Christmas Cookie Swap

I'm hosting a Christmas Cookie swap this year & it's time for you to sign up! Who doesn't love Christmas cookies?

Here's how it works:
*Follow the directions below about where to email me & what info I need from you.
*I will draw names & match up swap partners on December 1st.
*You bake or buy cookies to fit what your swap partner likes & mail the cookies by December 10th. Get the kids involved & have fun being creative! (You can pack them in ziploc bags or containers & bubble-wrap or use shipping peanuts.)
*If you choose to throw in some extra holiday cheer (a card, an ornament, whatever!) that's up to you, but totally optional.

It's a lot of fun! Spread the word --- post on your blog, post to Facebook, link back here on Twitter, email the info to your friends! The more people participating, the more fun this will be!

Send the following information to me at Lizreeves2@aol.com with the subject line "Christmas Cookie Swap".

Name:
Mailing address:
Email address:
Allergies or types of cookies you DON'T like:
Favorite kind of Christmas cookie (or just any kind of cookie):
Any info you would like your swap partner to know:

Five Question Friday

1. What's the last thing you spent too much money on?
I can't think of anything at the moment. We've been in a super-conservative mode for a long while, so we haven't had many splurges in a while.

2. What celeb chef would you want to make you dinner?
I'm gonna go with Rachel Ray. But does she could as a "chef"?

3. Where do you hide things when visitors pop over or do you let them see the real deal?
First, I'm giggling. I can tell the author of these questions is not from the south. We'd never say something "popped over". I think of popcorn & things popping out of the toaster when I read that. LOL!

Second, it depends who the visitor is. Some of my friends/family see the truth....and love me anyway. If it's someone who I don't want to see things, I usually meet them in the yard & talk in the sunshine vs inviting them in.

4. Who is your oldest living family member?
Larry's Aunt Edna

5. What is your favorite DQ treat and/or Sonic drink combo (ie: cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper)?
During the summer, I love to order a coconut lime slush from Sonic. It's like summer in a cup! Yum!
Samuel, on the other hand, loves to weird me out by ordering a coke with 4 or 5 flavors in it. I've had to limit him to only 3 flavors and he MUST drink it --- no matter how gross it tastes! His weirdest one was a Chocolate Lemon Coke. :::shudders:::

Updates on Us

Let's see....where to begin?

Larry has taken a 2nd job (God bless that man!) to help make ends meet. He's doing part-time security work for the police department at a college about 30 miles away. While we had never hoped or expected to have him get a job that required wearing his bullet-proof vest, handcuffs & gun belt again, life sometimes requires us to do things we never expected. Going back to patrol duty was not even on our radar, but about 3 weeks ago a friend of his mentioned that they might be hiring. Since he was looking for a part-time job to bring in some extra moo-la, he checked it out & voila...he's got a 2nd job. It will mean missing some family things now and then, but we take comfort in knowing that it's just for a season.

Savannah (15, 10th grade) is reaching an age where she is being forced realize that she is different from many of her friends. She's always been very intelligent & more mature in some ways than many of her friends. These, unfortunately, are not necessarily traits that high schoolers admire & respect. She is her own brand of quirky & sweet, hyper-focused on schoolwork, reading, writing, her walk with Christ and other pretty 'grown up' things. She's becoming more & more aware that just about everyone else is more concerned with looks, boyfriends/girlfriends, parties, fitting in, fashion and other typical high school things. We talked about it at length last week. I reminded her that high school is a difficult time for most kids. Kids like her don't have lots of friends sometimes, but as high school ends & college begins, the focus shifts & kids grow up. They'll realize that they must buckle down & get to work on grades and thinking about the future. Savannah will be a step ahead of those kids when that time comes. Mr. Wonderful (and all the friends she would love to have now) will show up in her life and things will change. {Don't get me wrong. She has some friends now, but feels like many of them think she is weird or odd or whatever. Thank you, God, for those who are true friends and love her for who she is right now -- beautiful & wonderful & quirky & silly!}

After many years of wondering whether Samuel has ADD/ADHD, we had him tested last month. We were right! It was determined that he has ADHD-Inattentive Type. He began taking a super low dose of Concerta last weekend. So far, he's having no side effects, but we're not really seeing any effects of the medicine yet either. The doctor started him out on a dosage about 2 levels too low for his weight just to watch him & make sure he didn't have side effects. He was clear that we would very likely bump his dosage up a little bit after we determined whether or not he would have any side effects, so next week when we go back to the doctor, I fully suspect we will leave with a new prescription. Otherwise, Samuel is doing great! He's on the verge of moving up another rank in Boy Scouts & that tickles him to death!

Sarah is continuing to grow like a weed. She's a busy 5th grader these days. Tomorrow morning Larry will go to her school for their annual Veteran's Day program while I'm at work. Then in the afternoon, I will go to her school for an hour of walking with her during her PE class for their American Diabetes Association walk. She has announced to us that she wants to be in band next year when she's in 6th grade. We are crossing our fingers that she can play the French Horn like Savannah. Wouldn't it be fun to have 2 French Horn players in the family? (Do you hear Christmas concerts in your head, too??!!)

And lastly, there's me. As the holiday season fast approaches, I have begun my annual Christmas shopping & budgeting. We took our our annual loan to buy all the gifts last week & I've already made a couple of online purchases for FAR less money than I expected to spend. Yay me! I'm considering doing photo cards this year if I can budget my gift-buying money well. I've always wanted to do those, but we can never seem to get it together & find ones that we can afford --- or rather that I'm willing to pay the price they want for. Maybe I can find a template online & create our own this year? Hmm.....

It's 10:30pm and my eyeballs are drifting south, so it's time for this blogger to say goodnight.

36 Facts for my 36th Birthday

Every year on my birthday I write a post with random facts about me, according to the number of years old I am. Tonight I'm switching that around a little and will still share with you 36 random things. They will be facts about me, my favorite Scriptures, some favorite videos, links to sites I love and more. Come, sit back & waste some time with me. Consider it your birthday gift to me.

#1 Someone recently sent me this link. It's a goofy game that I thought I'd hate, but it's soooo addictive. Yeah....you'll hate me later.

#2 Considering #1, you probably already know this, but I love logic puzzles & sudoku. At work, I have books like this that I work on every single day during lunch.

#3 My all time favorite movie is Grease. This is my favorite scene. You know, it all it's slutty, promiscuous glory. Sorry folks....cover your kids' eyes.


...and here's something fun. They did a reunion concert in 2002 & how cute is this?


#4 My all time favorite TV show is Friends. Here are a couple of my favorite scenes.

These won't embed for some reason, but you can go to these links to watch them: http://youtu.be/87z7YiNWUBU
and
http://youtu.be/iGoC8FTLKSI

#5 I love romantic comedies but in the past few years, I've come to love all the faith-based movies. Facing the Giants, Fireproof, The Grace Card, etc. I cry all the way through this movie every time I see it! (and I'm not even a football fan)


#6 Nearly 2 years ago, someone shared this blog with me. The mom who writes the blog had just delivered a 'surprise' baby. She knew she was pregnant, but the baby's diagnosis was a surprise. Her blog is a breath of fresh air every single time I read it. You can't help but fall in love with Kelle's family!

#7 I love Facebook. It's so much fun!

#8 I actually watch Good Luck Charlie when my kids aren't home. It's sort of Disney channel's 2011 version of the Cosby show -- funny, 'safe', good lessons, family show.

#9 My favorite hymn is "It is Well". A couple of years ago, Jars of Clay did a contemporary version of it. I love it!


#10 Savannah's middle name was taken from a Jimmy Buffett song.

#11 Samuel's middle name came from the Bible.

#12 Sarah's middle name was chosen to keep with the initials we had chosen for the older 2 kids. We wanted to keep the pattern going. Funny how different the process was for choosing their names.

#13 I am not the least bit superstitious.

#14 Today one of my students at work made me a card out of construction paper & scissors & markers. I couldn't love her more. I melt at the sight of crayons & construction paper....especially when it's used to show me your love.

#15 I think every married couple should read this book. Early in their marriage, before troublesome times come. I can't tell you how many copies I've given out & how many times I've recommended it. (Seriously, if you're married & haven't read it, go buy it NOW!)

#16 And THIS is my parenting Bible.

#17 This is the book that made me start enjoying fiction again. And I am forever grateful that I read it. It's my all-time favorite book!

#18 If I am looking for warm, gooey comfort food, I will reach for Stouffer's frozen mac & cheese every time. OH MY GOSH. It's soooooooo good. It has about 650 bazillion calories & is VERY fattening. But Lord, have mercy. Drool!

#19 My favorite Scripture changes from day to day, but a few of my favorites are Gal. 6:9, Isaiah 40:31, Romans 8:28-39, Gen. 15:1, Prov. 3:5-6. There are a million others, but those come to mind most readily.

#20 I am currently part way through Angie Smith's book "What Women Fear" and I'm part-way through this week's People magazine. That's balanced reading, right? (grin)

#21 Speaking of Angie Smith, if you don't know who she is, you should. Get to know her on her blog.

#22 Savannah was born with a birth defect. We didn't know it until she was about 18 months old & her eyes began to cross uncontrollably. She was diagnosed with a pretty serious case of Strabismus. She went through 4 surgeries to correct it & wore bifocals for 5 years before she was declared 'healed'. These days, you'd never know she ever had a problem and unless you're an eye doctor (or her mama!) you can't tell by looking at her eyes that she ever had surgery. We are forever grateful to her amazing opthamologist.

#23 I use this website pretty often to create graphics for this blog.

#24 Some of my favorite speakers include Beth Moore, Louie Giglio, Patsy Clairmont, Francis Chan, Marilyn Meberg, Sheila Walsh, Terry Cadwell, my sweet husband and so many others!

****I am getting sleepy, so this list is going to quickly get finished up!****

#25 If I had a super power, it would be to fly.

#26 I don't care one way or the other about Pinterest. I know that's not exactly the coolest or most girlie opinion these days, but there ya go. (Of course, I've never claimed to be the coolest or most girlie!) I've tried it. It just doesn't reel me in like all my friends are saying happens every time they look at the site.

#27 If anyone ever invents the magic pill that makes me skinny, healthy & buff, I will totally sell my left arm to get it.

#28 I can never get enough of listening to Paul Baloche, Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin & Nichole Nordeman.

#29 I was the yearbook editor in High School. And I loved it. No matter how nerdy that made me.

#30 But I thought band kids were geeks. Then I married one.

#31 When I first wrote this, I somehow missed typing #31. I'm not sure how, but thank you to Chris L. who pointed it out to me. Now, there's no random fact here, but I do indeed have all 36 points now. :)

#32 I drink tons of water every day. Except for about 1 day a week when I guzzle Dr. Peppers one after another all day.

#33 Yeah, add me to the list of nearly 14 million people who made this video go viral last week.

#34 I will never agree to living in a house that doesn't have a big tub for bubble baths. Unless we get filthy rich & buy a house without it, in which case we'll have enough money to add it on!

#35 Several annoying videos that will get stuck in your head....but I love them anyway!




#36 I am amazed by my life every day. Thank you God, for giving me these 36 years. And thank you, blog readers, for actually making it to #36!

Friday Phone Dump

It's that time again! Get out your iPhone, your Android, your Blackberry, your.....whatever.....and dump out your pictures from the past week. It's Friday Phone Dump day! Post the pictures on your blog so we can follow you through your week (and don't forget your weekly self portrait). Link back here & comment so I can come see your pictures. Here are mine!
Last weekend, while doing childcare at a local church, we reached a point in the evening when all the toys were picked up & we just had a few minutes to kill until the parents began showing up to pick up the kids. I knew if I didn't come up with something quick, the kids would get rowdy and/or they'd start pulling all the toys out again. So I pulled a preschool teacher trick. Shaving cream on the tables! Six kids were immediately mesmerized...from 2 yr olds to 10 yr olds! Works like a charm every time. (Sarah was there, so I only took pictures of her.)


On Wednesday night during childcare at my church, we were drawing on a big piece of paper on the table & I made this. The kids thought it was cool, so I took a picture.

While we were outside that same night. The clouds were so pretty!

The last lonely chicken nugget. There are never enough of them. Yes, I know they're horrible for you. Yes, I know I've lost 16 lbs & still have a long way to go. But sometimes a girl's just gotta have some McNuggets with Ranch dipping sauce.

I saw this at Walmart on Thursday night. I've known it was coming, but this is the first big glaring sign I've seen so far. Kinda made me want to hurl a cheap $4 little girl's bubble bath & lip balm from the gift aisle at the ceiling. Can we just focus on being thankful for 5.2 minutes before we start putting giant pictures of Santa up EVERYWHERE?

You'll have to forgive my lack of a self portrait this week. I've been too busy pricing this stuff. And all the rest that is out on tables in my front yard as we speak. Covered in tarps. I'm praying that none of it is missing by morning. I'm also praying that if someone decides to take something before 6:30am (when I plan to be out there putting out all of THIS stuff!), they will get flat tires on the way out of the neighborhood and the AAA folks won't fix their flats until they return the stolen merchandise!

Field trip, anyone?

First, before you do anything else, I need to tell you something & I want you to take a quick field trip from here for just a minute. (But come back & check out the Friday Phone Dump afterward! I'm posting it in a second.)

If you've ever read Shaun Groves's (or is it Groves'?) blog and been inspired.... if you've never considered sponsoring a child through Compassion International, or if you have considered it but you're still thinking about it....read this blog post.

Maybe it's the PMS.
Maybe it's the mom in me.
Maybe it's just because I'm a girl.
Or maybe it's the Holy Spirit.

Whatever it is, I'm talking to Larry tomorrow about sponsoring a child. I can't do much, but maybe I can use part of our tithe each month to help a child. If you are able, I'd suggest you consider it too.

(And if you're not sure how to find Compassion, click the link at the bottom of this page. It's always been there, but maybe you didn't click it before. Today's the day.)

They may turn me in to "Hoarders".....

On Saturday, our little town is having a city-wide garage sale day. On the website where they are listed, there are at least 50 sales with a wide variety of items. If I wasn't having a sale myself, I would love to go bargain hunting. (ya know...if I had some spare money to spend!) This year, however, I have decided to become a character on the TV show 'Hoarders'. Or at least that's what my living room is beginning to look like. ha ha! All of the garage sale items are being sorted & priced there. It's piled almost chest-high in places and is taking up half of the room. I love seeing this huge pile, though. I means I might make more than $20 Saturday! ha ha!