mountain, my uncle started to feel ill and lay down on a bench. He stopped breathing and died right there in front of his wife and kids. Not surprisingly, this sent my cousin (then about 12 years old) into a very dark time in his life. He withdrew and fell into a severe drug habit, ultimately leading to an extended period of rehab- and a fierce battle with depression. God met him in the valley, however, and has slowly helped him to a peak- where he is thriving in his passion for music. And now there are teens around the WORLD who watch him closely and are influnced by his heart and his life. Praise God!

Sometimes I just picture myself with my jaw dropped before the Lord, completely in awe of all He does. I think my eyes might just pop right out of my head when I see Him face to face someday. Maybe with my new spiritual body I'll be able to pop them back in. Ok, that's a little gross. Sorry. (But not sorry enough to delete it. Ha!)

Random things that have nothing to do with each other except that they are on the same post...

Under the threat of being fined by Elisa Jane, here ya go:

1. I went to pick up my mountain bike from the hospital (bike shop) today over lunch. When I walked in, the man behind the counter said to me, "Can I ask you something? How much do you weigh?" I looked at him in astonishment for a second then replied, "Why?" He proceeded to explain something about my tire pressure being at too high a setting- for a much bigger person. I explained that I only weigh 90 lbs, but usually have 2 or 3 friends with me on my bike which explains the need for excess tire pressure. Ha. What a presumptious question to ask a woman!

2. I begin my annual class series this week for my 8th grade girls to help prepare them for HS. It is one of favorite times- we have a blast. Question: Looking back, what do you wish you had known/someone had told you as you entered high school?

3. I had a retreat last weekend (theme: "KING") and as part of the fun we had teens "jousting" with pool noodles loaded with peanut butter up on stage. They wore T-shirts with targets on them and ran at one another, attempting to get closest to the opponents "mark." It seemed fool-proof except we loaded too much PB on the noodles and at the first run, I'M STILL NOT SURE HOW THIS HAPPENED- a huge (I mean HUGE) glob of PB was launched 15 feet into the air and stuck to the projector screen about 15 feet up. Let's just say, I totally fell apart as the MC of the event and we will probably never be allowed back at this facility. Ever.

Love you guys. Ta ta for now.

Whoa...

Life is full of things that just amaze me. Here's a few examples:

1. There is a windchill factor of 6 degrees here this morning. I wore shorts this last weekend. How does that happen?
2. I met a woman named Bonkey this week. How does that happen?
3. A friend of mine told me her sister-in-law had a baby over the weekend... except no one knew she was pregnant- even her. As a woman in her forties who was told she could never have children, she attributed her weight-gain to depression (due to the emotional pain of "infertility") and attributed her physical "symptoms" to pre-menopause. She went to the doc when she was 4 mos along and they even put her on hormones for the "symptoms." HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? She thought she was sick when she went to the hospital, and came home with a 6 1/2 pound, full-term baby girl. Try explaining that one to everybody.

By the way, I realize #3 sounds like something I made up. I didn't. And just so you aren't too traumatized by that strange story, here's a joke to leave you with from one of my hilarious youth group-ers:

Question: How does Hitler tie his shoe laces?
............................................................
............................................................
wait for it............................................
................................................................
................................................................
Answer: In little knot-sies.

Have a good one!

Starts with a "B"

Last week my five-year-old niece got a birthday card in the mail that said:

What starts with "B," ends with an "R," and has two "E's" in the middle?

(Open card): "BIRTHDAY CHEER!"

So... it is assumed that the sweet sender of the above card (my niece's Bible class teacher), upon seeing the cute little bear on the front, sent this without realizing what it said. Since both the sender (an older lady) and the recipient (a five-year-old) were oblivious to the hidden message, it was up to my clever sister to catch this and point it out to the rest of us. I told her it needs to go in my niece's scrapbook- (you scrap-bookers know there are stickers for EVERYTHING. I'm thinkin little Budweiser di-cuts?) Kidding. Kind of.

So here's a totally unrelated question for the day: What is your favorite stress-relieving activity? What's that self-indulgent thing or activity that always makes you feel like a million bucks? I would like to collect all your ideas, then try them all in a "Day of Extreme Spoiling" for myself sometime. So don't let me down.