Sunday, February 25, 2007



That's Chris Tomlin leading us in "Indescribable," one of my absolute favorite songs!! :)

Okay, so obviously, I saw Chris Tomlin in concert this past Saturday night!! LOL It was REALLY good!! :) We went with Scott & Missy (and another couple from their church that we really didn't get to talk to), and WOW was it just an awesome time in the Lord. Seriously, it wasn't really like a concert, it was like a VERY upbeat youth revival service or something!! LOL The Lord really spoke to me, and the speaker, Lou Giglio?!?! Wow, he was a great speaker, and really made me think, and expand my brain, and really put God's incomprehendable BIGGNESS into perspective!! Yet, even though our galaxy & space is so huge, God has imprinted Himself all over our creation in the tiniest of cells (now I know called Laninin, see the diagram below) that actually holds all of us together...Amazing...


Okay, so that was just amazing to me...There was more he said, but I'll move on...

The LL went VERY well!! Everyone had a great time!! I got some GREAT feedback from all of it, and I'm SO glad I obeyed!! I was still a little nervous about talking in front of a roomful of ladies, but it went well, and I think that they appreciated what I had to say, and the object lesson that went with it. It was called "Recipe for Friendship" and after I kind of explained all the important things friendship supplies us with, especially in relationship with our Christian sisters, I passed out a basketfull of "ingredients" with their description on it & they read that out loud to the group. It was so awesome, and they were all so supportive!! :) It really went great!! The chocolate fountain & white chocolate fondue went over VERY well & we had plenty of fruit (strawberries were my favorite!!). I'm praying that their enthusiasm with encourage more of the other women in the congregation to participate. We're already planning for May a Mother Daughter Tea!! I'm so excited!! I've got LOTS of ideas already swimming around in my head!! :) I think I need to go ahead & schedule the rest of them for the rest of the year, just so I can get that off my mind. Once they're scheduled, we can focus on the themes for these gatherings, ya know?

Anyways, I'm also wanting to have a Ladies' Movie Night SOON!! I've found a book called "Chick Flicks" that has about 18 or so different movies with meal ideas & fun little games that I think would be cool to do on Friday nights once a month or two. I don't want to overkill, either, ya know? But, as I've been saying to everyone who'll listen, we have to start with fellowship before we can expect our meetings to get too deep. We have to start with a foundation, and that begins with just being with each other more, and laughing more, then the deeper stuff will follow.

At this point, though, consistency is my goal for our Women's Ministry. Consistently meeting together, and not letting events fall through, that sort of thing. I'd love for little Bible Study groups to pop up, and I'd love for there to be more outings for everyone. Those are the future goals. I'd, of course, LOVE to have a Ladies' Retreat, but I don't think we're ready for that, yet. In the past, those have been just a once-a-year things that haven't had any kind of follow-up, and so we have to almost get re-aquainted with everyone again. Not really condusive to a deep level of sharing.

Anyways, I just needed to think that out, so sorry if I lost you!! LOL I need to start carrying around a little pad of paper so I can write these things down as they come to me, because I am AWFUL at remembering them later!!

Okay, I'd better go...It's time for Abbey May to go to bed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love you guys!! :) And, thanks for praying!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Hey, Everyone!! :) It's been a while, huh? Over a week?!?! I haven't really been overly busy, but just lazy & obsessed with reading my little romance stories...I LOVE romance novels...I get sucked into them, though, and can't hardly put them down until I finish them. I'm blaming the weather right now, though...Can you believe all this snow?!?! But, today, it was, like, 50 degrees!! Talk about heat wave!! :)

So, hmmm, when I logged in blogger said I had to sign up for the "new" blogger, so this is a little strange for me. It didn't take long for my blog to switch over, though. Must be a slow night :)

Wow, really exciting stuff, huh?!?! LOL

So, I guess I left off at Steve's birthday, huh? We had a great time at The Dock (the food is just awesome there), and we left not too long after Jimmie & Jodi left, I guess around 10p.m., after Diddley got done. As soon as we left there, Abbey said, "I have to go potty, Mommy!" So, thank goodness Enon has a McDonald's now, because we didn't even get a mile before we had to pull over & let her take care of business :) LOL We went home, and I had a headache that wouldn't quit, so Steve put Abbey to bed (later I found out she didn't get to sleep until around 1a.m. or so). Steve had to work the next day, but I got up with him & made pancakes (I felt bad because I didn't get him a cake for his actual birthday). So, I made pancakes for breakfast, left the syrup on the table (important detail later), and then Matt dropped off Katie. Well, she was not a happy camper, and was a little fussy most of the day, but she still played & laughed at Abbey :) They really do love each other :).

Anyways, a little later, I fixed Abbey some lunch. She'd been a little MONSTER the whole morning, just with an attitude & backtalk and all that. So, I finally fixed her lunch & couldn't wait to put her down for a nap!! I sat her at the kitchen table, and went & sat back in the living room with Katie. Then, I got a BIG wiff of syrup, more than just the scent of lingering breakfast...I looked over at Abbey, and she had syrup EVERYWHERE!!!! She had taken her pants off (she likes to run around in her underwear, I have no idea why), and there was syrup on her legs, her arms, her face, her hair, all over the kitchen table, DRIPPING onto the kitchen chair(s) & she had the bottle (which was new, btw) upside down, just SQUEEZING it onto the floor...I've never seen a bigger syrup mess in my life, and I just wanted to cry. I actually did a fair amount of yelling & trying not to cry, because where do you even start cleaning a mess like that up?!?! THEN, Miss Abbey, who has big girl underwear on, just pees all over the syrup mess. And, before you ask, NO, I didn't take a picture, I was WAY too mad to think scrapbook!! (Everyone I've told this story to has asked me if I took a picture!! LOL). So, I just started with Abbey, and started a bath in the tub, then took her, 3-men-and-a-baby-style to the bathroom & told her to get herself undressed & into the tub. I usually wash her hair in the sink, but I wasn't going to make a BIGGER mess by doing all that, so I just scrubbed her from head to toe in the bathtub. Actually, at first I told her to just sit there & wait on me, because I needed to clean up the mess in the kitchen. Ohhhhh, I was so mad...

So, after her bath, I got her dressed & told her to lay down in her bed & not to make a sound. She got up once, but after I told her to get into bed again, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow...and she slept for about 3 1/2 hours...

So, Chelle came & picked Katie up, and I related the syrup story to her, then she left & I piddled around the house for a while. Steve had to work at Block later than planned, and he went to Kroger on his way home because we needed a few things, and I thought I'd make him a marbled cake with chocolate frosting (that's one of his favorites, and I had a box mix already!! LOL). So, by then Abbey was up from her nap, and I was cooking in the kitchen when I hear what sounds like a pen on my walls. I turn around & holler at Abbey to stop writing on the walls, and the closer I get to her, I saw she had one of my scrapbooking markers and DREW on my walls...So, I told her that was it, she could sit on the couch, no toys, no TV, NOTHING until her Daddy got home. I did NOT feel sorry for her in the least...

Of course, Steve got home & didn't act nearly as outraged as I thought he should (LOL), and that ticked me off. She went to bed early, but what can you do? I was SO mad...So, we had a syrup incident & a marker-on-the-walls incident ALL on the same day...

Besides the snow, we had a very unexciting week :) Steve worked that Monday after his birthday, then he was off Tues, Wed, & Thurs, so that was VERY nice :) Lots of togetherness :) He had to go in on Friday, but was off from Block, and then Saturday he worked at Block again. Chelle & Carrie came by on Friday night for chili & a movie. That was fun :) Carrie's so funny...There was NO syrup this past Saturday, though. Even though Abbey did ask me to make her pancakes, I gave her an emphatic "NO."

There's some drama going on at church right now, and because I'm in charge of the Ladies' Luncheon (this coming Saturday, btw) I'm unfortunately caught up in the middle of it. We're still fighting a negative spirit, a know-it-all attitude, and it's just so destructive. When I scheduled the Ladies' Luncheon, I checked with Pastor Paul & the church calendar before I made any definite plans. I got the OK & go-ahead from him, so I made up invitations & Dawn & I passed them out the following Sunday at church to all the ladies. Well, the next week, there was a thing in the bulletin about there being a Valentine's Dinner Dance fundraiser for the Youth group on the same day, just later that night. That was the first I'd heard about it (and I later found out, the first that Pastor heard about it was when he saw it in the bulletin). That Sunday (the Sunday after Steve's birthday), I got stopped by a couple of people who asked me why they were scheduled on the same day, and I just looked dumb because I had no idea there was something else planned. I didn't give it any more thought because I knew I had gone through the right channels, and they weren't scheduled at the same time, anyways. Well, Thursday, I talked to Dawn, and just from the things she had heard & the negativity of a few people, I was just overcome with discouragement & the thought crossed my mind to just re-schedule...but as soon as the thought crossed my mind, there was a check in my spirit, and I knew that wasn't the answer. I was actually in Target & just stopped thinking & prayed!! You all might remember a year ago I had thought about starting a women's ministry at church with this luncheon idea, but after a choir practice (with Negative Nelly, btw) I was very discouraged, and didn't do anything. I let my fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of looking silly stop me dead in my tracks. So, I really had an awakening after Negative Nelly left that, wait a minute, Whom do I serve? If the Lord tells me to organize a quarterly ladies' luncheon, I'd better do it!! Forget about what other people think!! DUH!! So, that's when I talked to Dawn & we got the ball rolling again.

SO, even after some bad counsel from one of our women Elder's, Dawn & I feel affirmed that we should proceed with the Ladies' Luncheon as planned. This isn't even about whether we have a ladies' ministry or not, it's about ME being obedient right now. It's not about scheduling conflicts & people feeling torn between supporting the youth group and starting a women's fellowship. For me, it's about being obedient. One of my friends (supporters, btw!! LOL) said, "Mandy, the people who come will be there because they were meant to be there." So, since all the "drama" I've felt the Lord's affirmation, His leading in all of this. It's absolutely about obedience for me. That's the issue!! LOL :) Not people choosing between the 2. Oh, and it just hit me tonight, that because of the drama/conflict, that's even MORE of an affirmation that this is the right thing to do. We always meet opposition when we're doing the will of the Lord.

Incidentally, we won't be able to go to the dance because we're already going to see Chris Tomlin with Scott & Missy!! :) YAY!! :)

Well, I'd better go. I feel like I should email Pastor Paul right now, and just encourage him. It's not easy to shepherd a flock, and sometimes we can be dumber than even sheep!!


Friday, February 09, 2007



This is my big 3 (thwee is how she says it!! LOL) year old at her Chuck E. Cheese party!! :) That was so much fun, and such a good idea!! LOL Everyone (even the adults, especially grandparents hehe) had a great time!! :) And, we didn't have to clean up after we left!! LOL It was just a great idea. I was a little nervous about it coming off well, because I've never had a party there (where I was the adult, anyways!! LOL), and I just wanted everyone to have a good time. I shouldn't have worried, of course :)

Mammy made her a cake, and it was as beautiful as it was delicious!! As usual :) She got a lot of neat presents, too, and like AuntSurvivor said, there are a lot more options as far as toys go, now, because most everything says 3+!! :) She was getting a little tired towards the end of opening her presents (I think she just wanted down to play) and I had a few "YOU WILL OPEN YOUR PRESENTS & LIKE IT!!" moments...She got a lot of cute clothes & toys & just neat stuff :) We've watched that 12 Dancing Princesses movie a lot this week :) She really likes it (and it's actually pretty good for a Barbie movie!! Amy said that it was one of those kid movies she doesn't mind her daughter watching over & over again, because she likes it, too!!). Anyways, she's had a hard time adjusting to it NOT being her birthday anymore, though.

But, today's another birthday in our house!! Steve's 31 today!! :) Happy Birthday, Honey!! We're going to The Dock tonight to hear my Uncle Jeff & Should-be-Aunt Kim sing with their band Diddley. It should be fun!! Jodi & Jim are coming up, even with such short notice!! :) So, YAY!! :)

Speaking of party stuff...I'd better go...I'm watching BigBlueEyes tomorrow, and I need to get Abbey's little tiny pieced toys up out of the floor. It still looks like the Princess Birthday Fairy threw up in the living room!! LOL :)

Talk to ya'll later :)