Thursday, September 29, 2011

Things We've Crossed Off our 25 By 25 List!!

      I mentioned in my Camping post that Chase and I made a list of 25 things we want to do by the time we turn 25, which will be late next Spring.  Some of the things we've crossed off have been finding go-karts, shooting our guns, and of course, camping.  Needless to say, we have a way to go. 
      Our list includes 15 things we want to do together, 5 things specific to Chase, and 5 things specific to me. Even though we both aren't actually doing 25 things, we want to be a part of each others' personal goals even if it's simply through giving the other some space or encouragement. Chase has crossed off 2 of his personal goals and I still have all 5. I guess that means I'm the better encourager! JK! 
Side note: One of Chase's accomplished goals for the 24th year of his life was to get a battery  put in his favorite watch.  You've possibly seen him wearing the watch in the past, maybe even asked him for the time, but he looked at his phone to tell the time because he had been wearing it, sans battery, just for fashion's sake. 
      On our way back up to Ohio we always pass a go-kart track that entices Chase's inner child or...NASCAR lover, I'm not sure which.  Since we travel after we get off work or on the weekends, the go-kart place is always closed. It seemed we would never fulfill our goal of finding go-karts, until this summer when Chase spoke at a camp in Myrtle Beach.  One day, the two of us and his parents went to the NASCAR Speed Park, finally satisfying his need for speed and allowing us to cross the first item off our list.  On Labor Day, we went to a friend's house and had a cookout.  We also shot our guns, it was my first time.  I'm not very accurate at skeet shooting but it seemed like it could be fun with some practice.
      Maybe you're thinking: Bucket List? How about TO DO list! Some of the things we have on our list are kind of silly, some are financial goals, and some are life long dreams.  I'm not sure what your list of things to do before whenever looks like but ours is practical at times and improbable at times.  Who knows how many of the things we'll experience the triumph of crossing off with our pink highlighter?! Wherever we are in life, doing fun, difficult, or life changing things starts with a small step and for us it was go-karts and watch batteries!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Remember...

a frown after a picture that took too long
a lawn mower with a name after staying with grandma
go carts and camping
trips to the creek
teaching me how to catch a tad pole
darts in the barn with Eric
car rides with Julie after she got her license
I sat in the back since I was younger
although for a while you couldn't tell by the height difference
even still your nickname for me was shorty
ski trips with all the boys
drawing names for gifts at Thanksgiving
sharing those gifts at Christmas
Easter egg hunts with quarters to gain
a windy graduation party
weddings and swords
my memories with you are more than a jumble of words
they're a joyful childhood filled with family
I'm glad we shared them together



Monday, September 19, 2011

Fantastic Book

Finally all of my questions have been answered. I know about the Terrible Awful that Minny did to Hilly and that Stuart's ex fiance forget it I can't tell you that! You'll just have to read it yourself, or see the movie.

While reading The Help, I felt pulled into another time and culture that I have never experienced myself.  I'm very thankful that I haven't lived during a time where prejudices kept people from sharing life with one another. I don't think the world is perfect at acceptance and love but I think some amazing strides have been made since the sixties, which weren't that long ago. Of course, these shouldn't have been strides that needed to be made if everyone had been treated equally from the beginning.

I related most to Miss Skeeter, being a young lady myself.  I think we all have dreams as big as hers.  She wanted to do something beyond herself, bigger than a good career, a polished status, or a perfect boyfriend. Lacking some of those things hurt her and made life hard but she still did what she knew was right.  Life occasionally leaves us feeling secluded and rejected, The Help showed how several ladies feeling that same way came together and dealt with their feelings. 

Monday, September 12, 2011

I'm lost in The Help

I'm about half way through The Help and I have so many questions.
  • What did Minny do to Miss Hilly? 
  • What happened between Stuart and his ex fiancee? 
  • Where is Constantine?
  • Why did she leave without telling Skeeter? 
  • Why won't anyone tell Skeeter the truth?
  • What in the world is wrong with Miss Celia?
  • Why is she soooooo suspicious?
If you're looking for an interesting, heart warming, thought provoking story.  Read The Help! My goal is to finish the book before it leaves the theaters because I hear the movie follows the book very closely and... ever since Easy A, Emma Stone cracks me up.  Considering that nothing seems quite as important as finding the answers to these questions, I have a feeling I'll have it finished in time. 

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Puppy Love

Hello Everyone. I'm Willow!!

    Thursday I was taken to the vet to have a surgery done and when my owner came to pick me up she had two people with her that smelled kinda familiar, like I had maybe met them before.  Instead of going with Rose, I went with those two other people.  The car ride was a little iffy. I'm not so sure I like moving that fast, I slip and slide all over the seat.  
    Since I was found wandering around town I've lived at two houses already, now this is my third home.  You can understand why I'm not a big fan of getting into the car because so many times I've been taken to a new house with all new things.  I am starting to like it here though. 
    Yesterday we went to a picnic and there was a LOT of food (did I mention I love to eat anything) and a lot of people.  All of these little kids just loved on me all day, I got to lick a lot of food off of their faces!!! It was a long day so when we got home I was tuckered out.  

    Today all of the neighbor kids came to visit me. What can I say? They love me.  One of the boys is almost my size and he likes to play on the ground with me, on all fours too.  He squeezes my face and talks to me like another dog.  I think we must be from the same pack. There are a lot of people around here to play with.

    I'm excited to meet all of Les and Chase's family and friends, although they tell me it's a long trip.  They say I will love to meet Bo, Tank, and Vera.  I hope they like me.  Les said her Grandma will really like me because I'm such a sweet and smart girl. 
Squirrel!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

XALT: Summer's Over So What Now?

With the routine of school, comes the routine of Xalt.  During the summer, we do a shorter teaching time then have small groups with discussion questions about the lesson.  Our school months routine lengthens the teaching and cuts out small groups. 
Last night, Chase started a series of lessons about God's will.  The message was from Acts 1:12-26.  The story takes place after Judas betrays Jesus and the disciples are trying to find a twelfth disciple to replace him.  The disciples didn't just wait around for a replacement disciple to drop through the ceiling of the upper room.  After the remaining disciples prayed they placed all of the candidates in a drawing and picked a name.  They took action!
God wants us to act on what we know of His plan.  We all know that God wants us to become closer to Him so what's holding us back from praying, reading our bible, or spending time with other Christians? We all know that God wants us to love one another so what's holding us back from being a little extra friendly or helpful? If you're like me, I become so caught up in wanting to do something amazing, something extraordinary that I feel like my everyday life isn't accomplishing anything.  The passage in Acts helped me to realize that the actions I take everyday are just as important as the plans I make for the future. 
What action can you take today?

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Easy Reads for the Soul

This past spring I started reading several books about children with special needs.  The titles were Rules, Mockingbird, and Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. All of them are from the elementary library so they're easy reads.  

Rules tells the story of a girl who has a younger brother with Autism.  Since her brother struggles to remember basic social behaviors she makes a list of rules for him to recite and hopefully catch on to over time.  An important rule for David to remember is Boys take off their shirts to swim, but not their shorts.  The story has several funny anecdotes that will bare similarities to your own experiences if you have ever been close to a person with Autism.  

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key tells Joey's story about living with his grandma because his mom and dad both have different problems that keep them from being suitable guardians.  Joey has ADD and is wired!! If you work in the school system or in a job that involves children I'm sure you've encountered a Joey Pigza.  The child who has great intentions and a sweet heart but cannot quit moving long enough to let any of it come out right. 

Mockingbird was probably my favorite of the three.  It references To Kill a Mockingbird which was a favorite of mine in high school.  The main character is a little girl with Asperger's who has suffered the lose of her brother who used to explain the world to her.  Now she is left alone with her dad and guidance counselor to help make sense of the world.  As she sets out to find "Closure" she makes some new friends and some great realizations about interacting with others. 

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Camping

My birthday is just a month after my husband's so this year we decided to make a list of things we wanted to do by our next birthday. One of our goals for the year was to go camping.  This afternoon we were able to mark that off of the list.  
Last night after work we loaded up the  Subaru and headed to a local camping site.  We had all of the essentials: tent, tarp, extra stakes, no toiletries except toothbrushes which we needed because of the marshmallows, grahams, and Hershey's chocolate.  Side note: S'mores are my absolute fav!!!  
We arrived with our inner Pocahontas roaring and ready to go.  The thunder and rain during our tent set up helped to further authenticate our experience.  When I frantically put the rain cover over our tent, I didn't realize there were loops across the top for another pole until we had the whole thing set up and our sides were caving in.  We had to finagle it through the loops with the rain cover still on.  Let's just say it would be a good team building exercise. 


Eventually we made it to the fun part, making a fire and roasting hot dogs. Chief Fire Chaser made a great fire. (LOL! Let's not tell him his new nickname).  In normal fashion, I forgot some important things but we made do. For instance, our make shift pot made of foil, that we used to cook our hot dog sauce.  As the air cooled down we relaxed around the fire, made s'mores, and just enjoyed each others company.  Hooray for bucket lists and first times!!

If this picture was better quality it could be a Subaru or Hershey's ad!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

XALT

"We Xist to Xalt God in all we do." This is the mission statement of the youth group my husband pastors. Every Wednesday night for the last year and eight months, I fall asleep totally amazed with God. I'm not sure how He does it every week but something outstanding always happens.  Whether its a new person coming who has a great time, an old friend rejoining us, a talk I have with someone about the week they've had, or just seeing how beautiful it is when a group of people worship Him together.  Sometimes, it takes a while for my busy brain to comprehend what God has done in someone's life or even my own.  Looking back it's amazing to see all of the growth that has happened in each persons' life and in our group as a whole. 
We love having talent shows, we've had three since last August.  Last night we had our third.  Each one is better than the last.  From dancing, singing, drawing, comedy, and drama we've seen so much talent and had a ton of fun sharing it with each other.  I love seeing everyone enjoy and encourage each other.