Singing Saturday on a Monday

I heard this song for the first time this weekend at the retreat I was serving on. It sort of became an unofficial theme song for some. It was written and sung originally by John Mark McMillan. Watch here for the story behind the song. Here is a link to the lyrics. (I've been listening to more of his music and I really like it)

Truly there is nothing greater than the Revelation of His passion and love for us. His love is devastating, and like she says at the end, If you have encountered the Father's love, you will never be the same.

Last week

This is what I saw when I went to get the twins up. I knew Baby W(the curly one) had gotten out of his bed because I heard him at the door. I thought they were fighting through the crib bars. But no, he had climbed in his brother's crib to try and take his toy(a little toy electric piano).

After I took the last picture I saw something strange in the viewfinder. What's that on the wall? Why, it's red crayon. And yellow crayon. Little stinker W had put crayons in his pockets. And decorated his wall. He can't help himself. When he gets any sort of writing utensil he must write on the wall.

Fun times

WooHoo

Guess What?!?

My Converse made it to Craftster's Top Picks of 2008 in the Shoe category!!!!!!

Some small changes

I just wanted to alert everyone to the changes on my sidebar. You can now easily access my other blogs..and see if it's been updated since the last time you checked it. Also, the blogs I read links are updated as people post. I like this new feature on blogger.

Here's a view of the sky when I went to the bus stop today. I am going to try to take the camera(not splitcat's new one, the old one) with me when I walk to the bus and see what I can see.



It's been a very weird weather day here. It would pour rain for about 30 minutes, then the sun would shine very brightly, then rain, the rain and sunshine at the same time. It was almost 70 degrees yesterday, today the wind is howling around my house and it feels in the 40's-50's, it may be warmer without the wind. These clouds were going by really fast.

One Resolution Down

Well, I've fulfilled one of my resolutions. Unfortunately it's not the clean house or the dishes. However, I have learned something new. Inspired by this post at Hanna's Life is Cool, I went armed with coupon to Hobby Lobby and spent my Christmas money on a quilling kit. I have always wanted to try quilling, just never have gotten around to it. So here's what I've done so far:

These cards are all from the starter kit
















This is my first attempt at design. It's supposed to be an "H" It's not glued down, so it's a little wonky. Plus, Baby M destroyed the right half of it after I finished this photo. The colors are all off, too. It is off-white, pink, a melony pink, and red. Quilling is very difficult to photograph in my dungeon, um, I mean living room(It's in the basement with very poor lighting)



This is supposed to be an "O," but it looks more like a backwards "Q." The scale is also wrong to go with the H(my goal is to spell HOPE), but I like the overall look of it. It's actually orange and yellow.


An attempt at quilled jewelry. This is actually black and white.


So, I've accomplished one thing on my list.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to my readers.

It is New Year's Eve. Where has the year gone? I don't remember much. It's been a long year. I am ready to start new.

I am currently alone in my New Year celebrating. Splitcat has gone to his sister's to be with his family. I was also invited, but I would have no fun because I would spend the whole time chasing the twins and trying to avert meltdowns. So here I am, home, the kids all in bed. I've got the Morningstar New year's conference on God Tv playing and I've caught up on all my favorite blogs. I don;t know when Splitcat will be home.

We had a very nice Christmas. The girl got her American Girl Doll(Felicity). Then she also got a wardrobe for all her doll clothes from Grandma J, I also got her a tea table and chairs for her dolls, My mom and Grandmother gave her doll clothes, and my dad made all the girls beds for their dolls. My nieces got bunk beds and E. got a four poster with a trundle. He made them from the crib all 4 of my sister's children slept in. Splitcat got his little girl her first real jewelry-a necklace with her birthstone--it will live in my jewelry box to be worn on special occasions.

The boy got a camera. I looked at just about every camera out there. I wanted to spend about the same amount as I did for the girl. There were a few cameras in my price range, then when I went to the American Girl store to get the girl's doll, I wandered into Wolf Camera. They had a bunch of cameras on clearance, and I was able to get him a Canon Powershot. It is an older one, but is still selling online for quite a bit more than I paid. He loves it. I was a little worried. He really likes that he can take movies with it. I am hoping to start him a photo blog to encourage his creativity. It's been a rough school year for him. He also got some other random things.

The twins got a little kitchen set and their own vacuum cleaners (from grandma J) and some other toys from my family

Then, in a fit of madness, I bought a Wii. I shouldn't have. But I did. My mil got me the Wii fit. We all are enjoying it.

Since splitcat bought his camera and that was part of his Christmas, I bought him a few random things.

When he asked what I wanted I told him I didn't really need much. Some new striped knee hi socks would be nice. Or just some money so I could decide later(I want to get new dishes). And I wouldn't mind some diamond earrings. I have very sensitive ears, and I can't really wear earrings more than a few hours unless they are gold or silver. So I have always wanted a pair of simple diamond earrings I could wear all the time. I think I've been telling him this since we had our first Christmas 13 years ago. So I guess you know where I am going with this. He bought me diamond earrings. I was very surprised. They are princess cut(square) in white gold. And large enough that you can see them, but not too big. They are just right. He didn't know I bought the Wii(and a bunch of games). In a fit of buyer's remorse I offered up my earrings for return. After all, I was the one who overspent this Christmas. But I think I've changed my mind. I'm not giving them up :). For many various reasons they are nearly as meaningful to me as my engagement ring. But there's going to be a bit of belt-tightening around here for the next few months. Which is good, because I really need to stop eating out. Oh, and I also got a pack of Twizzlers, Fun-Dip, and Chocolate Covered Cherries(all my favorite candies). I got a little bit of cash from my mom and grandmother I am going to save for my dishes if I can ever find some we both like.

So that was Christmas

So what about this New Year. What are my hopes and dreams for me? In no particular order:

To have a clean house. All the time.
To leave the wilderness, or at least see the light at the end of the tunnel.
To attend the Blue Ridge Writer's Conference
To finish revising my novel
To spend more time with my daughter
To read and study my bible more consistently
To be a better wife
To be a better mother
To learn at least one new thing
To get new dishes(I really want these, but I've been told we are too old)

But what I want most is to be a Light.

I do not know what this new year holds. I know some struggles from the past year will roll forward with the clock tonight, but that's okay. But I am choosing to leave some of my own personal struggles behind. Some are not worth the attention and others can only be solved by letting them go. I choose to look forward at this new year with hope. I know that no matter what happens in the world this year, I can say, "It is well with my soul."

Edit: Splitcat came home around 11. When we went up to bed around 12:02, the girl came stumbling from her room wondering what all the noise was for. People were setting off fireworks in our neighborhood.

Singing Saturday

Because I have nothing better to do, I am starting a new tradition of posting new songs I like, thus, Singing Saturday. This may only happen once, since I have a terrible time remembering anything past 2 seconds ago.

So for the inaugural edition here is a new band from Sweden called First Aid Kit singing a cover of Tiger Mountain Peasant Song by Fleet Foxes. First Aid Kit is comprised of 2 sisters who are both still in their teens. I stumbled across this totally randomly one day and was struck by their voices and harmonies.

No Soliciting

Would it be rude to put a sign in my front window that said

NO SOLICITING
Please do not knock on my door or ring my doorbell unless I am personally acquainted with you. Chances are, someone in this house is asleep right now, and it won't make them very happy if you wake them up, especially if it's the lady of the house. I have no desire to buy a vacuum cleaner, or any magazine subscriptions. I really have no desire to become a Mormon or Jehovah's Witness. I don't need any free estimates or brochures about free estimates. Please, don't waste my time or yours.
Have a Nice Day.

Splitcat recently purchased photoshop elements. I feel like I have a new toy. Here is one of my first experiments. I changed the background, took out all the color, then colored parts of it. Don't look too close, it's a little messy. But it looks okay if you keep it small. :) I have always wanted to be able to colorize b/w photos. So I am experimenting alot.

Thanksgiving at my parent's house

Don't be fooled by the sad look. I was told that he was eavesdropping on his cousin's video game conversation. And yes, he needs a haircut, too.

And yes, his shirt is on backwards. He has some sensory issues(which is why I wait as long as possible between haircuts). I guess I should cut his tags out. Though I'm not sure why it bothers him less to have the tags in the front.

Hanging out in the fig tree



We had a nice Thanksgiving at my parent's house. I went Black Friday shopping with my M-i-l, then we went to their house last night for dinner. Except for needing to purchase a few gift cards, I am done Christmas Shopping. WooHoo. Most of it is even wrapped. Now I've got to clean up the living room so we can put the tree up. And I colored my hair. I was told I look 10 yrs younger. I guess if it makes my dh happy, I shouldn't complain.

Thanksgiving break is almost over. I am sad and glad. But Christmas break will be here before I know it.

We started working on Christmas photos today. Splitcat is still learning how to use his camera. Today was the girl and me. We got a few decentish shots.



The black and white really show off my gray hair. Those stripes are not highlights. Splitcat delicately suggested that perhaps I should think of coloring my hair or getting a different haircut. Apparently I am starting to really resemble my mother :).



Splitcat got a new filter that makes lights into stars. That's why the candles. In the picture below I had just asked her how she would feel if she got an American girl doll for Christmas. She was telling her Daddy which ones she wanted.



And just because they are so darn cute(W really needs a haircut)





Okay, so they both need haircuts.(and a hairwash would probably not be a bad thing)

My thoughts on Twilight-the books and the movie

First, I must say I am not a huge fan of books about vampires. It's been done to death lately. YA lit is awash in the supernatural right now thanks to Harry and the resurrection of LOTR and Narnia. I have avoided the Twilight series simply because it was about vampires. But I figured as a hopeful YA writer, I should see what the fuss was about. So I bought a cheap copy of Twilight at Walmart since the Library never had any copies available. (mild spoiler alert) When I finished I was thoroughly annoyed. It wasn't particularly well written. Bella was annoying, Edward was just weird, but Jacob Black had won me over. It was probably his character that kept me reading. Imagine my delight when the next installment was mostly about Jacob. The writing was a little better. Edward and Bella were still annoying in the same way Romeo and Juliet are annoying. For some reason I find love that takes itself so seriously to be annoying. But that's probably just me, I tend to see the absurd in everything. Eclipse was my favorite. There was more action, more of all the characters, and Jacob finally has his moment with Bella. I knew she would never be his, but I'm glad he got his chance. Breaking Dawn is one I need to read again. It was so oddly different from the other books. I guess because it moves from the real world mixing with the vampire/wolf world, to being largely about the vamp/wolf world. As a whole I found I liked them. But I never really could like Bella.

Then I realized that Bella is truly the "everygirl." What girl has not found herself utterly in unexplicable love. That all consuming can't eat, can't sleep, can't keep your eyes off him love. Obsessive, maddening, and then it turns out he feels the same way. The joy, the rapture, the awkwardness, the nervousness. You are afraid to believe it is true, that you might wake up from a dream.

And this, I think, is the appeal of the saga. It's not the vampires, it's the love story.

I watched the movie trailers on youtube. I was strongly reminded of an afterschool special. Do they do those anymore? Then my sister had the idea of going to the 12:01 showing. It seemed like a fun idea. We don't get out much :). We had a blast. They had 7 theatres open at the AMC. We went to no. 13. We got there around 10, and there were quite a few people there. It was fun to see everyone in their t-shirts taking pictures and generally making an event of the evening. My sister's 13 yr old son went with us. He was relieved to not be the only guy. He wanted to show his ticket stub to all the girls at school the next day.
The movie finally started, and thankfully there was only a small contingent of screamers in our theatre that were quickly hushed. My initial reaction of thinking of an afterschool special was dead-on. The beginning was hokey, awkward, and exactly what real high school is like. We're weren't sure(I'm still not) if they meant it to be so campy or if it just came across that way. Somehow I suspect it was supposed to be a bit campy. How can a teen melodrama not be campy? But as hokey as parts of it were, there were also brief moments of brilliance. Robert Pattinson had some perfect moments of Edwardness. He also had moments when he seemed to be channeling the character of "Roman" from Days of Our Lives(the dark brooding eyebrow lift look). Overall, once all the character introductions were over, the film settled into itself. With the actual film, I thought it needed some editing help, especially at the beginning. Some of the scenes and transitions were choppy and shot at strange angles. There were a lot of close-ups. It was strangely like the book. You were totally immersed in Edward and Bella's obsession with one another. I guess that was the point. There was a lot of giggling in the audience at some of the moments of intense "looking." You knew you shouldn't be giggling, but it was comical and endearing at the same time. Especially if you remember giving and receiving those looks. I'm still not sure about the casting of Jacob. Taylor Lautner is definitely cute, and has the sunny disposition of Jacob in the first book, but I wonder if he can handle the intense Jacob of the latter books--if he is recast in the role. Kristen Stewart was totally Bella.
I really wished they had made it a little longer. It could have used 30 more minutes. I suppose we'll get all the cut scenes on the DVD. It was certainly not a piece of artistic cinema, but the first Harry Potter was pretty bad, too. But it still drew us in and made us part of their world, hokey parts and all. I would see it again just because it was fun. They don't make enough fun movies anymore that aren't full of potty humor and swearing. It was so refreshing to see a movie with no swearing. And where the characters don't immediately fall into bed upon their first glance. I personally think the suspenseful sort of physical relationship is much more interesting to watch than people just jumping into bed. I hope they get a bigger budget for the next movie. I think it has a chance of being much better than this one.

oops, I almost forgot to add that once I read the excerpt of Midnight Sun(Twilight from Edward's perspective) on Stephenie Meyer's website, I liked Edward. Robert Pattinson's portrayal made me like him better, but reading from his perspective made me like him alot. I still think Bella is annoying.

Val tagged me for a meme to write seven random facts about books. Since she wrote about her personal experiences about books, I shall do the same.

1. I read the Twilight series in less than 4 days. I didn't think I would like them.
2. My best friend and I used to go to her house and spend hours reading. Her house had books stacked everywhere. I thought it was wonderful. We were in elementary school. My sister thought we were weird. My best friend is now a Librarian.
3. In high school, while everyone else was reading books like "Flowers in the Attic," I was reading Thomas Hardy, the Bronte's, Tennyson, and William Blake.
4. Splitcat and I had part of our first date at a used bookstore.
5. I read Gone With the Wind when I was twelve.
6. In high school, my AP English class was reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest, but my mother wouldn't let me read it, so I did my project on Jane Eyre.
7. My favorite male characters in novels are Paul Atreides, Edward Rochester, Mr. Darcy, Arthur Dent, and Faramir. My favorite female characters are Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennett, Lirael, Sabriel, Tally Youngblood, and Harry Crewe.

I'm Back

From seeing Twilight. Only 3 hrs until it's time to get the kids up for school. I'll try to do a full review in the morning, but I had a great time. We got to the theatre around 10 and had a good time visiting and watching people. There were more guys than we expected, and we were not the oldest people there. A good time was had by all.

Sorry I haven't really been posting much. Life is mostly boring. I kind of vegged out after my retreat weekend was over.

So, what's been going on in our corner of the world?

The babies are talking pretty well. It is wonderful to be able to communicate with them. Baby M says "sa" for yes, and Baby W says "Okay," but it comes out okaaaaaaaaaay, with a definite southern accent. M's eyes light up when he has successfully communicated with you. W. stopped climbing out of his bed, thankfully. They are loving school.

I have been working 2 days a week. I am mostly enjoying it, but it makes me tired. I was loving tuesdays, because I only had one baby, now I have 3 on tues and 4 on thurs. They are 3 mos, 5 mos, 7 mos, and 13 mos. They are all pretty mellow. I've been attending a bible study on weds. It is a weight loss study. I have lost 9 lbs in 10 weeks. So I have almost lost all the weight I gained after the twins were born(I lost some last winter and kept most of it off). I think that some of my loss is due to the fact that I am getting more than 3 hrs of sleep every night. Two years of sleep deprivation was very unpleasant in many ways. I still have a ways to go to get back to my pre-baby(the first one) weight. But now that I am no longer insane, I think I can get there.

The big kids are doing well. The girl is learning to read, the boy reads voraciously.

Now I am trying to figure out what to get everyone for Christmas. I think I am going to get out some toys the twins have never played with and wrap them. I have a whole box of puzzles they have never seen. I am going to donate some to their classroom and then give them the rest for Christmas. I have so many toys, there is no reason to buy them more.

Oh, and my sister and I are going to the 12:01 showing of "Twilight." Her 13 yr old son is going with us. We will probably be the oldest people there, and he may be the only boy. But we thought it would be fun. We don't get out much.

Keith Green-Make My Life a Prayer

This pretty much sums up my life at this moment.

Just Because I feel like it

The title says "Wonderful Savior" but I think that is wrong. That's a different song. These guys are my favorite worship band. This is not my favorite song, but the only decent video on youtube. They are from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City.

What I Found

When I went to get the boys out of bed this afternoon. The drawer was already broken, but the rest of the mayhem was generated by that curly headed boy. He's holding a stack of wipes. I found a bunch of wipes wadded up in the clothes basket. I wondered why the monitor quit working. I never even thought it might be unplugged. Now what do I do? I guess it's time to empty the room and take the side off thier cribs.

Homecoming

here is a sneak preview of homecoming. Splitact will be posting more photos on his website sometime eventually.

Here is a bonus picture. I am not sure who built the really tall one. It was either splitcat or P.