Sunday, December 26, 2010

Merry Christmas

the cross in christmas from tammi dryden on Vimeo.


Make sure to enlarge the video to full screen to fully enjoy it. When you hover your cursor over the video, you'll see a four cornered symbol by the word Vimeo that will enlarge it for you.

Love,

Saturday, December 18, 2010

So My Mom Tells Me...

...You aren't supposed to take a picture of a turkey from this angle, and I should be ashamed of myself.

 LOL




Oops!  : )   


Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Verse Novel Challenge

Soooo....I may have mentioned a few times about my new love affair with verse novels.  OK...I admit my friends and family are sick to death of hearing me gush about them.

Well, now I'll tell you who you can blame.  : ) 

You can blame Amy, at The Green Bathtub.  Amy is a writer and loves good books AND she now lives in the town I grew up in.  Finding her online was a cyber match made in heaven that I'll have to blog about another time.  I love her blog, and when she mentioned she was a part of a challenge to read five verse novels this year, I thought, "What's a verse novel?"  I was mildly interested, but wondered if I would actually like reading a whole novel written in poetry.

Uh...I liked it a lot.  Just ask my sink full of dirty dishes. 

I know many of you are thinking, "Yuck!"  Trust me, it isn't like reading Shakespeare or a whole book of poetry that you have to interpret in order to understand.  I read Heartbeat by Sharon Creech outloud to my daughters, and they were begging me for a sequel.  If second and third grade girls can "get" it, so can you.  : ) 

I've loved many of the ones I've read, liked most of them, and disliked only two, but even the ones I disliked, I had to respect for the writing and creativity. 

I found out recently that it isn't too late to join the Verse Novel Challenge hosted by Caroline Starr Rose for a chance to win an advanced copy of her new book, May B

Here's a list of the verse novels I've read so far in the order I read them.  I put an asterisk by my absolute favorites and a little note or disclaimer by the ones that need it.  I hope you'll add a verse novel to your reading list and let me know what you think: 

1.  Far From You by Lisa Schroeder

2.  Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse  *

3.  Heartbeat by Sharon Creech *

4.  Pieces of Georgia by Jen Bryant

5.  Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

These next two were the ones I didn't like.  The first one was funny, but I didn't relate to the main character very much and it has a different world view than me.  The second one was creative and I respected the concept, but it was not an easy or entertaining read.  It was more like a collection of poems and was VERY depressing.

6.  One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones

7.  Split Image by Mel Glenn

These next two are HILARIOUS and fun to read, but definitely not G-rated.  They aren't R-rated either.  I guess I'd say PG-13.  They are meant for teens, are pretty steamy, and remind me of watching Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles back in my day- 

8.  What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
9.  What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

One of the appealing things about verse novels are how quickly you can read one.  If you end up getting addicted and read five before the end of the year, you should enter Caroline's  challenge on her blog, Caroline By Line.

Have fun reading! 


Monday, December 6, 2010

This Thankful Heart- Multitudes on Mondays





"Oh my words could not tell, not even in part
Of the debt of love that is owed

By this thankful heart"
- Matt Redman


Counting My Blessings One by One to 1,000...



#77   A Thanksgiving meal that was a true feast.  Smiles like this one were my reward:

 
 


#78   A perfect bird



#79   A Thanksgiving that was far more than a meal, but a weekend of love, laughing, cards, shopping, and cousins.  Memories-  


 








#80 Seeing the big kids learn Pinochle with Grandma and Grandpa:

(And wondering when they become the BIG kids?) 


Beyond the Holiday:


#81  King Charming telling me I'm beautiful and laughing at me when I say my face is aging.  : ) 



#82 God's gentleness when He is disciplining me and shaping me.  We've been working on something lately, and I keep failing.  So thankful He doesn't fail me and doesn't quit on me. 

Clinging to this verse:
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. - Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

#83 Family friends who surprised us and visited our church Sunday morning.  The joy their surprise brought my kids.  (and me)


#84  Whispered conversation at the coffee pot in the back of the church with sweet friends (When we should have been sitting down and listening).  Trying to squeeze in everything I wanted to tell them into a few quick whispers before we became a distraction. 

 
#85  Reading, reading, reading- every chance I could steal this weekend.  Books that made me cry at the end, but smile at their beauty.  

#86  Tuesday morning.  Can't wait to do it again someday.  

#87  Remembering this:

My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.    
-Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)
                                                                       
Remembering all the times He has in the past
                                         Confident He will continue in the future.


#88 Singing this song at church today:   






 

This thankful heart overflows. 


I'm participating in Multitudes on Mondays on A Holy Experience.




Love, 


Wednesday, December 1, 2010

A Lazy Walk Down Memory Lane- Don't Bother Me, I'm Sleeping! : )

Lazy Wednesday's Walk


Today Stacey from I'm a Lazy Mom is hosting a blog hop called, A Lazy Walk Down Memory Lane.  Each Wednesday in December, she's inviting moms to go the lazy route during the holiday season and repost a favorite blog post from the past instead of writing a new one.


I can do lazy!


In fact the post I decided to repost is a perfect example of being a lazy mom!  Hee Hee.


I hope rereading it makes you feel really good about yourself and that you'll have mercy on me and not judge me too harshly.  : )   


Don't Bother Me, I'm Sleeping! 
(Originally posted 6-17-10)


Ahh, is there anything more glorious for a mom than to realize the stars have aligned and you have been given the gift of an afternoon nap?


My body sunk deeper into the mattress. I pulled the pillow over my eyes and felt a magnet pulling me deeper into the sweet bliss of unconsciousness.


Then the inevitable. The door creaked open and tiny footsteps tiptoed toward my bed.


"Mommy?"


Silence. I willed myself to stay asleep. If I ignore her, maybe she'll go away.


"Mommy!"


Ugh! She's not giving up easily.


"Are you bleeding? Dying?" I asked without moving the pillow off my head.


"No, Mommy, but I was playing outside and I think I see a TORNADO coming."


Oh brother, does she think we live in Kansas? She is such a DRAMA QUEEN!


"We don't have tornadoes here. Go back outside and LET ME SLEEP!!!"


"But Mommy, I'm scared. What if it really is a TORNADO?"


I will not wake up. I will not wake up. I will not wake up.


"Go away. All I ask is for 20 minutes to sleep. Is that too much to ask?"


"OK, Mommy."


She shut the door and left. And went outside to wait for her imaginary tornado to carry her over the rainbow like Dorothy. I laughed at her vivid imagination and drama queen antics. A tornado, ha! I gave into the sweet, well-deserved sleep of a hard working super mom.


When I woke up, I turned on the news and guess what I saw:


(Photo from KTVB website)
Here are a few of the local headlines:
Violent Wind Storm Produces Funnel Cloud.
Funnel Cloud Rips Through Neighborhood, Uprooting Trees,
Knocking Down Fences

You get the idea. Sure glad I sent my CHILD out to play in THAT. I can add this one to my Super Mom resume.

Tornado about to touch down? Don't bother me. I'm sleeping! : )